Fosters was founded in Melbourne in 1888 by two American brothers William and Ralph Foster of New York, who happened to own a refrigeration plant. Cooling was necessary to brew and store acceptable lagers in Australia’s hot climate, unlike the English-style dark ales commonly brewed at the time. They sold the brewery the following year and returned to the United States. Foster’s Lager is now an internationally distributed brand of lager. It is owned by the international brewing group AB InBev, and is brewed under licence in a number of countries, including its biggest market, the UK, where the European rights to the brand are owned by Heineken International.