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Mac's Brewery in Stoke, the small beer maker which sparked a craft brewing revolution is to close at the end of May.
Production will be transferred to parent company Lion Nathan's plants in Christchurch and Wellington.
Terry McCashin opened the brewery in 1981, when the New Zealand beer industry was dominated by brewing giants DB and Lion. Mac's Brewery sparked a craft brewing revolution, and continued to make innovative beers after being sold to Lion Nathan in 1999.
Lion Nathan corporate affairs director Liz Read told the Nelson Mail the Main Rd Stoke brewery was closing because it was too small to keep up with the demand for Mac's beers.
Three production staff would be offered employment elsewhere in the company, and sales representatives at Stoke would be relocated to other premises in Nelson before the lease on the building expired in July 2009.
Ms Read said 93 per cent of Mac's beer was already brewed in bigger plants in Wellington, Christchurch and Auckland to meet the demand, which had increased 7 per cent annually over the past four years.
- NZPA
