The Pennsylvania town that is the birthplace of Rolling Rock Beer is Latrobe. The beer was launched there in 1939 by the Latrobe Brewing Company, giving the small Westmoreland County community a lasting place in American brewing history.
Rolling Rock began as a regional Western Pennsylvania lager and became nationally known through ambitious marketing. Its bottles famously display the number 33, which has inspired many explanations, including references to Prohibition’s repeal in 1933 and brewing-related folklore. The brand’s original label also emphasized the beer’s soft local water and glass-lined brewing tanks.
The beer’s production history later changed. Anheuser-Busch bought the Rolling Rock brands in 2006, and brewing moved away from Latrobe soon afterward. That relocation caused local controversy because the town had brewed Rolling Rock since its beginning. Latrobe is also associated with Fred Rogers, Arnold Palmer, and the claimed invention of the banana split in 1904.