Anheuser-Busch buys Rolling Rock brands

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 ...

[Tanner]

Good news, bad news. Good news is Rolling Rock beer sales will explode and distribution will be at an all time high. Bad news is Rolling Rock will lose the "I found it" appeal. Sales will likely spike then return to normalcy if not lower.

[Matt Politzi]

Dear Sirs:
I am a 42 year old mechanic and father of one son. I write with respect to AB’s recent purchase of the Rolling Rock brand from InBev. As reported, it appears that AB may not be purchasing the brewery in Latrobe Pennsylvania, and may instead brew Rolling Rock at its other plants. I urge AB to reconsider, and to continue brewing Rolling Rock at the brewery from which it has flowed since 1939.

I (along with many, many others) am a fervent purchaser of Rolling Rock. Indeed, I have personally effected its introduction to innumerable local taverns, and have traveled to the plant in Latrobe several times with similarly minded friends. In fact, I was once quoted in a Rolling Rock radio advertisement for describing our journey as a “trip to Mecca.” Not only is the beer a superior product, the lore associated with the artesian well water, its “33” slogan and the “glass lined tanks in the Laurel Highlands” is at the core of the product’s almost religious following. Separating the beer from its brewery will due irreparable damage to its mystique, branding and its market share.

I understand from some of the news reports that, after enjoying significant growth in the late 80 and 90s, Rolling Rock’s market share has slowed in the last few years. I attribute this to a mismanagement of the product line deriving from a misunderstanding of what created its loyal customer base. As AB knows, serious beer drinkers are loyal to their brew. The more casual beer drinker, however, is often directed to a beer through an interest created by advertising focused on some unique quality or mystique associated with the product. The previous owners of the Rolling Rock brand began to tap this potential ten years ago, but let the effort die.

If AB intends to make the Rolling Rock line successful, it needs to understand the product line, its loyal (almost fanatical) customer base, and the potential to preserve and use the brand’s heritage to promote the brand. At bottom, the beer and the brewery are inextricably linked. This linkage should be viewed as a means to promote the brand and grow its market share, not as a bundle of severable assets. Please feel free to contact me to discuss the above.

Sincerely,
[e-mail]

[S Bruce Miller]

Sadly, it is always about corporate bottom-line. Anheuser-Busch doesn't care a wink about customer loyalty sentimentalism stories, much less brewing the historic beer in the glass lined tanks in Pennsylvania (and keeping jobs there to boot)...This beer empire saw a chance to broaden their beer empire horizon (much like the unfortunate acquisition of Red Hook Beer in Seattle some years ago.......I swear that beer/formula has never tasted the same since AB took over)....There is a saying by the late great Mark Heard: "The rich get richer and inherit the meek." As long as big corporate giants exist, all the so-called little guys will be vulnerable to buy-out temptations and vulnerabilities.

[Ryan]

I haven't had one Rolling Rock since it left Latrobe.

[hollow]

I think its better now than it ever was.

[LazyGoya]

No more Sam Adams beer for me. I purchsed my last case. Someone just wasn't doing the job they paid them to do.

[i know the truth]

hollow wrote:

I think its better now than it ever was.

Could you tell us how it is better?
taste?
color?
aroma?
etc...

[hollow]

The color and aroma don't mean anything to me. I just enjoy the taste better now. Sorry just my opinion.

[jamie]

I also like the new and improved Rolling Rock better than what was made here in Latrobe. The tatse is so much better now. It may not be the same as it ever was, but I like it better. It's also less money now days.

[John]

The new rock is much better not as bitter and I don't get heart burn from the new stuff.

[Anon_One]

I agree John the new Rock is much better than the Rolling Rock that was made in Latrobe.