There will soon be much less local beer at Mangatainoka.

Tui has been brewed on the banks of the Mangatainoka River since 1889 but by next week much less of it will be.

The brewery at the iconic Tui Tower in the Tararua settlement is being replaced by a much smaller one and the last bottle will roll off the old line at midday on Friday.

DB had announced last August 24 jobs would be lost in the downsizing of the brewery.

David Unwin/ Fairfax NZ The iconic Tui Tower.

DB spokeswoman Amber McEwen said since then three workers had already left and two had taken on new roles managing the new boutique brewery.

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DAVID UNWIN / FAIRFAX NZ Tui's production line of bottles will cease on Friday.

Friday is also the last day for 14 of the affected workers. Five others will stay on until later in the year to decommission the old production line.

E tu Union organiser Ruth Sproston said the news of the brewery's closure came as a shock to long-time brewery workers, some of whom had worked at the iconic site for more than 40 years.

"It is the end of an era. They're a great bunch of guys and this is like the break-up of a family. But it's the way of the world."

The Small Town, Big Sounds concert at the Mangatainoka Tui brewery attracted a big crowd in 2010. The brewery is downscaling but DB plans to develop the tourism experience at Mangatainoka.

McEwen said the bulk of production would be split between Auckland and Timaru, but some would still be produced in Mangatainoka.

"The new brewery will produce a range of six innovative Tui brews available for trial on site, as well as servicing the region with special locally-made Tui products."

McEwen said DB was focusing on "enhancing the current Tui HQ experience" to bring more tourists into the area.

Supplied The bottling production line at the Tui Brewery in Managatainoka. The last beer will be bottled on Friday before its decomissioning and replacement with a small "boutique" brewery.

The refocus is being coupled with earthquake-strengthening of the Tui Tower and DB is spending $4 million to $5m on the redevelopment.

"We are redeveloping the Tui Brewery ... to make it more fit-for-purpose and safeguard it for generations to come."

David Evans hasn't worked at the brewery for 15 years, but both his son-in-law and nephew were among the redundancies.

It was a real shame production was stepping back at the iconic brewery – both workers and management had been like family there, he said.

Evans said, on the other hand, he didn't think much of the replacement brewery.

"It's just so they can still say they brew Tui in Mangatainoka. It's only a two-man operation, a glorified coffee-maker."

Tararua mayor Roly Ellis said the downsizing was a blow to the community.

"It's always a concern when any business in Tararua has redundancies, but we've had ones with larger numbers and we always bounce back."

The Tararua District Council will be working with DB, and the union, to assist the affected workers find new jobs.

Ellis said he would be in touch with the Tararua Business Network office and Work and Income about smoothing their path back into employment.

"We hope there's local jobs available for them [and we'll] make sure the people affected can get any help they need."

Sproston said the union was satisfied with how DB had handled the redundancies.

"The consultation was all done properly, and they were kept up to date with what they needed to know."

When Evans started in 1980, the brewery employed 155 people. After Friday that will be down to just 15.

Evans and a group of Tui workers, past and present, planned to be there for the last bottle filled.

"We'll go out there, put on the gear, and go through as a tour. And, after a bit of [complaining] from the boys, the brewery has agreed to shout some beers for afterwards."