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Charles Glass

Brewer and founder

By South African Index Editorial Desk · Published · Updated · Last reviewed

Castle Lager sign used as a representative image for Charles Glass
A Castle Lager sign represents Charles Glass’s brewing legacy. It is not a portrait of Glass.: Ossewa / Wikimedia Commons · Source · CC BY 4.0; cropped and resized. Resized and converted to WebP for this site.

SAB credits Charles Glass with brewing Castle Lager and founding the company in 1895. [1]

Biography

AB InBev’s heritage record dates the opening of Glass’s Castle Brewery to 1892. [4]

SAB uses 1895 for the founding of the company that became South African Breweries. [1]

The first head office operated from Castle Brewery. [2]

The later global group retained Castle Lager as a major South African brand. [2][3]

Key contributions

Glass supplied the brewery, flagship lager and founding identity of SAB. [1][2]

Life and career timeline

  1. AB InBev dates the Castle Brewery opening to this year. [4]

  2. SAB credits Glass with brewing Castle Lager and founding the company. [1]

  3. Castle Brewery expanded as SAB developed. [1]

Frequently asked questions

Did Charles Glass found SAB?

SAB credits him with founding the business in 1895. [1]

Why is 1892 relevant?

AB InBev dates the Castle Brewery opening to that year. [4]

Is the profile image a portrait?

No. It is an explicitly labelled representative Castle Lager image. [5]

Related people

  • Graham Mackay — South African executive who led SAB’s transformation into the international brewer SABMiller.
  • Richard Rivett-Carnac — Chief executive and business-unit president of South African Breweries.

Related institutions and movements

  • SABMiller — Former international brewer created from SAB’s expansion and the 2002 Miller transaction, acquired by AB InBev in 2016.

Associated organisations

Related research

Sources

  1. South African Breweries, Explore our innovations over the last 130 years. Original source. Accessed 2026-11-07. ↩
  2. SABMiller plc, Annual Report 2016, 2016-06-01. Original source. Accessed 2026-11-07. ↩
  3. Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, Form 20-F for the year ended 31 December 2025, 2026-03-03. Original source. Accessed 2026-11-07. ↩
  4. Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, Our heritage. Original source. Accessed 2026-11-07. ↩
  5. Ossewa / Wikimedia Commons, Castle Lager, 2003-09-27. Original source. Accessed 2026-11-07. ↩