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Narragansett Beer CEO on moving to RI, two new beers

narragansett beerBy Kim Kalunian, WPRO News 

Narragansett Beer is continuing their quest to return beer production to Rhode Island.

In March, CEO Mark Hellendrung revealed that they and Isle Brewers Guild had been eyeing a vacant mill building on Kinsley Avenue in Providence that was destroyed by a massive fire.

On Tuesday, he told WPRO News theyโ€™re still pushing forward with their plans for a Rhode Island location despite the setback.

โ€œWe hit that speed bump in Providence with the fire in March,โ€ said Helledrung, โ€œBut weโ€™ve been pressing forward and weโ€™re just dotting the Iโ€™s and crossing the Tโ€™s, weโ€™ve got a location, and should have some pretty big news come October or November.โ€

According to reports from the Valley Breeze, Isle Brewing Company was looking at the Kellaway Center at 461 Main St. in Pawtucket following the Providence fire. Hellendrung didnโ€™t offer specific details on where the new Narragansett production facility would be.

The announcement comes as Hellendrung releases two new brews with strong local ties: a Town Beach IPA and a collaborative porter with Allieโ€™s Donuts.

The bottoms of the cans of the new IPA, out on shelves now, have been stamped with โ€œFREE TB12,โ€ a nod to Patriots nation, the Deflategate controversy, and Helledrungโ€™s own fandom.

He said the stamp is a response to Indianaโ€™s Sun King Brewing, a group that also stamped their beer cans earlier this summer with a slightly different message: โ€œTom Brady Sux.โ€ Hellendrung said thereโ€™s no bad blood between them and itโ€™s just a friendly rivalry.

Hellendrung said the 6,000 cans of the IPA could become collectorโ€™s items, and heโ€™s already had requests for shipments from Pats fans in Ohio, Florida and Texas.

He said the โ€œTB12โ€ also has a dual meaning:  Town Beach is Narragansettโ€™s twelfth craft brew.

โ€œThereโ€™s a lot of serendipity involved there,โ€ he said.

Hellendrung also confirmed reports that Narragansett and Allieโ€™s Donuts are joining forces to create a Double Chocolate Porter that will be out next month.

โ€œWe just keep telling a story through beer and fortunately we live in this great state and have a lot of great things to play around with,โ€ he said.

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