Industry Brewing Products Beverages Website www.bundaberg.com Headquarters Bundaberg | Key people John McLean
(CEO) Owner Fleming Family Founded 1960 Type of business Private | |
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Founder Cliff Fleming, Lee Fleming, Gladys Fleming and Neville Fleming Profiles | ||
Bundaberg Brewed Drinks Pty Ltd is a very large brewer of non-alcoholic beverages (soft drink) located in Bundaberg, Queensland. The business is owned by an Australian family. Since 2006, Bundaberg has been exporting its brewed drinks to over 32 countries. The company was established in 1960. The founder was Keith Nielson but it was purchased by the Flemming family in 1968 whose son (Cliff Flemming) remains the chairman of the company. The current CEO is John McLean.
Contents
Product range
There are many flavours as well as four diet varieties and specific country variants. The flavours include:
The diet range includes:
Royal Crown Draft Premium Cola is produced under licence and is not available for purchase within Australia, except at the brewery tourist facility known as "The Barrel".
Brewing process
Bundaberg's brewing process typically consists of 5 stages. The following process is an example of how Bundaberg's Ginger Beer is brewed:
- Grinding the Ginger
- Bundaberg Ginger Beer is made using dried ginger root. The ginger comes from the local Queensland area and is dried using a special process that ensures the natural flavour is preserved. The dried ginger root is ground into a coarse flour.
- Making the Ginger Wort
- The ground ginger is mixed with Queensland Cane Sugar and water. The mixture is heated to release flavours, sugars and starches from the ginger. The ginger starches are also broken down into fermentable sugars.
- Fermenting with yeast
- Yeast is added to ferment the wort. A special yeast is used in the natural brewing process which extracts ginger flavor and distinctive taste.
- Maturating the Ginger Beer
- After fermentation, the ginger is filtered to an exacting degree to leave behind the smaller, flavorsome pieces of ginger that will provide extra flavor during maturation and beyond.
- The ginger beer at this stage is a concentrate or strong ginger beer. It is stored this way to maximize maturation.
- Making it ready to Drink
- After maturation, the ginger beer is diluted with water, sugar and citric acid to drinking strength and filtered. It is then sent to the filler where it is carbonated and put into bottles.
Tourism
In 2005, Bundaberg Brewed Drinks opened their tourist facility, The Bundaberg Barrel, one of Australia's Big Things in Bundaberg. The Barrel has a 3D hologram video, interactive displays on the brewing process and taste testing.