Victoria Bitter
Brewery	Carlton & United Beverages, a subsidiary of Foster's Group
Style	Full strength bitter lager
First Brewed	1890s
Alc. vol.	4.8%

Victoria Bitter, or VB, as it is commonly called, has the highest market share of all beer sold in Australia, both on tap and packaged. Victoria Bitter is brewed by Carlton & United Beverages, a subsidiary of Foster's Group, brewers of the Fosters brand beer. Despite its name, it is technically a fairly standard commercial lager rather than a bitter, although perhaps slightly more bitter than many. It is available in New Zealand, the UK, and to a limited extent, other countries abroad. VB, like most Australian Lagers, is made using a wortstream brewing process^{[citation needed]}, and uses a portion of cane sugar to thin out the body of the beer, apparently due to drinkers preferences. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1008x1836, 139 KB) Summary Victoria Bitter Stubbie Photographer: Simon Laird Licensing File links The following pages link to this file: Victoria Bitter ... Carlton & United Beverages (formerly Carlton & United Breweries) is an Australian brewing company based in Abbotsford, Melbourne, Victoria. ... Fosters Group is a beer group with interests in brewing, wine-making and soft drinks. ... Bitter is a British term for a type of beer or pale ale. ... Lager is a well attenuated beer brewed in cool conditions using a slow-acting brewers yeast, known as a bottom-fermenting yeast, and then stored (or lagered) for a period in cool conditions to clear away particles and certain flavour compounds to produce a clean taste. ... Alcohol by volume (ABV) is an indication of how much alcohol (expressed as a percentage) is included in an alcoholic beverage. ... For other uses, see Beer (disambiguation). ... Carlton & United Beverages (formerly Carlton & United Breweries) is an Australian brewing company based in Abbotsford, Melbourne, Victoria. ... Fosters Group is a beer group with interests in brewing, wine-making and soft drinks. ... Fosters Lager is an internationally-distributed, Australian brand of beer produced by Fosters Group. ... Lager is a well attenuated beer brewed in cool conditions using a slow-acting brewers yeast, known as a bottom-fermenting yeast, and then stored (or lagered) for a period in cool conditions to clear away particles and certain flavour compounds to produce a clean taste. ... Bitter is a British term for a type of beer or pale ale. ...

As of August 2007, the strength of Victoria Bitter will change from 4.9% ABV down to 4.8% ABV due to potential tax savings. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... Alcohol by volume (ABV) is an indication of how much alcohol (expressed as a percentage) is included in an alcoholic beverage. ... Alcohol by volume (ABV) is an indication of how much alcohol (expressed as a percentage) is included in an alcoholic beverage. ...

History

The beer dates back to Victoria Brewery founder Thomas Aitken ^{[citation needed]} but gained wide popularity in the mid 1960s with an innovative television advertising campaign featuring the orchestral score from the film The Magnificent Seven, images of working-class Australians at work and play, and a voice-over by notable Australian actor John Meillon. The campaign was used until quite recently. Paul Hester, late drummer of Crowded House once appeared in a VB advert. Ads now consist of the slogan "For a hard earned thirst, you need a big cold beer, and the best cold beer is Vic, Victoria Bitter". The most recent advertising campaign features David Boon, although a number of other ads are occasionally screened, such as one which promotes Australia's love of barbecuing meat, including its national emblems, the kangaroo and emu. The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ... The Magnificent Seven is a 1960 western film directed by John Sturges about a group of hired gunmen tasked with protecting a Mexican village from bandits. ... John Meillon John Meillon as the Mayor in the 1974 Peter Weir film The Cars That Ate Paris John Meillon (born 1 May 1934 and died 11 August 1989 in Mosman, Sydney,Australia) was an actor, most widely known for his role as Walter Reilly in the films Crocodile Dundee... Paul Newell Hester (January 8, 1959 – March 26, 2005) was the drummer with Split Enz and Crowded House. ... Crowded House is a rock group formed in Melbourne, Australia, and led by New Zealand musician and singer-songwriter Neil Finn. ... David Clarence Boon, usually referred to as Boony (born December 29, 1960, in Launceston, Tasmania) is a former Australian cricketer of the 1980s and 1990s. ... This article is about the animal. ... Binomial name (Latham, 1790) The Emu has been recorded in the areas shown in black. ...

Currently one third of the packaged beer sales in Australia are of VB. It is available in cans ("tinnies"), short necked 375ml bottles ("stubbies"), 800mls bottles ("Long Necks" or "King Browns") and "Twisties" or "Throwies" (250ml bottles in the State of New South Wales). As of 2005 VB also comes in 500ml tinnies ("Lunch Greens"), which are commonly drank by trade workers on lunch, being just enough to quench their thirst.

In a testament to its long history and popularity, VB has acquired a number of nicknames, ranging from the abbreviated "Vic Bitter", polite "Very Best", "Vitamin B" and "Victory Beer", for after a win in the footy. People who dislike the beer may refer to it as "Vomit Beer", "Vaginal Backwash", or "Visitors Beer". The distinctive green cans may also be referred to as "Boonies" or "Green Cans".

Change in strength

In 2007, The Foster's Group who make Victoria Bitter are planning to change the strength of the beer from 4.9% ABV to 4.8% ABV to cut the amount of excise Foster's pays on the beer it brews. The Age reported on 4 July 2007 that this move that will save Foster's up to $20 million a year in tax payments^[1]. Fosters Group is a beer group with interests in brewing, wine-making and soft drinks. ... Alcohol by volume (ABV) is an indication of how much alcohol (expressed as a percentage) is included in an alcoholic beverage. ... Alcohol by volume (ABV) is an indication of how much alcohol (expressed as a percentage) is included in an alcoholic beverage. ... Look up Excise in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... is the 185th day of the year (186th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ...

The spokesman for Foster's, Ben Wicks said the change would not affect the taste of the beer.

VB Midstrength

In 2007, Fosters launched a new, midstrength version of VB called VB Midstrength with an alcohol volume of 3.5%, in order to capitalize on the growing market for midstrength beers, currently dominated by XXXX Gold^[2]. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... XXXX (pronounced four-ex) is a brand of beers brewed in Milton, Brisbane by Queensland brewers, Castlemaine Perkins. ...

TV builder Scott Cam, a self-confessed VB fan, is the appointed VB Mid Ambassador.^[3] Scott Cam (born 1962) is an Australian television personality appearing on several lifestyle programmes on the Nine Network. ...

On 24 July 2007, The Australian reported that within three months of Fosters launching VB Midstrength, market share for the full strength VB and mid VB had increased.^[4] Foster's regional marketing director Anthony Heraghty hinted at further VB brand extensions, saying Foster's was "trying to see past the big green giant". It has been confirmed that a premium strength, 7.7%ABV version of VB is in the cards. Originally slated to be called "VB Premium", this name was knocked back as research suggested the majority of drinkers do not, and would never, percieve VB to be a premium beer. The current title, expected to be used when the product goes on sale in May 2008, is "Veebs". is the 205th day of the year (206th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... The Australian is a national daily broadsheet newspaper published by Rupert Murdochs News Corporation. ...

Marketing & Promotions

In 2005, VB had started a promotion where David Boon became the face of Victoria Bitter (VB) beer for its 2005/06 summer advertising campaign, called Boonanza. Part of the promotion was the sale of a talking David Boon figurine with purchases of cartons of beer, which would make comments when prompted by Channel Nine commentary. In New Zealand, VB is considered a lower class beer and often drunk by students as a cheap way to become intoxicated. It has had little media exposure in New Zealand and is therefore drunk by mainly Australian expatriots and not by working class New Zealanders. David Clarence Boon, usually referred to as Boony (born December 29, 1960, in Launceston, Tasmania) is a former Australian cricketer of the 1980s and 1990s. ... The Talking Boony figure - from Boonanza I promotion The Boonanza is a promotion run by Victoria Bitter (VB) during the Australian summer cricket season. ...

In 2006, this promotion had returned for the 2006/7 Ashes series now called Boonanza II which now included former England cricket captain Ian Botham and a talking figurine was created for him to interact alongside the David Boon figurine. Teams Australia England Captains Ricky Ponting Andrew Flintoff Most Runs Ricky Ponting (576) Michael Hussey (458) Matthew Hayden (413) Kevin Pietersen (490) Paul Collingwood (433) Ian Bell (331) Most Wickets Stuart Clark (26) Shane Warne (23) Glenn McGrath (21) Matthew Hoggard (13) Andrew Flintoff (11) Monty Panesar (10) The 2006... Ian Terence Botham OBE, (born November 24, 1955 in Heswall, Cheshire) (nicknamed Both, Beefy, Beef or Guy the Gorilla) is a retired England Test cricketer. ...

References

This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 121st day of the year (122nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 121st day of the year (122nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Australian is a national daily broadsheet newspaper published by Rupert Murdochs News Corporation. ...

External links

• Official webpage
• Review of VB
• John Meillon ad

v • d • e Beers of the world
Articles on beer and breweries by region.
Africa	Ethiopia · Kenya · Namibia · South Africa // What follows is a list of beers by the country within which they originate, and the beer drinking and brewing practices within those countries: Main article: Canadian beer Main article: Mexican beer Main article: American beer Main articles: Central American beer and Caribbean beer Belikin is the leading domestically produced... For other uses, see Beer (disambiguation). ... The entrance of a brewery. ... African beer refers to beer made in Africa. ...
Asia	China · India · Japan · Korea · Taiwan · Thailand Image File history File links Beer_mug. ... Contemporary Korean Beers The Korean beer market is dominated by the three major brands; Cass, Hite and OB. Most restaurants and bars will only have one on tap, as they are largely regarded as extremely similar in taste and price. ...
Europe	Albania · Armenia · Austria · Azerbaijan · Belgium · Bulgaria · Czech Republic · Croatia · Denmark · England · Estonia · Faroe Islands · Finland · France · Germany · Greece · Hungary · Iceland · Ireland · Italy · Lithuania · Macedonia · Malta · Montenegro · Netherlands · Norway · Portugal · Poland · Romania · Russia · Scotland · Serbia · Slovakia · Slovenia · Spain · Sweden · Switzerland · Ukraine · Wales English beer has a long history, and is quite distinct traditions from most other beer brewing countries. ... The main thing to remember with Scottish beer (Ale) is that Scottland, having a cool climate, is not and ideal place for growing hops, the bittering/preserving agent of choice for beer. ... Serbias beer (Serbian language: пиво / pivo) is not well-known or famous outside of its national borders. ... Welsh beer has evolved in quite a different way from English beer. ...
Middle East	Israel · Syria · Turkey
North America	Canada · Caribbean · Central America · Mexico · United States
Oceania	Australia · New Zealand
South America	Brazil · Colombia
International	List of breweries · List of commercial brands of beer · List of countries by beer consumption per capita // What follows is a list of beers by the country within which they originate, and the beer drinking and brewing practices within those countries: Main article: Canadian beer Main article: Mexican beer Main article: American beer Main articles: Central American beer and Caribbean beer Belikin is the leading domestically produced... See Category:Beer and breweries by region for a comprehensive and up to date listing of all the breweries detailed on Wikipedia, sorted into regions. ... List of brand names of beer. ... A map of the world coloured by per-capita beer consumption This is a list of countries ordered by annual per capita consumption of beer, as of 2004. ...