MEET Lithgow’s newest tourist attraction — the old Zig Zag Brewery at Oakey Park.
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Recently the owners, the Schindler family, returned to the site’s traditional role with a boutique brewing project that is already proving popular.
And at the weekend came the next stage of this contribution to the tourist industry — heritage brewery tours.
It was kept somewhat low key for a first time effort but still around 150 people, mostly from outside the Lithgow district, turned up.
The old brewery dates back to the 1880s and with much of the old brewing facility remaining inside the heritage listed building the visitors found it all fascinating — particularly with the obvious prospect of encountering ghosts in the murky bowels of the place.
Director Adrian Schindler conducted the tours and explained the history of the brewery including its present day role in bottling spring water.
Then there was the opportunity to sample the new boutique beers in the tasting room.
It was an encouraging start to the tourism role (although tour groups from overseas have visited in the past).
The Zig Zag Brewery is remembered for much of its life as Terrys Brewery.
Later the spring water formed the basic ingredient for soft drink manufacture marketed as Dale’s Brewed Beverages. The brewery was also the ‘set’ for a movie ‘The Coca Cola Kid’.
Since the Schindler family discovered the disused brewery it has had a new lease of life as the Lithgow Valley Springs.
The next tour day will be this Saturday from 10am to 3pm.