Anchor Brewing shutting down

BlueRidgeSmokers

The first six-pack I bought (in 1979) was Anchor Steam Beer.

San Francisco–based craft-beer pioneer Anchor Brewing is closing down after 127 years: report - MarketWatch

JohnInCarolina

I always thought their beer was solid, but not exceptional.  There is a lot of competition in the craft beer space.  Sounds to me like they just couldn’t adapt.

BlueRidgeSmokers

JohnInCarolina said:

I always thought their beer was solid, but not exceptional.  There is a lot of competition in the craft beer space.  Sounds to me like they just couldn’t adapt.

Industry insider news is that craft beer is over and has been over for probably 5 years - Constellation bought Stone Brewing for $1B at the peak of the craft bubble in 2016, only to sell for $44M a couple years later.

Hard seltzers appear to be the mainstream rage now. Zima was just too far ahead of the times.

Legume

They almost died a few decades ago and did manage to adapt a bit.  This is a little nostalgic / sad for me.

I think craft beer is far from dead, it's probably just dead as a
foolproof acquisition strategy for the big boys.

StillH2OEgger

Sorry to see that news. How many businesses can claim 127 years?

I assume the hard seltzer craze will fade soon enough. I've tried a few and they all taste like pi$$ to me (or what I'd imagine pi$$ would taste like).

JohnInCarolina

Legume said:

I think craft beer is far from dead, it's probably just dead as a
foolproof acquisition strategy for the big boys.

Yep, I think that’s right based on what I’ve seen.  

dmchicago

Not a big beer drinker but when I do, it's usually a local brewery. 

I would imagine the proliferation of hyper local brewers has something to do with the big producers sales going flat. 

BlueRidgeSmokers

Anchor Brewing was a local/regional brewery. I remember ordering a Steam Beer, 1984, in Thousand Oaks, CA. Server says "oh that's imported!", I asked where it was imported from, she looked at the bottle and declared "It's imported from San Francisco!".

They had distribution over the 50 US states but not in supermarkets much outside the Bay Area, you had to look for it at places like Liquor Barn (RIP). A friend ordered at least one (full-sized) keg while at UC San Diego in the 80s.

BlueRidgeSmokers

dmchicago said:

Not a big beer drinker but when I do, it's usually a local brewery. 

I would imagine the proliferation of hyper local brewers has something to do with the big producers sales going flat. 

A friend that runs a hip bar here in the Bay Area says it's weed. Weed has killed beer sales. People come in high, just to hang out, and order one drink that used to order 3 or 4.

dmchicago

BlueRidgeSmokers said:

dmchicago said:

Not a big beer drinker but when I do, it's usually a local brewery. 

I would imagine the proliferation of hyper local brewers has something to do with the big producers sales going flat. 

A friend that runs a hip bar here in the Bay Area says it's weed. Weed has killed beer sales. People come in high, just to hang out, and order one drink that used to order 3 or 4.

I can relate. 

JohnInCarolina

BlueRidgeSmokers said:

dmchicago said:

Not a big beer drinker but when I do, it's usually a local brewery. 

I would imagine the proliferation of hyper local brewers has something to do with the big producers sales going flat. 

A friend that runs a hip bar here in the Bay Area says it's weed. Weed has killed beer sales. People come in high, just to hang out, and order one drink that used to order 3 or 4.

That’s interesting.  Also explains why I maybe haven’t seen any signs of this in NC, where weed remains very much illegal.

BlueRidgeSmokers

JohnInCarolina said:

BlueRidgeSmokers said:

dmchicago said:

Not a big beer drinker but when I do, it's usually a local brewery. 

I would imagine the proliferation of hyper local brewers has something to do with the big producers sales going flat. 

A friend that runs a hip bar here in the Bay Area says it's weed. Weed has killed beer sales. People come in high, just to hang out, and order one drink that used to order 3 or 4.

That’s interesting.  Also explains why I maybe haven’t seen any signs of this in NC, where weed remains very much illegal.

Interestingly (to me), intoxicants aren't so fungible. I've heard it said that the drug chooses you (not the other way around). Weed leaves me either unable or uninterested in concentrating on anything, alcohol doesn't do that. I know about the different strains of weed and different highs, just never made me think "I'd rather smoke than have a beer".

dmchicago

BlueRidgeSmokers said:

JohnInCarolina said:

BlueRidgeSmokers said:

dmchicago said:

Not a big beer drinker but when I do, it's usually a local brewery. 

I would imagine the proliferation of hyper local brewers has something to do with the big producers sales going flat. 

A friend that runs a hip bar here in the Bay Area says it's weed. Weed has killed beer sales. People come in high, just to hang out, and order one drink that used to order 3 or 4.

That’s interesting.  Also explains why I maybe haven’t seen any signs of this in NC, where weed remains very much illegal.

Interestingly (to me), intoxicants aren't so fungible. I've heard it said that the drug chooses you (not the other way around). Weed leaves me either unable or uninterested in concentrating on anything, alcohol doesn't do that. I know about the different strains of weed and different highs, just never made me think "I'd rather smoke than have a beer".

I just chose weed and can focus enough to post on this fdup version of the forum. 

Botch

BlueRidgeSmokers said:

Anchor Brewing ... had distribution over the 50 US states but not in supermarkets much outside the Bay Area, you had to look for it at places like Liquor Barn (RIP). A friend ordered at least one (full-sized) keg while at UC San Diego in the 80s.

Whoa.  Was that the eastern chain of what looked like quonset huts, that you drove into one end, waited in line, and then told the attendant what you wanted, he'd run to a frig on either side of the car line, bring you your swill of choice, and take your money?  
Spent many a few minutes in those places when I was stationed in Dayton OH.  Thanks for the memory (even if that name isn't correct).  

BlueRidgeSmokers

Botch said:

BlueRidgeSmokers said:

Anchor Brewing ... had distribution over the 50 US states but not in supermarkets much outside the Bay Area, you had to look for it at places like Liquor Barn (RIP). A friend ordered at least one (full-sized) keg while at UC San Diego in the 80s.

Whoa.  Was that the eastern chain of what looked like quonset huts, that you drove into one end, waited in line, and then told the attendant what you wanted, he'd run to a frig on either side of the car line, bring you your swill of choice, and take your money?  
Spent many a few minutes in those places when I was stationed in Dayton OH.  Thanks for the memory (even if that name isn't correct).  

Not that I am aware of. In the 1980s, Liquor Barn was a West Coast phenomenon run as a side-business by Safeway - making use of the same trucks that delivered huge quantities of groceries. Huge conventional stores with ridiculous inventory and terrific prices. So many small and smaller producers. Ended circa 1987 when Safeway was in a corporate fight for their life and shut it all down because "not a core business".

Botch

BlueRidgeSmokers said:

Botch said:

BlueRidgeSmokers said:

Anchor Brewing ... had distribution over the 50 US states but not in supermarkets much outside the Bay Area, you had to look for it at places like Liquor Barn (RIP). A friend ordered at least one (full-sized) keg while at UC San Diego in the 80s.

Whoa.  Was that the eastern chain of what looked like quonset huts, that you drove into one end, waited in line, and then told the attendant what you wanted, he'd run to a frig on either side of the car line, bring you your swill of choice, and take your money?  
Spent many a few minutes in those places when I was stationed in Dayton OH.  Thanks for the memory (even if that name isn't correct).  

Not that I am aware of. In the 1980s, Liquor Barn was a West Coast phenomenon run as a side-business by Safeway - making use of the same trucks that delivered huge quantities of groceries. Huge conventional stores with ridiculous inventory and terrific prices. So many small and smaller producers. Ended circa 1987 when Safeway was in a corporate fight for their life and shut it all down because "not a core business".

Thanks, that's interesting.  My Mom's favorite grocery in Sioux Falls was "Hy-Vee", and they had a very large, adjacent liquor store, but I have no idea what the business model was, there.  

lousubcap

Well, corporate hasn't gotten the word to fly-over country as there are three Liquor Barn stores in Louisville.  None with the drive-thru option. 

BlueRidgeSmokers

lousubcap said:

Well, corporate hasn't gotten the word to fly-over country as there are three Liquor Barn stores in Louisville.  None with the drive-thru option. 

The Liquor Barn I speak of was a Safeway foodstore caper. There *are* other Liquor Barns, and they might be what I pine for from 35 years ago

BlueRidgeSmokers

The insider scoop is that BevMo was founded by the 'original' Liquor Barn team. HQ location checks out, and the couple of execs I know from BM def have LB in their resume

Legume

Craft brew business is alive and well in Colorado despite any distractions, can confirm.

HeavyG

https://twitter.com/markasaurus/status/1679252389956837380?s=20

JohnInCarolina

Independent of this discussion here, @DoubleEgger recently sent me this article:

https://slate.com/business/2023/07/beer-sales-decline-explained-hard-seltzer-craft-beer.html

Worth your time.

Legume

Yesterday.  Was a bit of a madhouse, but worth dropping in.

BlueRidgeSmokers

Aw snap, we went out to Bodega Bay for late lunch at Fishetarian, but this would have been a ball. Maybe someone comes in and saves, Fritz Maytag style, but it's a hard sell. Honestly, Sapporo did exactly all the wrong things, come out with "mainstream" lagers and IPAs and simplify the logo. While craft beer isn't going away, it's certainly way down from the heady days of 2016, and Anchor was just riding the tide. They didn't need new products so much as they needed fresh marketing. Ironically, Anchor Brewing under Fritz never advertised. Like, ever.

HeavyG

In my newspaper today:

Anchor workers may buy brewery

Anchor Brewing is open to a purchase offer from its employees but warned that time is running out as the 127-year-old trailblazer of craft beers prepares to cease operations, the San Francisco company said in a statement over the weekend.

Spokesman Sam Singer confirmed over the weekend that Anchor Brewing Co. had received an email from Anchor’s union representative that workers are launching an effort to purchase the brewery.

Anchor Brewing, owned by Japanese brewer Sapporo Holdings, announced this month it would discontinue the brand amid declining sales. Two dozen investors and individuals have expressed interest in acquiring some or all of the brewery, Singer told the San Francisco Chronicle last week.

BlueRidgeSmokers

This last weekend I cooked a winery event near here (Suisun/Napa Valley) and the vintner was telling me of the employee buy-out talk. It's an exciting idea but they'll need to secure some real money to make it happen, and enough operating cash to keep it going into profitability. I reckon it's a long shot but would love to see it.

My guess is you'd see a sharp return to pre-Sapporo product focus (nothing wrong with that IMO).

BlueRidgeSmokers

Kind-of what I expected.  Union effort to purchase beloved SF brewery could be losing steam | KRON4

HeavyG

The employees may not be able to save the company but there are other efforts that sound like Anchor might survive. Maybe.

https://therealdeal.com/sanfrancisco/2023/07/20/investors-line-up-to-save-sfs-anchor-brewing/

JohnInCarolina

For those of you with a sub:

http://twitter.com/TheAtlantic/status/1685051275472211968?s=20

fishlessman

May have something to do with 5 bucks a can.  Three 4 packs a night gets pricey. A real beer drinker never drank one or two

Legume

I am quite sure none of this would've happened in a small town.