Sep 6, 2006 2 min read

In May 2006 Anheuser Busch bought Rolling Rock’s global brand rights and recipes. However, Anheuser Busch (which markets itself as the “working man” beer, especially with its Budweiser products) moved all Rolling Rock brewing operations to Newark, N.J. The Latrobe, Pa., factory was not bought as a part of the deal. Over 200 people in Latrobe have lost their jobs and the town has been financially stung. The brewery was among Latrobe’s top sources of real estate taxes and one of its biggest buyers of water. Nothing against New Jersey, but Rolling Rock, at its heart, is a Western Pennsylvania beer. This brand has excelled because of the people who made it: dedicated, hard-working Latrobe men and women, proud of their product and local brewing tradition. Many of their parents and grandparents have helped make it since the Tito brothers restarted the Latrobe Brewing Company operation after the repeal of Prohibition in 1933. The Rolling Rock brand has brewed successfully since 1939.

With the July 31 closing of the Rolling Rock operations in Latrobe, this once great Western Pennsylvania beer has become just another bland, corporate beer. To add insult to injury, Anheuser Busch is keeping the Tito brothers’ famous 33 word pledge on the bottle, “Rolling Rock From the glass lined tanks of Old Latrobe, we tender this premium beer for your enjoyment as a tribute to your good taste. It comes from the mountain springs to you.”

I hope that this Labor Day weekend, in honor of the 67 years the great people of Latrobe, Pa., brewed Rolling Rock beer, you didn’t drink Anheuser Busch products. As of Aug, 1, contrary to the bottle’s pledge, Rolling Rock will be brewed in the glass lined tanks of Newark, N.J., from the waters of the Wanaque Reservoir in Passaic County.

Janine Tokar

Franklin