COPYEDITING 2
Copyediting
In October 1997, Boffin Brothers Brewery announced that it had sold a minority share
of the business to Japanese brewer, Kirin Holdings Company. Kirin, which is the largest
owner of breweries in Australia, would get less than half of Boffin Brothers and
representation on the company’s board. Boffin Brothers would get an undisclosed amount of
cash and access to Kirin’s nationwide network of distributors—universally agreed to be the
best in the business. There is no doubt that, aside from the choice of their first commercially-
released beer in 1985, this was the most consequential decision Dave and Rafe Boffin, ever
made.
This decision transformed the business by allowing it to grow from a regional, all
draught brewery to a widely distributed brand of bottled beer. In a stroke, Boffin Brothers
had access to markets that would allow it to become one of the largest breweries in Australia.
However, as craft brewing matured and grew as a movement in the 2000s, it was as if Boffin
Brothers had an asterisk affixed to its name. Every new release, company initiative, and
rebrand seemed to be evaluated with a proviso attached to it: ‘partly owned by Kirin.' In a
world in which ‘small’ and ‘independent’ became watchwords for quality craft breweries
associated with large, multinational breweries were marked by a certain stigma.
Now, more than three decades after the partnership, many have rendered their
judgment. The trade organization for small breweries, of which Boffin Brothers had been a
charter member, excommunicated them following deliberations that spanned 2006-2007.
Outside the brewery, the verdict was ambiguous because, sure, the partnership allowed the
brewery to grow, but many felt Dave and Rafe should never have gone into business with
Kirin. Within the brewery, however, there was never much doubt. It was considered a stroke
of luck that Kirin was a willing partner and there has been a little reconsideration of the deal.
