IC Light + The Bus

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By Joe Napsha
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, May 20, 2006


Pittsburgh Brewing Co. is hopping on "The Bus" in hopes of selling more IC Light, the brewer's most popular brand.
The bankrupt Lawrenceville brewer Friday unveiled a limited-edition aluminum Jerome Bettis beer can to reporters at Atria's at PNC Park, North Side. The Bus, as Bettis has been known since his college days at Notre Dame, did not attend the event.

Pittsburgh Brewing will produce more than 50,000 cases of beer cans and aluminum bottles carrying Bettis' photo, said Anthony Ferraro, vice president of sales and marketing for the brewery. The cans and bottles will be available in beer distributors, taverns and restaurants beginning Monday and continuing through July, or as long as supplies last.

The unveiling of the Bettis beer cans came on the same day that Anheuser-Busch Inc. of St. Louis said it bought the Latrobe-brewed Rolling Rock beer label from InBev USA. Pittsburgh Brewing could be the only remaining regional brewer, once Anheuser-Busch moves Rolling Rock's production to an out-of-state facility in August. Anheuser-Busch said it wants to sell the brewing facilities in Latrobe.

"When you're part of a big brewer, you're just a number, and they can pull the plug. We've been here 145 years, and we intend to be here another 145," said Joseph Piccirilli, co-chairman of Pittsburgh Brewing. "That's all the more reason people need to support their local brewery."

Pittsburgh Brewing's future is tied to proceedings in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Pittsburgh, where it filed for protection from creditors in December. The bankruptcy court let Pittsburgh Brewing terminate its pension plan last month and turn over that $11.8 million unfunded liability to the federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. The brewery has until Aug. 4 to file a reorganization plan.

Bettis, a running back who retired after the team's Super Bowl XL win, is the latest in a long line of Pittsburgh sports heroes to adorn Iron City and IC Light cans. Steelers from the Super Bowl years of the 1970s were on the cans, as were Pittsburgh Pirates and former University of Pittsburgh and Miami Dolphin quarterback Dan Marino, an Oakland native, and golfing legend Arnold Palmer of Latrobe, Westmoreland County.

The brewery paid an unspecified amount of money to Bettis' The Bus Stops Here Foundation for the right to use his photo, Ferraro said. The company gave the foundation, which helps underprivileged children, $2,500 on March 17, according to its financial statement. Proceeds from the sale of the Bettis beer cans and bottles will benefit the foundation.

Ferraro is confident the brewer will emerge from bankruptcy as a viable operation.

"The cards are falling in the right place," Ferraro said.

Reaching a new labor contract with the two unions representing about 200 brewers and bottlers remains the last big component of the company's reorganization plan, Piccirilli said. Pittsburgh Brewing recently had its initial meeting with the union, and discussions will continue in the next three to four weeks, said Piccirilli, who declined to reveal details.

[f.sciarrillo]

I wonder how this will go with his recent Miller Lite promotion ..

[red]

I wonder how this will go with his recent Miller Lite promotion ..

Good question!
I wish IC Light would put us on a can! I guess I'll be happy with the beer, on of the sponsorship perks was we recieved 66 30 packs. They were delivered to our guitar players front porch.....not bad for being a 3 piece band. I have half a buzz on right now......

[the herald]

DUDE....... Thats insane!.......wait.......didnt i see you guys down by the road the other day selling bottles for a buck?? well i guess you dont need any beer for memorial day or the 4th of july.......or thanksgiving......