 The Ballarat Brewing Company beer division was bought out by Carlton & United Beverages (or Carlton & United Breweries as it was known at the time, commonly abbreviated to 'CUB') in 1989, and the Ballarat bottling operations subsequently closed.The Ballarat Brewing Company itself, board of directors and ownership of 160 pubs across Victoria continued until taken over by Foster's Group in 1997 with its buyout of remaining shares.In December 2006, following a request by the crew of the "Anzac" class frigate HMAS "Ballarat" (which uses the caricature of "Ballarat Bertie" from the label as a mascot) to Catherine King, the Member of Parliament representing the Division of Ballarat, Foster's Group (CUB's parent company) created a limited run of the beer.