Latrobe reborn
The old Rolling Rock facility has had its ups and downs since Anheuser-Busch bought the label in 2006 and abandoned the small western Pennsylvania town for Newark, N.J. City Brewing of Lacrosse, Wis., owns the plant now, and has run through several different deals, brewing/bottling various labels, including dreaded malternatives.
Until last fall, it had been brewing Sam Adams products. But that deal ended when Boston Beer purchased the former Schaefer plant in Lehigh Valley. The Latrobe facility had been mostly dormant ever since and was forced to lay off workers.
Last month, Pittsburgh’s Iron City - saddled with unpaid bills and an aging faciity - announced it would pack up and move 40 miles west east to Latrobe. It was a move that was viewed with a bit of shrug. Iron City’s labels are, in a word, dying; not much future in them for Latrobe.
The good news, though, is that the Rolling Rock plant has a 1.3 million bbl/year capacity - well more than what Iron City will produce. That excess capacity means it can handle new contract deals with small (mainly east coast) brewers looking for an alternative to FX Matt of Utica, N.Y., and the Lion of Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
Small brewers like the rapidly growing Southampton Ales & Lagers. Head brewer Phil Markowski told me today Southampton is splitting from the Lion and will move production of its flagship sixpacks (Double White, Double IPA and Altbier) to Latrobe. He said he’s headed there next week, to brew this season’s first batch of Pumpkin Ale, which will also be available in 12-ouncers. (Southampton’s popular 750s will continue to be bottled at Sly Fox in Royersford.)
Ironically, this marks a return to Latrobe for Markowski. In 1997, he designed a short-lived variety of craft beers for the brewery: Latrobe Bavarian Black, Latrobe Bohemian Pilsner, and American Pale Ale.
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