Getting Speights Beer in the United States

[Bill Ahlman]

Many years ago, in San Antonio, TX, I bought and drank two bottles of Speights Beer from New Zealand. I think it is the best beer I have ever had. I have tried, to no avail, to get more of it. I have been told it is not available in the US. I have called the brewery in New Zealand and they say that due to US Tax laws, they are not able to export to the US. I SAY HOGWASH! Other countries export to the US. I have no trouble getting New Zealand WINES here. DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY CONTACTS? IDEAS? ADVICE? I WANT MY SPEIGHTS!

[Matt Trentham]

I just got back from the south island of New Zealand. I agree, Speights was good, the dark was even better.

Now I'm trying to get it, but no luck.

Any ideas?

[Bill Ahlman]

Well, Matt, I have been trying to get Speights in the US for more than about 9 or 10 years. Contacting the brewery, friends in New Zealand, my local pub owners here in Texas, all to no avail! I AM STILL TRYING, THOUGH! LET's YOU AND I MAKE A PACT! We both will keep trying and if we ever find a way to get Speights here in the US, we will post again and tell the other how to do it!

Bill Ahlman

[Matt Trentham]

I'm with you. It's my new #1 favorite beer and I can't get it.

Stay in touch.

[fretlessman71]

Maybe you ought to open your own "beer store", if you know what I mean. Find a way to open it in NZ, and have your "inventory" shipped to the US. Whaddya think? :)

[Matt Trentham]

I already sell HVAC equipment. It's the natural progression. Fans and beer, I like it.

[steveh]

Interesting sounding brew, you guys. Have you queried at the forum's swap page to see if we have any New Zealand members?

S.

[chooky]

hi guys....im from the town in new zealand where Speights originates...
was sent here by a friend in San Antonio who recognised it as kiwi beer

i have looked at sendin some to states to friends, but the customs laws there are so tight now......

i'll recheck the rules and letcha know k?....mite be able at least to get a sample to ya's :)

cheers....and yeah...youll love speights

[Porterthemadd]

Hello Gentlemen,

If no one has told you yet....

Speights beer is available in the US...atleast in California.

9 times out of 10, Trader Joe's Markets will have it.
I actually just enjoyed a six pack over the weekend.



I'm not sure where you are or if there are Trader Joe's (a smaller, specialty branch of grocery stores) around you.... but give them a look.
Or come to Southern California.

[azbordercollies]

FYI - In a search for Speights (after a trip to NZ) - Trader Joe's in CA no longer carries Speights. I am still searching for it here:(

[newportstorm]

Try calling High Falls Brewing in Rochester, NY. They contract brew Steinlager for New Zealand Breweries Ltd. They might also do the Speights line for the US market.

I recently found some relatively fresh Steinlager on clearance and bought a single bottle, not expecting a whole lot. What I found was actually a fairly clean pilsner with a decent enough hop bite to keep me interested. I went back and bought 2 sixers for $8.


http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/915

Cheers!

[skottie]

I work in "fine" wine store in New Zealand - also with a very large beer selection - it is EXTREMELY hard to commercially ship to the US. The taxes or something make it uber expensive. Although I would be interested in some sort of beer swap arrangement... because Speights have an absolutely fantastic craft range, which are def. worth trying - way better than the Gold or Dark.

[DeliriumTremens]

Any new developments on the Speight's front?

[Stonch]

On the off chance that anyone here is looking for Speights in London (I appreciate the orginal post asks about US!), you can buy it from the shop in Hoxton I wrote about here - http://stonch.blogspot.com/2007/02/city-beverage-company-hoxton-pitfield.html

Cheers
__________________
Visit my beer blog - http://stonch.blogspot.com

[bertthekiwi]

Unfortunately Speights can't be imported into the United States because of trademark issues (see link below). If someone wants to take on the challenge of appealing to whoever controls trademarks in the US then please do so as I really want to have a Speights when I arrive in what will become my new home town, Denver Colorado! I'm a born and bred Kiwi living in Auckland, New Zealand but my whanau and I will be (hopefully) moving to the Mile High City around September this year (if we can find an H1B sponsor by April 1! HAHAHA! APRIL FOOLS DAY!!!!) and to sit down and chill out with an ice cold Speights when I arrive would just be fantastic!

Speights International Distribution (http://www.speights.co.nz/Great-Beers/Intl-Distribution.aspx)

"Speights - Pride of the South for over a Hundred Years"

[MrNate]

Originally posted by bertthekiwi
Unfortunately Speights can't be imported into the United States because of trademark issues (see link below)...

Speights International Distribution (http://www.speights.co.nz/Great-Beers/Intl-Distribution.aspx)

"Speights - Pride of the South for over a Hundred Years"

Huh... I was curious, so I ran a quick TESS search online (I know, I know... not complete, blah blah)

Only one record for SPEIGHTS, abandoned in 2007 by none other than Lion Nathan Brands Company Limited CORPORATION NEW ZEALAND. Wonder what happened?

Also, there were surprisingly no live records for "Pride of the South."

[jesskidden]

Originally posted by MrNate
Huh... I was curious, so I ran a quick TESS search online (I know, I know... not complete, blah blah)

Only one record for SPEIGHTS, abandoned in 2007 by none other than Lion Nathan Brands Company Limited CORPORATION NEW ZEALAND. Wonder what happened?



Yeah, sounded fishy to me, too. Maybe it's just Lion Nathan's way of politely saying "Bug off, Americans. We ship you Steinlager and Toohey's, drink that." After all, Czechvar (aka Budvar Budweis) and Scaldis (aka Bush) worked out a way to export to the US, despite name problems.

Sounds more like L-N just doesn't want to "cannibalize" their own market- not that unusual- lots of foreign brewers only import one or two main brands, rather than their entire portfolio. (Heineken is rather infamous for withdrawing Amstel from the US once they bought it in the 60's, and still only use the name for it's light beer here).

Or, maybe, the deal with Trader Joe's was somehow "exclusive" and they're prohibited from re-entering the US market using that name?

[bertthekiwi]

Originally posted by Porterthemadd
Hello Gentlemen,

If no one has told you yet....

Speights beer is available in the US...atleast in California.

9 times out of 10, Trader Joe's Markets will have it.
I actually just enjoyed a six pack over the weekend.



I'm not sure where you are or if there are Trader Joe's (a smaller, specialty branch of grocery stores) around you.... but give them a look.
Or come to Southern California.

I have been in touch with Trader Joes and they have told me that they no longer carry it because it didn't sell well enough, so if everyone petitions to Trader Joes they might just bring it back! :D

[bertthekiwi]

Originally posted by jesskidden
Yeah, sounded fishy to me, too. Maybe it's just Lion Nathan's way of politely saying "Bug off, Americans. We ship you Steinlager and Toohey's, drink that." After all, Czechvar (aka Budvar Budweis) and Scaldis (aka Bush) worked out a way to export to the US, despite name problems.

Sounds more like L-N just doesn't want to "cannibalize" their own market- not that unusual- lots of foreign brewers only import one or two main brands, rather than their entire portfolio. (Heineken is rather infamous for withdrawing Amstel from the US once they bought it in the 60's, and still only use the name for it's light beer here).

Or, maybe, the deal with Trader Joe's was somehow "exclusive" and they're prohibited from re-entering the US market using that name?

I don't think it's a case of LN trying not "cannibalize" their market, or that they would think "bug off Americans", most Kiwi's just don't think like that (especially the beer makers). They already export Speights to the UK, Australia (well we own most of their breweries anyway!), the Cook Islands and Niue (although the islands are easy). There are a fair few Kiwi's in Colorado and other parts of the US as well and Kiwi beer makers do like to make sure their own ex-pats get a little taste of home.

I think I might look into it a bit more from here beofre I move.

[jesskidden]

Originally posted by bertthekiwi
I don't think it's a case of LN trying not "cannibalize" their market, or that they would think "bug off Americans", most Kiwi's just don't think like that (especially the beer makers). They already export Speights to the UK, Australia (well we own most of their breweries anyway!), the Cook Islands and Niue (although the islands are easy). There are a fair few Kiwi's in Colorado and other parts of the US as well and Kiwi beer makers do like to make sure their own ex-pats get a little taste of home.

I think I might look into it a bit more from here beofre I move.

Well, you're right, I don't know how "Kiwi's" think, but I have an idea how businesses "think", and beer importation, distribution and wholesaling is a tough business (and the latter two are done on a state-by-state level).

One doesn't simply ship a container of beer to Long Beach, CA, drop it on the dock, and >poof< it's sold. Primarily, a brewer needs to partner with an importer- one that thinks they can sell enough of the new beer to make it worth investing their own time and money in the label.

Nathan Lion already *has* a US importer- High Falls Brewing Company (http://www.highfalls.com/AlliedBrands/) and, as noted before, has already failed at selling the Speights brand through a national grocery chain, Trader Joe's. One would guess that N-L and HF are happy with the current situation and have no interest bringing in another label.

There are many major brewing companies that do export to the US, but limit the total number of beers/labels to just a few, in order not to cannibalize their own market. Famously, Heineken (the #1 import at that time) withdrew Amstel from the US market when they bought the brand (only to use the name a few decades later for its "light" beer in order not to cannabalize "Heineken"). The same goes for many German, UK, Canadian and other foreign breweries- they seldom bring in their entire line-up, and often concentrate on an "export" beer made specifically for the US market (one that sometimes doesn't even exist in the home market).

The US is a country of over 300 million people (so, around 60 times larger than NZ) and, the last figures I find, several thousand immigrants a year are from Australia and New Zealand. Seems like a small, scattered market to service from a half a world away, with a product with a short shelf life. NZ imports into the US peaked in 1999 with 83,000 barrels. 2006 they were at around 45k bbls, out of a total market in the US of almost 30 million barrels of beer imported into the country. There are probably literally thousands of beer brands, many world renowned, that don't make it to the US.

[bertthekiwi]

Originally posted by jesskidden
Well, you're right, I don't know how "Kiwi's" think, but I have an idea how businesses "think", and beer importation, distribution and wholesaling is a tough business (and the latter two are done on a state-by-state level).

One doesn't simply ship a container of beer to Long Beach, CA, drop it on the dock, and >poof< it's sold. Primarily, a brewer needs to partner with an importer- one that thinks they can sell enough of the new beer to make it worth investing their own time and money in the label.

Nathan Lion already *has* a US importer- High Falls Brewing Company (http://www.highfalls.com/AlliedBrands/) and, as noted before, has already failed at selling the Speights brand through a national grocery chain, Trader Joe's. One would guess that N-L and HF are happy with the current situation and have no interest bringing in another label.

There are many major brewing companies that do export to the US, but limit the total number of beers/labels to just a few, in order not to cannibalize their own market. Famously, Heineken (the #1 import at that time) withdrew Amstel from the US market when they bought the brand (only to use the name a few decades later for its "light" beer in order not to cannabalize "Heineken"). The same goes for many German, UK, Canadian and other foreign breweries- they seldom bring in their entire line-up, and often concentrate on an "export" beer made specifically for the US market (one that sometimes doesn't even exist in the home market).

The US is a country of over 300 million people (so, around 60 times larger than NZ) and, the last figures I find, several thousand immigrants a year are from Australia and New Zealand. Seems like a small, scattered market to service from a half a world away, with a product with a short shelf life. NZ imports into the US peaked in 1999 with 83,000 barrels. 2006 they were at around 45k bbls, out of a total market in the US of almost 30 million barrels of beer imported into the country. There are probably literally thousands of beer brands, many world renowned, that don't make it to the US.

Fair arguement dude, I guess I'll just have to get a mate to send some over every now and again, it certainly wouldn't go to waste in my house! In the meantime, I do enjoy Heineken and I should try some of the local brands anyway. That is the idea of living in another country after all isn't it! What brands could you recommend I try? I have a couple of mates in Denver already but neither of them are beer drinkers, one doesn't really drink at all and the other prefers bourbon.

Cheers :)

[jesskidden]

Originally posted by bertthekiwi
In the meantime, I do enjoy Heineken and I should try some of the local brands anyway. That is the idea of living in another country after all isn't it! What brands could you recommend I try?

Well, glad you brought that up and surprised I or someone else already hasn't- but this has been a confused thread with 3 different individuals looking for Speights- over the course of almost 5 years now.


I think one on the saddest things I ever saw when I went to the UK back in the 80's was American tourists drinking (what was then the "new" locally-brewed) Budweiser. "@##%^! You're in one of the classic brewing nations in the world, and you're drinking that!" (Of course, now I hear, sadly, even a large number of the Brits are drinking it too...)

Since you're going to Colorado, you're going to be in what is arguably the best area for beer in "flyover" US (tho' SteveH in the WI-Chicago-IL-MI stretch of the mid-West might rightfully object to that, since that's also right up there).

In the US, many of the best beers are still somewhat "regional" and, being on the East Coast, I'm not familiar with all the beers offered by the many good breweries that populate that state (not having been there in a decade or so). When I do buy CO beers, they tend to be "bigger" beers, higher in alcohol, that travel well and aren't so dependent on freshness. From the look of the Speights line, you'll want something closer to a session beer.

And then there's the problem of never having had Speight's to begin with, so finding a substitute isn't something I can easily do.

But, there are a number CO posters that can steer you in the right direction.

[bertthekiwi]

Well, glad you brought that up and surprised I or someone else already hasn't- but this has been a confused thread with 3 different individuals looking for Speights- over the course of almost 5 years now.


I think one on the saddest things I ever saw when I went to the UK back in the 80's was American tourists drinking (what was then the "new" locally-brewed) Budweiser. "@##%^! You're in one of the classic brewing nations in the world, and you're drinking that!" (Of course, now I hear, sadly, even a large number of the Brits are drinking it too...)

Since you're going to Colorado, you're going to be in what is arguably the best area for beer in "flyover" US (tho' SteveH in the WI-Chicago-IL-MI stretch of the mid-West might rightfully object to that, since that's also right up there).

In the US, many of the best beers are still somewhat "regional" and, being on the East Coast, I'm not familiar with all the beers offered by the many good breweries that populate that state (not having been there in a decade or so). When I do buy CO beers, they tend to be "bigger" beers, higher in alcohol, that travel well and aren't so dependent on freshness. From the look of the Speights line, you'll want something closer to a session beer.

And then there's the problem of never having had Speight's to begin with, so finding a substitute isn't something I can easily do.

But, there are a number CO posters that can steer you in the right direction.

If you ever visit New Zealand I recommend trying Speights. It is a fantastic brew and they have a few beers in the Speights range, Old Dark being my personal favourite (aside from the original).

Speaking of NZ beers in an international market, have you tried Steinlager Pure? It's a naturally brewed beer with no artificial additives or preservatives, and it goes down very well! The ad here in NZ we have for it features Harvey Keitel telling us all the things we've said no to (nuclear power even though we invented it, genetic modification, etc... and additives in our beer!). I know this is available just about anywhere the normal Steinlager is sold so give it a go! :)

[jesskidden]

One of the better local ales is Flying Dog--they've got a brew-pub downtown.

You sure 'bout that?

Unless you mean "downtown Frederick, Maryland" :D

[jesskidden]

There's a brew pub called Flying Dog in downtown Denver, yes. I'm sure it's one of the better local ales yes. They serve beer and food and call it a brewery. It's also my understanding that they have moved a significant amount of their operations to MD in the past 2 years due to costs and infrastructure improvements needed here in their Denver building. This is still their corporate headquarters.

Do you want to correct any grammar errors I've made next? Seriously. Try to make a friendly comment and the beer police attack you over semantics. OK, so if they started the brewery here, brewed it here, have their corporate headquarters here, and you can walk downtown to their brewery and eat a burger and have a Flying Dog....now what....they can't be considered a "local ale" anymore. So, yes, I'm sure.

Whoa... jus' kiddin', dude. :eek:

Sorry you took it so (as you said) "Seriously". Just poking fun at the brewery (NOT at you) that long nutured a "Colorado-centric" image but fled east for "business reasons".

(Geez, I even used one of the smilies...).

[steveh]

Do you want to correct any grammar errors I've made next? Seriously. Try to make a friendly comment and the beer police attack you over semantics.

Wicker -- simmer down, it's just talk -- sittin' at the rail enjoyin' a beer. There's no great animosity 'round here unless you start making obvious troll-baiting posts. We're a friendly, beer-lovin' group.

S.

[steveh]

Troll-baiting is looking for a fight -- no one was nit-picking you at all. Friendly jibes are accented with smilies on internet forums.

We're friendly folk here, serious about beer enjoyment -- we tend to joke around too.

You've posted here 3 times -- 2 of the three being bent out of shape for no real reason. Relax, enjoy the conversation -- learn and maybe even teach, but leave the grump at home.

S.