MEDIA RELEASE
15TH MARCH 2011
HOME OF MONTEITH’S GETS MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR MAKE-OVER BRINGING
GREATER EMPLOYMENT TO THE COAST
The home of Monteith’s is to get a multi-million dollar make-over befitting the iconic West Coast brewery’s
long-standing reputation for producing award-winning beer and cider.
The redevelopment of the 143-year-old brewery will firmly stamp Greymouth on the New Zealand and world tourism maps and
offer a visitor experience that fully reflects the heritage and personality that is unique to the West Coast and
Monteith’s.
Currently 16,500 people visit the Greymouth brewery each year but Monteith’s Brewery manager, Tony Mercer expects that
figure to rise to 40,000 by 2014.
The redevelopment is expected to be complete by February 2012.
“Our intention is to create an experience that does the original home of Monteith’s justice,” says Mercer. “The current
site has been untouched for many years yet the popularity of Monteith’s, and interest in its origins, continues to grow.
Our vision is to bring current consumer expectations into line with a more modern offering. That includes creating a
great Kiwi food experience, enhanced tour and merchandise shop and of course, great beer.”
The redeveloped brewery will ultimately employ more staff than it currently does and operate seven days a week offering
tours, merchandise and a cafe experience.
Mercer says existing staff have been informed of the redevelopment plans and the new roles that will be created. “We
currently employ nine full and part-time staff but after the redevelopment we hope to increase this to 13 full and
part-time jobs.”
Mercer has also shared Monteith’s plans with Greymouth District Council mayor, Tony Kokshoorn, who says the
redevelopment will be extremely positive for the West Coast.
“I’m delighted Monteith’s is investing in the West Coast and creating more jobs as a result. The redevelopment has the
potential to have a significant impact on visitor numbers to the area which will be hugely positive for tourism
operators through to retail stores.”
Mercer says he and his team are working on ways to encourage visitors to Greymouth to stay longer and experience as much
as possible.
“We hope to develop a Beer Trail around Greymouth with visitors and locals encouraged to get a Greymouth passport and collect ‘stamps’ at bars around
town including the brewery over a few days. Currently, visitors do the ‘Rock Hop Route’ from Nelson to Greymouth then
onto Franz Joseph in two days. We want to encourage visitors to stay more than just overnight and spend more money in
the town. We’re confident our redevelopment plans, and proposed work with community stakeholders, will deliver financial
benefits for everyone on the West Coast.”
News of the redevelopment has been warmly welcomed by Matt Ewen, general manager Tourism West Coast.
“The West Coast is New Zealand’s fifth biggest tourism area but like many areas it has suffered with falls in visitor
numbers due to the recession. Fortunately visitor numbers are slowly starting to grow again and developments such as
this by Monteith’s will play a huge role in ensuring that growth continues. The Monteith’s brewery has long been
regarded as an iconic visitor experience on the coast and its redevelopment will further cement its reputation while
providing additional revenue for the region overall.”
The first stage of the redevelopment will commence in July with the decommissioning of the existing brewing equipment
which will be replaced with modern, more energy and water efficient technology. The tasting room and merchandise shop
will remain open while the brewery is rebuilt.
The final offering will provide Monteith’s greater flexibility in terms of brewing production including the ability to
create innovative beer styles in a range of bottle sizes and packs.
Production of the Monteith’s range, including cider, will move to sister brewery, Mainland Brewery, near Timaru in July
until the new brewery is up and running. The goal is to use the redeveloped Monteith’s as an innovation and development
centre where brewers can create and test new brews and beer styles.
“The short-term shifting of all Monteith’s beer and cider will eventually allow us to create some really interesting
beers here in Greymouth,” explains Mercer. “As has long been the case, some Monteith’s is brewed at our sister breweries
but our core innovation will always come from the West Coast.”
The site will be redeveloped by Monteith’s and Mawhera Incorporation but remain in the ownership of Mawhera
Incorporation.
John Wheelans of Mawhera says the Incorporation has enjoyed a long and successful relationship with the Monteith’s site
and it looks forward to working with the Monteith’s team during and beyond the redevelopment.
Monteith’s intends to keep the community fully informed of all stages of the redevelopment including onsite displays of
the redevelopment, advertisements in the local newspapers and printed material for tourism outlets.
Monteith’s is also interested in preserving key historical artefacts and is encouraging members of the community to drop
off any items that are Monteith’s related which they no longer want or need. Anyone donating items for possible use in
the brewery tour experience will receive a merchandising voucher if they are used in the new museum.
ENDS
Backgrounder
The Greymouth brewery dates back to 1868 when the original Monteith’s family-owned Phoenix Brewery was founded. Soon
after the West Coast brewery became well known for its strong tasting, full-bodied ales. The Phoenix Brewery later
merged with a group of small breweries to form Westland Brewing Company which later became Monteith’s Brewing Company.
Like their predecessors, Monteith’s brewers continue to nurture brews by hand in small batches to create quality craft
beer experiences.