Sale puts Latrobe Brewing jobs up in air

You know, for many years some people used to lament the disappearance of the small, local and regional brewers with the expression that the "big brewers were gobbling up the little breweries" but, in retrospect, the big brewers who tried that technique were the ones that failed (Falstaff, Heileman, Stroh, Associated, General, Pabst) and the ones which succeeded to become the current the BIG 3 (A-B, Miller, Coors) did it by marketing their own brands and building brand new, efficent breweries.

Sure, there are some excepts to this blanket statement- Miller aquired Lite and Meister Brau, Coors took over the Schlitz Memphis plant, A-B picked up a Schlitz brewery in NY, etc. and both Miller and A-B tried "alliances" with micros in recent years.

This is the first domestic brand that A-B has taken over that I can recall in many years (they once had a beer in the South called "Regal" that was originally an brand of the American Brewery in New Orleans).

Trivia note-It's not the first time Rolling Rock will be brewed somewhere other than Latrobe, however- during a strike in the 1970's, Schmidt's of Phila. "contract brewed" RR (some would say the Philly union scabbed on their Western PA. brothers, but I don't want to get political ).

Hopefully, someone will pick up that brewery (and make a better beer that Rolling Rock) but it does seem unlikely given the current state of the industry (VERY BIG brewers and small micros with the "medium" sized brewers still disappearing).

The article I read at cnn.com implied that InBev is in separate talks to sell the brewery, which implies that someone different may brew beer there. Or they might sell it for another use. There is a water bottling operation in Latrobe, so maybe they might be interested in the bottling line. I know they have expanded a couple of times. What other brewer might be interested? Would Sam Adams want their own brewery? Or is there a micro that is growing? To me the only thing that is different between Bud and Rolling Rock is the green bottle, although it is always nice to drink a local brand.

Tom

"Sam Adams" - actually, Boston Beer Co., which is the company that makes Sam Adams - already has "their own brewery," the former Hudepohl- Schoenling facility, in Cincinnati. Looks like somebody else will have to bid for the Latrobe plant.

Apparently, there HAS been some talk about Boston Beer Company buying the Latrobe brewery in local papers, and the statement from BBC doesn't exactly rule it out (altho' I don't really know how to translate "corporate speak").

"If Latrobe Brewing is sold, one possible buyer could be the Boston Beer Co. Inc., brewer of Samuel Adams beers.

"We're always evaluating business options, but I can't comment on specific breweries," said Michelle Sullivan, spokeswoman for Boston Beer, based in Boston.

Sullivan said the company last year invested more than $11 million in the Cincinnati Brewery to expand the facility and increase efficiency."

========= I don't drink much SA beer, so haven't checked the labels lately- do they still have a lot of their beer contract-brewed or is everything coming out of Cinci & Boston these days? One would think if they WERE to buy another brewery, it wouldn't be so close to their current facilities and would be on the West Coast.

Buying the brewery in Latrobe has a big advantage: it's a big employer in a small town and the town and/or county could put together a package of tax incentives to lure a buyer. I don't know how much Pittsburgh Brewing is locked into their brewery, but they are in Chapter 11, and dropping their expensive Pittsburgh obligations (by laying off their employees) and shifting production to Latrobe might make economic sense for them.

Tom W

Yes.

Pittsburgh Brewing Co has been limping along for years now and they have no clear plan to emerge from bankruptcy. They are truly one setback away from closing their doors. Here's a chance to move into a refurbished facility with lots of tax breaks and be only 45 minutes from their primary market. Pittsburgh has an older demographic (esp. away from the universities) and Iron City is the choice of older drinkers. In 5 or 10 years as the older generation passes, Iron City will lose its market. I don't know how they're planning for this, except for passing their pension obligations to the government, but if they can lower their supply-side costs by moving to Latrobe, they'd be fools not to.

Tom W