Speight’s Gold Medal Ale
Brewed by Speight’s Brewery
Style: Bitter/Pale Ale
Dunedin, New Zealand
Founded in 1876, by James Speight, Charles Greenslade, and William Dawson on the South Island of New Zealand in the city of Dunedin. The Speight’s Brewery brew Speight’s Gold Medal Ale, a bit of a New Zealand institution. Popular amongst the working man and Scarfies (A Kiwi university student) for generations, offering up a unique taste of NZ beer.
The Gold Medal Ale that adorns their beers, came about after the beer won an award in 1880 at the Melbourne International Brewing Awards over a century ago, and the brewery decided to keep the iconic emblem, even though the beer these days is neither an ale or, arguably, gold medal material!!
Speight’s is famous for its promotional branding based on being a real southern man’s go to beer, and being ‘the pride of the south’. Speight’s also gave rise to a series of Speight’s Ale Houses across New Zealand. Alas, it is now owned by, the Japanese controlled holding company, Lion. Go Figure!
Review: 330ml brown bottle of Speight’s Gold Medal Ale: 4.0% vol.
They call this beer “The Taste of New Zealand”, ok well lets see. It is my first beer from the home of the Kiwi and the All Black.
Has a triple star, “3 stars”, rating on the bottle with “pride of the south”, in a nice brown bottle. These stars apparently come from both the original provincial arms of Otago, and the fact that Speight’s was awarded gold medals at the 1877 Brewery awards in three different countries.
On appearance I am getting a light brownish looking beer with a very small white thinish head.
Looks shit with no real head, some small carbonation and kind of looks like a glass of mud! Weird in the colour, brownish and dark amber looking beer with a purple hue.
An interesting aroma, a kind of perfumy note on the nose, all nice and fruity. The smell is very nice. Also a bit like a stout aroma, with caramels and very toasty. Quite distinctive.
On the taste I am getting a very light beer, nothing immediately sticking out at me, some caramel found early on, but overall not too bad, clean, light in the mouth, and tasty enough.
Getting to enjoy this beer the more I drink of it, finding it very tasty, and quite filling and nourishing. Fruits and malts are tasty.
The hops are light and inoffensive, soft and easy to manage. Not sure how this can be classed as a bitter, as its very light, but anyway.
Overall goes down well, If I see it again I will buy it. Smooth enough, clean and crisp and one to sip n enjoy, not bad at all. Not the best tasting beer, or the most flavorful out there, but does the business making this beer-drinker happy enough.
Calanda Bräu is a Swiss brewery from the small town of Chur, which is reputedly the oldest town in Switzerland, and lies next to the waters of the Grison mountains, which are part of the Alps.
Sold in Coop supermarkets nationwide in Switzerland.
Taste is sweet and light, of course, nice and soft on the tongue, nice enough, but quite light in flavour but enjoyable enough all the same.
John Smithwick was an orphan who had settled in Kilkenny in the early 1700s. At that time Ireland was under the harsh Penal laws, which meant Catholics couldn’t own property or run for elected office. A bit of an annoyance if wanting to run a brewery, but with the help of a Richard Cole, together on a piece of land that Cole had leased from the Duke of Ormond in 1705, the duo set about opening a brewery for the locals of the city. Five years later, John Smithwick became the owner of the land, albeit all off the radar as to not notify the authorities. 
By the 1950s Smithwicks were exporting to Boston, where all the Irish lapped it up, looking for a taste of home to get them through their time in the States.
Anytime I am back in the old country Smithwicks is my go to drink on tap, love it when I am out and about as it is an easy ale to stomach and you get a lot for your mileage! Albeit it does tend to make one go to the toilet a bit too often!
Getting a nice taste of sweet malts, caramel, the roasted barley and some fruit flavours. Hops are gentle and on the low level. Flavour and tastes are subtle but overall very well balanced to create a beer that is so smooth and clean and crisp in taste and in body.
Canada is a country that you would expect to find decent beers. A land of vast wilderness, miles upon miles of freshwater lakes and fields that are ripe for the growing of barley, no doubt this is a place where good beer demands to be made.
My version was 4%, but in normal countries the ABV is 5%.
Not getting a lot of taste or flavouring from the beer, all a bit like a tonic water, so, so very light.