Japanese beer giant Asahi has scooped up its second Australian boutique brewer in as many years buying Melbourne-based brewer Mountain Goat.

The multinational beverage company's purchase of Mountain Goat, launched in 1997, continues the consolidation that has swept through the craft beer sector.

Cam Hines (left) and Dave Bonighton, of Mountain Goat Brewery in Richmond, Melbourne, have sold their business to Asahi. Credit:Thom Rigney

It comes after Asahi bought the Cricketers Arms brand, which it produces at a microbrewery at Laverton in Melbourne's west, in April 2013.

Cam Hines and David Bonighton founded Mountain Goat after "cranking out" home brews in Mr Bonighton's backyard in the early 1990s.