Zeelandt Brewery in Hawke's Bay before Cyclone Gabrielle hit. Photo: RNZ / Denise Garland
An Eskdale brewer who lost everything in Cyclone Gabrielle has made a new beer to raise money for the community.
Zeelandt Brewery director and head brewer Chris Barber and his young family broke through the ceiling of their Esk Valley home, escaping into the roof cavity as flood waters rose.
They were rescued by boat, but their house, brewery, garden bar and family vineyard were destroyed.
Barber said the way the community rallied around them in the aftermath was astonishing.
"In the days following, as the water retreated more, we'd go back and see if there was anything to be recovered, and then people just appeared out of nowhere with a spade or a digger and just said, 'How can we help?'"
Through a contract brewer in Auckland, with everything from barley to kegs to labels donated by their suppliers, they created a beer called Back on the Horse.
He said all proceeds, after excise tax and freight, would go to Bay View Volunteer Fire Brigade, Lowe Corporation Rescue Helicopter and Bay View Community Charitable Trust.
The restaurant at Zeelandt brewery had only been open for 14 months. Photo: RNZ / Phil Pennington
The beer - available in kegs and cans - is a New Zealand IPA, with the name inspired by the small wooden horse which remained standing on their property after the floodwaters receded.
Barber's father Les built the horse in the vege garden for his two young grandchildren to play on, and for the family it was a sign that the only way to move on was to get back on the horse.
The beer would be available from the brewery website, The Bottle O in Onekawa and the Invisible Agency in Wellington, towards the end of April.
Barber said the family wasn't looking to rebuild in the valley.
"It's just a right mess, and it's such a big clean-up. We're waiting for insurance to confirm whether buildings are getting demolished or not."
The vineyard next door, run by his brother, was "such a mess - silt and vines and wire and posts and rubbish... nobody even knows where to start or what to do".
"We want to rebuild, but not in the valley. What was there, I don't think we can replicate again," he said.
"Plus we're not sure what the council is going to allow us to do, or the government, so we're hoping to rebuild in the community somewhere else."
