Rolling Rock is a beer that, while I've had it on tap, mostly at pizza joints, I've never had in the bottle—and this is a beer that's reputation was in part based on its bottle. Rolling Rock Extra Pale American Lager began life as a small local brewery in Latrobe, a small town in Western Pennsylvania. The Tito brothers opened up their brewery in 1939. One of their decisions, somewhat atypical at the time, was to bottle their beer in a green bottle with all the labeling done in white paint. It became a local favorite, very quickly, and remained popular for years.

The white label displayed the original pledge of quality, and still does, though the actual words have varied slightly over time, and from bottle to bottle. The original pledge "Rolling Rock - From the glass lined tanks of Old Latrobe, we tender this premium beer for your enjoyment as a tribute to your good taste. It comes from the mountain springs to you," was followed by "33," a number still prominently featured on every bottle, out of miscommunication. The original label text was followed by the word count "33"—and the label designer didn't realize that 33 wasn't part of the design.

Latrobe's Rolling Rock was bought, first by giant beverage conglomerate InBev, and then, in 2006, by Anheuser-Busch. Anheuser-Busch almost immediately transferred brewing operations to New Jersey.

It's an American-style adjunct lager, which in part refers to the fact that Rolling Rock Extra Pale is made with pale barley malt—and the adjuncts of rice and corn, and of course, hops. There's thin head, mostly from added carbonation, it's a pale amber in color, and just slightly bitter. It is, in many ways, a classic American Lager. It's a session beer, with a 4.5%ABV, and perfect for long summer days, and dandy as half of a Red beer. Rolling Rock Extra Pale is perfectly decent, and reliably good, but it doesn't really stand apart from any of the other American Lager macro brews.