Why is there a "33" on Rolling Rock beer labels?

ARTICLE: http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_044

The following is STRAIGHT from some Rolling Rock press materials…

1.) 1933 was the year the US government lifted prohibition
2.) There are 33 words in the pledge on the back of the bottle.
3.) In 1939, the Tito brothers started the Latrobe brewery after they won big betting on the 3rd horse in the 3rd race at the horsetrack.
4.) There are 33 glass line tanks that are use to brew Rolling Rock.
5.) There are 33 mountain streams that are used for water to brew Rolling Rock.
6.) Christ died at age 33.
7.) Adding all of the letters that make up the words in Rolling Rock’s ingredients equals 33, Water, old brewer’s yeast, hops, malt, corn.
8.) 33 steps from the front door to the brew master’s office at the Latrobe brewery.
9.) The original zip code for Latrobe was 00033.
10.) There are 33 letter R’s on the bottle of Rolling Rock.
11.) The first professional football game was held in Latrobe, PA, and the MVP of the game wore the jersey number 33.
12.) Brewery is surrounding by 33 acres of rolling hills and rock formations.
13.) Rolling Rock is to be served at 33 degrees Fahrenheit
14.) 33 is the number three next to the number three, the same as a six pack of Rolling Rock.
15.) There are 33 steps in the Rolling Rock brewing process.
16.) Rolling Rock takes 33 days to brew.
17.) When the brewery opened it employed 33 people.
18.) Ground Hogs day, a day for celebration in Western PA folk lure, is the 33rd day of the year.
19.) 33 marked the bottle that was to be inspected every time a new Rolling Rock liquid was brewed.
20.) Rolling Rock Green painted label bottle is 3.3” in diameter.
21.) The Latrobe brewery consists of three, three story buildings.
22.) The recipe for the Ice Cream Sundae, created in Latrobe, PA, is one banana, three scoops of ice cream with three toppings.
23.) 1933 Art Rooney Sr. Founded the Pittsburgh Steelers, a Rolling Rock partner in Western PA.
24.) Latrobe brewing has33 different recipes for beer, Rolling Rock is number 33.
25.) Latrobe Country Club, just a 3 wood away from the brewery, the third hole is a par 3”
26.) Rolling Rock is served in over 33 countries world wide.
27.) There are 33 water filters that filter the water before brewing.
28.) The race horse on the bottle was number 33.
29.) March 3rd, (3/3) was the day the brewery opened in 1939.
30.) Latrobe’s Historic train station was the 33rd stop for the first Transcontinental railroad, used to ship Rolling Rock to other cities.
31.) The coal miners union stationed in Latrobe, PA is Union number 33
32.) 33 letters in the names of the Tito brothers, who purchased the brewery in 1932, Frank, Ralph, Joseph, Robert, Anthony Tito.
33.) Nobody knows why the 33 is on the bottle.

------------------->> funny how there is only 33 (heh)

Too bad they’re going to have to change at least a couple of them (#21 and #25 pop out), since Rolling Rock will now be brewed in Newark, NJ.

I realize that these “press materials” (/ this email forward?) are just a compilation of the various folk etymologies, but even so… many of them are ludicrous, and could have been fairly easy to debunk or verify-with-cites if they were interested in the real explanation. Some are downright silly.

3.) In 1939, the Tito brothers started the Latrobe brewery after they won big betting on the 3rd horse in the 3rd race at the horsetrack.

The horse’s name would have made more sense, but perhaps beer brewers didn’t want to let on that they gambled. See also reason #28.

5.) There are 33 mountain streams that are used for water to brew Rolling Rock.

Cite? Seems a bit high.

7.) Adding all of the letters that make up the words in Rolling Rock’s ingredients equals 33, Water, old brewer’s yeast, hops, malt, corn.

I count 32, unless the apostrophe counts. Or maybe it was Olde Brewer’s Yeast. (The list that Cecil took from the label does have 33, though; I’d guess that’s a deliberate choice to back up this explanation.)

18.) Ground Hogs day, a day for celebration in Western PA folk lure, is the 33rd day of the year.

Nice to know that semi-literate explanations made the cut.

25.) Latrobe Country Club, just a 3 wood away from the brewery, the third hole is a par 3”

Golf it at the heart of all the best numerological conspiracy theories.

26.) Rolling Rock is served in over 33 countries world wide.

In fact, Rolling Rock is also served in over 12 countries worldwide. Also in over 18 countries worldwide. Also in over 23 countries worldwide. (Assuming it’s true in the first place.)

I tell ya, it’s 2.)

Cecil said it, I believe it, that settles it.

So, we are left to ponder these things:

Will Rolling Rock’s quirky, wry persona be wrecked by the ad agency that created Ted, the Bud Light Daredevil?

Will the racehorse on the label be replaced by a Clydesdale?

Will the 12-pack still be called a Box Of Rocks?

Why they won’t be called Taste Rocks :slight_smile:

What?

:cool: