Monteith's

Last updated

Monteith's Brewery Company
IndustryBeverages
Founded1868
Headquarters Greymouth, New Zealand
ProductsBeers and lagers
Parent DB Breweries
(Heineken N.V.)
Website www.monteiths.co.nz
Monteith's Brewery Company
Active beers
NameType
Black Beer Dark lager
Celtic Beer Lager
Golden Lager Lager
Original Ale Lager
Pilsner Beer Pilsner
Radler Bier Lager
New Zealand Lager Lager
Seasonal beers
NameType
Summer Ale Ale
Winter Ale Ale
Other beers
NameType
Past Seasonal beers
Bock Bier
Doppelbock Bier
Porter Dark AleDark Ale
Saison Biere
Dortmunder Bier
Kristall Wiezen Bier
Oud Bruin Bier
West Coast 140 Pale Ale
Specialty beers
Tripel Beer
Baltic PorterDark Ale

Monteith's Brewery Company was originally a family-owned brewing company until it was bought by DB Breweries. It continued to brew its beers on the West Coast of New Zealand until DB decided that the cost of keeping production there was no longer viable. The Greymouth brewery was closed on 22 March 2001, but reopened four days later following a public outcry.

Contents

The beers are now produced in Auckland, and Timaru as well as Greymouth. On 25 July 2012, the newly transformed Greymouth brewery was officially reopened after 18 months of refurbishment. [1]

The brand Monteith's has existed only since 1990 and the connection back to the original Stuart Monteith, who didn't even name his brewery after himself (it was called Phoenix), is tenuous at best.

In 1927, Monteith's Phoenix Brewery was one of five – in Reefton, Hokitika and Kumara – that amalgamated to become Westland Breweries, a company headed by Stuart's son, William Monteith. The new organisation was based at Turumaha Street, Greymouth, but there was no brewery on site, just a bottling plant until 1949 when a centralised brewery started to take over the operations of the other breweries in the group.

One by one, the breweries making up Westland Breweries were closed, with the original Monteith-owned Phoenix Brewery in Reefton pumping out its last beer in 1963, leaving the centralised Greymouth plant the only one servicing the area. In 1969, the expanding empire of Dominion Breweries took over and the brewery became known as DB Westland Breweries.

Though run under the DB banner, Westland Breweries for a long time produced beers popular on the Coast and reflecting the history of the brewery as a group enterprise: Westbrew Golden Lager, Tira Pale Ale, Westland Extra Stout, Westbrew Bitter, Monteith's Pale Ale (the first sign of Monteith's as brand), Morley's Special Stout and Westland Golden Draught.

In 1990, when DB was going through its rebranding exercise, it decided to drop the “DB” tag from the brewery name and “create” some history around one of the original driving forces behind West Coast brewing: the Monteith family. It gambled on renaming the brewery Monteith's and creating a range of products under that label.

Monteith's Brewery in Greymouth Monteiths Brewery MRD.jpg
Monteith's Brewery in Greymouth

Controversy

Monteith's Brewery in Greymouth Monteiths Brewery in Greymouth (4673227523).jpg
Monteith's Brewery in Greymouth

DB Breweries attracted controversy during a legal battle over the exclusive use of the name Radler. Radler is a style of beer, in the same way that Pilsner or Stout are. However, DB has trademarked the term "Radler" since 2001. [2] [3]

The Society of Beer Advocates asked the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPoNZ) for the brewery's Radler trademark to be revoked. The issues of this trademark were brought to public attention when a small independent brewery (Green Man Brewery) in Dunedin, Otago released its own Radler (since renamed to Cyclist). [4]

IPoNZ handed down its decision on 14 July 2011. [5] The trademark has been upheld, citing the fact that the term "Radler" was not well known in New Zealand at the time the trademark was taken out.

Products

In addition to the beer varieties listed in the box, Monteith's produces Crushed Apple Cider and Crushed Pear Cider.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Speight's</span> Brewery in Dunedin

Speight's is a brewery located in Dunedin, New Zealand. The brewery is owned by the Japanese-controlled holding company Lion. It is best known for its Gold Medal Ale, one of the best-selling beers in New Zealand. The brewery also gave rise to a chain of Speight's Ale House gastropubs across the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shandy</span> Family of drinks made of beer mixed with a soft drink

Shandy is beer or cider mixed with a lemon or a lemon-lime flavored beverage. The citrus beverage, often called lemonade, may or may not be carbonated. The proportions of the two ingredients are adjusted to taste but are usually half lemonade and half beer/cider, resulting in a lower ABV for the finished drink. Shandies are popular in the UK, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Widmer Brothers Brewery</span> American brewery

Widmer Brothers is a brewery founded in 1984 in Portland, Oregon, by brothers Kurt and Robert Widmer. It is part of the Craft Brew Alliance, Inc., the 12th largest brewing company in the United States in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beer in Ireland</span>

Brewing in Ireland has a long history. Production currently stands at over 8 million hectolitres, and approximately half the alcohol consumed is beer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DB Breweries</span> Brewing company in Auckland, New Zealand

DB Breweries is a New Zealand-based brewing company, owned by Heineken Asia Pacific. Founded in 1930 by Sir Henry Kelliher and W Joseph Coutts, the partners purchased Levers and Co. and the Waitemata Brewery Co. in Ōtāhuhu. Asia Pacific Breweries acquired DB Breweries in 2004, which in turn was bought-out by Heineken International in 2012. The company mainly produces pale lager, whilst its Tui brand is one of the better-known beers in New Zealand, partly due to strong advertising.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beer in New Zealand</span> Beer of New Zealand

Beer is the most popular alcoholic drink in New Zealand, accounting for 63% of available alcohol for sale. At around 64.7 litres per person per annum, New Zealand is ranked 27th in global beer consumption per capita. The vast majority of beer produced in New Zealand is a type of lager, either pale or amber in colour, and typically 4–5% alcohol by volume.

Heineken Asia Pacific, formerly Asia Pacific Breweries (APB) is a Singaporean brewery company. Founded in 1931 as a joint venture between Heineken International and Fraser and Neave, it was renamed Asia Pacific Breweries (APB) in 1989 and given its present name after merging with Heineken Asia Pacific in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mountain Goat Beer</span>

Mountain Goat Beer is a brewery in Richmond, Victoria, Australia. The brewery was founded in 1997 by Cam Hines and Dave Bonighton. The company's first commercial brew, 'Hightale Ale' amber ale, was released in October 1997. Mountain Goat Beer was purchased by Asahi in September 2015.

McCashin's Brewery, also known as Mac's Brewery in the past, is a small brewery based in Nelson, New Zealand. It was founded in 1980/81 by one of the pioneers of craft brewing, Terry McCashin, who produced the well-known Mac's beer. Today it produces Rochdale Cider and a range of Stoke beers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emerson's Brewery</span>

Emerson's Brewery Limited is a microbrewery located in Dunedin, New Zealand established in 1992. Emerson's produces eight year-round beers and three seasonal beers. In November 2012 the brewery was purchased by Australasian company Lion, which in turn is owned by Japanese brewing giant Kirin.

Steam Brewing Company is a New Zealand microbrewery located in Ōtāhuhu, Auckland. It was founded in October 1995 as the brewery for the Cock & Bull brewpub in East Tāmaki and currently brews beers for the Cock & Bull chain of taverns, as well as the retail beer Epic Pale Ale and several contracted beers including TaaKawa Ale. and previously the bottled beers for the Loaded Hog pub chain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Epic Brewing Company</span>

Epic Brewing Company is a brewing company located in Ōtāhuhu, Auckland, New Zealand. Epic beers are contract brewed at Steam Brewing Company. Their beers have won several awards in New Zealand and Australia. Epic went into liquidation on 25 July 2023 and was purchased by construction company Russell Group and beverage manufacturer Hancocks on 25 August, 2023.

Heineken N.V. is a Dutch brewer which owns a worldwide portfolio of over 170 beer brands, mainly pale lager, though some other beer styles are produced. The two largest brands are Heineken and Tecate; though the portfolio includes Amstel, Fosters, Sagres, Cruzcampo, Skopsko, Affligem, Żywiec, Starobrno, Zagorka, Zlatý Bažant, Laško and Birra Moretti.

The International Brewing Awards, previously known as the Brewing Industry International Awards (BIIA), is a biannual brewing competition with its origins dating to 1886. It is believed to be the oldest international brewing competition in the world.

Green Man Brewery is a microbrewery located in Dunedin, New Zealand established in 2006. Green Man produces a range of beers and prides itself on its strict use of organic ingredients and batch brewing. Green Man also considers itself as a sustainable brewery, relying on an on site bottle recycling plant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theakston Brewery</span> Brewery in Masham, North Yorkshire, England

T&R Theakston is a brewery in the market town of Masham, North Yorkshire, England. The company is the sixteenth largest brewer in the UK by market share, and the second largest brewer under family ownership after Shepherd Neame. Its best known beer is Old Peculier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian International Beer Awards</span> Annual brewing competition

Australian International Beer Awards (AIBA) is an annual brewing competition that commenced in 1992.

Invercargill Brewery was the southernmost brewer of beer in New Zealand. It was established by Steve Nally in 1999 near Invercargill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No-Li Brewhouse</span>

No-Li Brewhouse is a brewery and restaurant in Spokane, Washington, United States, co-founded by brewmaster Mark Irvin and beer industry executive John Bryant, expanding on Irvin's Northern Lights Brewery. The brewery is known for its emphasis on local sourcing and local production; in 2013 it was designated a "Spokane Style Beer" producer. Formerly known as Northern Lights Brewing, the company markets such beers as Born & Raised IPA and Big Juicy IPA.

The Great Australasian Beer SpecTAPular, or GABS as it is commonly known, is a beer and food festival that celebrates the diversity and creativity of craft beer. It is run by The Local Taphouse beer bars each year in Melbourne and Sydney and in 2015, almost 23,000 people attended the events.

References

  1. "Media",, DB Breweries.
  2. Rachel Young (15 July 2009). "DB fights to keep 'radler'". Marlborough Express. Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  3. "BEER REVIEWS: Radler trademark saga continues". Otago Daily Times. 13 July 2012. Archived from the original on 11 October 2012. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  4. "Law firm takes DB on over Radler trademark". Newshub. 18 November 2016. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  5. Porteous, Debbie (15 July 2011). "Fury over Radler trademark decision". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 22 August 2011.

Further reading