A Winter Tale: The Past, Present and Future of Breweries

I remember it like it was yesterday. The sun had nearly passed below the horizon, lighting the sky with a thousand shades of gold and copper. There were a few stars in the sky that twinkled in the crisp winter air. Buildings in the distance appeared as monsters; black shadows on the winter sky. I trudged through the snow on the way to my favorite watering hole, seeking refuge from the biting chill and the warmth of good company. The tall pint of ale was just icing on the cake.

As I neared the door, I noticed the evergreen garland sprinkled with lights draped around the door and the neon signs reflecting off the new-fallen snow. A warm glow and the sound of hearty laughter greeted me as I made my way through the entrance. The bartender nodded in welcome and started to pour my favorite beer, anticipating what I wanted before I even sat down. There was a single seat open at the bar, which made the decision process that much easier. I sat down at the bar and took a moment to admire the beer the bartender just delivered. It had just the right amount of thick tan head and the ruby tones were accentuated by the low light in the bar. Hold on a moment, I have to enjoy this … ahhh.

The old man sitting next to me was watching my little spectacle and had a peculiar smile on his face. He had a large beard and a pleasant face that set me at ease. He wore large overalls and had boots that could have been burlap. I raised my pint in cheers to which he responded in kind with a knowing grin on his face. I could tell he was a fellow beer lover. We started talking about everything from hops and yeast to our favorite malts. Before I knew it, my glass was dry and I motioned for the bartender. This time I ordered a Narragansett Porter just in case neighboring patrons should doubt my authenticity, not that I really cared too much. The old man hearing my order turned and said, “Do you know what the first brewery in the state was?”

I shook my head meekly acknowledging that I had no idea. He smiled and laughed. “Not many people know but it was ol’ Roger Williams himself, back in 1639. After the colony of Rhode Island was formed, Mr. Williams appointed then Sergeant Baulston, an exile of the Massachusetts Bay Colony to run Providence’s first Beer Brewery and Winery.”

He took a long sip of his beer and continued to impart his knowledge of local beer history. “Records from those days are hard to come by and no one quite knows when the Sergeant Baulston brewery closed its doors. A few hundred years later, two brothers from Sharon, Mass. purchased some land right here in Providence. It was Fountain and Jackson street they were located on, I believe. Yes, the Old James Hanley Company was one of the largest brewing companies in the area for the longest time — 137 years.”

“Hanley Brewing Company? I’ve never heard of them,” I remarked.

“Well Hanley’s enterprise went on to grow over time and at one time was known as the American Brewing Company and finally the Providence Brewing Company until 1957 when it closed its doors. Oh boy, I sure miss going to that brewery when I was younger.

“Many breweries came and went over the years, but one of the biggest names that got us to where we are today was the old Narragansett. They bought out the Providence Brewing Company before they themselves were bought out by Falstaff 1965. It was a sad state of affairs back then; we only had one brewery in this state for a few years and then no breweries. My oh my, what terrible times.

“Well, not to leave you on a sour note, but my tankard is dry and I must be on my way. Always remember our state motto: Hope.”

I thanked the old man for a nice chat and turned back to contemplate and get lost in my porter.

A large group of patrons cheering broke my concentration. I figured that some local sports squadron had just won their match, but I craned my neck to see anyway. The group of people was nearing my perch at the bar led by a rather rotund man with a large beard wearing a green silk bathrobe and cradling a mini cask in one arm and a large drinking horn in the other. He wore a crown of what looked like dried hop vines atop his long, curly hair.

“How curious,” I thought as I turned back to the bar. I ordered a Revival Juliet 484 Stout and secretly hoped that this public spectacle would not sit next to me. I glanced over again to see the latest the spectacle had to offer and to my surprise, the bathrobe guy was sitting next to me. Great. He gave me hearty slap on the back and told the bartender that my next beer was on him. Well, good enough for me. I thanked him and raised my glass in a friendly gesture. Just like the gentleman before him, he did the same.  He then remarked, “Man, it’s been a helluva few years.”

“A few years?” I asked.

“Yes. the last few years have seen explosive growth of beer around here, and I couldn’t be happier!”

“I guess so,” I muttered.

The bathrobe guy furrowed his brow with a look of confusion and in an earthy tone said, “Well, I shall help you to know it better! It all started a few years ago. The time was ripe. People were getting unhappy with the bland, mass-produced beers from national suppliers. They yearned for honest beers made by their neighbors. Sure, we had our local favorites already such as Trinity, Newport Storm, Union Station and Mohegan Cafe, but Rhode Islanders thirsted for more. Arguably it all started with the return of a brand that all Rhode Islanders could believe in, Narragansett, back in 2005.  Brought back by Mark Hellendrung and associates it’s taken off like wild fire around the state and help whet our palates for the next class of breweries.”

Bathrobe guy pauses for a moment as he takes a long drink from his horn, beer spilling out into his beard. He wipes his mouth, lets out a large belch and proceeds to tell me more. “Yes, Narragansett was the first but others quickly followed. Revival, Foolproof, Bucket, Ravenous and Grey Sail all emerged in the early years of the latest craft beer renaissance. And the people who are behind the labels, let me tell you, are quite extraordinary, not to mention our neighbors. Why, you might even know a few of them yourself.”

I thought about it for a moment and realized that I did indeed know a few of them. He continued on, extolling the virtues of the Coffee Milk Stout by Ravenous, a small startup out of Woonsocket, and then on to the five friends who started Bucket Brewery, and even to the husband and wife team that started Grey Sail. He then talked about the meteoric rise of Foolproof and the quiet leviathan, Revival. He talked for what seemed like hours and yet my beer never was empty. Just when I thought my brain was to explode from all the information, he stopped abruptly and said he must be going. It was only then I became aware of the loud boisterous group of patrons standing behind me. They were the same ones that he entered with.  I bid bathrobe guy good night to which he responded “I’m sure we’ll meet again someday over a pint of ale.”

I smiled and nodded. He was then enveloped by the crowd of people waiting for him.

I decided I’d have just one more beer before I went home for the night. I ordered one of my favorite beers, Newport Storm Winter to close out the night. I just started to sip the strong, dark ale when there was a blur of movement on the stool next to me. I looked over and saw that a young woman now occupied it. She couldn’t have been more than a few days over 21, and I had to resist the urge to ask for her ID.

She said, “Wow, so many great beers. What would you recommend?”

Before I could respond, she said she would have a pale ale from Providence Brewing Company. The bartender nodded and I looked at her wondering if I had temporarily gone back in time. She noticed my dumbfounded expression, laughed and said, “Silly, didn’t you hear? Providence Brewing Company has been resurrected!”

I responded that it was all news to me. She continued, “Not only is Providence Brewing Company supposed to come back, but there’s new ones on the horizon! Proclamation Ale Company and Tilted Barn Brewery are both primed and ready to hit in the next year, and that’s just the start! There are some projects that haven’t even been announced yet. Get with the times man!” She grabbed her beer from the counter and was gone just as quickly as she had arrived.

The hour had grown late and I had a long walk home, so I asked the bartender for my tab. The bartender replied, “What tab? Your friends have been buying your beers all night!”

I left a few dollars on the bar and headed out the door. As I walked home I thought about the characters I met. As I gazed up into the winter sky, I remembered what each of them told me and realized that the future was pretty bright for local beer in Rhode Island, just as bright as the stars that had now taken hold of the heavens.

From across the street, a man dressed in a Santa suit hollered, “Merry Beermas to all and to all a good beer!!”