EDITORIAL

A Rhode Island success story

Posted 4/5/16

After a week of controversy has come a bit of news that should have Rhode Islanders truly feeling a bit cooler and warmer.

Narragansett beer, a local icon for decades, has announced it will return …

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EDITORIAL

A Rhode Island success story

Posted

After a week of controversy has come a bit of news that should have Rhode Islanders truly feeling a bit cooler and warmer.

Narragansett beer, a local icon for decades, has announced it will return a portion of its brewing operation to the Ocean State. The company has moved its corporate offices from Ship Street in Providence to the new space on Main Street in Pawtucket, and plans call for the production of craft beer at the site to begin as soon as this summer.

With the move – one delayed after a fire at the originally planned site in Providence last year – Narragansett makes good on a pledge from 2009 to return to the state if Rhode Islanders again embraced the brand. It also represents a homecoming for an enormously influential piece of the Rhode Island’s past.

Narragansett began in 1890 in Cranston, where it operated for nearly a century. For a time, it was the largest, most advanced, and most popular brewing operation in New England.

Narragansett continued operations through Prohibition, receiving a license to produce alcohol for medicinal purposes. It served for many years as the official beer of the Boston Braves and Boston Red Sox, and legendary Red Sox announcer Curt Gowdy coined the slogan, “Hi, neighbor! Have a ’Gansett.”

Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, worked in advertising for the company at one time. The brand earned an enduring place in the national consciousness when it was featured in the movie “Jaws.”

After ownership changes, Narragansett’s brewing operations moved out of state, and the tradition came to an end in the early 1980s. Then, in 2005, a group of local investors led by Mark Hellendrung purchased the brand with the goal of recapturing its former glory.

Their success since then has been remarkable. According to Hellendrung, Narragansett has grown to become New England’s fifth largest brewer, and the 37th largest in the nation. It is a major presence on shelves and taps in Rhode Island, and is sold in 16 states.

In its new incarnation, Narragansett has embraced the brand’s rich past while adopting a distinctly modern feel. Its crossover brews done in collaboration with Del’s Lemonade, Allie’s Donuts, and Autocrat Coffee, along with other seasonal and specialty products – including a series inspired by Providence horror writer H.P. Lovecraft – demonstrate the company’s adeptness at innovation, catching the public’s attention, and appealing to younger consumers.

While the company’s flagship Narragansett Lager will continue to be produced in Rochester, N.Y., the Rhode Island site is slated to produce many of its craft and specialty products. That is fitting, giving the emergence of craft brewing in Rhode Island – including at Brutopia Brewery & Kitchen in Cranston – as part of what has been a “golden age” of sorts for small brewers across the nation.

Narragansett’s return makes the Ocean State a little bit cooler, with a rising company in a dynamic industry choosing to do some of its most innovative work right here in our backyard. It likely has many feeling a little warmer, too – particularly those who remember Narragansett’s 20th-century heyday and have fond memories associated with the brand.

It’s a compelling story, and one Rhode Islanders can point to proudly. We hope it inspires others to dream big, and to invest themselves in the future of the place we all call home.

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  • Justanidiot

    So, we should get drunk on local beer so that we forget all our cares and woes.

    Next thing you know, Governor Raimondo will be telling us that because there is no bread, we should eat cake.

    Tuesday, April 5, 2016 Report this