Kent Old Brown ‘The Beer that built the men who built Australia’ Poster

John Tooth, a native of Kent, England, realised the potential for a brewery in Sydney, and in partnership with his brother-in-law, Charles Newnham, built a brewery in 1835 on a 5-acre block of land at what was then called Blackwattle Creek.

During the early part of the twentieth century the company expanded through the acquisition of many country and city breweries. Most were closed, effectively shutting out competition, but some continued brewing for a few more years. Many of the closed breweries were used as depots.

KB (Kent Brewery) Lager was introduced in 1918 as their first ‘lager beer’. It was after this event that the marketing department embarked on an expansive poster and pub signage campaign that proved extremely popular and ingrained into Sydney culture.

In their battle with rival Tooheys, Tooth’s repackaged Tooth’s Old and introduced Kent Old Brown to give their drinkers a choice as Tooheys Old was a popular drink. When Tooheys put Old on tap Tooth’s followed with their new brand.

This poster was the introduction (although a brand existed in the 1930s) of a replacement of Tooth’s Old. It was a better fit in regards to where the brand and brewery sat in the marketplace.