Zeelandt Brewery founders Christopher and Luciana Barber have called ‘time’ on their craft brewery and restaurant 12 months after Cyclone Gabrielle destroyed their Hawke’s Bay home and businesses.

Christopher Barber says the past year has been very difficult. “We lost everything in the cyclone and have tried so many ways to keep our beer business and restaurant going. We’re grateful for the support of the craft brewing community, but in the end trying to find suitable new premises and the cost of setting up again was just too big a mountain to climb, at the same time as trying to find a new place of our own to call home.

“We have made the incredibly tough decision to close the businesses, after an exhausting 12 months,” he says. “We’re sad of course, as Zeelandt and Cone & Flower were the realisation of a dream, but we’re on a different path now.”

The Barbers started Zeelandt in 2012, brewing European beer with a strong influence from German styles. Christopher Barber was head brewer while Luciana Barber looked after marketing for Zeelandt and Cone & Flower (the restaurant and garden bar they opened in 2021), as well as lending her food technology background to manage inventory, food safety and labelling.

After the cyclone in 2023, the Barbers were inundated with offers of help and worked quickly with the help of suppliers to raise money for their local affected community.

 Zeelandt is now looking to sell through all its remaining stock:

• Four Stroke: 330mL / 440mL can and keg

• Jerry Rig: 330mL / 440mL can and keg

• Good Thief: 330mL / 440mL can and keg

• Guv’nor – Extra Pale Ale: 440mL can and keg

• Revelry – Oktoberfest: 440mL can and keg

• Brunhilde’s Fate – Rauchbier: 440mL can and keg

• Black Monk – Schwarzbier: keg

Trade customers can purchase via the usual channels (The Bottle O Onekawa, Invisible Agency, and Zeelandt Brewery direct). Retail customers can purchase via the website where branded beer glasses recovered from the flood are also available.

Luciana Barber says the announcement is a positive step for her family. “We have really tried to make it work. We are so grateful to everyone that has supported us: friends and strangers, as well as our suppliers and the brewing community, including the Brewers Guild, and everyone that has worked with us over the years,” she says.

Luciana Barber has returned to a part-time role at Wattie’s, and Christopher is exploring a career in conservation. Their new home is being built on the hills of Eskdale.