save rolling rock beer

I'm not aware of this. Did something come out recently on this? If so do you have a link.

But if true then it would seem to fit into AB's attempt to broaden it's base of beers, according to that article in the WSJ a couple of weeks ago. I just wish they would try something adventuresome like a Hefe or a good IPA.

Check the other beer newsgroup, rec.food.drink.beer , where there's a coupla threads about this sale (starting dates of 5/4 and 5/19) complete with links to Pittsburgh area business stories.

Isn't this like Fred Flintstone buying another rock?

Phil =====visit the New York City Homebrewers Guild website:

Thanks. Since they bought the brand from the Belgian company InBev it's no more of a loss than when InBev bought it from someone else. More than anything else this deal shows these breweries are businesses that can be bought and sold like any other asset. It will be interesting to see whether AB keeps the formula label, etc, as is or attempts to use the brand for something new entirely.

Well, the "loss" of Rolling Rock the beer is, I (as a beer lover) agree is not that big a deal. But (as an unemployed factory worker) it is a loss to the workers and the community to have the brewery close AND it will be especially annoying to find A-B's "Rolling Rock" on the shelf and, one would imagine, heavily promoted, complete with the classic graphics and traditions (Oh, jeez, not more "33" garbage!).

"From the glass lined tanks of Old Latrobe (recently relocated out by airport on US Route 1, Newark, NJ)..."*

I always wonder about that sort of bitter reaction from "ex-employees". Certainly Pabst's dealings with it's employees/retirees in Milwaukee caused a lot of ill will in that city. And (on the subject of other consumer items) didn't both Post cereal and Scott Paper go out of business, the brands bought by competitors and yet both have ad campaigns featuring "employees" in uniforms touting the products? That's gotta really hurt to be sitting home, unemployed, watching actors pretend to be employees of a company you once worked for that no longer exists.

*(Not making a New Jersey or Newark joke- any city, no matter how down on it's luck, that was once the home of Ballantine XXX Ale, India Pale Ale, Burton Ale & Stout has nothing to ashamed of when compared to a Latrobe or Rolling Rock.)

For the guys that like Rolling Rock, if the beer were to disappear it would I'm sure be a big deal. It isn't among my beers, but a lot of people do like it, and for them it would be a loss. From the very little I know about the brand I understand it has not done well, or it is struggling some. These are businnesses and the original presumably local owners did sell out to someone else and I'm going to gues the brand has been owned by more than one investor.

Agreed. For me the impact on local workers is the most troublesome part of this deal.

Uh . . . no.

Well, from the standpoint of the consumer, Rolling Rock ISN'T disappearing (yet*), it will continue to be brewed by Anheuser-Busch, and considering the money they'll pay for the brand it's in their interest to keep it as "original" as possible, since the Rolling Rock portion of that market segment is what they're really paying $82 million for. I expect Rolling Rock will be easier to find (especially on draught) and, possibly even cheaper, once it's an A-B product.

[* And if A-B gives up on the brand (as Miller did with Celis), Pabst'll write a check ("Uh, Augie, will you take an IOU 'til we can get to a bank?"), order up some green bottles and give Miller a call- "Drop the Carling Black Label & Schaefer production for Tuesday and put it in Rolling Rock bottles!".]

I imagine A-B'll put it between Budweiser and Busch in their portfolio of beers- the latter of which isn't much of a factor in the area that Rolling Rock is sold - the affluent Northeast. For many years, A-B didn't even market Busch in the NYC-NJ area- (I recall people bringing back the "exotic" Busch Bavarian from Florida the way people brought Coors from west of the Miss.)- IIRC it was only after Miller's Meister Brau and Coors Keystone econo-beers started making inroads that they introduced it here.

From the very

Canada's Labatt Brewery bought the Latrobe Brewery and the Rolling Rock brand back in 1987, but ran it pretty much as a separate entity, didn't they? (i.e., no Labatt beer brewed in Latrobe, no Canadian Rolling Rock).

Interbrew, which became InBev in 2004, bought Labatt around 1991.

Wow. One mega canoe-beer brewer buys a smaller canoe-beer brewer. That measures just about zero on my beer Richter scale.

nb

Nope, only the label- we don't need another stinkin' brewery and all them unproductive (by our standards of automation) "workers".

That's what we're hoping for! (Of course, we'd prefer that attitude coming from someone who might BUY Rolling Rock, but, it's a start!).

Your Truly, Gussie "It maybe canoe-beer, but it paid for my yacht[and more]" Busch

What? It's ok to brew crap beer as long as it keeps people employed? The "automation" argument is bogus.

You would have us believe there's a difference? The two could trade names, labels, containers, contents... they could swap spit for all I care ...and it still wouldn't matter one wit. I won't drink either one.

nb

Actually, I'd say people's jobs are more important than beer.

Now, if the beer can't sell and the brewery's not economically viable, then that's what happens. But having more concern for the quality of the beer than of people's livlihoods strikes me as having priorities a bit misplaced.

There's definitely a difference between Bud and Rolling Rock, and anyone who insists that there isn't has a severly faulty palate.

I'm not fond of either, but they're definitely quite different beers. (No green apple flavor in RR, no corn flavor in Bud.)

-Steve

Save rolling rock beer.

Why there are far better beers being made if you want reginal beer buy good beer from a good brewer. Rolling Rock is far from good beer

It does not necessarily follow that it is in their interest to keep Rolling Rock as original as possible. Anheuser may wish to use the brand name on a potentially more successful new brew and line of merchandise. The articles I've read hint that RR is not doing too well, which I interpret as menaing sales are disappointing.

Yes, Anheuser could certainly distribute the brand more widely if there is market support for the beer.

I could not tell you where Rolling Rock falls as a brand. Is it a Schlitz, Schmidts, Schaeffer or Coors?

And I remember cases of Coor's being spirited into non-Coors states before they broadened their distribution channels.

On Fri, 26 May 2006 05:50:08 -0500, James wrote (in article ):

For years Rolling Rock played up that it was brewed using the "spring waters of Latrobe" -- my paraphrasing. Some years back I was visiting some friends in England and was offered a beer which, to my surprise, turned out to be a Rolling Rock. I was taken aback that it was available in England. I was even further taken aback that it brewed in Czechoslovakia. So much for that special Latrobe water!

Oh yes, I remember getting hold of some Coors Banquet Beer here in PA before they started distributing it here. I do think that Coors changed their recipe because I used to love that Banquet Beer, now I can't hardly stand any of the Coors products. ( Coors Winterfest is the only one I like. ) So either Coors changed their own recipe, which is what I'm afraid AB will do with Rolling Rock, or my taste buds have changed. Anybody else out there that thinks that Coors was a good beer 20 years ago ?

I had the chance, years back, to tour the Rolling Rock brewery. The tour was given by the assistant brewmaster and smart-ass that I usually am, I asked him about where that mountain spring was. He pointed up at the many overhead pipes and said, " You see that six inch water main ? " So my assumption is that the water comes from a reservoir that is fed by mountain springs, which I suppose they could have in Czechoslovakia too. I'm not sure, but I don't think that the RR adds specify that they are Latrobe springs but that they are mountain springs.

i'd have to say that moving a brewery out of urban areas to fresher water can be a very constructive means of rejuvenating a favored brew.

cheers! Doc

I think that Coors was a darned good beer when I first tried it as a tenager in the 1960's and later in the 1970's when visiting relatives at Lookout Mountain, Colorado (near Golden). I'm pretty sure my tastes (and not the beer) has changed because many of the big brewers products are not as interesting as they once were.