Narragansett Brewing is in its revival era

A conversation about Narragansett’s evolution into a more modern brand, how they adapt to changing consumer tastes, and more.

Last fall, I was invited to visit Providence, Rhode Island, a relatively small city with a quickly growing food and drink scene. I had been twice before, but for very short trips, so it was fun to visit for a few days with a fully packed culinary itinerary. On that trip, I talked with a lot of really great hospitality folks, so this is the first in a series of issues about Providence.

Patrick McGuire is the Director of Marketing at Narragansett Brewing, a 136 year old beer brand based in Providence, Rhode Island. In his role, he is responsible for the larger distribution of their beer, as well as all the tap room marketing.

We chatted about the brewery’s history, its evolution from a legacy to modern beer brand, and how they adapt to changing consumer tastes.

Brianna Plaza: Can you give me a brief history of the brewery?

Patrick Maguire: It’s been around for a long time, 135 years. It was New England’s largest brewery throughout the 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s. Through a flurry of different sales and ownership changes, the brewery just got knocked on its face.

By the 80s, production had been moved out to Indiana, so the beer started losing its identity then. The brewery eventually closed in New England, and it changed owners a few other times. It ended up within the Pabst brand for a bit and by then, the brand was pretty much on its deathbed.

In 2005, the brand was bought by Mark Hellendrung, who is still our president today, alongside a group of Rhode Island investors, and they’ve spent the last 20 years rebuilding the brand. We’re one of the top craft breweries in the country, and in 2024, we were named BrewBound’s large brewery of the year.

It’s been this great underdog story where the brand was nearly dead and gone, and we’ve been on this revival arc for the past 20 years. We’re definitely a regional brand, but we’re the little engine that could, and we continue to stay positive and above the line.

Brianna Plaza: How do you think about the beers you sell in the tap room, what gets distributed where, and how you expand the brand with varieties people might not know about?

Patrick Maguire: I think the tap room’s a great way of trying new things before we sell it via distribution. There are opportunities that if a beer does well within the tap room, we can at least open up distribution locally and get it into more packaged stores and hospitality businesses.

That’s what the tap room is all about. People know us for our lager, but we’ve also had a porter, a bock, an October fest — over time, those went away. With the tap room opening up in 2021, it was an opportunity to bring back the craft and heritage side of the business. Last year, we released O’Neill’s Irish Red Ale that did really well, so this year we’re doing it again and producing more and getting distribution out into different areas locally.

Brianna Plaza: During Prohibition, Narragansett brewed non-alcoholic drinks. How does Narragansett lean into that history and adapt to peoples’ drinking habits?

Patrick Maguire: It’s something we continually talk about. We’re known for American-style lager, so we don’t want to veer too far from that. Everyone is doing NA, but we don’t want to jump in just to jump in. We’d rather do it with some thought. Is there a need in the market for us to have that? It’s not something we necessarily need to work on unless there’s an opportunity to with distributors. We want to be thoughtful with the legacy of the brand.

Brianna Plaza: I really like the Narragansett branding and it’s interesting that it hasn’t changed much in its history. How do you think about that longevity?

Patrick Maguire: I think the Hi Neighbor! aspect of the brand is very ownable and iconic, so why would we get away from that? I feel like there are always these historical connections to the Narragansett brand.

There’s this water cooler effect that the brand can bring with these stories and memories. That’s really where the Hi Neighbor! mantra is just so true to the brand ethos of being inclusive and neighborly.

So for me, that’s the trademark that has stood the test of time and not necessarily something we need to get away from. The brand is the stories and the neighborly approach, and that’s something we should hold on to.

Brianna Plaza: How do you stay relevant as a legacy brand?

Patrick Maguire: The history and heritage still play a part. When people are looking for an American-style lager and seeing what’s out there that’s not necessarily Anheuser-Busch — there’s curiosity that comes from that. There’s a little bit of if you know you know about this brand, so that gives us a bit of that edge when it comes to relevancy.

The flavor and quality of the lager itself, especially when you compare to other inexpensive American-style lagers, holds up pretty well against other brands. People have intrigue and interest in the brand and the brand story, so they pick it up and try it. The quality is what keeps them coming back.