Good Old New England

Beer #341 Narragansett Lager / Narragansett Brewing Company, Providence, RI
Beers to go: 25

I had an immensely productive day today, which is an awesome way to close out a Thursday and open up a three day weekend.  It's Friday, so I won't bore you with any more details, it's time for happy hour to begin and the party to start.

Tonight's beer is the Narragansett Lager from Narragansett Brewing company.  This pounder can pours out a clear, effervescent gold color with a quickly dissipating head.  The aroma is a light mix of grain and sweetness, and the taste is clean, with plenty of grain, bread, and barley.  Not a terribly complex beer, but if you're looking for something simple and easy drinking (and a FAR more flavorful alternative to macro light beers), you've got it.  Maybe it's because I grew up on Yuengling Lager, but I was originally expecting more malt flavor in this one.  However, once I got that out of my head, it was easy to see that this would be a great tailgate beer.  Plus, beer in pounder cans is always better, that's just a fact.

Sold on Merit

Interesting history behind this brewery, as it originally opened in 1890 in the town of Cranston.  It produced one of the most popular beers in the New England region, and was eventually sold to Falstaff Brewing Company for $19 million back in 1965.  The original brewery in Cranston closed in 1981, and once giant St. Louis based brewer Falstaff eventually went of of business, Narragansett was off the market.  The original brand name was sold to a group of investors in 2005, who have relaunched the famous brew.  Their website has a nice recap of the history, and a photo gallery of 'Gansett Girls, if you're into that pretty girl sort of thing.

Thing to Think About Today:
The weekend is officially underway, and I might as well keep with the weekend theme and drop in some Vampire Weekend.  I saw them headline the Roots Picnic in Philly two summers ago, and they absolutely killed that night.  They have a pop/world sound that always brings me back to the best of Paul Simon.  They're not everyone's cup of tea; they can come off as a bit too preppy/Ivy League/trust fund/Frat Bro/too smart for their own good at times, but for me they're fantastic.  Hard to believe I waited 341 days to get us thinking about them, actually.  Shall we ride along into the weekend?  We shall, and we'll start with A-Punk:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5jBgLZnyQw

And I'll go ahead and close out today with a slowed down, acoustic (with string trio!) version of the song Vampire Weekend used to close out the Roots Picnic, Walcott.  A song that just happens to be about life in New England - where this brewery is from.  Hooray music for smart people!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXBnzvHQTDI

Beer 335: Narragansett Lager and Friday Night Randomness

Some random thoughts to keep you cozy on a dark November night...

1. Friday night traffic in the Philadelphia suburbs may ultimately be the death of me. It's as if I took out my invisible car for the commute home.

2. My physical aversion to onions seems to be encompassing garlic now. I will be ignoring this fact and making myself ill for the next several months with the hope that it just stops.

3. I have A LOT of bourbon. If you consider the overall category of whiskey, then it appears I may be opening a liquor store.

4. This was an incredibly productive week. First one in awhile where I didn't come home on Friday hell bent on drowning my sorrows in beer.

That being said I am having a beer -- a nice, light, easy drinking lager from the Narragansett Brewing Company.


It pours a bright golden color with a thick white head. It smells exactly like what I would want a scratch 'n sniff beer sticker to smell like. It tastes sweet, bready and grainy. Very even balance of malt and hop with just a bit of a kick at the very end of the sip. It's a little still for my tastes, but it is easy to drink. At 5% ABV, it is also quite sessionable. Why is this adjunct America lager good in my book when so many others made me want to barf? I can't begin to guess. There's just something appealing about this one.

Cheers!