"latrobe" news and stories

A Pittsburgh brewing institution is leaving Steel City.

Iron City Brewery officials announced Thursday the brewery would be leaving its home in the Lawrenceville neighborhood for greener pastures in Latrobe, Pa. Yes, the place where Rolling Rock was born.

The brewery's president, Timothy Hickman, called the announcement "exciting news." The brewers, well, not so much.

"Well, you finally did it," Dave Kelly, who retired last year after 34 years at Iron City, said according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "You managed to take a brewery that has been through the Industrial Revolution, the Civil War, two world wars, Korean War, Vietnam War and the Iraq war -- even the Great Depression -- [and] move it out of the city that has supported you since 1861."

Not every football team has a (semi-) official beer, but the Steelers certainly do: Iron City. Brewed in the Lawrenceville neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Iron City has long paid homage to the hometown team, even designing a series of beer cans in their honor back in the late 70's days of the famed "Steel Curtain" defense, as well as a Jerome Bettis can a few years back.

Despite the fact that Iron City's roots go back over 100 years, 'tis no microbrew. No, think more along the lines of a Pabst or Genesee: A blue-collar beer that gets the job done. Rather like the team it shares a nickname with. As such, Iron City always feels a bit of a sales bump whenever the Steelers hit the Super Bowl. The brewers are especially hopeful this year, as many of the workers in their Pittsburgh plant have been temporarily laid off. It's apparently just until some kind of trouble with the manufacturing line can be solved. Once it is, everyone will be back.

We certainly hope so: There was a time when the Steelers had two beers, back when Rolling Rock was brewed in Latrobe, a town northwest of Pittsburgh where the Steelers had their training camp. The brewery was bought by Anheiser-Busch, who then closed it and moved all operations to New Jersey, thus severing all ties with all things Pittsburgh. Given that I have family in Latrobe, I myself haven't let a drop of the stuff pass my lips since the sale. So, if you want to honor the Steelers on Super Bowl Sunday, go for the Iron City, not the Rolling Rock.

As of next month, Rolling Rock will be produced in Newark, NJ, not Latrobe, PA, its home of over 60 years. Anheuser-Busch acquired the green-bottled lager back in May. Rolling Rock and Rock Green Light will be brewed from a new water source, but the AB brewmasters have managed to keep the taste the same, according to a press release. "We locate our breweries where we know we have an excellent source of fresh water. And, of course, Newark is no different," one brewmaster told the Associated Press. Ah, the sparkling waters of Newark. The bottle will also keep the 33, as well as its other painted lettering.