LATROBE, Pa. -- Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc., citing consumers' need for variety in beer, said Friday it will pay $82 million to purchase the Rolling Rock beer brand from InBev USA, the U.S. subsidiary of Belgian-Brazilian brewer InBev SA.

St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch, the nation's largest brewer, said the deal will allow Rolling Rock brands to be made available to more consumers. The company will begin brewing Rolling Rock and Rock Green Light in August, but not in the brand's longtime home in western Pennsylvania.

"We have an ideal opportunity to grow this historic brand," Anheuser-Busch President August A. Busch IV said. "This beer is not like others, and its consumer following is equally distinctive.

"We live in a diverse world where consumers are hungry for variety," Busch said. "Acquiring Rolling Rock enables us to reach a new audience and to continue building our broad portfolio of products that meet the wide-ranging needs of consumers."

Ben Steinman, editor of the industry publication Beer Marketer's Insights, said the purchase is part of Anheuser-Busch's growing effort to diversify its product line.

In February, the brewery signed a deal to be the sole U.S. distributor of Grolsch, a high-end European import. At the time, Busch said the company was looking to add more import beers to its portfolio.

"AB was something of a monolith -- they had these megabrands, Bud and Bud Light, and serviced the needs of a great number of drinkers," Steinman said. "What's been happening in the last several years is drinkers crave more variety and more choice. What you're seeing is A-B trying to get after this."

InBev USA, based in Norwalk, Conn., said it will sell the Rolling Rock brewery in Latrobe, Pa., and focus its U.S. business on its imported beers, which include Stella Artois and Beck's. The company is currently in discussion with potential buyers.

"The decision to sell the Rolling Rock brands was based on InBev's strategic approach to the U.S. market, which is to focus on the high-growth import brands in our portfolio," said Doug Corbett, president of InBev USA.

Rolling Rock was introduced in 1939 by Latrobe Brewing Co. It was acquired by InBev's Labatt U.S.A. in 1987.

The sale has imperiled the jobs of more than 200 workers at the Latrobe brewery, which has operated for more than a century and has become a local and regional fixture.

Scores of unionized workers from the brewery gathered Friday at a hotel to pick up severance information.

"They're claiming we're going to stay open 2½ months," said Joe Mulheren, a union steward, told WTAE-TV. "If we don't get a buyer in 2½ months, we'll be done July 31."

A closure could significantly affect the local economy as the brewery is among Latrobe's top sources of real estate tax and one of its biggest buyers of water.

Ed Dobies, who has worked at the brewery for 42 years, said that "taking Rolling Rock out of Latrobe doesn't sit right with me."

Anheuser-Busch said it will maintain Rolling Rock's and Rock Green Light's recipes, and will continue to sell the beers in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Shares of Anheuser-Busch were down 1 cent to $46.18 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Click here to read the entire statement.

---

Your Thoughts: Here is what viewers are saying about the sale:

I can't believe that they are closing down the brewery. This is really another sad day in Western PA. I was born and raised in Western PA and even moving out of the area I still remained so loyal to the brand. I am going to be heart broken the day the 33 plan shuts down.

-Michele

---

This sale is probably the best thing to happen to ever happen to Rolling Rock. It will now be produced in better, more efficient facilities, thus making more cost effective (which will hopefully be pushed on to the consumers). Anheuser-Busch also has a much larger chain distribution channel, so the product will now be available to a much broader range of locations. So, if you actually are one of the few people who can tolerate the taste of this beer, you should now be able to order it on the other side of the country if you so desire. Let’s face it, this beer did not have much of a chance of surviving if it was not for A-B, just read the press releases from InBev. And with only 200 people working the factory, the impact is not going to be very detrimental to Latrobe’s economy. Consider this a victory for a dying breed of beer drinkers who actually enjoy the taste of polluted river water.

-Brad

---

It is yet another loss to add to the Pittsburgh History books. If residents of this area don't start showing brand loyalty to our local businesses we will one day not have any local products left to support or work for. First Fort Pitt Beer now Rolling Rock and next it will be Iron City. What does Anheuser Busch do for our local area? They do not pay any property taxes, or donate to our causes. Order an Iron, keep our history alive.

Whatever happened to Regent Pop, North Side Packing, Clark Candy bars, Barkus bakeries, and Sealtest. At one time Allegheny County had over 60 dairies. Now we have 3, Schneider's, Turner's and Colteryahn. These companies are our heritage and one by one they disappear. Someday we will not have anything else to buy but Hostess, Deans, Kraft foods, and Del Monte. Think about that the next time your in a grocery store or a bar.

Sorry to see you go 33.

-Lori

---

I am very sad to hear that Rolling Rock was sold today. I was born and raised in Latrobe. The town will never be the same without the Brewery’s support in the community. It has employed a lot of people through the years and I am sad to see the end of a great legacy.

-EH

---

My dad retired from there and my sister and I both worked at the brewery, and it is like losing a member of the family. Latrobe is known as the home or Rolling Rock. -Danette

---

I am not a big beer drinker but I thought I had finally found a beer I could be loyal to and truly enjoyed. I have tried beers from all over the world and find Rolling Rock to be the best for me with a great flavor and not too heavy. I don't mind paying a little extra for Rolling Rock. I wonder what AB will do with the recipe. If it's not the same, I won't buy it.

-Bill

---

Rolling Rock beer cannot be made the same anywhere else. I'm calling on all people nationwide to boycott all Anheuser-Busch products as a statement to show our support of the many loyal employees who have now lost their jobs in our area.

-Sandy

---

From the glass lined tanks of Old Latrobe to the Newark Water system. What a shame. Rolling Rock will never be the same. Anheuser Busch hoping to put a few more bucks in their tanks with no regard for the history or culture of this great brand. The World's Largest Brewer kills another great beer. Down with the King.

-PRP

---

What a sad day for Latrobe, I cant believe I will no longer be able to walk out my back door and look over the hill and see and smell our beloved Rolling Rock being brewed. When you said where you were from people would say home of Arnold Palmer, Mister Rogers and Rolling Rock Beer and you were proud of it. What a sad day for us all.

-L.C.

---

They may have bought the recipe but the main ingrediant will be left out. How can they make Rolling Rock Beer without our Special Water? It will never taste the same. Latrobe is a special place and will remain that way even after these people with all their big bucks leave our town. What a sad, sad day for our Great Town.

-LTP

---

Now if Anheuser Busch would only take all of that beer and throw it in the trash and finally make some real beer everything would be great. Take some lessons from the Irish and Germans on how to make a real beer!!!!

-Nathan

---

What a sad day for the Latrobe community. When people ask where I am from and I answer Latrobe they automatically say "Oh, Arnold Palmer, and Rolling Rock beer!" Not any more.....this is just wrong!

-V.A.

---

How could Rolling Rock be brewed elsewhere - the inspiration for the bottle comes from our spring foliage. Take a bottle outside and hold it up to natural greens, especially Laurel Highland's spring green- it's a match! Brewing elsewhere will make it as meaningless as a McMansion or a cubiczirconia. Isn't there value in anything real anymore? Boycott time - call out that national Steeler nation for this one!

-CM

---

I think it is a real shame that local private brands are not allowed to stay independent. I suppose it was inevitable that Rolling Rock would be sold, but it certainly won't be a positive thing for Latrobe.

-DRW

---

I have lived two blocks from the brewery for almost 10 years and I could not imagine waking up to that early morning smell of yeast and barley not being there. I think that selling the label is one of the worst things that could happen to Latrobe and the people of Latrobe. This is one of the reasons that Latrobe is Latrobe it is not just a place to live, we have one of the biggest fireworks displays in the county and just how much longer do you think that will continue if and when they decide to sell the company. I think they have made a huge mistake.

-BV

---

Related Links:
More County News

---