For the past eight weeks, Scotts Brewing Co has been installing equipment at a new brewery in Oamaru, after the company shifted its brew house from Auckland to North Otago.
Company owner, and Oamaru local, Phillip Scott said the new 1000sq m brewery at Oamaru Harbour was ''just about ready'' to start brewing craft and gluten-free beers.
Eight fermenters and a 2500-litre brew house has been installed at the new premises, and although development of the brewery was still in the construction phase, the company was about three weeks away from ''laying down the first brew''.
The brew house was four times the size of the company's previous Auckland operation, and was capable of producing 5000 litres of beer a day. The brewery also had the potential to increase capacity if needed, he said.
Mr Scott, who was born in Oamaru, said the North Otago location would result in reduced freight costs for the South Canterbury ingredients needed for the beer.
The brewery building, which was formerly the old railway goods yard, was also an ideal choice, he said.
''It's a pretty good building for a brew house and you can't beat the location, that's for sure. There are not too many breweries where you get to roll the doors open on to the harbour front, that's for sure.''
The company also had plans to landscape the front of the building, in addition to opening a bottle store and running tours of the brewery, which would further add to the tourism appeal of the harbour area.
''I think this will be an asset for locals and tourism alike, just by offering something and adding to what is an interactive part of the area.
''We're definitely looking forward to getting the doors open and bringing in some beer to town.''
