Speight's
Encyclopedia
Speight's is a brewery
in Dunedin, New Zealand
. It is famous for its promotional branding based on being 'a real southern man' and being 'the pride of the south'. Speight's also gave rise to a series of Speight's Ale Houses across New Zealand.
Speights was founded by James Speight, Charles Greenslade, and William Dawson. Speight's was first brewed on 4 April 1876 in Dunedin at the present Rattray Street site at the foot of the City Rise
. Since then the Speight's brand has been firmly planted in the deep south of New Zealand.
Since a fire destroyed the Dunedin bottling and canning plant (now the site of a department store) Speight's bottling plant (for its stubbies) is in Auckland, New Zealand.
Packaged Speights (bottles and cans) beer is brewed in Auckland
and Christchurch
. Since 2007 Speight's has been distributed to Samoa, Panama, the Bahamas, New York and London.
In 2007 Speight's unveiled an ambitious marketing campaign dubbed the 'Great Beer Delivery'. Speight's built and transported a fully operational Speight's Alehouse from Dunedin, New Zealand to London, England by sea aboard the MV Lida. The campaign was brought about by Kiwis in London missing their favourite beer who regularly send emails and letters to the brewery. Tim Ellingham wrote a particularity touching email that would front the campaign and his good Mate James Livingston put his hand up to lead the voyage tasked with getting the pub to London. After a nationwide hunt for 4 southern men to accompany James the MV Lida, Ale House secured on deck departed Dunedin on July 25th 2007. The Crew consisted of James Livingston of Wellington, Tim Cleaver of New Plymouth, Mark Wilson of Invercargill, Lindsay Gilbert of Southbrige and Jamie Munro of Dunedin. The voyage would take 76 days arriving in London via Samoa, Panama, the Bahamas and New York on the 7th of October 2007. An accompanying replica bar was towed around the Country by 4WD, stopping to promote the voyage en route from Dunedin, via Invercargill to Auckland.
Speight's Gold Medal Ale is the traditional beer
of students at the University of Otago
in Dunedin, New Zealand. While marketed as a 'Gold Medal Ale', Speight's is actually a New Zealand draught style beer, brewed using lager
yeast and lagering techniques, so is therefore a lager and not an ale.
The brand extended through New Zealand and into the Pacific in the 19th century. The company consolidated into New Zealand Breweries in the early 20th century when the brand's identity became reduced. Rediscovered by its owners it was promoted as a regional brew, with some success.
The wild popularity of the "Southern Man" series of advertisements has led to Speight's undergoing something of a boom and it can now again be found throughout the country.
The Speight's brewery also makes Speight's Old Dark
, and the Speights Craft Range of beer, including Speight's Distinction Ale, Speight's Porter, Speight's Pilsner, Speight's Pale Ale, and Speight's Harvest Gold, all of which are lagers of varying colour.
In 2008 Speight's Summit, a lager brewed with all natural ingredients, was introduced. Then in 2009, Speight's Traverse, a low-carb beer, was released on to the market.
Amongst many marketing angles, the 'Southern man
' campaign has been significantly popular and long running. One television advertisement featured the Cardrona Hotel pub. Speights later opened a loose replica of this building in Mt Eden, Auckland
as part of its marketing scheme. The Speight's brand was removed in August 1960 and replaced with the Lucky brand. However, the public response was less than favourable, so the Speight's brand was brought back into production in October of that year. Speight's is the fighting brand of Lion Nathan in New Zealand. Speight's distinctive label features three eight-pointed stars. These stars come from both the original provincial arms of Otago, and the fact that Speights was awarded gold medals at the 1877 Brewery awards in three different countries. Speight's has used the slogan "Pride of the south" for many years.
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
said that, just for that day, Speights beer would flow, free of charge, from that tap.
Brewery
A brewery is a dedicated building for the making of beer, though beer can be made at home, and has been for much of beer's history. A company which makes beer is called either a brewery or a brewing company....
in Dunedin, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. It is famous for its promotional branding based on being 'a real southern man' and being 'the pride of the south'. Speight's also gave rise to a series of Speight's Ale Houses across New Zealand.
History
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 Exchange...
. Since then the Speight's brand has been firmly planted in the deep south of New Zealand.
Since a fire destroyed the Dunedin bottling and canning plant (now the site of a department store) Speight's bottling plant (for its stubbies) is in Auckland, New Zealand.
Packaged Speights (bottles and cans) beer is brewed in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
and Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
. Since 2007 Speight's has been distributed to Samoa, Panama, the Bahamas, New York and London.
In 2007 Speight's unveiled an ambitious marketing campaign dubbed the 'Great Beer Delivery'. Speight's built and transported a fully operational Speight's Alehouse from Dunedin, New Zealand to London, England by sea aboard the MV Lida. The campaign was brought about by Kiwis in London missing their favourite beer who regularly send emails and letters to the brewery. Tim Ellingham wrote a particularity touching email that would front the campaign and his good Mate James Livingston put his hand up to lead the voyage tasked with getting the pub to London. After a nationwide hunt for 4 southern men to accompany James the MV Lida, Ale House secured on deck departed Dunedin on July 25th 2007. The Crew consisted of James Livingston of Wellington, Tim Cleaver of New Plymouth, Mark Wilson of Invercargill, Lindsay Gilbert of Southbrige and Jamie Munro of Dunedin. The voyage would take 76 days arriving in London via Samoa, Panama, the Bahamas and New York on the 7th of October 2007. An accompanying replica bar was towed around the Country by 4WD, stopping to promote the voyage en route from Dunedin, via Invercargill to Auckland.
Brands
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
of students at the University of Otago
University of Otago
The University of Otago in Dunedin is New Zealand's oldest university with over 22,000 students enrolled during 2010.The university has New Zealand's highest average research quality and in New Zealand is second only to the University of Auckland in the number of A rated academic researchers it...
in Dunedin, New Zealand. While marketed as a 'Gold Medal Ale', Speight's is actually a New Zealand draught style beer, brewed using lager
Lager
Lager is a type of beer made from malted barley that is brewed and stored at low temperatures. There are many types of lager; pale lager is the most widely-consumed and commercially available style of beer in the world; Pilsner, Bock, Dortmunder Export and Märzen are all styles of lager...
yeast and lagering techniques, so is therefore a lager and not an ale.
The brand extended through New Zealand and into the Pacific in the 19th century. The company consolidated into New Zealand Breweries in the early 20th century when the brand's identity became reduced. Rediscovered by its owners it was promoted as a regional brew, with some success.
The wild popularity of the "Southern Man" series of advertisements has led to Speight's undergoing something of a boom and it can now again be found throughout the country.
The Speight's brewery also makes Speight's Old Dark
Speight's Old Dark
Speight's Old Dark is claimed to be a dark ale in the style of an English porter brewed by the Speight's brewery in Dunedin, New Zealand. However, as it is bottom fermented with lager yeast, it is actually a dark malty lager, with a totally different taste, texture and character to a real...
, and the Speights Craft Range of beer, including Speight's Distinction Ale, Speight's Porter, Speight's Pilsner, Speight's Pale Ale, and Speight's Harvest Gold, all of which are lagers of varying colour.
In 2008 Speight's Summit, a lager brewed with all natural ingredients, was introduced. Then in 2009, Speight's Traverse, a low-carb beer, was released on to the market.
Marketing
Southern man
In New Zealand, the southern man is a stereotypical southern heterosexual male, well used to the solitude and conditions of open mountain or hill country, and completely out of his depth in the city....
' campaign has been significantly popular and long running. One television advertisement featured the Cardrona Hotel pub. Speights later opened a loose replica of this building in Mt Eden, Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
as part of its marketing scheme. The Speight's brand was removed in August 1960 and replaced with the Lucky brand. However, the public response was less than favourable, so the Speight's brand was brought back into production in October of that year. Speight's is the fighting brand of Lion Nathan in New Zealand. Speight's distinctive label features three eight-pointed stars. These stars come from both the original provincial arms of Otago, and the fact that Speights was awarded gold medals at the 1877 Brewery awards in three different countries. Speight's has used the slogan "Pride of the south" for many years.
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
Otago Daily Times
The Otago Daily Times is a newspaper published by Allied Press Ltd in Dunedin, New Zealand.-History:Originally styled The Otago Daily Times, the ODT was first published on November 15, 1861. It is New Zealand's oldest surviving daily newspaper - Christchurch's The Press, six months older, was a...
said that, just for that day, Speights beer would flow, free of charge, from that tap.