EAST GREENWICH — A shiny New England Patriots helmet sits on the back bar at LineSider Brewing. Surprisingly, it's the only sign in the space of co-owner Dan Koppen’s former success as an offensive lineman in the NFL.

Koppen wore the helmet, with its iconic "Flying Elvis," on the field at Super Bowl XXXIX, in 2005. These days, however, the former center favors caps and beanies branded with the LineSider logo, to promote the brewery he opened in late November with his [...]

EAST GREENWICH — A shiny New England Patriots helmet sits on the back bar at LineSider Brewing. Surprisingly, it's the only sign in the space of co-owner Dan Koppen’s former success as an offensive lineman in the NFL.

Koppen wore the helmet, with its iconic "Flying Elvis," on the field at Super Bowl XXXIX, in 2005. These days, however, the former center favors caps and beanies branded with the LineSider logo, to promote the brewery he opened in late November with his business partner, Jeremy Ruff.

LineSider is the first, and currently the only, brewery in East Greenwich. Koppen and Ruff, who both live in the town, brew during the week and then open the facility as a taproom every Friday through Sunday. Rather than focusing on a particular style of beer, they’re striving for variety, making everything from New England IPAs to lagers and stouts.

Koppen says the name of the brewery is not a reference to the offensive line, but to Rhode Island's state fish, the striped bass, sometimes referred to as a linesider.

“The football connection will draw some people here early on, which is great,” Koppen said. “But in the long run, it’s going to come down to how good the beer is. Luckily, my partner and I are very committed to this and we work pretty hard at it.”

And while he isn't using his past to market his beers — there's no reference to football on LineSider's website — he is bringing some of his game-day mindset to brewing.

“The lessons and qualities you have as an athlete help you in everything — goals you set, commitment, accountability — all those things carry over into what you do next,” Koppen says.

Koppen is not the only former Patriot who has made a second career in the food and drink industry. Jarvis Green, who now splits his time between Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Providence, runs the wild-caught frozen shrimp brand Oceans 97. Among other projects, Matt Light is a partner in the Rhode Island-based, low-calorie spirits brand KEEL vodka. In addition, former Red Sox player Kevin Youkilis runs Loma Brewing Company, in Los Gatos, California.

“It’s really just about finding out what you want to get up and do every day, your next passion," Koppen said. “For better or worse, mine was the beer business.”

When he first retired from football, Koppen, now 39, had no idea he’d go into brewing. “My wife said that I’m too young to retire, which is true, but it took some time to figure out what I wanted to do."

He began by dabbling in on-air football analysis, “which was fun and filled a void for a little bit.” But, he adds, “for people that know me, I don’t really talk a lot, so at some point I have nothing more to say. I just want to watch the game.”

A few years ago, Koppen learned about home brewing through his brother-in-law. “He came over one day and showed me how to do it, and I just kind of picked it up from there,” he said.

At the time, Koppen and his wife, Amber, who grew up in Cranston, had recently moved to East Greenwich with their three children, now ages 10, 7, and 5. He soon met Ruff through their kids' shared elementary school activities. After becoming friends, the men learned that they were both interested in brewing, and started trading samples and feedback on recipes.

 “Later on down the road, I approached Dan and said, ‘I’m going to make a go at this as a business, are you interested?'” Ruff said. “He said, 'absolutely.’”

Ruff left a job in the aerospace industry to focus on building LineSider, and says that he, too, draws from knowledge gained in his former role. “My engineering background helps, because there’s a lot of science that goes into brewing, especially with the equipment and being able to troubleshoot. You have to be able to react fast when something goes wrong.”

The partners split both business and brewing duties about evenly, and it’s not uncommon to find one of them pouring beer behind the bar on the weekend. Now just three months in, they emphasize that they’re still “figuring things out.”

“We’re finding our way, with a lot of beers going from five-gallon batches at home three months ago to 300-gallon batches here,” Koppen said. "It’s going to take some time.”

They are currently only selling their beer at the brewery, in pints and flights meant to be consumed there, and in cans and 32-ounce glass “howlers,” or half growlers, for consumption off-site. Koppen said they don't plan to work up to distributing to bars, liquor stores, or other locations off the property, as many other craft beer brands have.

Not even to Gillette Stadium?

“It’s not in the [business] model right now …,” he said. “Not saying it wouldn’t be nice.”

Details: Linesider Brewing, 1485 South County Trail, Suite 201, East Greenwich, (401) 398-7700, linesiderbrewing.com. Open Fri. 2-8 p.m., Sat. noon-5 p.m., Sun. noon-4 p.m.