A cellar door closes, a brewery opens
Cargo Brewery’s iconic 1894 church in Gibbston Valley will be closing its doors for the last time on 15 April.
This marks the start of a new chapter for the long-standing establishment as they open a new brewery at their Cargo Gantley’s site; just a wee sprint from the bottom of Coronet Peak.
Since opening in 2018 they’ve played host to an array of events including Fatboy Slim, Ben Harper and The Innocent Criminals, and Kendall Elise. They’ve also been a popular venue for functions, offer a spot of beer and wine tasting, and have served up countless divine platters.
Cargo Brewery’s owners, Malcom and Meron Blakely, started brewing beers in a garage in Arrowtown before setting up shop at the Waitiri Creek cellar door in Gibbston. They soon learnt all about the wonderful world of wine and developed the site into what we know it as today.
Rachel Pitt is the Event Manager for Cargo and says the team is excited to have a fully-fledged brewery, which is expected to open by the end of this year.
“It wasn’t a decision that was made lightly, but it just seemed like the right time,” says Rachel.
“They’ve had the Cellar Door for about six years now and with the construction starting on the new brew hall that’s going to be in Arthur’s Point behind Cargo Gantley’s, it seemed like the right time to let go of it and focus on the new hall. That’s more Cargo and who we are.”
The team are looking forward to being able to produce more of their core range as well as fresh seasonal beers – they have been a little limited with what they’re currently able to produce. The brew hall will have capacity for up to 200 people once completed and will also be used as a function space. They’d also like to offer somewhere for companies to come and brew their own beers, as an experience.
“There will be 3,600 litre tanks going in, so we’ll definitely be doing some seasonal beers, which will be going straight on the tap at Gantley’s. We’ll have a canning line there as well, so that’ll be great for us to better distribute beer whilst selling it directly from the brewery, which is awesome. I imagine we’ll stick with our core range, which is usually our IPA, Porter and Pale Ale.”
Queenstown’s beer industry and taproom scene is an ever-evolving one, and we’re very fortunate to have a wide selection of breweries on our doorstep. Cargo are excited to put themselves into the mix – expanding on their current offering from their existing venues.
“It’d be great to produce some different things and get back in line with the other breweries in and around Queenstown. It’s pretty exciting,” says Rachel.
As for the Cellar Door, the owners will be taking it back over and everyone’s excited to see what happens with the space.
