Anchor Steam Brewing to close down

[ErkRusselReserve]

From Forbes:

"In a press release, Sapporo said Anchor generated $12 million in sales in 2020 and 2021 and only $10 million in 2022."

and

"Anchor generated a $12 million operating loss in 2020, followed by a $9 million loss in 2021 and 2022."

So their costs were double their revenue for the past three years. Ouch!!!

But!

There seem to be interested buyers for the liquidated business.

 

[CzechCzar]

From Forbes:

"In a press release, Sapporo said Anchor generated $12 million in sales in 2020 and 2021 and only $10 million in 2022."

and

"Anchor generated a $12 million operating loss in 2020, followed by a $9 million loss in 2021 and 2022."

So their costs were double their revenue for the past three years. Ouch!!!

But!

There seem to be interested buyers for the liquidated business.

That speaks to me of a sales organization that is dysfunctional.

I am beginning to be able to see why there aren't any buyers. And, why Sapporo is choosing to liquidate rather than sell.

 

[jesseix]

There is a lot of real estate involved that would make it very expensive/difficult for another brewery to come in and buy them. If Sapporo doesn’t decide to just sell it all of they can use the equipment there to brew some of their other stuff. They clearly see more value in one of those 2 options than in keeping the Anchor brand going.

 

[ErkRusselReserve]

They looked for a buyer, but none was forthcoming. Interesting that it will ended up being a real estate play. Someone might buy the brand, recipes and maybe even gear and make it offsite. The no longer made in the glasstanks of Latrobe Pa Rolling Rock for example. It is a pity what happened to that beer.

Hell, many many big in the 80s-90s beers have gone away or are no longer - Bass, Rolling Rock, Newcastle, and now Anchor Steam.

 

[TexLaw]

This broke my heart, but it was the last of a series of events regarding Anchor that has broken my heart. Anchor was a great story and a great brewery that made great beer. Fritz did many things for the first time (or for the first time in a very long time) that, now, are taken for granted in brewing.

My very first "microbrew" (what we used to call craft beer before there was such a term) was Anchor Liberty Ale. When I got a night off from a trial that required 90+ hour weeks, I spent that night off with a reuben sandwich, college basketball, and a 6-Pack of Anchor Porter. Anchor used to give my homebrew club (yes, for free) a keg of Old Foghorn every year for our annual event. It wasn't that long ago that a litmus test for whether a place knew what they were doing with their beer list was if they had Anchor Steam, and I'd always get one (or more) on my first visit to such a place.

There's no doubt that craft beer is adjusting as an industry, but this one is on Sapporo. They screwed this pooch something fierce.

 

[tehnothing]

I stumbled across some Liberty Ale with the old packaging. I ended up not finishing the one I opened. I thought I remember liking it, but, the stuff was foul.

 

[ErkRusselReserve]

I stumbled across some Liberty Ale with the old packaging. I ended up not finishing the one I opened. I thought I remember liking it, but, the stuff was foul.

If it was the old packaging it was likely years old. Yuck!

 

[CzechCzar]

I stumbled across some Liberty Ale with the old packaging. I ended up not finishing the one I opened. I thought I remember liking it, but, the stuff was foul.

that has definitely gone bad by now.

 

[luvmysuper]

I stumbled across some Liberty Ale with the old packaging. I ended up not finishing the one I opened. I thought I remember liking it, but, the stuff was foul.

Several factors involved in lightstruck beer (skunked beer):
Color of the glass bottle
Clear and blue glass - no protection (can skink in less than a minute when exposed to sunlight)
Green glass - slightly better than clear or blue
Brown glass - can significantly extend the time exposed to UV light.
Temperature - the higher the storage temp, the faster the skunking.

Anchor in the old label bottles was not an extremely dark brown glass to begin with, and if it was exposed to UV light and not refrigerated continuously, it's likely that it was skunked by the time you opened it.

That's one advantage of cans over bottles.

 

[DrStrange]

Several factors involved in lightstruck beer (skunked beer):
Color of the glass bottle
Clear and blue glass - no protection (can skink in less than a minute when exposed to sunlight)
Green glass - slightly better than clear or blue
Brown glass - can significantly extend the time exposed to UV light.
Temperature - the higher the storage temp, the faster the skunking.

Anchor in the old label bottles was not an extremely dark brown glass to begin with, and if it was exposed to UV light and not refrigerated continuously, it's likely that it was skunked by the time you opened it.

That's one advantage of cans over bottles.

Miller emphasizes that their beer sells quickly,
by bottling in clear glass.

They don't need shelf life.

 

[luvmysuper]

Miller emphasizes that their beer sells quickly,
by bottling in clear glass.

They don't need shelf life.

Some hops are also more resistant than others to the effect.

 

[ErkRusselReserve]

Some hops are also more resistant than others to the effect.

This man knows what he is talking about.

Cans suffer from the estrogen released from the can lining. But then again, the hops in the beer are an extra potent estrogen. And new fangled brews have an insane amount of estrogenic hops in them.

Drink enough, and you might not need to be in this forum anymore!

Also, stay away from tea tree oil and lavender if you want to remain manly:

Does Tea Tree Oil Have Hormonal Side Effects? | NutritionFacts.org

Do the estrogenic effects of tea tree oil get absorbed through the skin?

nutritionfacts.org

 

[luvmysuper]

This man knows what he is talking about.

Cans suffer from the estrogen released from the can lining. But then again, the hops in the beer are an extra potent estrogen. And new fangled brews have an insane amount of estrogenic hops in them.

Drink enough, and you might not need to be in this forum anymore!

Also, stay away from tea tree oil and lavender if you want to remain manly:

Does Tea Tree Oil Have Hormonal Side Effects? | NutritionFacts.org

Do the estrogenic effects of tea tree oil get absorbed through the skin?

nutritionfacts.org

 

[DesertIguana]

San Francisco is loosing more then Anchor Steam, many of the place people use to flock to eat at like Cliff House, Aleatoes, and other are closed, and will never reopen.

 

[Black Adder]

View attachment 1719846

Looks like an Onion article!

 

[TexLaw]

Miller emphasizes that their beer sells quickly,
by bottling in clear glass.

They don't need shelf life.

They use hop extracts that don't skunk.

 

[jesseix]

Here’s the latest on the workers’ fundraising

Donate to Help Workers Save Anchor Brewing!, organized by Anchor SF Cooperative

We are the workers of Anchor Brewery. We are brewers, production workers, mana… Anchor SF Cooperative needs your support for Help Workers Save Anchor Brewing!

www.gofundme.com

 

[CzechCzar]

Here’s the latest on the workers’ fundraising

Donate to Help Workers Save Anchor Brewing!, organized by Anchor SF Cooperative

We are the workers of Anchor Brewery. We are brewers, production workers, mana… Anchor SF Cooperative needs your support for Help Workers Save Anchor Brewing!

www.gofundme.com

that is encouraging. call me a commie but I actually really like worker owned co-ops.

 

[The Knize]

Good thread. I do hate the idea the Anchor Steam is gone.

Hell, many many big in the 80s-90s beers have gone away or are no longer - Bass, Rolling Rock, Newcastle, and now Anchor Steam.

I have got to keep up better. I had no idea the first three were gone. Sad. Rolling Rock was doomed when InBev took it over and started brewing it in Newark. I do think it was ever that great a beer, but it had a coolness factor with the backstory and pony bottles, that went away when it was taken over.