Grey District Mayor Tania Gibson. Photo / supplied
Grey District Mayor Tania Gibson. Photo / supplied
Grey District Mayor Tania Gibson will ask DB Breweries to hand over the brewing and bottling plant to the people of Greymouth if it will not reverse the proposal to move the commercial operation away from the town.
On Wednesday, DB Breweries confirmed there was a proposal on the table to pull the plug on brewing their brand here, with at least seven people set to lose their jobs.
Gibson said that West Coast loyalty had made the Monteith's brand what it was.
"We need to find a solution which is best for the people of the West Coast and we will ask DB, at the very least, to hand over the brewing and bottling plant to the people of Greymouth."
Gibson said if DB did that, it would allow the community to establish a craft-brewing operation and new West Coast brand.
"By handing the operation over, that would show they [DB Breweries] cared about the community which gave them the iconic brand, which they have made a lot of money from."
West Coast-Tasman MP Damien O'Connor, said he would ask the company to reconsider.
O'Connor said yesterday he was "deeply disappointed". He fought to retain the brewery when it was last tipped for closure, 19 years ago.
"We have been here before and what DB Breweries astutely decided finally was to keep brewing the Monteith's product at its Greymouth base.
"I will be in contact with DB Breweries to ask them to reconsider, given the success of the previous decision (in 2001) to continue brewing in Greymouth."
Monteiths Brewery in Greymouth. Photo / Supplied
O'Connor said around the world, other brands continued to base themselves where they began.
"If DB moves away they are in danger of putting the Monteith's brand at risk."
DB Breweries said yesterday that the proposal was due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the need to streamline its operations in the context of ongoing uncertainty.
The transport of raw materials to Greymouth, then back off the Coast when finished, was not commercially viable, from both a cost and carbon emission point.
O'Connor said transport costs and carbon emissions could easily be offset by the value of the brand, and effective carbon emission options like rail.
"DB shouldn't take the West Coast and its heritage for granted."
West Coast-Tasman MP Damien O'Connor. Photo / File
Development West Coast regional tourism manager Jim Little, said the restaurant and tours would continue.
If the proposal goes ahead, DB Breweries will move the commercial production to other breweries in Auckland and Timaru. DB Breweries also stated that the volumes of the brand brewed in Greymouth were relatively small, and much of it was already being brewed at other sites around the country.
The company said the gastropub and brewery experience would remain open and employees who worked within the pub and brewing experience were not affected by the proposal.
