Award-winning Christchurch brewery flourishing in new location

The multi-award-winning Three Boys Brewery is once again brewing full steam ahead following a move to prime new premises in the thriving Christchurch suburb of Woolston.

The renowned micro-brewery, one of Christchurch’s best-known and well-loved small businesses, is now forging ahead with production at premises transformed from an old warehouse by construction company Amalgamated Builders.

The boutique brewery’s decision to move came after their previous lease expired and the original premise sustained damage to the concrete floor during the February 2011 quake.

Three Boys Brewery owner Ralph Bungard said while it had been “business as usual” since the quake, the damage meant they had struggled to keep up with demand and needed to find a new home.

“We didn’t have the space we needed to fully operate or develop new processes and beer styles,” Mr Bungard said.

“One day I was driving around and saw the Woolston building. It’s solidly built and in a great spot and I knew it would work well as a brewery with some tweaks. Breweries need very specific things, such as specialist flooring with suitable reinforcement and draining.”

Mr Bungard said the new building enabled them to be fully operational again and meet increasing demand for their boutique beers.

“We worked closely with the landlord and Amalgamated Builders to make sure the building was safe and fit for purpose. The project team were fantastic in ensuring the brewery was designed exactly as we needed it to be and within a really short time frame. This great new premise has allowed us to remove bottlenecks in our production systems as well as install a purpose-built floor and specialist chiller units,” he said.

“Our working environment is also a lot safer now as the building is reinforced to current earthquake seismic standards.”

ABL’s Christchurch Manager Peter Corkery said the old 812sqm warehouse was initially “a little tired looking” and needed specialist work to convert it into a fully-functioning brewery.

“In just 20 weeks we removed the existing floor and installed a purpose-built concrete one, especially for brewery use, which was finished with epoxy surface-protection and sufficient drainage,” Mr Corkery said.
“We also constructed a new façade to give the outside a ‘lift’ and built in offices, bathrooms and a reception area with a spectacular mezzanine area overlooking the brewery production area.”

Mr Bungard said that things in Christchurch were becoming “very strong” again and more and more businesses were starting to operate as normal.

“Areas like Woolston used to be thriving parts of the city and the earthquake has given places like this a chance to become re-established” he said.

“There are some previously neglected areas seeing resurgence post-quake. It’s very much being driven by local business, which is great.”