Hi neighbor.
My wine pursuits have been a bit scattered lately, but I have to come clean with a lager that I have enjoyed during this intermission. It’s a New England brew, and has been making a very substantial comeback the past five years. Did you guess it?: Narragansett.
Since its demise, the beer has earned a bit of a reputation for being cheap and banal. I used to lower my head and cover my face while waiting in line at the register to purchase my six-pack of tall boys (that’s right- 16 oz. cans)- until recently. The new uptick seems to be attributed to an attention to the brewery’s grass roots, a reinvestment in the product by a group of enthusiastic entrepreneurs, and a revival of the 120-year old recipe. Will it get you style points at the piano bar? Probably not- yet. It’s not a craft brew, nor does it pretend to be. Yet if I rate the ancient lager alongside the microbrews I frequently enjoy, it still fares well. It’s nothing short of being a full-bodied, yet subtly articulated joyful draft about which you can have a nostalgic conversation with your father, aunt or grandpa. Can beer span the generation gap? Yes, yes it can.
The new organization is campaigning to build a brewery in New England, and re-establish itself as “the local beer.” You can check out their progress on the Narragansett beer website (if, of course, you are 21!)
