A brief look over the last 145 years
You'll find the word ‘pride' printed on the Speight's Gold Medal Ale label. It is that pride that defines Speight's and sets us apart. We are proud to come from a mighty little country that's prepared to take on the best of the rest.
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“Cheers Beers
Speight’s Personalised box of beer campaign
Movember
Speight’s Partners Movember New Zealand to support the men’s mental health awareness
Xmas Singlets
The famous Speight’s Christmas Singlet
The Dance
Launch ‘The Dance’ the latest television commercial showcasing the lengths mates go to for one another.”
“Speight’s Summit Ultra
October Launch of Speight’s Summit Ultra, Low Carb lager”
“Summit Citrus
Speight’s Summit Citrus is added to the Speight’s Summit range.”
“Brewery re-opened
The re-developed Speight’s Brewery is officially opened by Prime Minister, John Key.”
“New to the range
Speight’s Mid Ale and Speight’s Ginger Beer are added to the Speight’s range.”
“Triple Hop Pilsner
Speight’s Triple Hop Pilsner, an addition to the Speight’s Craft range is introduced.”
“Speight’s Summit Lager
Speight’s Summit Lager is added to the family.”
“The Great Delivery
Speight’s takes a pub to London as part of the Great Beer Delivery Campaign.”
“Auckland joins in
Speight’s becomes so popular that extra production starts in Auckland to keep up with demand. Our Dunedin Brewery carries on brewing regardless.Speight’s Porter released
Speight’s Legacy Series introduced to celebrate our 125th Birthday.”
“First Ale House opened
First Speight’s Ale House opened by Prime Minister Jenny Shipley as a photo opportunity during the election campaign.”
“Distinction Ale introduced
Speight’s Distinction Ale is launched to celebrate 120 years of the Speight’s Brewing Co.”
“Speight’s cans launched
Speight’s cans are launched. The beer is brewed in Dunedin and sent by train to Christchurch to be canned. Some of the cans (quite a few) then catch the train back to Dunedin.
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“Speight’s sponsors rugby
Speight’s takes on the first of many sports sponsorships with the Dunedin senior rugby competition becoming the Speight’s Championship. New Zealand Breweries becomes Lion Breweries.”
“Speight’s Lucky Beer
Some genius at New Zealand Breweries decides it would be a good idea to re-brand all their beers with the same name. And it’s not Speight’s. The Lucky Beer brand lasts a full two months before sanity prevails and Speight’s and the triple star are back.”
“William Dawsons Dies
The threat of prohibition sees Speight’s and nine other breweries join forces to become New Zealand Breweries. One of the founders, William Dawson dies.”
“First female employee
Norah McGhie becomes Speight’s first full-time female employee. Speight’s also buys a motorised cart, called a ‘truck’, for delivering casks to local pubs.”
“Biggest New Zealand brewery
Speight’s becomes the biggest brewery in the country, exporting to Australia, Fiji and Tahiti. Legendary founder James Speight passes away on 16 August. William Dawson becomes Mayor of Dunedin at 35.”
“Speight’s wins Gold
Speight’s Ale gets two gold medals at the Melbourne Exhibition and a new name Speight’s Gold Medal Ale. Back in Dunedin, a new brew-house is built.”
“Speight’s is born
James Speight, Charles Greenslade and William Dawson hand in their notices at Well Park Brewery to establish their own brewery in Dunedin’s Rattray St. Dawson is the brewer, Greenslade the maltster and Speight the businessman.
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