Anchor Brewing is shutting down after 127 years
San Francisco institution Anchor Brewing Co., the godfather of steam beer, is shutting down after 127 years.
The brewery was “losing millions of dollars a year,” said Anchor spokesperson Sam Singer. “Economic pressures have made the business no longer sustainable.”
Anchor has already brewed its final beer at the historic Potrero Hill brewery — “there’s no steam coming out of the brewery now,” said Singer — and just notified the brewery’s 61 employees of the shutdown. The brewery’s taproom, Anchor Public Taps, will continue operating until at least Aug. 1, possibly longer.
“We recognize the importance and historic significance of Anchor to San Francisco and the craft brewing industry,” Singer said, “but the impacts of the pandemic, inflation — especially in San Francisco — and a highly competitive market left us with no choice but to make this sad decision.”
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The news comes one month after Anchor announced it was halting national distribution and discontinuing its beloved Christmas Ale, which it’s produced since 1975. When Japanese beer giant Sapporo purchased Anchor in 2017, the company was already “in the red,” according to Singer, who said that revenue is down by two-thirds since 2016. The pandemic was especially challenging for the brewery, added Singer, as it typically sells most of its beer through bars and restaurants. The brewery attempted to expand its retail distribution but was “unable to break through in a big enough way,” he said.
The beer industry as a whole has been navigating choppy waters. Beer sales were down about 3% by volume in 2022, according to the National Brewers Association, and stagnation in craft beer has led several Bay Area breweries to consolidate to stay alive.
Founded in 1896, Anchor was often touted as the nation’s first craft brewery, but Sapporo’s acquisition stripped away its official “craft” designation and brought about a series of other changes. The historically anachronistic brewery began producing dozens of trendy and experimental styles, like a Blackberry IPA and Meyer Lemon Lager. It opened its modern taproom and pilot brewery, plus started charging for tours. In 2019, dissatisfied workers successfully formed a union for the first time in Anchor’s history.
Scott Strazzante/The Chronicle
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In 2022, Sapporo purchased another major U.S. brewery, San Diego’s Stone Brewing, and started producing Sapporo’s beers there. Singer said the Stone acquisition had no impact on the decision to close Anchor. While sales were down for Sapporo in 2020 during the height of the pandemic, the company experienced 9% sales growth in 2022 and its annual gross income rose by 4% to $139 billion, according to MarketWatch.
Anchor’s assets will soon be put up for sale through a process called Assignments for the Benefit of Creditors (ABC), an alternative to bankruptcy meant to pay back creditors as quickly as possible. During this process, someone could step in and purchase the brewery; longtime owner Fritz Maytag bought Anchor on the verge of collapse in 1965. But Singer said “repeated efforts” to find a new buyer have been unsuccessful.
“Anchor’s always had a special place in the beer world and a special place in San Francisco,” said Singer. “They were out of cash and out of time.”
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
