In a rare and tragic brewery accident, the industry has lost one of its own.
A brewery worker died from injuries received during an explosion of a beer keg Tuesday at Redhook Ale Brewery in Portsmouth, N.H.
The employee was identified as Newington resident Ben Harris.
Assistant Fire Chief Steve Achilles said the brewery employee had been pressurizing a keg by filling it with air as part of a cleaning process to remove residual beer.
“The keg failed and exploded, and he was injured by parts of the keg,” Achilles said.
Andy Thomas, vice president of Redhook’s commercial operations, said the Redhook organization is “saddened by the tragic event that occurred at the Portsmouth brewery this morning, resulting in the death of one of our employees.”
“Our deepest sympathies go out to his family,” Thomas said. “We are doing everything in our power to understand the circumstances surrounding this tragic accident and have closed down all non-essential operations at the Portsmouth brewery, including the pub, while the investigation continues.”