The Return of Retro Beers

Ever since Pabst Blue Ribbon became popular, other regional brands have staged comebacks.  Recently, I ran across  a couple of stories about the resurrection of some regional beers.

BEN SARLE, for the Free Press

Narraganset Beer.  "Narragansett was the official beer of the Red Sox for 40 years and the No. 1 beer in New England from 1919 until the late 1960s," said Mark Hellendrung, CEO of Narragansett Beer in Providence, R.I., and former president of Magic Hat Brewing Co.  Hellendrung bought the company with a group of investors in 2005 for less than $100,000.  Narragansett was  brewing less than 1,000 barrels a year, and was sold only in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.  The 156 Bistro in downtown Burlington, Vermont, began selling Narragansett about two weeks ago, and it seems to be doing well.  (That's bar manager Jana Schulz in the photo, holding a pint of Narraganset beer.)

Rheingold Beer.   Drinks Americas, a Connecticut beverage marketer, teamed up with the Lion Brewery in Wilkes-Barre to bring Rheingold Beer to the shelves for the first time in 35 years. Rheingold was brewed from 1868 to 1976. The company's headquarters was in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn and Rheingold was the official beer of the New York Mets. Sadly, this won't be the same Rheingold, which the current owner considers "unpalatable."  So the Rheingold you can buy in New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Ohio won't be the beer that John Wayne drank.  So far, Rheingold is in more than 3000 accounts.