The Australian Real Craft Brewers Association is a national body that has been formed to represent and support Australian owned real craft brewers who practice the craft of brewing.

Our Mission

• The Association wants to make sure Australian owned real craft brewers have a voice and are represented nationally.
• The Association is passionate about Australian craft beer and supporting the Australian craft beer movement.

Sad news just in:

All of us at ARCBA send our sincerest condolences to Geoff Scharer's family and friends. We are proud that Geoff was ARCBA's inaugral Honorary Member for his contribution to Australian craft brewing over many decades. He will be sadly missed by many of us.

News Flash - Small local breweries get Excise Tax Relief

ARCBA is pleased to hear news of the changes in the 2012 Federal Budget to the Microbrewery Refund Scheme. This is welcome reward for many years hard work lobbying all sides of politics for many of our members. 

The removal of the 30,000 litre cap on production is the most exciting news for brewers. All Australian craft brewers who are legally & economically independent of another brewery will now be able to access this rebate regardless of their production. The Government is sending a clear message that they wish to stimulate growth in the craft beer sector and to encourage and support independent breweries across the country.

We welcome the increase to the maximum rebate available from $10,000 to $30,000. Whilst financially a drop in the ocean, it is a recognition that small craft brewers are deserving of Government tax relief to help them compete in an industry dominated by a large, industrial duopoly.

We will, however, continue to lobby government to ensure we work towards a more realistic rebate figure as well as seeking indexation with CPI of the amount.

These budget changes are indeed welcome and we look forward to continuing to work with Government so the rebate scheme will go even further towards supporting the craft beer sector in Australia and more specifically the small, independent brewing businesses who will most benefit from this type of Government tax relief.