Rolling Rock
 | |
| Type | Pale lager |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Anheuser–Busch InBev |
| Introduced | 1939 |
| Alcohol by volume | 4.5% |
| Website | http://www.rollingrock.com/ |
Rolling Rock is a 4.5% abv pale lager launched in 1939 by the Latrobe Brewing Company. Although founded as a local beer in Western Pennsylvania, it was marketed aggressively and eventually became a national product. The brand was sold to Anheuser-Busch of St. Louis, Missouri, in mid 2006, which transferred brewing operations to New Jersey.
History
From 1939 until 2006, Rolling Rock was brewed at the Latrobe Brewing Company. In May, 2006, Anheuser-Busch purchased the Rolling Rock and Rolling Rock Green Light brands from InBev for $82 million[1] and began brewing Rolling Rock at its Newark facility in mid July, 2006. The final batch of Rolling Rock was shipped from Latrobe on July 31, 2006. Union leaders in Westmoreland County organized a nationwide boycott of Anheuser-Busch and InBev brands because of the move.[2] Anheuser-Busch has said that Rolling Rock's original pledge on the label will be preceded by these words: "To honor the tradition of this great brand, we quote from the original pledge of quality." In July 2008, InBev reached a deal to acquire Anheuser-Busch, thereby returning ownership of Rolling Rock to InBev, now known as Anheuser–Busch InBev and based in Belgium.[1]
In 2009, Anheuser-Busch InBev announced that it was exploring the sale of the Rolling Rock brand.[1]
Number 33
The number 33 is printed prominently on all bottles of Rolling Rock. A widely-held belief is that it marks the repeal of prohibition in 1933. However, according to James L. Tito, former CEO of Latrobe Brewing, the "33" signifies the 33 words in the beer's original pledge of quality, which is still printed on every 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." The original wording on the label was somewhat different: "A little nip from the glass lined tanks of Old Latrobe. We tender this package as a premium beer for your delight and economical use. It comes from the mountain springs to you". This was followed by the "33". The original pledge is on the 12 oz. bottles, while the "little nip" pledge is from the 7 oz. bottle version.
"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."
—Current pledge written on the Rolling Rock bottle
A founding executive is said to have written "33" at the end of the slogan to indicate the number of words it comprised as a guide for the bottle printers. However, they thought it was part of the text and incorporated it into the label graphics. Hence, the first batch of bottles carried the number "33" and they remained that way since they were continually collected and reused. This tradition has been sustained by the company as the wording on the labels has changed over the years, and the verbiage is carefully structured to retain a length of 33 words.
The number is associated with the alphanumerical value of the word for "love" in the language of Germany, the nation most closely associated with beer--Liebe, which is 33.
Many have speculated on the significance of the number 33, even that the "33" refers to the year the Pittsburgh Steelers (who have their team practices in Latrobe) were founded.[3] It has also been suggested that 33 degrees is the proper temperature to keep beer.
A Pabst Blue Ribbon's advertising campaign from the late 1930s through the early 1940s asserted that Pabst "blended 33 beers" to get its final product. Yuengling, like Rolling Rock, brewed in Pennsylvania is also reputed to have mounted a similar ad campaign, touting a similar amount of "rough" brews blended to make the final product.[4]
Rolling Rock Red
Anheuser-Busch rolled out a red lager version of Rolling Rock called Rolling Rock Red. While the number 33 has been a traditional part of Rolling Rock iconography (see Number 33), Rolling Rock Red's label has a "3", presumably signifying the name of the beverage ("Rolling Rock Red") or the words in the tagline "Finely Crafted Lager", which appears only on the Rolling Rock Red bottles.
References
- ^ a b c WallStreet Journal: Anheuser Explores Sale of Struggling Rolling Rock
- ^ Scott, Rebekah (May 24, 2006). "Latrobe brewery's boosters calling for boycott". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved on April 15, 2009
- ^ Why is there a "33" on Rolling Rock beer labels? from The Straight Dope
- ^ [1] from www.homebrewtalk.com
See also
External links
- Rolling Rock official website
- Why is there a 33 on Rolling Rock beer labels?
- Rolling Rock anthem-Rolling Rock Blues
- "Latrobe says goodbye to Rolling Rock", Michael Cowden, Associated Press, July 28, 2006
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