Editing Speight's

{{Short description|Brewery in Dunedin, New Zealand}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2015}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=August 2015}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Speight's
| logo = Speight's logo.svg
| logo_size = 150px
| type = Private
| foundation = 1876
| founders = {{unbulleted list}} James Speight, Charles Greenslade, William Dawson
| location = [[Dunedin]], [[New Zealand]]
| industry = Beverages
| products = Lagers and ales
| parent = [[Lion (Australasian company)|Lion]] (a subsidiary of [[Kirin (company)|Kirin]])
| homepage = {{URL|http://www.speights.co.nz/}}
}}

'''Speight's''' is a beer brand and a [[brewery]] located in [[Dunedin]], New Zealand. The brand is owned by the Japanese-controlled holding company [[Lion (Australasian company)|Lion]], itself a subsidiary of [[Kirin (company)|Kirin]]. Speight's is best known for its Gold Medal Ale, one of the best-selling beers in New Zealand.{{Cn|date=January 2024}} The brewery also includes a chain of "Speight's Ale House" [[Gastropub|gastropubs]] across the country.{{Attribution needed|reason=claims of it being the best beer|date=August 2024}}

== History ==
The brewery was established on Rattray Street, [[Central Dunedin]] in 1876 by James Speight, Charles Greenslade and [[William Dawson (New Zealand politician)|William Dawson]] after they had left their positions at ''Wellpark Brewery'' (known today as the [[Tennent Caledonian]]). In 1880, Speight's won a gold medal at the [[Melbourne International Exhibition]], 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]] and the [[Pacific Islands]]. In 1923, Speight's merged with nine other breweries to form [[Lion (Australasian company)|New Zealand Breweries]]—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 (Australasian company)|Lion]]. In 2001, production expanded to the Lion brewery in [[Newmarket, New Zealand|Newmarket]], [[Auckland]]. <ref>"[https://speights.co.nz/about/brand-history Brand History]," ''speights.co.nz'', 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2020.</ref>

== Brands ==
[[File:Speight Brewery Sign.jpg|thumb|left|Sign at the Speight's Brewery in Dunedin]]
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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Is Speights gluten free? |url=https://glutenfreebeer.nz/is-speights-gluten-free/ |access-date=2022-09-14 |website=Gluten Free Beer |language=en-NZ}}</ref>

Speight's also produces an apple [[cider]].
==The Speight's Building==
[[File:Speight's Brewery.jpg|alt=Photograph of the brick Speight's building with a tall chimney topped with a beer barrel|thumb|Part of the Speight's buildings in Dunedin showing the distinctive beer barrel atop the chimney.]]The Speight's brewery building is a prominent landmark in Central Dunedin, located just to the west of [[The Exchange, Dunedin|The Exchange]] at the corner of Rattray and Maclaggan Streets and extending up the hill into [[City Rise]]. 

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]]. The most recent renovation was to provide earthquake strengthening in 2012–14.<ref>Houlahan, Mike "[http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/7492486/Historic-brewery-gets-upgrade Historic brewery gets upgrade]," ''stuff.co.nz'', 17 August 2012. Retrieved 31 May 2020.</ref> 

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]], 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]] 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, New Zealand|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]]'' reported that, just for that day, Speight's beer would flow, free of charge, from that tap.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.dunedinlibraries.com/ipac20/ipac.jsp?profile=remote&uri=full=1100026~!65770~!7&ri=4&aspect=subtab25&menu=search&source=~!remote#focus|title=Celebratory offer of free beer should go down well.|date=1 April 1998|publisher=[[Otago Daily Times]] |access-date=2008-08-15|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080815081844/http://www.dunedinlibraries.com/ipac20/ipac.jsp?profile=remote#focus|archive-date=15 August 2008|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

== Sponsorship ==
Speight's has a long-standing relationship with [[rugby union]] in the [[Otago]] and [[Southland, New Zealand|Southland]] regions. In 1977, the brewery began sponsoring the Dunedin club championship. The brewery currently has sponsorship arrangements with the [[Otago Highlanders]], [[Otago Rugby Football Union]], and [[Southland Rugby Football Union]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book |last= Gordon |first= Harold |title= Speight's: The Story of Dunedin's Historic Brewery |location= Dunedin |publisher= Avon Publishers |date= 1993 |type= Hardback |isbn= 978-0-473-02399-7}}
*{{cite book |last= Leckie |first= Frank G. |title= Otago's Breweries: Past and Present |location= Dunedin |publisher= Otago Heritage Books  |date= 1997 |isbn= 0-908774-42-7}}
*{{cite book |last= McLauchlan |first= Gordon |title=  The Story of Beer: Beer and Brewing - A New Zealand History |location= Auckland, NZ |publisher= Penguin |date= 1994|type= Paperback |isbn= 0670860921}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.speights.co.nz Speight's official Site]
* [https://www.lionco.com/our-brands/alcohol-beverages-nz/beer-nz#Speight’s Lion] official page
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[[Category:Kirin brands]]
[[Category:Breweries of New Zealand]]
[[Category:Beer brands]]
[[Category:Companies based in Dunedin]]
[[Category:1876 establishments in New Zealand]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Dunedin]]
[[Category:Harry Mandeno buildings]]
[[Category:Central Dunedin]]