Crushing it! Narragansett Beer and JAWS
What do hardened shark fishermen from Amity Island drink? ‘Gansett’ of course, but was it by accident that this Rhode Island brewed beer ended up in an iconic scene in the first major summer blockbuster? Kind of, but it depends who you ask.
So, how did Narragansett Beer end up getting crushed on the deck of the Orca by actor Captain Quint? Well, according to BJ Mansuetti, Brand Director at Narragansett Brewing Company the story is one of pure chance.
BJ said: “It actually wasn't by accident, but it wasn't by our doing either. As the story goes, Steven Spielberg wanted the film to feel authentic. He and his team went to talk to local fisherman on the docks at Martha's Vineyard to see what they were drinking. It was ‘Gansett' and the rest is pretty much history. We were a pretty big company back then and it was by far the most popular beer in New England, so it's not a surprise that he found it in the hands of fishermen.”
The beer actually had the potential to play a larger role in the film, had the iconic scene been more like that of the original Benchley book. In the book, rather than crushing the can to intimidate Matt Hooper, Quint shoots beer cans on deck of the Orca using a makeshift skeet launcher, taunting Hooper for not joining in. It may have been decided that this scene was possibly too long so a quick can crush did the job instead.
A symbolic moment
The crushing of the Narragansett beer can is very symbolic in many ways. BJ Mansuetti believes that this moment represents the ongoing struggle between the working person and the elitist - book smarts vs hands-on knowledge, but perhaps more importantly, an outcast showing society their worth. When the film was released cans were made with much more metal so the feat of strength was much more impressive than it would be with today’s aluminium cans.
Mansuetti remarked, “While Hooper's character and role ends up being pretty misunderstood initially, perhaps right up until Quint and Hooper are trading stories about their battle scars, Quint represents the rest of us - determined to make a difference and prove our worth regardless of the odds or years stacked against us. What I personally love most about this scene is that you don't really dislike Hooper, he's actually a bit of a badass in his own way, but you still end up rooting for Quint even when he's being a cocky jackass. In the end, maybe the greater lesson is that amongst all of the bickering we're actually all in this together.”
Ian Shaw (son of Robert) with the classic can crushed by his dad during his surprise introduction to Jaws WeMake
But according to legendary Jaws production designer, Joe Alves, the story is a little different to BJ’s, “I don’t remember any discussion about a specific beer. To my knowledge it was just the prop mans choice.”
Fairwell and adieu
Unfortunately the success of the film did not have the positive impact on the sales of Narragansett Beer that one might expect. In 1975, as JAWS began to set box office records alight, the fortunes of Narragansett were heading the opposite direction which was the start to a long run of tough years for the Rhode Island based brewery.
Such was the iconic moment in Jaws, that it went on to become part of the Narragnasett marketing campaign
The company was sold to Falstaff Brewing Company in Indiana which lead to major changes in Narragansett's marketing, community partnerships, and structure - all of which negatively impacted the sales of Narragansett. Interestingly the beer in the movie that Cassidy (Chrissy Watkins’ boyfriend) drinks is Falstaff beer.
By 1981 the brewery in Rhode Island that employed about 1,000 workers and deeply supported the community around it was closed down for good. Production was moved to Indiana, where a new recipe was implemented and the brand quickly fell out of favour which caused sales to drop further.
BJ Mansuetti told me, “To us looking back at it, JAWS was almost like a last hurrah before we, like Quint, we were dragged under.”
Narragansett 2: The Return
But, much like the Jaws franchise, Narragansett wasn’t quite finished and in 2005 was purchased by New England resident Mark Hellendrung.
BJ added, “It’s great that the movie was, and is, such a large piece of American pop-culture and international film history. It really is amazing to have played such a small roll in it. For us, it's also an excuse to have a ton of fun with our fans. It's wild to think that when our company essentially restarted in 2005, the popularity of JAWS was still there waiting for us.”
Narragansett played on the brand association with JAWS and in 2012 re-released the classic can design from the 1970s. The promotion was designed to co-incide with Discovery Channel’s Shark Week and in honour of Robert Shaw who would have been turning 86.
The campaign has been extremely successful, coming back each year to coincide with Shark Week. Plus, in 2016 Narragansett teamed up with the Shark Research & Conservation Program at the University of Miami to help support shark conservation efforts in the Atlantic Ocean, comparable to the conservation efforts made by Jaws author, the late Peter Benchley.
Clearly we cannot claim that the success of the relaunch of Narragansett is solely down to the continued popularity of JAWS, but it is certainly apparent that it may have something to do with it. I do not think it would be a stretch to assume that the cult-status of JAWS and the avid way in which we as fans lap-up any and all things related to the movie-masterpiece has helped to turn things around for Narragansett Beer. A true story of the positive power of fandom!
About the Author
My name is Chris Claxton and I am a beer enthusiast, marketer, journalist and a member of the British Guild of Beer Writers. JAWS has been my all time favourite film for as long as I can remember, so writing a piece about Narragansett Beer and its inclusion in Jaws has been a dream come true!
I also run a website called brewdidthat.com, which is a place to learn about the top UK breweries and what beers are worth spending your money on.
You can follow me directly on Twitter and instagram (@topherclax) or follow @brewdidthat.
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