To mark the one-year anniversary of the introduction of free tours of the James Boag’s Visitor Centre and Brewery for Tasmanian residents, Lion has today announced that it has made the decision to continue offering these through until at least February 2025.
In January 2023 the Tasmanian Government agreed to provide a $1 million grant to support the continued operation of the James Boag Visitor Centre, and to expand and enhance the tourist attraction.
Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff said Boags was a much-loved Tasmanian brand and tourist attraction.
“I am really pleased that as a result of our investment free tours will continue to be provided to Tasmanians. Importantly the support package helped secure not just the future of the visitor centre but also the jobs of the people who work here. I look forward to seeing Boags longer-term plan in coming months to continue to grow visitor numbers,” Mr Rockliff said.
James Boag’s Brewery Director, Steve Levien, said detailed work to consider the best way to leverage the funding from the Tasmanian Government and expand and enhance the Boag’s Brewery Tours and Visitor Centre were close to being finalised. “In the last 12 months we have had more than 1780 Tasmanian adult residents take up the free tours of the James Boag’s Brewery and Visitor Centre, and we are pleased to continue to offer free tours for Tasmanian residents until at least February 2025,” Mr Levien said. “The great news is in many cases, those Tasmanian residents brought through their friends and family from the mainland – increasing overall visitation to the Boag’s Brewery and Launceston. “Pleasingly, in the last 12 months overall visitation to the brewery and visitor centre was up by more than 1600 people, or 19%, on the prior year. “It was a no-brainer for Lion and the Boag’s Brewery to continue offering these tours for free to Tasmanian residents. “We’re working hard to progress development of concepts that consider how best to revitalise the James Boag Visitor Centre for the benefit of Tasmanian residents, and to drive increased visitation of interstate and international visitors to Launceston.”
The Boag’s Brewery will offer anyone with a current Tasmanian Driver’s License free brewery tours until at least February 2025.
Julian Luke | Government & External Relations Director | +61 414 548 504 | [email protected]
About Lion
Lion is a leading beverage company headquartered in Sydney, Australia. With origins dating back more than 180 years, Lion is known for its commitment to quality, craftsmanship, community and sustainability, and recently became Australasia’s first large-scale carbon neutral brewer. Lion is a pioneer in brewing and continues to innovate across a range of adult beverages. Its core beer portfolio includes many locally loved brands in Australia and New Zealand such as XXXX, Little Creatures, James Boag, Stone & Wood, Emerson’s, Speights and Panhead, and a growing craft beer presence in the US, having brought New Belgium and Bell’s Brewery into the fold. Lion also has an enviable portfolio of NZ wine brands, a premium fine wine business in North America, a craft spirits distribution arm in Australia in Vanguard Luxury Brands, and recently fully brought world-class distillery Four Pillars Gin into the fold. Lion employs more than 4,000 people across its markets. www.lionco.com
