A St John spokesman said an ambulance was called to the brewery at 9.12am with reports a man had fallen down a lift well.
The man was taken to Dunedin Hospital in a serious condition, he said.
Speight's Brewery spokeswoman Liz Read said the injured man was a subcontractor for elevator company Kone, working in a decommissioned lift in the brewery.
It was unclear how the injury happened as nobody had witnessed the accident.
The lift was cordoned off for an investigation and production at the brewery continued yesterday, she said.
Kone regional general manager Grant Winfield, of Auckland, who travelled to Dunedin yesterday, said he was ''mindful'' of the condition his contractor was in.
A WorkSafe NZ spokesman said it was investigating the incident.