Tag: Anchor Brewing

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Back to Life

Jeff Alworth always posts interesting and thought provoking beer content at Beervana Blog and this piece HERE, is no exception.  Using the premise of what other breweries could use a Chobani like savior to bring them back to life.

His picks are more centered in Europe and are much deeper cuts so I propose three additional choices….

One – Bert Grants – this was a Spokane, Washington based pioneer in the early craft beer movement.  With the titular Scotsman as the branding lead.  They made quite a few Americanized British Ales and were decidedly on the malty side of the spectrum.

Two – Thirsty Bear Brewing – this San Francisco based brewery and restaurant was on the organic bandwagon and Spanish tapas too.  Maybe too niche to last too long but I would love to see a beer and serious food pairing space.

Three – Eagle Rock Brewery – this recently closed Los Angeles brewery led the way in L.A. but despite heroic efforts, could not find a winning combination of beers.  Bigger bucks could bring back the opening year line-up and maybe find a better location as well.

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Anchor Returns!

Big news from our neighbors to the north, San Francisco came in right at the end of May as, Hamdi Ulukaya, Chobani founder and CEO, announced the purchase of the whole kit and kaboodle of Anchor Brewing.  All of Anchor’s assets, the steam beer recipes, the brewing equipment and the building and warehouses too. The yogurt business must be good.

THIS SF Gate piece has a lot of good bits to it but what struck me was this quote paragraph… “Brands like Anchor don’t come that easy. How do you value something like this? Do you value it because it’s been here 127 years?” Ulukaya said. “Do you value it because of how much love and passion goes into creating something like this? The ingredients and knowledge and tradition and yeast and secrets? Do you value it because of how much loyalty people have for it? Or do you value it for how much money it makes?”

That sounds atypical of most owners, looking at you shady Sapporo, as the focus seems to be the product and the legacy and not financials. It might be too late for beer from Anchor Brewing this year but 2025 is a possibility.

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Review – Anchor Christmas Ale 2017 & 2018

The last two bottles of Anchor Christmas Ale. A bit melancholic this is. Sad to have Sapporo be such a Grinch.

But time waits for no one or no brewery so before these go too far, time to crack them open and taste….

2017 – I got an aged barrel, slightly sour smell when popping the cap. A bit of cherry aroma as well. Pretty foamy latte head of foam. Super dark brown color tinged with red. Initial taste is a bit smoky but also bubbly. Mouthfeel is light and what I am left with is a cola note.

2018 – this year pours a bit more red in color and the foam is a shade whiter. Much less aroma upon opening. Initial taste is much hoppier even after 5+ years. Tastes much less lighter than the previous year despite only being .02 higher in ABV. Like a red ale this.

The 2018 is more straightforward while the 2017 is more complex in flavor but I like that streamlined red ale a touch more.

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Open / Shut – Anchor Brewing in Stasis

Some small good news from the crappy Sapporo handling of Anchor Brewing, per the NAGBW, “At the end of September, the National Museum of American History collected the business records and other artifacts from the recently shuttered Anchor brewery to preserve and make them accessible to researchers and the public into the future. The items include tools from the brewhouse and lab, a barrel that transported steam beer to 19th-century taverns, books from Fritz Maytag’s library, and more.”

Plucking those items combined with, the pluck and zeal of former employees and the recent book about Anchor’s history will go a long way to helping unfreeze the actual Steam Beer out of carbonite. More will need to be pried out of Sapporo’s hands if a new age of Anchor is to really happen.

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Breaking News – Anchor Brewing to Cease Operations

Bad news has come to pass as Anchor Brewing who was bought by Sapporo in 2017 will cease operations and the business will be liquidated.  According to news released, Sapporo had been attempting to sell the San Francisco heritage brewery for some time now and found no bids.  

A financial knight could ride in during the liquidation process and the Anchor Public Taps will remain open until the beer runs out.  One of the beers on tap is the 2023 Christmas Ale which was being ramped into production. Probably the biggest whale in the beer ticking world for some time.  

You can get the sad details from Dave Infante at Vinepair who should get a tip of the hat for the journalism he has done on this story.  But, to me, this development seems to come at a weird time.  A history of Anchor (which I reviewed on this blog) came out recently, Sapporo let Anchor buy the ingredients for Christmas Ale, Anchor came out with a new summer Mexican lager and the vitriol over the bland logo re-brand had faded.  Those moves don’t signal floundering to me.

If Sapporo thought that the money would come from brewing Sapporo in San Francisco, that seems misguided since Sapporo owned Stone seems much better suited to that task.

Fingers crossed that this is not the end, end but maybe, and this might be an idea too crazy, there should be a brewery who only does beers from defunct craft breweries.  A place that snaps up recipes like the steam beer and Christmas ale and Liberty Ale so that they are not completely lost.  

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Corporations are Bad People Day – Grinch

Two weeks ago, the news started to leak that the owner of Anchor Brewing, Sapporo was re-trenching the distribution of the beer back to California.

An understandable move and one that might have blipped into a news feed and then been pushed aside by a politician saying something stupid or the latest Tik Tok craze.

But that was not all that was announced. There will be no Christmas Ale in 2023. After 48 years, there will not be a beautifully drawn tree on a label during the holidays.

Did I expect that there would always be an Anchor Christmas Ale, yes. Was that realistic? No. But you think that Sapporo would have given the beer an epic send-off. Or brewed it for two more years to reach the 50 year mark. Are there no marketers left?

Economics is not just demand, it is supply and demand. You could bring back Christmas Ale and say it is the last year for it and you will probably sell it all and probably sell it at a higher mark-up. I will not believe that Sapporo doesn’t have enough loose change in the couch cushions to do a final bottling run. Even a small one for magnums only.

If I was a smaller brewer, I would start working on a replacement Christmas beer. I can imagine some pointed names for the beer would practically write themselves.

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Beer Review – San Pancho Mexican Lager from Anchor Brewing

The doorbell rang on a recent Tuesday, and lo and behold, I had a package from Anchor Brewing. I tore it open to find a lovely media sample box for their San Pancho Mexican lager.

That means, time to review…

First, I sampled the Yucca chips. Thumbs up. Then the Choco Amaranth squares. Not a thumb up or down. SP pours a bright orange color and the first sip reveals an interesting combination of nicely lager-y with an undercurrent of citrus. Not lime per se but certainly citrus. It is quite zippy on the tongue with a bit of metallic aftertaste. I am glad there was no faux lime experience, so the beer gets the biggest thumbs up.

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Christmas Beer Review – Our Special Ale 2022 from Anchor Brewing

You’ve at least ordered the Anchor Brewing Story, if not devoured it by now, so let’s dive into their 2022 Our Special Ale.

Right off the bat, the 2022 smells really malt. Just opened malt bag, malty. There is a bit of spice and a bit of apple cider here. To be honest, it tastes a little under done to me. I notice a little black licorice note as well. It doesn’t not say Christmas but it seems tilted to, dare I say, pastry stout? Apple cider and a yeasty bread roll version.

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Review – Anchor Christmas 2021

Time to finally review the 2021 version (or 47th version) of Anchor Brewing’s holiday seasonal.

2021 pours a dark brown almost black with a nice latte rim of lace on top. Upon first inspection the aroma is citrus meets mulling spices. Very holiday indeed. There is more of a hop hit this year. Within distance of a black IPA. Nice roasty finish. A very filling beer. If my poor memory serves, this is one of my favorite iterations of this classic.

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Mango Weekend

There was much internet gnashing of teeth when Anchor Brewing unveiled their new anchor design. I am still on the fence. I like the spare look but I do feel a sense of history lost. That being said, I do like this new addition to their line-up. The name is great and you really can’t go wrong without mango in a beer.