Australian brewing company Gage Roads "has slain" int'l beer brands and "won the lucrative contract to supply beer and cider at the new Perth Stadium," according to Gary Adshead of PERTH NOW. In an "extraordinary coup" for Gage Roads, which was formed in '02 and has about 40 employees, it "had to prove it could supply" 5,000 kegs of different variety beers over a five-day period before securing the multi-million dollar contract. Gage Roads "was up against the biggest brewing corporations in the world:" the Belgian-headquartered owners of Carlton & United Breweries, Anheuser-Busch InBev and Japanese-owned Lion. Perth Stadium CEO Mike McKenna said, "This appointment represents a significant milestone for this truly West Australian company." Named after the shipping channel between Fremantle and Rottnest Island, Gage Roads is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange at six cents a share. AB InBev on Sunday was worth about $147 a share on the London Stock Exchange and last year enjoyed a turnover of $46B (PERTH NOW, 9/25). The AAP's Angie Raphael reported Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan said on Monday that local jobs would be created under the five-year deal "and the strength of the product would also be enhanced nationally." McGowan: "It's a West Australian company providing beer at a West Australian stadium." But the Liquor Licensing director "is yet to make a decision on whether full or mid-strength beer will be available at the 60,000-seat stadium." McGowan said that he expected a decision later this year but would not be drawn into "beer politics" again, joking it was "worse than real politics" following a backlash in June when he said that he "only wanted mid-strength" beer at the stadium (AAP, 9/25).
