Otago Polytechnic celebrates opening of Central brewery and trades facility

Otago Polytechnic celebrated the opening of its new craft brewery and trades building at its Central Otago Campus on Saturday 1 December.

Rough Rock Brewing Company is part of a $3 million redevelopment of Otago Polytechnic’s Bannockburn site, including a new trades block that will also house carpentry and automotive facilities.

Students will start using the new facilities in early 2019.

The new trades and brewery building is the second stage of a two-stage, $3 million project at Central Campus. A $1.5 million student accommodation complex opened earlier this year.

The Central Otago Campus open day on Saturday also featured the auction of a three-bedroom house. Built by Central Otago carpentry students, the house fetched $178,000. A small shed was also auctioned for $8100, the profit from the shed supporting an Otago Polytechnic engineering project in Vanuatu.

“The open day was hugely successful,” Alex Huffadine, Head of Otago Polytechnic’s Central Otago Campus, says.

“It was a celebration of not only the official opening of phase one of our new campus development and our new brewing facility, Rough Rock Brewing Co, but it was also the first time we have really showcased all that we offer to the local community.

“One of our key objectives moving forward is to work closer with the local community. We intend to be more than just a tertiary education provider. We also plan to tap into the edu-tourism market while at the same cementing Central Campus as a community facility.”

Read the Otago Daily Times article