'Crush It Like Quint' - Narragansett Beer Celebrates 'Shark Week' with Commemorative 'Jaws' Can

Narragansett Beer is reintroducing a can design featured in the 1975 movie Jaws.

The Rhode Island-based brewer announced Tuesday the temporary re-release of its wildly popular Jaws can, which depicts a ship and a red diagonal stripe, in honor of the Discovery Channel's "Shark Week", and Jaws actor Robert Shaw’s birthday. 

The can’s retro imagery, nostalgic to the millions of beer-drinking baby boomers who came of age at the time, became permanently ingrained in American culture with the release of Jaws in 1975. 

In the film, Captain Sam Quint, played by Oscar-nominated actor Robert Shaw, who would have turned 86 on Aug. 9, famously crushes a can of Narragansett Lager to intimidate Richard Dreyfuss’ character, Matt Hooper. At the time, ‘Gansett was prevalent throughout the Northeast, including Martha’s Vineyard where “Jaws” was filmed, producing over one million barrels of beer per year.

While this classic can design may recall memories of the good ol’ days, the quality of its contents also speaks to the brand’s rich heritage. Narragansett Lager is the brewer’s flagship beer, its original recipe tracked down by former Brewmaster Bill Anderson when the company was revived by CEO Mark Hellendrung in 2005. Since then, it has been recognized by BeerAdvocate.com as the No. 1 rated domestic premium lager and awarded the gold medal for best lager by the Great International Beer Festival.

The 12-ounce limited-edition retro can is available for purchase throughout New England where 12-, 18- and 30-packs are sold.