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OT: Anchor Brewing ceases production.

DJ Spanky

DJ Spanky

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Jul 25, 2001
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Anchor Brewing, the makers of Anchor Steam and other beers and spirits, has ceased all activities and is closing its doors.

Historic Anchor Brewing Co. is closing after 127 years, with beer sales in decline

A damn shame, it appears that their acquisition in 2017 and the subsequent unionization in 2020 were contributing factors to this.

I did not realize they were the original distillers of Old Potrero - I've always wanted to get a bottle of that. I wonder if that's now a separate entity which will continue on.
 
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WhiteBus

WhiteBus

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I've been following the quick demise of Anchor Brewery in the last month or so. Sapporo USA was the problem since the day they bought Anchor. Sad news. And news in the last 10 days of Sapporo tactics after announcing that Anchor would no longer be sold nationally and no longer make their Christmas Beer. Claiming costs as an issue. However, all the hops, malt, yeast for the beer was already paid for and delivered!! Sapporo USA is scum! Like InBev. They buy companies to close them!
Stella is made in St. Louis. Hoegaarten will be made in Newark NJ and Leffe future is up in the air. You can no longer get Leffe Brune in the US.
Anyway, I took the five 6 packs of Sapporo in my store and chucked them in the dumpster yesterday.
 
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RUinPinehurst

RUinPinehurst

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A local brewery here in Boone (Appalachian Mountain Brewery) was sold five years or so ago to Anheuser Busch, when AB bought up a half dozen microbrewers. Earlier this year the founders of AMB bought back it's operations.

As for Anchor Brewing, their east coast production operations was located near Waynesville. NC, as I recall.
 
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RUPete

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One of the originals of craft brew before we knew it as craft brew. People are really going to miss that Xmas ale. I wonder if another brewer could get the right to a recipe like that and re-create it or does Sapporo just strike a match to everything?
 
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mdk02

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Evidently a higher % of sales was from bars and restaurants which got clobbered by the pandemic. With a sterling brand reputation this begs for an asset sale to some serious brewers. Will Sapporo liquidate just to eliminate the competition?
 
WhiteBus

WhiteBus

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RUPete said:
One of the originals of craft brew before we knew it as craft brew. People are really going to miss that Xmas ale. I wonder if another brewer could get the right to a recipe like that and re-create it or does Sapporo just strike a match to everything?
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They never get credit but they brewed the first IPA after prohibition. Most breweries gave up on that style
 
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RU from Jersey_rivals

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With all these big companies buying smaller brewers this is looking like when GM started buying trolley lines (after WWII) and replacing them with GM built buses. Get rid of the competition to ensure your market share.
 
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mdk02

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RU from Jersey said:
With all these big companies buying smaller brewers this is looking like when GM started buying trolley lines (after WWII) and replacing them with GM built buses. Get rid of the competition to ensure your market share.
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A thriving craft brew industry suggests they ultimately failed the last time they tried.
 
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rufeelinit

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I also liked the liberty ale brand they put out periodically. I did not know that they recently pulled back distribution to just California. Evidently producing a craft beer utilizing a steaming method was something Sapporo was not familiar with when it purchased the brand. There is a possibility that a buyer may come forward now that it has been announced that they are shutting down.

Glad I was able to have a couple of draft when I visited my daughter in the spring. I asked her to try and find a six pack and put it in her closet until I get out there again.
 
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Knightmoves

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rufeelinit said:
I also liked the liberty ale brand they put out periodically. I did not know that they recently pulled back distribution to just California. Evidently producing a craft beer utilizing a steaming method was something Sapporo was not familiar with when it purchased the brand. There is a possibility that a buyer may come forward now that it has been announced that they are shutting down.

Glad I was able to have a couple of draft when I visited my daughter in the spring. I asked her to try and find a six pack and put it in her closet until I get out there again.
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Apparently Anchor was in a long slow decline in the craft beer industry for a number of years.

I view Anchor Steam ale as a Yuengling quality craft beer. It competed well two decades ago but does not compete well in todays environment.

We did a brewery tour there years ago in SF and also bought a bottle of Old Potrero locally. Great experience.

Fritz Maytag also was involved in the wine industry, but likely with little success. Many of the original stars of the early craft beer industry have been put out of business as more competition hits the industry.
 
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RUPete

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rufeelinit said:
I also liked the liberty ale brand they put out periodically. I did not know that they recently pulled back distribution to just California. Evidently producing a craft beer utilizing a steaming method was something Sapporo was not familiar with when it purchased the brand. There is a possibility that a buyer may come forward now that it has been announced that they are shutting down.

Glad I was able to have a couple of draft when I visited my daughter in the spring. I asked her to try and find a six pack and put it in her closet until I get out there again.
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That Liberty Ale was a good one - almost forgot about that.
 
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RUPete

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Knightmoves said:
Apparently Anchor was in a long slow decline in the craft beer industry for a number of years.

I view Anchor Steam ale as a Yuengling quality craft beer. It competed well two decades ago but does not compete well in todays environment.

We did a brewery tour there years ago in SF and also bought a bottle of Old Potrero locally. Great experience.

Fritz Maytag also was involved in the wine industry, but likely with little success. Many of the original stars of the early craft beer industry have been put out of business as more competition hits the industry.
Click to expand...
Remember Pete's Wicked?
 
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WhiteBus

WhiteBus

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This is the reason why Sapporo decided to dump Anchor years ago!
"After Anchor was acquired by Sapporo, workers spoke out about what they described as inadequate pay and unfair working conditions, and voted to unionize in 2019"
There are rumors that both Sierra Nevada and Russian River wanted to buy them this time around. Sapporo teased employees that was they were having a meeting with employees Wednesday at 9am local time. At 6:30 local time they advised Sierra and Russian River they rather close the brewery.
I'm not a political guy at all. But this ship and what InBev is doing is stunning. I've moves Stella to the domestic doors and highlight it's priced as an import
 
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mdk02

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WhiteBus said:
This is the reason why Sapporo decided to dump Anchor years ago!
"After Anchor was acquired by Sapporo, workers spoke out about what they described as inadequate pay and unfair working conditions, and voted to unionize in 2019"
There are rumors that both Sierra Nevada and Russian River wanted to buy them this time around. Sapporo teased employees that was they were having a meeting with employees Wednesday at 9am local time. At 6:30 local time they advised Sierra and Russian River they rather close the brewery.
I'm not a political guy at all. But this ship and what InBev is doing is stunning. I've moves Stella to the domestic doors and highlight it's priced as an import
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Will the scrap they equipment even if they got an offer above scrap value? I wouldn't count out a buyer quite yet.
 
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Knightmoves

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WhiteBus said:
This is the reason why Sapporo decided to dump Anchor years ago!
"After Anchor was acquired by Sapporo, workers spoke out about what they described as inadequate pay and unfair working conditions, and voted to unionize in 2019"
There are rumors that both Sierra Nevada and Russian River wanted to buy them this time around. Sapporo teased employees that was they were having a meeting with employees Wednesday at 9am local time. At 6:30 local time they advised Sierra and Russian River they rather close the brewery.
I'm not a political guy at all. But this ship and what InBev is doing is stunning. I've moves Stella to the domestic doors and highlight it's priced as an import
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Good post. In the grill room after golf I got into the habit of always buying Stella. It’s a light beer, slightly Belgian style. But after learning that they are all part of InBev I have sworn off all of Inbev’s products.

Many golf grill rooms in FL have exclusively InBev and Bud beers in all taps. That’s when I order Miller Lite in a can as a fallback to having a draft.
 
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Leonard23

Leonard23

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RUinPinehurst said:
A local brewery here in Boone (Appalachian Mountain Brewery) was sold five years or so ago to Anheuser Busch, when AB bought up a half dozen microbrewers. Earlier this year the founders of AMB bought back it's operations.
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Funky Buddha in FL had a similar situation. In 2017, sold to Constellation, who did little with it and probably hurt the brand, so the original owners finally reacquired it last month.

 
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argofax

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RUPete said:
Remember Pete's Wicked?
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I do. They used to have it on tap at Scarlet Pub. The recipe changed. It tasted a little like the Old Bay Amber.

I have about 8 years of Anchor Christmas downstairs. They get better with time. It's a shame they are going out of business.
 
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coloradoknight

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angmo

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My all time favorite beer. We actually found it in HK and I turned my Brit friends on to it. They loved it. Was difficult to find. Seems like someone would throw it in a container sporadically and the supermarkets would buy it up.

I actually called them to see if I could be an importer for them as they didn't actually have one. They asked who my company was. I said "I'll start one if I can get an exclusive import contract". They hung up on me.

Their loss. I would have saved them by opening up the Asia market.
 
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ashokan

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“The stake through the heart of Anchor was the pandemic,” Singer told the New York Times. He added that 70% of the company’s products had been sold to restaurants and bars, which suffered in the years since the Covid pandemic."



Locally the #1 beer distributor (a third generation business with multi-county lock ) just quit the business for similar reasons
 
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RU to the Core

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Super sad. This was my first ever brewery tour back in 2005. Likr a super old brewery and small little tap room. Always liked anchor steam. I can still recall the day in my head vividly. Shocking and sad. Not sure if it was the only steam beer but hearing about their breeding process on the tour was neat.
 
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Barnaby&Neill

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Some craft brands, including those that have sold to the big beverage conglomerates, are growing into a weird market position. From what I’ve read a lot of the pain in the beer industry is being felt in the mid-sized brands (typically craft beer brands that have grown to regional or national distribution). People seem to buy micro / local or buy cheap.
 
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RU to the Core

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Barnaby&Neill said:
Some craft brands, including those that have sold to the big beverage conglomerates, are growing into a weird market position. From what I’ve read a lot of the pain in the beer industry is being felt in the mid-sized brands (typically craft beer brands that have grown to regional or national distribution). People seem to buy micro / local or buy cheap.
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You’re right. It’s why dogfish had to take PE money to grow and eventually sell to Boston beer. New Belgium is owned by some big foreign company. And southern tier and victory former like a merged entity. Staying small and regional is almost better but you kind of have to grow I think to stay alive. Or maybe not. I live in Pittsburgh and a lot of small breweries opened up outposts here. Some that come to mind. Southern tier, voodoo, Aslin, Brewdog. So there’s that route as well.
 
blueoyster

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Awe ****! That really sucks!! A Christmas tradition for the last 10 years was grabbing a case of the Christmas Ale to kick off the Season! Each year the recipe and tree featured on the bottle was different...and most years very tasty indeed! Truely saddened by this news...
 
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LETSGORU91_

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coloradoknight said:
If Wicked Weed would do the same thing and get out from InBev, I would be very happy. I haven't stepped foot in their brewery since 2017.
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I actually got WW just before they announced the deal with InBev and refuse to have it since they were acquired. While on the topic, I have not and will not knowingly drink any InBev product. Some of the popular ones: Stella, Wicked Weed, Blue Point, Shock Top, Elysian, Kona (33% InBev owned), Landshark, Goose Island, Michelob, Breckinridge, and Devil's Backbone. There are some I just unfortunately found out and will never purchase again. These include Rolling Rock, Modelo, Labatts, and Corona. It's my personal vendetta. Thanks for letting me vent.
 
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Proud NJ Sports Fan

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ashokan said:
“The stake through the heart of Anchor was the pandemic,” Singer told the New York Times. He added that 70% of the company’s products had been sold to restaurants and bars, which suffered in the years since the Covid pandemic."



Locally the #1 beer distributor (a third generation business with multi-county lock ) just quit the business for similar reasons
Click to expand...

Pains me to hear that since it was avoidable
 
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GoodOl'Rutgers

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mdk01 said:
A thriving craft brew industry suggests they ultimately failed the last time they tried.
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Hasn't made them stop. My guess is it will be paired with new governmental regulations on many levels.. local to national. Increase the price of entry to the market and then eliminating competition will have a better result for the bigs.

The US foods industry is also subject to such purchases followed by shuttering of doors. Then you have all the farmland being bought up by various "citizen of the world" characters like Bill Gates and Warren Buffet and China itself.
 
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rufeelinit

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Heard there was an hour long wait yesterday to get into the brewery for a beer and that all cases available for sale were gone.
 
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Knightmoves

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Fritz Maytag, founder and owner of Anchor Brewing, was an early adopter of craft brewing but ultimately failed to make a success of the company.

Anchor also invested in distilling whiskey and Napa wine sales but the failed beer business sank everything.

If Anchor Steam Ale was better marketed then I believe it may have found success. But lack of marketing skills made them a casualty as a craft brewery in a growing market Imo.
 
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