Popular brewery to close for rebuild after devastating fire

Matakana's Sawmill Brewery and Smoko Room was badly damaged by a fire earlier this week. Photo / Supplied

Bethany Reitsma

The owners of a Matakana brewery badly damaged by a fire earlier this week say they're going to have to close their doors until a rebuild can be completed.

Fire and emergency crews were called to the Sawmill Brewery and Smoko Room north of Auckland just before 11pm on Monday to fight the fire that started in the building and spread to the office and the roof.

Crews came from five different fire stations throughout Auckland to combat the fire, which took about two hours to put out.

Northern fire and emergency communications shift manager Peter Stevenson said a fire investigation team was still looking into the cause of the fire and would not report back for a few days.

A police communications spokesperson said police were not currently investigating the fire, which according to owners Kirsty McKay and Mike Sutherland was not due to an electrical fault.

"We have a hardworking and resilient team around us who will all be working together to make a plan from here," Sutherland said.

"Obviously this is absolutely gutting for us as a business but we will recover and come out stronger for it."

McKay said that since most of the company's produced beer was stored off site, continuing to service customers would be a top priority.

"[We] have always run our business from the perspective of being independent, resourceful and real. This really gets put to the test in a situation like this."

The brewery is an independent local business established in 2004, which moved from its original site in Leigh to Matakana in 2016. The Smoko Room opened its doors in July 2016, offering a seasonal menu, beers on tap, and organic wines.

The brewery aims to have zero waste and has been using solar energy for 11 years. It was also the first craft brewery in New Zealand to can beer.

The brewery would not be operating until further notice.