- Narragansett Brewing Company
-
Narragansett Brewing Company 
Type Private company Industry Alcoholic beverage Founded 1890 Headquarters Providence, Rhode Island, USA Products Beer Owner(s) Mark Hellendrung Website www.narragansettbeer.net
The Narragansett Brewing Company was founded in Cranston, Rhode Island, USA, in 1890. It was closed on July 31, 1981, and then re-established in 2005.Formerly the number one selling brand in New England, Narragansett now occupies a relatively narrow segment of the market. Originally brewed in the city of Cranston, it was famous for its drinkability and the advertising slogan, "Hi, Neighbor, have a 'Gansett!," most famously uttered by Boston Red Sox announcer Curt Gowdy.
Contents
History
Narragansett Brewing Company was founded in 1890 with $150,000 in capital. A brick brewing house was built in Cranston, Rhode Island, and in December 1890, the first beer was produced. The following year, the company officially incorporated.
The grounds of the Narragansett Brewing Company included a barn, a stable, a blacksmith, seventy-five horses, forty-five wagons, gas-powered trucks, electric trucks, twenty-five refrigerated train cars and its own ice plant.
In 1914, when the company built the most modern bottling plant in the region, it became official: Narragansett Brewing Company was the largest lager beer brewery in New England. Rudolf F. Haffenreffer would eventually become president and chairman of Narragansett Brewing Company and remain involved until his death in 1954. The Haffenreffer brewery in Boston survived until 1965, at which time brands Haffenreffer Lager Beer, Pickwick Ale and Pickwick Bock Beer became the property of the Narragansett Brewing Company.
Falstaff Brewing Company purchased Narragansett Brewing Company on July 15, 1965 for $17 million in cash and $2 million in Falstaff common stock. The plan was for the brewery to continue operating as a wholly owned subsidiary of Falstaff, under Haffenreffer management, and that the Narragansett brand would be retained and actively promoted.
Multi-millionaire Paul Kalmanovitz obtained majority control of Narragansett's parent corporation, the Falstaff Brewing Co., on April 28, 1975. The San Francisco brewer and businessman bought the brewery for an undisclosed amount. Soon after the purchase Falstaff's corporate headquarters moved from St. Louis, Missouri to San Francisco, California.
The brewery officially closed on July 31, 1981. When production of the beer moved to the Falstaff plant in Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1982, many felt that the quality of the beer was not the same, and the decline in sales accelerated. After sitting abandoned for over a decade, demolition began on the main brewery buildings on October 27, 1998. The brewery's Trolley Barn located across the street was spared for redevelopment, but eventually succumbed to the wrecking ball in June 2005. The site has remained unoccupied since. In Cranston, RI, a large shopping center was recently constructed on the site of an old brewery. The Brewery Parkade sits on about 42 ac. of land, much of it paved or covered by buildings: a large grocery store, a Lowe’s home-improvement center, and a Kmart retailer.
After changing hands several times, the brand was bought in 2005 by a team of local Rhode Island investors led by former juice executive Mark D. Hellendrung, who announced plans to expand its market share and reinvigorate the Narragansett brand identity. Since the purchase, the brand has indeed been revitalized with the help of former brewer Bill Anderson, and some sharp new packaging. Narragansett beer, now contract brewed by Genesee Brewing Company, has been available again throughout Southern New England since spring of 2006. The lager and light beers are brewed at their brewery in Rochester, New York, while the bock and porter are craft-brewed in Providence, Rhode Island and Pawcatuck, Connecticut.
In the summer of 2007, Narragansett reintroduced puzzle messages (also known as a rebus) under the caps of their Haffenreffer line of beer. The puzzle messages were first used in the 1970s, and became one of the signature features of Haffenreffer. The original Haffenreffer, a malt liquor sold as a six pack of green 16 oz. bottles as Haffenreffer Private Stock, was noted for its potency and was often referred to as "green death" by young drinkers.
Advertising
Naragansett sponsored Boston Red Sox and Braves baseball broadcasts through much of the first half of the 20th century. The Braves switched sponsors to P. Ballantine & Sons in 1950, while the Sox stayed with Narragansett. For years, announcers such as Jim Britt, Curt Gowdy and Kevin Baker touted the "straight from the barrel taste" of 'Gansett, brewed with "seedless hops." In the late 1960s, Narragansett was replaced by F& M Schaeffer Brewing as sponsor of Red Sox Baseball, which was followed by a decline in its popularity.
See also
References
Bibliography
- Downing, Neil. "Narragansett Beer returning to Rhode Island". The Providence Journal, July 23, 2005.
External links
Categories:- Beer brewing companies based in Rhode Island
- Companies based in Providence, Rhode Island
- Companies established in 1888
- Falstaff Brewing Corporation
- Pabst Brewing Company
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
