Stockade Brewco CEO Anton Szpitalak has billed it as the biggest independent craft brewery in Australia. 

Plans are also afoot to incorporate a tap room or restaurant at the front of the building on the corner of Ducks Lane and Hume Street.

Preliminary work has been underway for several months, converting the former Coles Myer Distribution Centre at South Goulburn for the Stockade Brewery.

Company CEO Anton Szpitalak said “things were on the march.”

Contractors, including Divalls Earthmoving, have been undertaking civil works and others have been laying pipes to connect utilities.

The company won approval for the brewery, to be located on the corner of Ducks lane and Hume Street, in April, 2014. But over the past few years it has been concentrating on other aspects of the business in Sydney.

Stockade Brewco has a brewery at Smeaton Grange and will next month open another at Marrickville, complete with manufacturing area, tasting room and area for master classes.

It’s a concept Mr Szpitalak wants to introduce at Goulburn.

“We want it to be a high level experience where people can come in and have an interesting time, connect and learn about the beer. That’s what we always envisioned,” he said.

“It could be a restaurant, it could be a (food) take-away. It will be some kind of hospitality area. We don’t have a concept or plan but are working on one now.” 

The same in-house team that developed the 750 square Marrickville Brewery will be used on the Goulburn project. 

The approval allows Stockade to brew up to 30 million litres of beer annually. In 2014 infrastructure was valued at $2 million but the investment was worth $15 million.

 Mr Szpitalak could not say whether this was still the case but told The Post he wanted to grow the brewery to the opportunity presented.

“It has the potential to be an enormous beverage manufacturing facility,” he said.

“If people get on board, we could employ a couple hundred people up there.”

The operation will brew the company’s trademark Stockade brand, including a wide range of craft beers soft drinks, ciders and RTDs (Ready to Drink).

The council has granted the company a special industrial water use rate. In 2014 Stockade Brewco estimated it would use 100 megalitres annually.

Mr Szpitalak said the operation would be up and running by September or October.

Council general manager Warwick Bennett told Tuesday’s meeting that the development, which he understood from a meeting with the company, was a 70 to 200-seat restaurant.

“That will create a few traffic issues,” he said.

The council has proposed a host of traffic measures at south Goulburn to solve congestion. They include staged traffic lights at the Ducks Lane to Sowerby Street section of Hume Street.

Mr Bennett said the state government had been “brilliant” in terms of its business incentives policy. He told The Post the council would apply to its Regional Economic Infrastructure Improvement Fund.

“We have a really great opportunity to get the State to do a lot of the infrastructure required there. We hope they pay the majority of it. The government, through the Department of Premier and Cabinet, have been giving us really positive signals,” he said.

“We want to bring in the Sowerby Street, Lockyer Street to Finlay Rd connection into one project.”

Mr Bennett and Mayor Bob Kirk met with the Department in Sydney on Thursday during a series of meetings aimed at enhancing development opportunities. 

Mr Szpitalak said he was undertaking his project in consultation with the Roads and Maritime Service.

“(But) from a high level perspective the council is doing the right thing in laying down infrastructure for Goulburn,” he said.

“As long as they on that trajectory, we’re supportive of that. In Goulburn I think the council is very well aligned with the infrastructure needs, which ultimately will be of benefit to the whole community.”