It was the end of an era for the Latrobe Brewing Co. and Ed Dobies.
The last bottles of Rolling Rock beer -- in the famous green bottles with the painted horse head label -- rolled off the bottling line Wednesday at 6 p.m., marking an end to 67 years of beer production at the Latrobe plant.
The last cases will be shipped Sunday before the plant officially closes Monday, pending a sale to City Brewing Co. of La Crosse, Wis.
For the 61-year-old Dobies, it means an end to 42 years working at the only job he has ever known.
Wearing a City Brewing hat, he held a Rolling Rock hat in one hand and an empty beer bottle in the other as he walked out of the No. 1 door to sign his retirement papers.
His last day was mixed with fun and sadness.
"I got a lot of hugs from the girls," he said. "It's a little scary knowing you're not going to be back in there again. I thought everybody would be down and out. I'm glad to see everybody happy. "
Nick Carota, 56, of Latrobe, a 30-year veteran, memorialized the event by writing a farewell song, "Among the Green Bottles." A fellow worker, Tod Wilson, played the song on his guitar for employees in the parking lot.
"People say I have a way of putting things to words. I'm sort of flabbergasted," Carota said. "It came off the top of my head in about 20 minutes. It just seemed to fit."
Inside the plant, City Brewing officials mingled with workers, passed out the hats and answered questions from employees as the final bottles rattled down the line.
"They're preparing for what hopefully will be an acquisition of the plant," said Greg Inda, chief financial officer of City Brewing.
Outside, tractor-trailer trucks lined up outside in the parking lot waiting to be packed with the remaining inventory.
Workers were told by company officials the last bottles would roll off the production line at 6 p.m. Cases of beer would be shipped from the plant until Sunday when the facility would shut down pending the sale to City Brewing.
The plant also produced a commemorative bottle that will be given to employees.
Plant Manager Mario LeDuc could not be reached for comment. Brenda Williams, a spokeswoman for InBev did not respond to requests for comment. Joe Mulheren, chief shop steward for Local 144 of the International Union of Electrical Workers-Communications Workers of America, said City Brewing officials toured the plant along with executives of Seagrams Distilling who are considering a contract with City Brewing.
Mulheren spent part of the day with a crew filming a documentary about Rolling Rock. He went to a friend's house wearing a Rolling Rock shirt and passing out City Brewing hats to friends as the cameras rolled.
"I took off the shirt and jumped in the pool," he said. "When I came out, I put on a City Brewing hat. It was the start of a new relationship with City Brewing."
When InBev, Rolling Rock's owners, announced in May it were selling the product line to Anheuser Busch Cos. for $82 million, city residents and workers were shocked. The company had been owned by the Tito family from 1939 until 1987 when it was sold. The company has been sold again before InBev acquired it.
Rolling Rock had become an icon among beer drinkers for its long history, green bottles, well-known label and the mysterious "33" on the back of the bottle.
While InBev sought another buyer for the plant and equipment pending a July 31 shutdown, employees held their breath waiting for a buyer to step in. City Brewing entered the picture with a purchase offer and began negotiating with the union over concessions before it would agree to purchase the plant.
Dobies said he was told not to discuss the new wage and benefits package with reporters but said the employees "gave up a lot."
"We're not allowed to say. It's a considerable amount. It's a big loss for them. They had no choice."
