Bertie’s back: Ballarat Bitter flows again

Publicans, retailers and civic leaders gathered this week to celebrate the return of Ballarat Bitter beer to the city where it was originally founded about 170 years ago.

In 2025, local resident Stephen Coghlan purchased the brand and its iconic Ballarat Bertie cellarman mascot from Asahi, the parent company of Carlton & United Breweries, some 70 years after Ballarat Brewing Company was acquired from his family.

This week, Coghlan – the great, great grandson of founder James Coghlan – had plenty of cause to raise a glass, finally seeing the mainstream beer brand resume production and sales, and flow on-tap in pubs across the city. Among them, the Royal Oak Hotel set the scene for a relaunch celebration.

“Telling my customers that Ballarat Bitter is back is really cool,” Royal Oak owner and publican Dean Mangion said.

“We’ve got our logo back in the city where it all started. People are excited to have the iconic cellarman back in Ballarat.”

 

Coghlan said support for bringing the brand back, complete with its famed mascot, has been “amazing”, including among independent bottle shops.

“We have found the original recipe that the Breheny Brothers had, and we formed a partnership with them to support us to brew the beer,” he said.

“We have been working with Ballarat’s publicans and bottle shop owners and we are currently starting on-tap with about 12 pubs and hoping to grow that number as we increase our brewing capacity.

“We are also in most independent retail outlets in Ballarat. We are doing everything we can to be at a competitive price point with the packaged beer.

“In the next month or so we will also be bringing back 500ml glass bottles.

 

“To keep costs competitive while we relaunch the brand, Ballarat Bitter is currently being brewed under a lease arrangement at Holgate’s facility in Woodend.

“Our head brewer, Michael Stanzel, oversees the process using our ingredients to ensure the beer remains true to the Ballarat Bitter recipe.

“As demand becomes established, our long-term ambition is to bring brewing back to Ballarat.

“This approach allows us to offer a locally owned beer at a price point comparable to other mainstream brands, making Ballarat Bitter a beer people can enjoy every day.”

Six people currently work to support the business in brewing, sales, logistics, design and more.

“Ballarat Bitter is, in many ways, the story of Ballarat itself,” Coghlan said.

“Its story begins in the mud and clay of the gold rush. It grew alongside Ballarat’s industrialisation.

“It was deeply connected to both world wars, shared in the prosperity of generations that followed, then suffered the effects of centralisation, mass production and corporate globalisation, eventually disappearing from the city it helped define.

“Its revival is more than the return of a beer. It’s the return of a piece of the city’s story.”