Anchor's Away!
This week we’re paying homage to a fallen giant in the craft brewery industry.
Anchor Brewing Co. closed its taproom doors on Sunday, July 30th after 127 years in business.
This is quick on the heels of the company’s June announcement that they were cutting distribution and ending their annual Christmas Ale, which has been a seasonal yearly treat for over 50 years.
That last bit was really a dagger to my heart especially; I have fond memories of my dad buying the Christmas Ale every year and squirreling a few away so that every five years or so we could have a vertical tasting!
The long-standing brewery stated that economic reasons and steadily decreasing sales were the primary considerations for the closure, expanding that the pandemic, inflation (especially in the Bay Area), and the highly competitive craft beer market and the primary drivers behind the decision.
A Look Back
Anchor Brewing opened in 1896, though its origin story dates back even further. The beginning of the brewery really goes back all the way to 1849 when German immigrant Gottlieb Brekle arrived in San Francisco. But it wasn’t to open a brewery! He came for the gold.
Or, at least he thought he did.
That was smack dab in the middle of the California Gold Rush and since I could not find ANY additional information on Gottlieb between 1849 and 1871, which when he purchased the eventual brewery location, I’m going to assume he didn’t hit it rich in The Rush.
So instead, in 1871 Gottlieb bought an old beer-and-billiards saloon on San Francisco's Pacific Street and opened a brewery.
BUT, that was not yet the Anchor we know today. It wasn’t until Gottlieb sold the Pacific Street location to Father and Son-in-Law Ernst F. Baruth and Otto Schinkel, Jr. in 1896 that the brewery took its current form. The pair renamed it Anchor (for reasons lost to history) and the brewery has since made it through the 1906 great earthquake, prohibition in the 1920s, a brewery fire in 1934, and the ups and downs of mass production and the craft beer revolution.
Gone But Not Forgotten
While the brewery has officially closed, there are whispers that it may not be gone forever. How’s that though? Turns out there are several dozen investors who have expressed interest in purchasing some or all of ABCo. That could mean the equipment, the recipes, the tap room, or the whole kit and caboodle!
It’s all being put up for auction at a big liquidation sale sometime this week.
And it seems like the company is all for it! Sam Singer, a company spokesman, said, “[Anchor] remains hopeful that an investor/investor group will keep the company going for future generations.”
It wouldn’t be the first time the company went through changes like this. In July of 1959 Anchor closed its doors after the death of one of two owners at the time. Luckily, it was for a short time and - just like what’s happening this week - a new brewer came to purchase Anchor as a whole and reopened the brewery in 1960.
The tumultuous times were not over through, and just five years later Anchor was about to close up shop yet again. This time, a fan of the beer stepped up and bought 51% of the company, just to save his favorite beer!
This young upstart named Fritz Maytag stayed at the helm for 45 years. In 2010 he passed the buck to two new owners, and in 2017 the brand was purchased by the major Japanese beverage company Sapporo.
The question on everyone’s mind is: will the company survive via yet another encompassing purchase?
Though not all the potential investors are known, the employees themselves have made a ruckus about wanting to buy!
The unionized brewery employee group wants to buy Anchor and run it as a worker co-op. The group is represented by Warehouse Union Local 6 ILWU and has been unionized since 2019, which makes them one of the first craft beer employee groups to unionize in the country.
Per the employees, “All we want is a fair shot at being able to continue to do our jobs, make the beer we love, and keep this historic institution open. We do not want the brewery and brand we love to be sold off before we even had a chance.”
Weekly Adventure
Go give your favorite local brewery a hug this week. And by “give them a hug,” I mean go visit their tap room and have a few pints. It’s important to support local and to put your money where your preferences are.
Long live the hoppy revolution!
Cheers,
Molly
References
https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/31/business/anchor-brewing-whats-next/index.html
https://www.anchorbrewing.com/about-us/the-anchor-story/
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/13/dining/anchor-brewing-closing-beer.html