Social restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic have done anything but drain Goulburn's Tribe Breweries.
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The Ducks Lane business sells a lot of its products by placing them for purchase in pubs and restaurants.
But with the hospitality sector having been in lockdown conditions for weeks, lower sales have meant the loss of "a decent amount of volume that we had a hard time replacing," said chief executive Anton Szpitalak.
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"Our through-put is way down on what we had expected it to be, [all while] we're trying to win key relationships and distribution [as well as] capture the attention of buyers dealing with their own dramas."
But his sales recovery hopes have been topped up by the commitment of the local brewing team, who have been "super supportive and super flexible. We're really happy with the way the team has performed."
This included the production of Tribe Breweries' latest release, a "crisp lager" with all-Australian ingredients, named in honour of the Ducks Lane address. "It's made in your community, by your community," he said.
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"Most of our [workers] are from Goulburn. It just didn't feel right not to have a brand in our portfolio to reflect that.
"We make a lot of beers up and down the spectrum of flavours and styles, [so] we talked to people, our staff and brewers, and agreed on a mid strength beer, made with [Australian] ingredients."
He also praised the uptake of products by two local bottle shop chains that had "offered great support by way of a national program. Having national distribution from day one, that's the fantasy. We've been fortunate."
Despite the current challenges, Tribe Breweries had been "hiring like crazy, so anyone looking for an interesting career in the brewing game, watch us, watch for our ads, and apply," Mr Szpitalak said.
"We prefer to take people from the local community, offering training programs starting at a base level and developing into skilled technicians."
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Mr Szpitalak said the company would take advantage of any government support programs to ensure the workforce would remain "fully engaged and trained".
Hume MP Angus Taylor is due to tour the brewery on Friday May 1.
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