One brand saved, another falls

Brothers Beer saved from liquidation; Whistling Sisters brewing operation ceases. Townshend pause crowdfunding. Duff Beer chronicles. American beer's "five-alarm fire". Climate change impact on hops.

Friday the 13th beer friends … and while there’s a few frights for the beer industry contained in this dispatch, there’s no jump-scares!

On the upside, Brothers Beer has avoided liquidation after shareholders agreed to inject more than $1 million into the business to keep it afloat and some creditors agreed to wear losses.

The pub and restaurant side of the business has been reduced from seven venues to just two in order to keep the production side of the business running. This includes the closure of the original City Works Depot site, which was a mecca for Auckland beer fans when it opened.

The final administrators report, released this week by PwC’s Stephen White and John Fisk, said the best outcome was for Brothers Beer to continue trading “in a business-as-usual manner, albeit on a scaled-down basis”.

Brothers Beer Ltd (BBL) and Brothers Wholesale Ltd (BWL) — which operated several pubs, a brewery and wholesale distribution business — entered voluntary administration in early August, along with the ultimate shareholding entity, Brothers Beer Holdings Ltd (BBHL).

The administrators report said: “Non-performing hospitality sites located at City Works Depot, Commercial Bay, Onehunga and Birkenhead were closed with immediate effect. The staff at these locations were redeployed where possible, but some redundancies were required.”

The administrators have kept two locations trading, the main Mount Eden brewpub, and the Piha pub/restaurant.

The assets at the Birkenhead site were sold to a new tenant of the landlord. The assets at the Orakei site are subject to a sale and purchase agreement, and the assets at the Onehunga site remain where they are with the agreement of the landlord.

All other assets that were surplus to requirement were relocated to a central location pending a public auction and tender process. At the date of the report, the auction has ended, but the tender process relating to certain specialised brewing equipment, remains active.

The Brothers Group owed creditors a combined $5m.

Before going into administration, Brothers had tried to sell the venues but the administrators noted there wasn’t enough interest.

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Whistling Sisters closes brewery

On the downside, Wellington brewpub Whistling Sisters is closing its brewery business but the restaurant & bar at 100 Taranaki Street will remain open.

The brewery and restaurant/bar operated as separate businesses. In a Facebook comment, Whistling Sisters assistant brewer Logan King said DB’s purchase of the Star Hospitality Group, which included numerous Wellington bars and restaurants had an impact on the business as formerly independent bars that were part of the Kapura Group had now switched to DB taps. He estimated it cost Whistling Sisters 5-7 keg sales per week, but added it was “just one straw” in the current tough market conditions.

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But on the upside … Sebastian Burke and his wife Jacinda of Burkes Brewing have bought the Ministry of Works Bar in Twizel. They now have two venues in the area as they own the Blue Lake Bar & Eatery in Tekapo.

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And a reminder that apart from an election tomorrow, there’s also a beer festival: The Brewers Festival at Brewtown in Upper Hutt.

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Beer of the week No 1

I don’t know if it’s me noticing this, or if it’s actually happening, but more brewers seem to be using Amarillo hops. And I’m here for it. In Bach Brewing’s Malibru California IPA, the combo of Amarillo, El Dorado, Idaho 7 and Mosaic Cryo delivers a comprehensive wave of flavours with orange zest, tropicals, pine and savoury-dank notes. It’s incredibly pale and finishes super-dry (which I like a lot) but there’s plenty of hop oils and perceived sweetness levels to carry everything along. It was a great beer to have on the first almost-warm day of spring in the 09.

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Townshend pauses equity raise

Motueka’s Townshend Brewery has paused its crowdfunding campaign with Equitise.

After taking expressions of interest, Townshend delivered a cryptic but upbeat message.