Castlemaine Perkins - XXXX beer

1878 -The first brew produced in the Castlemaine Milton Brewery was made to the same formula as the Castlemaine Brewery in Victoria. It was called Castlemaine XXX Sparkling Ale and was ready for sale on Friday 13 September. The then "Brisbane Courier" described the brew as a "delicious ale of the brightest amber, pleasant to taste, with a peculiarity of flavour not easily described and an aroma of an appetising nature by itself".

The X's date back to medieval times when brewing was confined mainly to monasteries. The monks used X (the sign of the cross) as a standard symbol of quality for alcoholic beverages. The number of X's represented the strength and quality of the brew.

1880 - Queensland's first telephone is installed linking the Castlemaine Brewery with its head office in the City, some 5km away.

1924 - The new XXXX Bitter Ale became available for sale. Yeast cultures had been
imported from Europe to experiment with many types of beer. "XXXX Bitter Ale" proved to be the most popular, and has remained a winning formula to this day.

1999 - Major production milestone reached with the 5 Billionth XXXX stubbie rolling off the P3 packaging line.