Anchor Brewing Company

File:Otto Schinkel and Ernst F. Baruth.png

The brewery that would become Anchor was built during the California Gold Rush when Gottlieb Brekle arrived from Germany and began brewing steam beer in San Francisco. In 1896, Ernst F. Baruth and his son-in-law, Otto Schinkel, Jr., bought the old brewery, creating Anchor Brewing.{{cite web | title=Anchor Brewing: Our History I | url=http://www.anchorbrewing.com/brewery/ourhistory.htm | publisher=Anchor Brewing Company | date=27 January 2010 | access-date=28 September 2010| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100915121246/http://anchorbrewing.com/brewery/ourhistory.htm| archive-date= 15 September 2010 | url-status= live}} This original location was completely destroyed in the fires that engulfed San Francisco following the 1906 earthquake. It was rebuilt at a different location in 1907. After the deaths of Baruth and Schinkel, the brewery was run by Joseph Kraus and August Meyer until Prohibition forced the brewery to shut down. There is no record of what Anchor did during Prohibition, but it resumed operations at a new location once Prohibition in California came to an end in 1933.{{cite web | title=Anchor Brewing: Our History II | url=http://www.anchorbrewing.com/brewery/ourhistory2.htm | publisher=Anchor Brewing Company | date=27 January 2010 | access-date=28 September 2010| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101005123756/http://anchorbrewing.com/brewery/ourhistory2.htm| archive-date= 5 October 2010 | url-status= live}} However, the new location burned down in 1944, with Kraus reopening Anchor at another location the same year.

The brewery continued operations through the 1950s, but suffered heavily from the country's increasingly strong preference for beers produced by mega-breweries.{{cite web | title=Anchor Brewing: Our History III | url=http://www.anchorbrewing.com/brewery/ourhistory3.htm | publisher=Anchor Brewing Company | date=27 January 2010 | access-date=28 September 2010| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101005122347/http://anchorbrewing.com/brewery/ourhistory3.htm| archive-date= 5 October 2010 | url-status= live}} While there had been more than 4,000 breweries at the turn of the twentieth century, shifts in the industry due to Prohibition and the consolidation of brewing companies meant that only 70 remained by the 1960s.{{cite news |author=Tom Abate | url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/04/27/MNOD1D55P1.DTL | title=Anchor Brewing Co. sold to Greggor, Foglio |work=The San Francisco Chronicle |date=27 April 2010}} As a result of declining sales, Anchor shut down in 1959, but was bought and reopened the following year at a new location by Lawrence Steese.{{cite web | title=Anchor Brewing: Our History IV | url=http://www.anchorbrewing.com/brewery/ourhistory4.htm | publisher=Anchor Brewing Company | date=27 January 2010 | access-date=28 September 2010| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101005122756/http://anchorbrewing.com/brewery/ourhistory4.htm| archive-date= 5 October 2010 | url-status= live}}

By 1965, the brewery was once again suffering from poor sales. The quality of Anchor's beer had deteriorated under Steese due to a lack of expertise, proper equipment, and poor sanitation standards, which prevented the consistent production of a commercially viable product. The brewery gained a reputation for producing sour beer, and convincing existing distributors to continue to sell the beer became a challenge.{{cite book | last=Ogle | first=Maureen | title=Ambitious Brew: The Story of American Beer | location=Orlando | publisher=Harcourt | year=2006 | isbn=978-0-15-101012-7 | url=https://archive.org/details/ambitiousbrewsto00maur }}

In 1965, Frederick Louis "Fritz" Maytag III bought the brewery, saving it from closure.{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=bO9VAAAAIBAJ&sjid=DuEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6776%2C3949872 |newspaper=Eugene Register-Guard |agency=Associated Press |title=San Francisco brewer finds growing market for steam beer |date=March 16, 1972 |page=9A }} Maytag purchased 51% of the brewery for a few thousand dollars, and purchased the brewery outright in 1969.[https://web.archive.org/web/20090527200950/http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Anchor-Brewing-Company-Company-History.html Anchor Brewing Company -- Company History] By 1971, the brewery began to bottle steam beer (along with other varieties of beer, most notably a Christmas ale) under the direction of Fritz. Fritz purchased an old coffee roastery on Potrero Hill to serve as Anchor's new location in 1979. This building serves as the current location of the brewery.{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=aU0gAAAAIBAJ&sjid=WL8EAAAAIBAJ&pg=4871%2C1530350 |newspaper=Lexington (NC) Dispatch |title=Should a wine lover be seen in a brewery? |last=Prial |first=Frank J. |agency=New York Times News Service|date=July 13, 1984 |page=9 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Anchor-Brewing-Company-Company-History.html |title=Anchor Brewing Company: Company History |publisher=Funding Universe |access-date=2009-06-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090527200950/http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Anchor-Brewing-Company-Company-History.html |archive-date=27 May 2009 |url-status=dead }}

Turning the failing brewery around required more money than Maytag had from his inherited fortune from the Maytag Company. Between the initial purchase of Anchor and producing the first batches of bottled beer in 1971, Maytag had to learn the brewing process from scratch, invest in new equipment, and improve sanitation in the brewing process. The result was a new beer that was a definitive representative of California common beer, but a derivative to the historic steam beer manufactured by Anchor through the previous century.{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=jB8qAAAAIBAJ&sjid=AykEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5332%2C5774950 |newspaper=Milwaukee Journal |agency=Associated Press |last=Lefler |first=Jack |title=Steam beer is hot item among young in Frisco |date=June 9, 1975 |page=green sheet }}

File:Anchor Brewing Company brewhouse.jpg into the wort in the brewhouse]]

Before offering in bottles, sales were only as draft beer to thirty local establishments that had long carried the brand. Total production was only 800 barrels in 1969, 1,200 in 1970, and 2,100 in 1971.{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=2ZlMAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Y_oDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6976%2C8503545 |newspaper=Lakeland (FL) Ledger |last=Hillinger |first=Charles |agency=(Los Angeles Times) |title=The last steam beer brewery }} The bottles were initially sold in four-packs, to keep the price close to mainstream six-packs.{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=pMhGAAAAIBAJ&sjid=QfgMAAAAIBAJ&pg=5637%2C839822 |newspaper=The Day |location=New London, CT |agency=(Chicago Tribune) |last=Gorman |first=John |title=Anchor Steam: the coddled beer |date=July 6, 1986 |page=C4 }}

Due to its sale at many local establishments, Anchor's steam beer was well-known in the San Francisco area, having a reputation of local importance that grew under Maytag's ownership. In 1977, Arnold Schwarzenegger portrayed an Anchor Brewing employee in an episode of Streets of San Francisco, with Fritz Maytag making a cameo as another employee.

During the 1980s, Anchor's Steam Beer began to gain national attention and demand increased. Anchor ultimately served as an early example of a microbrewery, being among the first American breweries to produce porters, barley wine, and India pale ales with regularity. Its success both regionally and nationally inspired others to enter the brewing business, notably New Albion.{{cite book |last=Acitelli |first=Tom |title=The Audacity of Hops: The History of America's Craft Beer Revolution |year=2013 |publisher=Chicago Review Press |location=Chicago |isbn=9781613743881 |oclc=828193572 |page=[https://archive.org/details/audacityofhopshi0000acit/page/335 335] |url=https://archive.org/details/audacityofhopshi0000acit/page/335 }}

File:Anchor Brewing Company fermentation tank.JPG

File:Anchor Brewing bar.jpgs is a row of Christmas Ale bottles, one from each year beginning in 1975.]]

In 1989, the company produced a limited beer named Ninkasi, based on a 4000-year-old Sumerian recipe found in a ode to the Sumerian goddess of beer known as the “Hymn to Ninkasi.”{{cite web|last=Helfferich|first=Carla|title=Beer before Bread|url=http://www2.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF10/1039.html|publisher=Alaska Science Forum|access-date=25 February 2011|date=17 July 1991|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811163812/http://www2.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF10/1039.html|archive-date=2011-08-11|url-status=dead}} The recipe started with a twice-baked bread known as bappir as well as malt and was sweetened with honey and dates. It did not include hops or other bittering ingredients, making it considerably sweeter than modern beers.{{cite web| title=Sumerian Beer Project| url=http://www.anchorbrewing.com/beers/ninkasi.htm| work=Anchor Brewing| access-date=23 September 2010| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100915162753/http://anchorbrewing.com/beers/ninkasi.htm| archive-date=15 September 2010| url-status=dead}} The recipe is described by Charlie Papazian.{{cite book | last=Papazian | first=Charlie | title=Home Brewer's Companion | location=New York | publisher=Avon Books | year=1994 | isbn=0-380-77287-6 | url=https://archive.org/details/homebrewerscompa00papa }} Also in 1989, the brewing process for a batch of beer was interrupted during the Loma Prieta earthquake. The resulting (altered) brew was released as normal Anchor Steam, but with an inverted label; this beer has come to be referred to as Earthquake Beer.{{cite news|last1=Pershan |first1=Caleb |title=WHOA! PRISTINE 6-PACK OF LEGENDARY EARTHQUAKE BEER |url=http://www.thebolditalic.com/articles/6131-whoa-pristine-6-pack-of-legendary-earthquake-beer |access-date=20 November 2014 |agency=The Bold Italic |publisher=Gannett Co. Inc. |date=23 October 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129081927/http://www.thebolditalic.com/articles/6131-whoa-pristine-6-pack-of-legendary-earthquake-beer |archive-date=29 November 2014 }}

In 1993, the company opened Anchor Distillery, a microdistillery in the same location as the brewery, and began making a single malt rye whiskey, named Old Potrero, after the hill on which the brewery stands. In 1997, the microdistillery began producing a gin, called Junípero—Spanish for juniper, and a reference to Fr. Junípero Serra, an important figure in San Francisco's and California's history. The distillery also produces a Jenever style gin called Genevieve, using wheat, barley, rye, and the same herbal ingredients as their Junípero gin.

In 2010, Maytag sold the company to former Skyy vodka executives Keith Greggor and Tony Foglio, from Novato, California, who planned to expand Anchor's business while keeping its commitment to artisan brewing. In 2013, the brewery launched Anchor California Lager, a re-creation of a historic Boca Brewing lager from the 1870s.{{cite web |url=http://www.anchorbrewing.com/connect/news/95 |title=Anchor Brewing Company Launches Anchor California Lager® And Forms Partnership with California State Parks Foundation |date=February 7, 2013 |access-date=February 26, 2013}} The brewery also announced a major expansion plan at Pier 48 in the Mission Rock neighborhood near Oracle Park,{{cite web |url=http://www.anchorbrewing.com/connect/news/98 |title=Anchor Brewing to Quadruple its Production with New Facilities Planned for Pier 48 |date=February 19, 2013 |access-date=February 26, 2013}} which would expand Anchor's maximum annual production capacity from 180,000 barrels to 680,000 barrels.

In 2014, Anchor officially announced Anchor IPA,{{cite press release |url=http://www.anchorbrewing.com/connect/news/123 |title=Anchor Brewing Company Releases Anchor IPA |date=February 4, 2014 |publisher=Anchor Brewing Company}} the first India Pale Ale in the brewery's history.{{cite news |url=http://allaboutbeer.com/anchor-ipa/ |title=Anchor IPA: A First For Established Brewer |date=May 19, 2014 |first=John |last=Holl |work=All About Beer Magazine}} Anchor ended production of its winter seasonal Bock in 2014{{cite press release |url=http://www.anchorbrewing.com/connect/news/117 |title=Anchor Brewing Announces The Release of Anchor Bock Beer Marking Its Final Selling Season |date=January 6, 2014 |publisher=Anchor Brewing Company}} and replaced it a year later with Anchor Winter Wheat.{{cite press release |url=http://www.anchorbrewing.com/connect/news/149 |title=Anchor Brewing Releases Anchor Winter Wheat, A Classic Winter Warmer |date=December 3, 2014 |publisher=Anchor Brewing Company}}

In 2017, Anchor was purchased by Sapporo for $85 million.{{cite news |url=http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-anchor-brewing-sapporo-20170803-story.html |title=San Francisco's Anchor Brewing acquired by Sapporo

|first1=Rachel |last1=Spacek |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=August 3, 2017 |access-date=April 4, 2018|quote=Anchor Brewing has been a San Francisco staple since 1896, surviving earthquakes, prohibition and tech booms and busts. But on Thursday, the brewer announced it will be a San Francisco company no longer after a sale to Japan's Sapporo Holdings Ltd. Exact terms of the deal were not disclosed, but a spokesman for Sapporo said the price was approximately $85 million. The deal marks the latest California brewery to be acquired by a larger beer maker. It comes amid rising competition among craft breweries — a sector of the beer industry that Anchor has been credited, by some, for helping inspire.}}{{Cite web |date=2024-01-23 |title=Anchor Brewing could have new owners soon |url=https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/business/anchor-brewing-sale-could-lead-to-new-owners-in-january/article_5b12a7a6-ba49-11ee-9f03-1767baa7d9a8.html |access-date=2024-02-02 |website=San Francisco Examiner |language=en}} Working conditions and pay at Anchor had been in a state of decline since Maytag had sold the company, and this trend continued under Sapporo's ownership despite the company's larger holdings. This led to further dissatisfaction among the brewery's workers. In 2018, several workers at Anchor, among them Brace Belden, formed an organizing committee and coordinated with the DSA chapter in San Francisco to develop a plan for unionization with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union. The unionization efforts were overwhelmingly supported by local bars which served Anchor Steam Beer in the city.{{cite web |last1=Kimura |first1=Yumi |title="There Wouldn’t Be Craft Beer If It Weren’t For Us" |url=https://jacobin.com/2019/02/anchor-brewing-unionization-drive-craft-beer |website=Jacobin}}

In 2019, Anchor Brewing workers voted by an almost 2-to-1 margin to join the International Longshore and Warehouse Union making Anchor Brewing – including Anchor Public Taps, the brewery's on-site brew pub – the first unionized craft brewery in the United States.{{cite news |url=http://www.sfweekly.com/dining/does-the-brewery-unionization-movement-have-legs/ |title= Does the Brewery Unionization Movement Have Legs?

|first1=Ida |last1=Mojadad |newspaper=San Francisco Weekly |date=March 29, 2010 |access-date=June 13, 2019|quote= On March 13, Anchor employees voted 31–16 to join the International Longshore and Warehouse Union in the first known unionization among craft brewers.}} The three-year union contract was officially ratified in 2020, providing workers with increased wages, health insurance, and other benefits.{{cite web |last1=Crowell |first1=Chris |title=Anchor Brewing workers officially ratify union contract — details here |url=https://www.craftbrewingbusiness.com/news/anchor-brewing-workers-officially-ratify-union-contract-details-here/ |website=Craft Brewing Business}}

In 2021, Anchor Brewing announced a major makeover of their logo and beer labels. On the eve of their 125th birthday, the brewery replaced their vintage-looking labels with a large Anchor logo in a two-tone color schemes per beer.{{Cite web |title=Anchor Brewing Commemorates 125 Years with New Look, Beers and Vision |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/anchor-brewing-commemorates-125-years-with-new-look-beers-and-vision-301214046.html |access-date=2023-08-04 |website=PR Newswire}} Most labels were not changed in decades or at all. The design change was met with criticism by consumers.{{cite news | url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/wine/article/On-eve-of-125th-birthday-S-F-s-Anchor-Brewing-15891854.php |title=On eve of 125th birthday, S.F.'s Anchor Brewing is changing its vintage beer labels |work=the San Francisco Chronicle |date=January 25, 2021 |access-date=January 25, 2021}}

In 2023, union efforts to renew the existing contract were stalled, with Sapporo delaying negotiations.{{cite web |last1=Licata |first1=Zoe |title=Union Contract Negotiations Delayed at Anchor Brewing |url=https://www.brewbound.com/news/union-contract-negotiations-delayed-at-anchor-brewing/ |website=Brewbound}} Soon after, Anchor announced it would no longer distribute nationally and would cease production of its signature Christmas Ale.{{Cite web |last=Yadegaran |first=Jessica |date=2023-06-12 |title=Anchor Brewing ends national distribution, kills beloved beer |url=https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/anchor-brewing-co-ends-national-distribution-18148141.php |access-date=2023-06-13 |website=SFGATE |language=en-US}}

On July 12, 2023, Sapporo announced it was ceasing operations at Anchor and liquidating the business. Sapporo blamed the closure on decreased sales at restaurants and bars caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, competition from other local brewers, and a shift in consumer preferences to alcoholic beverages other than beer.{{cite news |last1=Leahy |first1=Garrett |title=Anchor Brewing Had It Coming, Bartenders, Beer Drinkers Say |url=https://sfstandard.com/2023/07/13/it-started-with-the-label-change-anchor-brewing-had-it-coming-bartenders-beer-drinkers-say/ |access-date=14 July 2023 |work=The San Francisco Standard |date=13 July 2023}}{{cite news |last1=Albeck-Ripka |first1=Livia |title=Anchor Brewing, the Oldest Craft Brewer in the U.S., Will Close After 127 Years |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/13/dining/anchor-brewing-closing-beer.html |access-date=14 July 2023 |work=The New York Times |date=13 July 2023}}{{Cite web |last=Ting |first=Eric |date=2023-07-12 |title=San Francisco's Anchor Brewing Company says it's ceasing operations |url=https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/anchor-brewing-company-ceasing-operations-18196509.php |access-date=2023-07-12 |website=SFGATE |language=en-US}} Employees were given a 60-day WARN notice on July 12.{{cite news |last1=Thomas|first1=Michael|title=Anchor Brewing Company to cease operations in San Francisco |url=https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/anchor-brewing-company-to-cease-operations-in-san-francisco/ |access-date=12 July 2023 |work=KRON4 |agency=Bay City News |date=12 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230712142824/https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/anchor-brewing-company-to-cease-operations-in-san-francisco/ |archive-date=12 July 2023 |url-status=live}}{{cite news |last1=Ting |first1=Eric |title=San Francisco's Anchor Brewing Company says it's ceasing operations |url=https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/anchor-brewing-company-ceasing-operations-18196509.php |access-date=12 July 2023 |work=SFGate |publisher=Hearst Communications |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230712142027/https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/anchor-brewing-company-ceasing-operations-18196509.php |archive-date=12 July 2023 |url-status=live}} The announcement led to significant outrage from brewery workers, San Francisco bartenders, and locals, with passing drivers chanting "keep brewing" outside the building.{{cite web |last1=Yadegaran |first1=Jessica |last2=Madrigal-Yankowski |first2=Nico |last3=Bindman |first3=Ariana |last4=Lehman |first4=Gabe |title='F—king bulls—t': A shocked San Francisco reacts to the end of Anchor Brewing |url=https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/san-francisco-reacts-to-anchor-brewing-closure-18197647.php |website=SFGATE}}

A spokesman for Sapporo quoted by the New York Times said that the firm sought a buyer for Anchor before announcing that the brewery would close, and that it was still possible one might emerge. To liquidate Anchor, Sapporo has elected to enter into an alternative to the traditional bankruptcy process known as "Assignments for the Benefit of Creditors".{{cite news |last1=Lander |first1=Jess |title=Three S.F. locals want to bring Anchor Brewing back from brink of death once again |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/wine/article/save-anchor-steam-18199818.php |access-date=18 July 2023 |work=San Francisco Chronicle |date=17 July 2023}} Through the process, an "assignee" other than Sapporo will assume stewardship of Anchor and consider bids for the company's assets. Through this process, a new owner might emerge.{{cite news |last1=Barmann |first1=Jay |title=Local Interest Already Bubbling Up To Save Anchor Brewing Co. |url=https://sfist.com/2023/07/17/local-interest-already-bubbling-up-to-save-anchor-brewing-co/ |access-date=18 July 2023 |work=SFist - San Francisco News, Restaurants, Events, & Sports |date=17 July 2023 |language=en |archive-date=18 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230718064319/https://sfist.com/2023/07/17/local-interest-already-bubbling-up-to-save-anchor-brewing-co/ |url-status=dead }}

In July 2023, Anchor Brewing closed, and its workers attempted to buy out the firm as a worker-owned cooperative. Instead, the founder and CEO of Chobani bought out the company in 2024, with the intention of restarting its operations.{{cite web |last1=Valinsky |first1=Jordan |title=Anchor Brewing gets new lease on life after it finds an unexpected buyer |url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/03/food/anchor-brewing-chobani-hamdi-ulukaya-buyer/index.html |website=CNN Business |publisher=Warner Bros. Discovery Company |access-date=27 September 2024}}

On May 31, 2024, it was announced that the brewery would be purchased by the founder of Chobani and re-opened.{{cite news |last1=Schmall |first1=Emily |title=Chobani Yogurt Founder Buys Anchor Brewing Company |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/31/business/anchor-hamdi-ulukaya-chobani-ceo.html |access-date=5 June 2024 |work=The New York Times |date=31 May 2024}}

Anchor had a year-round range of seven beers, as well as several seasonal beers.{{cite web| url=http://www.anchorbrewing.com/beers/| title=Anchor Steam {{pipe}} Beers {{pipe}} Anchor Steam| publisher=Anchor Brewing Company| access-date=2013-02-26}} In 2012, Anchor introduced the Zymaster series, which placed an emphasis on brewing tradition.{{cite web|title=Zymaster™ Series No. 1: California Lager – Part I|date=10 February 2012 |url=http://www.anchorbrewing.com/blog/zymaster-series-no-1-california-lager-part-i/|publisher=Anchor Brewing Company|access-date=22 September 2013}} These beers were generally of an extremely limited nature.

• No. 1: California Lager
• No. 2: Mark's Mild
• No. 3: Flying Cloud San Francisco Stout
• No. 4: Fort Ross Farmhouse Ale
• No. 5: Harvest One American Pale Ale
• No. 6: Saaremaa Ale{{cite web|url=http://www.anchorbrewing.com/connect/news/135|title=California Craft Brewery News - Anchor Brewing|work=anchorbrewing.com}}
• No. 7: Potrero Hill Sour Mash IPA
• No. 8: Luxardo Cherry Ale

{{cite web |url=http://www.anchorbrewing.com/beer/zymaster_series |title=Anchor Zymaster Series |access-date=February 13, 2016}}

{{Portal|San Francisco Bay Area}}

• California breweries
• Barrel-aged beer

{{reflist|2}}

• {{official website|http://anchorbrewing.com}}

{{Mitsui|state=autocollapse}}

{{San Francisco Attractions|state=collapsed}}

Category:Beer brewing companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area

Category:Food and drink companies based in San Francisco

Category:American companies established in 1896

Category:Food and drink companies established in 1896

Category:1896 establishments in California

Category:Cuisine of the San Francisco Bay Area

Category:Sapporo Breweries

Category:2023 disestablishments in California

Category:American companies disestablished in 2023

Category:2010 mergers and acquisitions

Category:2017 mergers and acquisitions

Category:Food and drink companies disestablished in 2023

Category:Manufacturing companies based in San Francisco