A few weeks ago Coastal Extreme Brewing Co., moved into its new facility at 239 J.T. Connell Road, part of a redevelopment project in the North End of Newport. For 11 years, the company brewed its trademark craft beer, Newport Storm’s Hurricane Amber Ale, in nearby Middletown and marketed it under the slogan: “One airport, one area code, one beer.”
The new facility marks a major transition for the company, which was founded in 1999 by four Colby College graduates. “It was myself and three friends from college. We had degrees in biochemistry, and we had figured out how to make beer in school,” explained co-founder, CEO and President Brent Ryan. “We came up with this idea, let’s start a microbrewery,” he said. “We often visited Newport during the summer, and we thought, what a great place [for a microbrewery].”
Rhode Island, unlike other New England states, did not have a microbrewery of its own at that time. Today, while there are a number of brew pubs operating in Rhode Island, Ryan, 34, proudly proclaims that the Newport Storm microbrewery is the “only one that bottles beer in Rhode Island. All of our beer is sold through our wholesale and retail network.”
In addition to its Hurricane Amber Ale, Newport Storm has developed its own year-round Rhode Island Blueberry Ale, made with blueberries from Shartner Farms in Exeter. “We use the wine press at Newport Vineyards to press out the berries,” Ryan explained. “Most beers are made with artificial extracts. We use real blueberries, and you can taste the difference.”
Newport Storm also makes seasonal craft beers – a spring ale, a summer ale, a winter ale, as well as an Oktoberfest. In 2005, Newport Storm created its Cyclone series – “extreme” beers that, according to the Web site description, are either “aggressively hopped, unusually flavorful or high in alcohol.” The Cyclone series is packaged in bottles and shipped out in six-packs, with a limited number of cases produced. The series is named with human names, much like hurricanes. Finally, the microbrewery produces a limited number of special Newport Storm high-alcohol brews, packaged in cobalt blue 750 ml wine-style bottles, corked and aged a year before it is released.
About 85 percent of Newport Storm’s craft beers are sold in Rhode Island through wholesale distributors. In turn, in the marketplace, explained Ryan, “retailers buy our beer from the wholesalers.” The biggest challenge, he continued, is getting your beer on tap, or on the shelf at a store.
Because the price points for craft beer are a little higher, Ryan says that the major competition is from higher-priced, imported beers. “If you’re willing to spend more money on your beer, you’re willing to try something local,” he said. “We’re not your typical, local fizzy variety. We charge a little more for our beer. It’s about what’s inside the bottle, not on the label.”
Narragansett, for instance, is not seen as a competitor, according to Ryan. “They sell in a different space. It’s a light lager, it sells at a lower price point. People who drink Narragansett are not likely to drink craft beer,” he said.
And, Coastal Extreme is willing to experiment, to take some risks, Ryan continued. “There’s a farmer in Exeter who has planted some hops,” he said. “Hopefully, either this harvest or next, we’ll make a beer with local, Rhode Island-grown hops.”
The new facility offers Coastal Extreme more room – about two-and-a-half times the space than its former location. Also, the company no longer has to rent three garage bays. At the same time, the move has allowed the microbrewery to upgrade its equipment. “Improving your beer doesn’t mean changing the recipe. It means ensuring that all of your beer tastes as good as it did on the day it left the brewery,” he said.
The new facility is also better able to accommodate the steady stream of visitors who want to see the process of brewing beer. “If we were making office furniture, not many people would want to visit,” Ryan said. “At our new place, we have a nice visitor center, open noon to 5 p.m., regardless of what’s happening in the brewery.” •
COMPANY PROFILE
Coastal Extreme Brewing Co.
Owners: Derek Luke, Brent Ryan
(CEO and president), Mark Sinclair and Will Rafferty
Type of business: Microbrewery
Location: 293 J.T. Connell Road,
Newport
Employees: 8
Year established: 1999
Annual Sales: No dollar value given for 4,000 barrels of beer produced
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