With
acknowledgements to Ray Hargreaves, author of “Barmaids, Billiards, Nobblers
and
Ratpits”
and Frank Tod, author of “Pubs Galore”.
and Frank Tod, author of “Pubs Galore”.
Site design by Matt Gray
|
||||||
| Home | ||||||
|
||||||
| Shamrock Hotel | |
|||||
| Built in 1862 by the Murphy brothers who came from Portland, Maine, this hotel was very popular with Americans. In I863 the Murphys made considerable improvements including converting the assembly room into a new dining room, forming by far the largest and handsomest dining hall in the city, measuring 40 feet long by 30 feet wide. | ||||||
| The oak walls were decorated with six large mirrors in massive gold frames and the carved ceiling had two richly embossed centrepieces with cut glass chandeliers, the fittings further enriched by gold beading. | ||||||
| Many clubs and societies held regular meetings at the Shamrock, and Speight's also held many functions there, most of them characterized by long toast lists and musical items or recitations by almost everyone present | ||||||
| The Demon Drink | ||||||
| In 1882 the land on which the hotel stood came into the possession of the Presbyterian Church who leased it to Speight's who, in turn, leased the hotel to the licensee. | ||||||
| In 1897, stung by criticism of the fact that the church was indirectly benefiting from the sale of the "demon drink", the Church Board of Property stated that "On and after the 30th June 1902 there shall not be permitted to be carried on, on any part of the land the business of a Hotelkeeper or Publican”. 'When that date arrived the license was transferred to a new Shamrock Hotel (now the Clarendon) and the old Shamrock became auction rooms. It was demolished to make way for Speight’s present Shamrock Building. | ||||||
| Speight's Shamrock Building | ||||||
| Speight's Shamrock Building was erected in l9I2-13 to the design of Robert Forrest, then in his 80s.Forrest had designed most of Speight's earlier buildings; also the residences of Speight's three founders. | ||||||
| Until 1946 the Shamrock Building was used as a fermentation house, with gyles on the top floor (which also housed a laboratory), squares on the second floor and butts on the first floor. During the 1930s and 40s there was a wooden cask washing shed on the roof. | ||||||
| Speight's | ||||||
| Like the Speight's Ale House building, Speight's has a long history. In 1876 James Speight, Charles Greenslade and William Dawson set up Speight's Brewery in Dunedin. Situated on the same site today in Rattray St, Dunedin, Speight's is the Pride of the South. | ||||||
| The Founders | ||||||
| In 1876, in the bustling southern city of Dunedin, James Speight's brewing dream became a reality. With a couple of mates, Charles Greenslade and William Dawson, he purchased an evacuated bottling and malt plant, where all three had worked, and set up his own brewery. | ||||||
| The three men made a great team and they wasted no time in getting down to business - in fact, they put through their first brew on April 4th, a month before they received the lease on May 1st and two months before they had even obtained a license on June 6th! | ||||||
| By 1887, the combination of clever business sense and great beer had seen Speight's grow to become the largest brewery in New Zealand. But sadly, with his dream at last a reality James Speight died in August of that year. | ||||||
| Gold Medal Ale | ||||||
| In 1879 a cask of Speight's Strong Ale won the fledgling brewery its first international award at the Sydney International Exhibition. Sales soared and the future of Speight's was secured. | ||||||
| Speight's Ale continued to go from strength to strength, winning major international awards including several gold medals, hence the 1893 naming of "Speight’s Gold Medal Ale". | ||||||
| Speight's Craft Range | ||||||
| Speight's Brewery Dunedin has brewed award-winning ales since 1876. The four brews in the Speight's Craft Range - Distinction Ale, Pale Ale, Porter and Pilsener- were originated from recipes of a bygone era in a quest to recreate flavours as true as possible to the original styles. | ||||||
| Three of the Craft Range brews, Pale Ale, Porter and Pilsener, are fermented in kauri gyles- open-topped wooden fermentation vats which are lined with beeswax. Small volume and labour intensive, these open, shallow vessels help to bring out the seamless character and full aromas of the brews. Only one other brewery in the world is still known to use kauri gyles. | ||||||
|
||||||
With
acknowledgements to Ray Hargreaves, author of “Barmaids, Billiards, Nobblers
and
Ratpits” and Frank Tod, author of “Pubs Galore”. |
||||||
|
||||||
| © 2008 The Speight's Ale House Dunedin | ||||||
|
Site design by Matt Gray |
||||||