Last month the Nota reported the project had been put on hold due to the decline of financial backers BankWest.

Brewery Australia Developments has been handling the development application process with Great Lakes Council, and now it’s up to the Downunder Brewery Resorts Limited to attract investors.

“Brewery Australia Developments as a developer has moved on,” explained Bill Utterson from Down Under Brewery Resorts Limited.

So in an attempt to kick start the project Down Under Brewery Resorts Limited is calling on small scale investors to get behind the concept.

“You can now be part of the future of the beautiful NSW Great Lakes region and the first brewery resort in Australia,” reads a press release issued last week by Mr Utterson.

On its website the ASSOB says it is ‘Australia’s largest unlisted securities platform that showcases investment opportunities in high growth unlisted companies’.

But the ASSOB has been experiencing its own problems in the face of the global financial crisis with a dramatic restructure recently after about 70 per cent of its revenue evaporated.

But Mr Utterson is not concerned.

“In the current market banks are more reluctant to lend funds so we have to first try and raise some.”

He is keen to get the brewery side of the development going first. A development application for the brewery has already been approved by Great Lakes Council.

Downunder Brewery Resorts Limited is the major shareholder in Outback Brewery Pty Ltd which brews beer for domestic and international markets, exporting to Japan, Taiwan and Singapore.

The plan is to centralise brewing operations at Bulahdelah.

“The new brewery will increase the company’s brewing capacity and allow the award-winning Outback beer to be sold at a more competitive price,” Down Under Brewery Resorts CEO William Watson said.

The concept is for the brewery to be open to the public with cellar door tasting and sales, tours and a restaurant and courtyard with a capacity for 1800 guests.

“Tourists will be able to observe all phases of beer production and indulge in a delicious meal all in a stunning golf course setting,” Mr Watson said, referring to the brewery’s location right near the Bulahdelah Golf Course at the foot of Alum Mountain.

Grand plans for the site include a second phase comprising conference facilities, restaurants, 206 hotel suites, 105 serviced apartments, a chapel and ancillary and recreational facilities.