Editing Australian cuisine (section)

===Alcohol===
{{See also|Alcohol in Australia|Beer in Australia|Australian whisky|Australian wine}}

[[Beer in Australia]] has been popular since colonial times. [[James Squire]] is considered to have founded Australia's first commercial brewery in 1798 and the [[Cascade Brewery]] in [[Hobart]], [[Tasmania]], has been operating since the early 19th century. Since the 1970s, Australian beers have become increasingly popular globally – with [[Foster's Lager]] being an iconic export brand. However, Fosters is not a large seller on the local market, with alternatives such as [[Victoria Bitter]] and [[Carlton Draught]] outselling the popular export. Craft beer is popular, as well as distinctive products from smaller breweries such as [[Coopers Brewery|Coopers]] and [[Little Creatures Brewery|Little Creatures]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2011/s3300391.htm |title=Changing beer habits to blame for profit decline|work=ABC News |date=23 September 2011 |access-date=9 December 2011}}</ref>

The [[Australian wine]] industry is the fifth largest exporter of wine around the world, with 760 million litres a year to a large international export market and contributes $5.5 billion per annum to the nation's economy. Australians consume over 530&nbsp;million litres annually with a per capita consumption of about 30 litres – 50% white table wine, 35% red table wine.<ref>{{cite web|title=4307.0.55.001 – Apparent Consumption of Alcohol, Australia, 2010–11|url=http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4307.0.55.001main+features52010-11|work=abs.gov.au|publisher=[[Australian Bureau of Statistics]]|access-date=20 May 2012|date=3 May 2012}}</ref> Wine is produced in every state, with more than 60 designated wine regions totalling approximately 160,000 hectares. Australia's wine regions are mainly in the southern, cooler parts of the country, in [[New South Wales]], [[South Australia]], [[Victoria, Australia|Victoria]] and [[Western Australia]]. Amongst the most famous wine districts are the [[Barossa Valley]], [[Hunter Valley]], [[Margaret River, Western Australia|Margaret River]] and [[Yarra Valley]], and among the best known wine producers are [[Lindeman's]], [[Penfolds]], [[Rosemount (wine)|Rosemount Estate]], [[Wynns Coonawarra Estate]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/wine/ |title=Australia's wine industry|website=Cultureandrecreation.gov.au |date=14 December 2007 |access-date=17 September 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110217023344/http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/wine/ |archive-date=17 February 2011}}</ref> In Australia's tropical regions, wine is produced from exotic fruits such as mango, passion fruit and lychees.<ref>{{cite web |title=Wineries & Vineyards - Cairns Australia |url=https://www.cairns-australia.com/cairns-wineries.html |website=www.cairns-australia.com |access-date=16 February 2020}}</ref>

In modern times, South Australia has also become known for its growing number of premium spirits producers, with the South Australian Spirits industry quickly emerging as a world leader with producers being recognised globally such as Seppeltsfield Road Distillers, Never Never Distilling, Adelaide Hills Distilling and many more.<ref>{{cite news |title=World Gin Awards 2020: South Australian results |url=https://citymag.indaily.com.au/habits/plate-and-cup/world-gin-awards-2020-south-australian-results/ |work=CityMag |date=1 March 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Visit South Australia - feel stimulated, relaxed, and inspired |url=https://southaustralia.com/travel-blog/the-great-south-australian-gin-guide |website=[[South Australian Tourism Commission]]|language=en |date=23 September 2020}}</ref>

[[Rum]] served as a currency during the late 18th and early 19th centuries in Australia when metallic currency was in short supply.<ref>L. Allen, The Encyclopedia of Money, 2009, p. 268</ref>

{{Gallery
| title = Beer, wine and spirits in Australia
| align = center
|Cairns Australia Beer Run.jpg|Six [[Stubby bottle|stubbies]] of different Australian beers.
|PenfoldsGrange.jpg|[[Penfolds Grange]], 1999, a premium Australian red wine
}}