TheCraft Beer Movement has produced some pretty neat things, beyond an explosion of hop farms and cool labels. In many cases, craft beer has preserved history and revived historic names in the beer. I think of Yards Brewing that makes a series of beers using the original recipes of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, or Anchor which keeps the tradition of its Steam beer alive for all of these years, or Dogfish Head’s Ancient Ales.

Then there are names like Narragansett (two r’s, two t’s, one s). This Rhode Island-based brewery was founded in 1890 and had a proud tradition of brewing. It was one of those regional beers like Utica Club, Yuengling, Genny Cream Ale and Old Vienna, very popular in its geographic area but with a name the echoed beyond its boundaries. The brewery went dark in 1981, but an investment group brought it back to life in 2005. It contracts most of its beers to the makers of Genesee Beer in Rochester and has a distribution that reaches the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic.

I’ve enjoyed a few too many of their lagers and bocks over time, and I find myself liking their summer offerings and coffee milk stout. But, we’re here to talk about a dark honey ale named after one of Rhode Island’s many tortured artists: H.P. Lovercraft. Lovecraft was a reclusive writer of horror and pulp fiction around the turn of the century (not this one, the last one), who lived penniless and unappreciated during his time. Not unlike other tortured souls, he would be celebrated posthumously as one of his genre’s most significant contributors.

Narragansett pays tribute to his work with sweet and malty ale that pours as dark as Lovecraft’s work. The Lovecraft Honey Ale resembles a brown ale but tastes like a sweet bock. A hoppy kick on the backend is the lone reminder of its ale status, not unlike one of Lovecraft’s characters leaving the scene of their crime.

The Craft Beer Movement is not simply about how many hops one can use in one batch of beer. It’s about looking to our past and reliving the past greats. Narragansett’s return is a credit to the movement, and the Lovecraft Honey Ale — made with honor and sold on merit, according to the can — is a credit to the brewery.

Brewer: Narragansett Beer

Beer: Lovecraft Honey Ale

Style: Dark ale

ABV: 7.0% IBU: 30

Container: 16 oz. can

Price: $2.89 (purchased as a single) Point of Purchase: Oliver’s Beverage, Albany, N.Y.

To The Eye: Looks like a brown ale. Clear and dark, dark amber. Nice foam lacing that lasts throughout.

To The Nose: Sweet and sticky from the honey malts.

To The Palate: Malt all the way through here. Sweet and strong. Medium bodied. Good, but felt a little unrefined.

Aftertaste: Mild hop kick on the backend.

Boozy Factor: Deceptively boozy at 7%. You don’t really feel it until later.

On a Scale of 1 to 10, with 10 as highest: 7