citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . january 2011 learn how and when to remove this template message narragansett brewing company type private company industry alcoholic beverage founded 1890 headquarters providence rhode island united states products beer owner mark hellendrung website www.narragansettbeer.com the narragansett brewing company is an american brewery founded in cranston rhode island in 1890 . narragansett was formerly the number one selling brand in new england but it now occupies a relatively narrow segment of the market . it was originally brewed in the city of cranston and was famous for its drinkability and the advertising slogan hi neighbor have a gansett most famously uttered by boston red sox announcer curt gowdy . citation needed contents 1 history 2 advertising 3 see also 4 references 4.1 bibliography 5 external links history edit narragansett brewing company was founded in 1890 with us 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 a rhode island industrialist and philanthropist with massachusetts brewing interests 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 were licensed to 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 cranston municipal courthouse and the sanford brown institute were both built on the site of the brewery proper with the trolley barn lot still remaining vacant . in a large lot south of the former brewery grounds is the cranston parkade originally opened in 2000 as the brewery parkade a retail plaza anchored by a kmart a lowe s and a stop & shop . the original name was a nod to the neighboring brewery . 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 . the brand also produces a summer ale available during the summer season and a cream ale a year round offering . on april 3 2016 it was announced that the narragansett beer brewery would be relocating to pawtucket rhode island . 1 advertising edit 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 . during the 1940s theodor geisel better known as dr. seuss was hired by the narragansett brewing company to create advertising pieces for the company . it was at this time that the chief gansett character came to be soon after becoming an iconic figure of the brand . in october 2012 coinciding with shark week narragansett reintroduced a can design from 1975 which was featured in the movie jaws . in the 1975 film captain quint the shark hunter played by robert shaw crushes a can of gansett with one hand to intimidate the oceanographer matt hooper played by richard dreyfuss . the campaign featured the tagline honor the man . crush the can . and the twitter hashtag crushitlikequint . 2 see also edit rudolf f. haffenreffer references edit we re building a brewery . retrieved 3 april 2016 . http www.narragansettbeer.com 2013 08 crush it like quint 1975 throwback cans are back bibliography edit downing neil . narragansett beer returning to rhode island . the providence journal july 23 2005 . external links edit official web site boston phoenix narragansett beer narragansett beer products retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title narragansett brewing company & oldid 742017671 categories beer brewing companies based in rhode islandcompanies based in providence rhode islandcompanies established in 1888falstaff brewing corporationpabst brewing companyamerican beer brandsfood and drink companies established in 1888hidden categories articles needing additional references from january 2011all articles needing additional referencesall articles with unsourced statementsarticles with unsourced statements from march 2016 navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to 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