Another Brewery for New Guinea

New Guinea

r[E brewery recently planned for Lae, New Guinea, by a company of which Messrs. R. F. Bunting, Lee Ashton and Meyer are prominent members, is now under construction.

A group of buildings is taking shape in the waterfront area, behind the Vacuum Oil Company’s establishment, and some people expect that the brewery actually will be in operation by the end of 1957. The administration already has provided suitable roads of access.

The problem of water-supply is being solved by the construction of a series of very large water-tanks, to take the run-off from the extensive roof area of the brewery buildings. Lae has a dependable rainfall of about 160 inches per annum, spread over most of the months.

The coming of the brewery seems to have precipitated a kind of war in empty bottles. Until recent times, in most Territory towns, empty bottles accumulated in vast heaps—it was not economic to send them away, and no one wanted them.

Now, in Lae, they are not only being gathered up—some interested parties actually are buying them. It is not clear whether the bottles are being sought by the brewery, or by the existing aerated water factory, or by a new aerated water factory that is being organised by Chinese interests. Anyway, bottles are in active demand.

Observers expect to see some lively competition in beer distri bution, very soon. This always has been a good market for certain Australian beers; the South Pacific Brewery, established in Port Moresby after World War 11, now enjoys a wide and profitable demand for its products; and it is unlikely that they will admit the newcomer to their domain without resistance.

Much may depend on the quality of the brew. The original South Pacific brewer, Mr. Meyer, is the man in charge of the new enter prise. Flats for the accommoda tion of Mr. Meyer, and his assistant, Mr. Neimann, already have been

constructed near the site of the new brewery.

A block containing offices, bath rooms, visitors’ room, chemical store room, laboratory and employees’ recreation room has been erected, and the stumps are in for the 160 ft. x 60 ft. main building.

When completed, the plan includes garage, workshops and storage room and the three rain water tanks. The catchment area of 20,000 square feet will give 1,000,000 gallons of water a year on Lae’s average rainfall. A well will supply water for the ice-plant.

The main building will house a fully automatic plant capable of filling 300 dozen bottles an hour.

Plant, most of which is to be imported from England and Germany, at a cost of over £50,000. will include mash filters, fermenting tanks and lager tanks.

It takes approximately 2 gallons of water to make one gallon of beer, and with 1-million gallons of rain water at its disposal the com pany should be able to produce half

a million gallons of beer a y’ is anticipated, however, 250,000 gallons will be pi initially.