Note: This is a work in progress and will have additional content added both in the Map (i.e. venue images) or in the body of this post (i.e. a list of the venues in questioned, grouped by status etc).
Feel free to comment, give suggestions etc – this was put together as part of thebigcity’s on-going Venues archive.
Current Status: Running as a bar and restaurant with Blue Smoke next door
Active as a live music venue: 2011 – 2015
Bar Manager: –
Bookings: –
Website: –
Capacity: –
All-Ages: Occasionally
Now a restaurant and bar and originally constructed as a craft brewery, the Brewery functioned as a live music venue at a time when there were few operating in Christchurch – immediately after the February 2011 earthquakes.
A large, narrow venue with good food and a fair amount of outside seating, the Brewery has also been a popular spot for regular quiz nights and other events.
There wasn’t any stage to speak off, just an area near the Western entrance to the venue with a small PA and a mixing desk near by. As a result (and the fact the venue functioned mostly as a restaurant), shows were fairly sedate and low-key.
Mikey Summerfield playing a solo set at the Brewery
With Blue Smoke replacing Gustav’s next door in 2015, it appears that the Brewery no longer operates as a live music venue.
History
1874: Building constructed as part of the Woolston tannery complex.
1994: Alasdair Cassel purchases tannery site.
2009: Alasdair Cassel opens the Cassel and Sons Brewery as part of his new retail complex on the old Tannery site, brewing beer and distributing to local outlets.
2010/11: After the Canterbury Earthquakes, the Brewery re-opens as a venue.
2013: Gustav’s Kitchen and Wine Bar re-opens as a new venue within the Tannery site.
2015: Gustav’s becomes Blue Smoke, now a bar and live music venue, The Brewery no longer seems to be a live venue.