Speight's is a brewery located in Dunedin, New Zealand. The brewery is owned by the Japanese-controlled holding company

Lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

. It is best known for its Gold Medal Ale, one of the best-selling beers in New Zealand. The brewery also gave rise to a chain of ''Speight's Ale House'' gastropubs across the country.

History

The brewery was established on Rattray Street,

Central Dunedin Central Dunedin is the central suburb and business district of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. Geography Dunedin was founded by Scotland, Scottish pioneers in 1848; as a result, many of the city's streets are named for equivalent streets in ...

in 1876 by James Speight, Charles Greenslade and William Dawson after they had left their positions at ''Wellpark Brewery'' (known today as the

Tennent Caledonian Tennent Caledonian is a brewery based in Glasgow, Scotland. The Wellpark Brewery is situated in the city's East End, between the Townhead and Dennistoun districts along Duke Street. It was founded in 1740 on the bank of the Molendinar Burn ...

). In 1880, Speight's won a gold medal at the

Melbourne International Exhibition The Melbourne International Exhibition is the eighth World's fair officially recognised by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) and the first official World's Fair in the Southern Hemisphere. Preparations After being granted self-go ...

, giving rise to the ''Speight's Gold Medal Ale'' brand. By 1887 it had become the largest brewery in New Zealand, and had expanded to a sufficient size that it exported beer to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and the

Pacific Islands Collectively called the Pacific Islands, the islands in the Pacific Ocean are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of se ...

. In 1923, Speight's merged with nine other breweries to form

New Zealand Breweries Beer is the most popular alcoholic drink in New Zealand, accounting for 63% of available alcohol for sale. At around 64.7 litres per person per annum, New Zealand is ranked 27th in global beer consumption per capita. The vast majority of beer p ...

- in the same year, founder William Dawson died. In 1960, New Zealand Breweries rebranded to ''Lucky Beer'' in an attempt to simplify the range, however this change lasted only two months before the Speight's brand name was re-established in October of that year. In 1977, New Zealand Breweries was purchased by Lion. In 2001, production expanded to the

brewery in Newmarket, Auckland.

Brands

Speight's Gold Medal Ale is the brewery's best known beer. Though marketed as an ale, as it was in the past, it is actually a New Zealand Draught-style lager, brewed using lager yeast and lagering techniques. In addition to its main Gold Medal Ale brand, Speight's also produces beers under the ''Speight's Summit'' and the ''Speight's Craft'' ranges of beer, the latter including the ''Speight's Old Dark'', ''Speight's Distinction Ale'', and ''Speight's Triple Hop Pilsner'', all of which are lagers of varying colour. Speight's range of beer is not gluten-free. Speight's also produces an apple

cider Cider ( ) is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented juice of apples. Cider is widely available in the United Kingdom (particularly in the West Country) and the Republic of Ireland. The UK has the world's highest per capita consumption, ...

The Speight's Building

The Speight's brewery building is a prominent landmark in Central Dunedin, located just to the west of The Exchange at the corner of Rattray and Maclaggan Streets and extending up the hill into

City Rise City Rise is an inner suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. One of the city's older suburbs, it is, as its name suggests, centred on the slopes which lie close to the city centre, particularly those closest to the city's original heart of ...

. The earliest parts of the building date back to its first inception in 1876, with several major extensions and renovations in the years since, most notably extensions in 1938 designed by

Harry Mandeno Henry Thomas Mandeno (20 June 1879 – 20 August 1973) was a New Zealand modernist architect. Early life Mandeno was born in 1879 at Te Awamutu to John Howe Mandeno and Margaret Caroline (née Leighton), and was educated at St John's College i ...

. The most recent renovation was to provide earthquake strengthening in 2012–14. Regular guided tours of the building are run by the company for members of the public.

Marketing

Speight's label features three eight-pointed stars. These stars come from both the original provincial arms of

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

, and the fact that Speight's was awarded gold medals at brewery awards in three different countries in 1877. More recently, Speight's

Southern man In New Zealand, the southern man is a stereotypical male from the more rural South Island, well used to the solitude and conditions of open mountain or hill country, and completely out of his depth in the city. He is usually depicted as wearing a ...

advertising campaign has been popular and long running. Speight's main marketing slogan, "Pride of the South", has been used in association with these advertisements for a number of years. One popular advertisement featured the Cardrona Hotel pub. Speight's later built a loose replica of this building in Mt Eden, Auckland, as part of its national marketing scheme. At the site of their Dunedin plant the company has installed a tap that pumps water up from a spring deep below the brewery, thus providing fresh, pure water free of charge. This tap was at the centre of an April Fool's joke in 1998 when the

Otago Daily Times The ''Otago Daily Times'' (ODT) is a newspaper published by Allied Press Ltd in Dunedin, New Zealand. The ''ODT'' is one of the country's four main daily newspapers, serving the southern South Island with a circulation of around 26,000 and a c ...

reported that, just for that day, Speight's beer would flow, free of charge, from that tap.

Sponsorship

Speight's has a long-standing relationship with rugby union in the

and Southland regions. In 1977, the brewery began sponsoring the Dunedin club championship. The brewery currently has sponsorship arrangements with the

Otago Highlanders The Highlanders (formerly the Otago Highlanders) is a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Dunedin that compete in Super Rugby. The team was formed in 1996 to represent the lower South Island in the newly formed Super 12 compet ...

, Otago Rugby Football Union, and Southland Rugby Football Union.

References

External links

Speight's official Site

Lion
official page {{coord, -45.876374, 170.499959, display=title Breweries of New Zealand Companies based in Dunedin Kirin Group 1876 establishments in New Zealand Tourist attractions in Dunedin Harry Mandeno buildings Central Dunedin