Beers brewed under license in "other countries"

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openmedia

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#323993 13-Feb-2026 11:29

Starting to see an increased number of beers where they aren't brewed in either country of origin, or even under license in NZ.

Under license in NZ isn't that unusual, for example most Heineken sold in NZ and AU is brewed under license by DB Brewers in Auckland. There are a bunch of other beers available locally that are brewed under license.

Here are a couple of odd examples I've recently found

Corona in Bottles is now brewed in China
Peroni Nastro Azzurro in Bottles is now brewed in Japan by Asahi (their owner), but the 330ml cans are brewed in Rome.

Personally the Italian brewed Peroni is considerably better than the Japanese brewed versions. Corona has never been one of my preferred beers, and even Sol which used to come from Mexico is now brewed locally.

Has anyone else been noticing this, and do you have any examples around draft versions? I'm now taking a lot more notice of where a beer has been brewed when I'm buying overseas products. I typically buy local beers anyway, but if we've got visitors I usually get in a "lager" style beer.

Generally known online as OpenMedia, now working for Red Hat APAC as a Technology Evangelist and Portfolio Architect. Still playing with MythTV and digital media on the side.

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#3461180 13-Feb-2026 11:41

A bit unrelated but years ago I went to a bar and the list had "Imported beers". Looking at the bottle they had been brewed in Auckland.

Do they really qualify as "imported" if it comes from Auckland or Mangatoinaka (which I think is now closed)?

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wellygary

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#3461182 13-Feb-2026 11:47

Global beer brands are basically commodities, the manufacturers will seek out the most profitable production locations after factoring in shipping costs.

TBH, Expecting a major beer brand to have a sole production location these days is probably unrealistic ... given the huge volumes they are required to produce...

Checking labels is likely to become more and more necessary

wellygary

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#3461183 13-Feb-2026 11:51

freitasm:

A bit unrelated but years ago I went to a bar and the list had "Imported beers". Looking at the bottle they had been brewed in Auckland.

Do they really qualify as "imported" if it comes from Auckland or Mangatoinaka (which I think is now closed)?

You sound like a bit like the west coast publicans, who moved Monteiths to the international beers section after they shifted to Auckland

(probably apocryphal)

openmedia

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#3461186 13-Feb-2026 11:58

freitasm:

A bit unrelated but years ago I went to a bar and the list had "Imported beers". Looking at the bottle they had been brewed in Auckland.

Do they really qualify as "imported" if it comes from Auckland or Mangatoinaka (which I think is now closed)?

Personally I wouldn't consider it imported and I'd take a photo and send it to Consumer.

Generally known online as OpenMedia, now working for Red Hat APAC as a Technology Evangelist and Portfolio Architect. Still playing with MythTV and digital media on the side.

cddt

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#3461190 13-Feb-2026 12:09

openmedia:

Under license in NZ isn't that unusual, for example most Heineken sold in NZ and AU is brewed under license by DB Brewers in Auckland. There are a bunch of other beers available locally that are brewed under license.

...

Has anyone else been noticing this, and do you have any examples around draft versions? I'm now taking a lot more notice of where a beer has been brewed when I'm buying overseas products. I typically buy local beers anyway, but if we've got visitors I usually get in a "lager" style beer.

Heineken in NZ is brewed under license by DB (which is owned by Heineken), but in AU it's brewed under license by Lion (which is owned by Kirin). With a brand like that however the QC will be extremely strict to ensure it's as close as possible to the "real thing".

lxsw20

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#3461194 13-Feb-2026 12:14

The worst one is most Speights is now brewed in Auckland.

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vexxxboy

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#3461199 13-Feb-2026 12:32

The Tiger brand is brewed in Auckland by DB breweries

Common sense is not as common as you think.

KiwiSurfer

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#3461204 13-Feb-2026 13:09

This isn't new TBH. Even when I was a regular beer drinker 25 years ago it was common for big international brands to licence their high volume drinks to one of the NZ brewery companies presumely because it is cheaper for them to do so. I every now and then I'd check where it was brewed and quite often it'd be a local brewer under licence from a big international brand. Generally only seemed to be less popular, niche beer, etc that is genuinely imported as probably not worth setting up a production line in NZ for brands only selling under a certain amount of litres.

Even soft drinks are mostly made in NZ e.g. Coke has been locally produced for decades.

I don't mind these being classified as imported. I think it'd be more of a lie to say they are local beers -- if I wanted a "local beer" I would want one made to a local recipe not just one that happened to be brewed in NZ.

wellygary

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#3461221 13-Feb-2026 13:43

KiwiSurfer:

Even soft drinks are mostly made in NZ e.g. Coke has been locally produced for decades.

As you say, at some point the cost of running a local production line become cheaper than essentially shipping water around the world...

But it will be an ever shifting line as input costs and shipping costs continually change....

openmedia

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#3461223 13-Feb-2026 13:46

Seeing beers brewed under licence in NZ isn't new, but seeing overseas brands being brewed in China is a bit crazy and they are now brands I'll avoid. I don't mind a Chinese beer, but the fact it is cheaper for Corona to be brewed China and then imported feels a bit bonkers.

The outliers like Peroni are interesting.

As you said this isn't new. In the UK most Stella Artois is brewed locally, but your local corner store would often have "imported" versions which were considerably better.

Generally known online as OpenMedia, now working for Red Hat APAC as a Technology Evangelist and Portfolio Architect. Still playing with MythTV and digital media on the side.

Andib

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#3461227 13-Feb-2026 14:08

Many years ago, around Christmas time Countdown would often have imported Heineken 24 packs cheaper than the domestic version which you could spot by the white outline on the much thicker box.
It might nostalgia but it did have a different taste to the local version. From what I was told DB put a stop to that pretty quickly and they fell back in line buying the local product.

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cddt

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#3461229 13-Feb-2026 14:12

Andib:

It might nostalgia but it did have a different taste to the local version.

You will get that, when it's been sitting in an ambient container on a ship through the tropics for three months...

NzBeagle

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#3461232 13-Feb-2026 14:15

Andib:

Many years ago, around Christmas time Countdown would often have imported Heineken 24 packs cheaper than the domestic version which you could spot by the white outline on the much thicker box.
It might nostalgia but it did have a different taste to the local version. From what I was told DB put a stop to that pretty quickly and they fell back in line buying the local product.

The imported mini-"kegs" were a personal favourite.

wellygary

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#3461233 13-Feb-2026 14:36

Andib:

From what I was told DB put a stop to that pretty quickly and they fell back in line buying the local product.

The local brewer will insert an exclusivity clause in their local distribution contract that will say if you buy brand X from us , then we will be the only source you buy it from,

Parallel importing is legal in NZ, so there is nothing to stop privateers from importing branded product from anywhere in the world and selling it here. But you'll be told by the local distributor that if you do it , you wont get any local product from us...

I still remember Calvin Klein Jeans and scents being flogged at the Warehouse, they didn't care as they were neve going to source those products via the local distributors...

vexxxboy

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#3461249 13-Feb-2026 15:49

openmedia:

Seeing beers brewed under licence in NZ isn't new, but seeing overseas brands being brewed in China is a bit crazy and they are now brands I'll avoid. I don't mind a Chinese beer, but the fact it is cheaper for Corona to be brewed China and then imported feels a bit bonkers.

The outliers like Peroni are interesting.

As you said this isn't new. In the UK most Stella Artois is brewed locally, but your local corner store would often have "imported" versions which were considerably better.

Stella Artois is brewed by Lion in Auckland since 2000

Common sense is not as common as you think.

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