Dunedin: An overview - Part 4

Craft beers are latest thing for the drinks industry and Dunedin is home to two craft beers makers, Speight’s Ale and Emerson’s microbrewery.

Speight’s has a long history in the area as it was in 1876 that 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 known as the Pride of the South.

James Speight’s brewing dream became a reality when, with a couple of his mates, he purchased an empty bottling and malt plant where they had previously worked. The three men worked well together and they completed their first brew on April 4th, a month before they received the lease and two months before they had even obtained a license. By 1887, the great beer had seen Speight’s grow to become the largest brewery in New Zealand. However at this point of triumph James Speight passed away.

There are four brews in the Speight’s Craft Range; Distinction Ale, Pale Ale, Porter and Pilsner. They were created from old recipes in a quest to recreate flavours as true as possible to the original styles. Three of the Craft Range brews, Pale Ale, Porter and Pilsner, are fermented in kauri gyles. These are open topped wooden fermentation vats which are lined with beeswax. This process produces small volumes and is labour intensive; but these open, shallow vessels help to bring out the full aromas of the brews.

It is possible to tour the Speight’s brewery. The ninety minute tour tracks the timeline of Speight’s ale from 1876 and the mammoth copper vessels of today’s brew house before finishing with a cleansing ale

Emerson’s have tried to get the best of both worlds by having two kettles of 1200 litres and 5000 litres. This gives them the flexibility of brewing small batches and the ‘economy of scale’ with the larger plant. The brewhouse is able to brew 1 million litres per annum and they are still adding more tanks to match the growth of the business. Packaging is done on an American made bottling machine that churns out 1200 x 500 ml bottles per hour.

The Yellow Eyed Penguins of the Otago Peninsula are only found in New Zealand and are the rarest penguins in the world with a only 4, 000 to 5, 000 penguins left in existence. You can get up close with these creatures along with fur seals and sea lions on an eco-tour that combines all three.

When you are in Dunedin you can make a side trip to the Moeraki Boulders. These huge spherical boulders are littered over a sandy beach just under an hour from Dunedin. While you are there stop at the Fleurs restaurant in the fishing village on the bay and try the fresh seafood on the top deck.

Continued in part 5