RIP Anchor Brewing

[justgladtobehere]

The big macros snapping up micros/crafts ended up being a real shot in the arm to the smaller brands because it gave them a wider distribution network and better marketing, and the big companies rightfully nurtured them as profit centers, rather than snuff them out as some feared initially.

The big problem was Anchor was snapped up by a Japanese company, Sapporo, which doesn't have the distribution network that an established U.S. MMS company has. I haven't seen Anchor sold in my neck of the woods in at least 10 years.

I've kind of lost my mojo on craft beers because 90% of them today are some form of IPA. A sixer of those will make me hurl.

The macro spending spree hasn't been all good. AB-InBev is selling or closing some of the micros it bought. Coors and Miller tried fooling people into buying beers that seemed micro.

Also, for people who like beer flavored beer, some micros are brewing Mexican lagers. Jack's Abby makes some great drinkable lagers.

 

[Vombatus]

True, but Jason Oliver definitely got butthurt about all of the sellout talk. I remember seeing him at one of the craft fests wearing a hat that read "Still a craft brewery" and there was talk of quieting haters, things of that nature. The original owners of DB never expected it to get so big and were basically overwhelmed so they decided to sell. I understood. DB was never my favorite Virginia brewery anyway, but they have their strong points. The facility/campus in Roseland is great.

Still one of the best local T-Shirts.

Nelson County, VA
More Breweries Than Stoplights

 

[Spartan Squad]

The craze that has me pushing back on crafts is sours. Whenever I go shopping for beer (which lately hasn’t been often. I just find myself not wanting to drink unless there’s an occasion) I get my hopes up when I see new offerings from different crafts. But they’re all sours. I end up going back to Anchor because they have a simple, tasty beer. I don’t want a triple bitter, triple the alcohol IPA.

Don’t get me wrong, a good IPA is still good, but I want something simpler to enjoy two of.

Heard a radio interview where craft brewers show off to each other with lagers. Those are usually more time consuming so they tend to be what brewers judge skill.

 

[Pilot]

The craze that has me pushing back on crafts is sours. Whenever I go shopping for beer (which lately hasn’t been often. I just find myself not wanting to drink unless there’s an occasion) I get my hopes up when I see new offerings from different crafts. But they’re all sours. I end up going back to Anchor because they have a simple, tasty beer. I don’t want a triple bitter, triple the alcohol IPA.

Don’t get me wrong, a good IPA is still good, but I want something simpler to enjoy two of.

Heard a radio interview where craft brewers show off to each other with lagers. Those are usually more time consuming so they tend to be what brewers judge skill.

Interesting. In a previous, child-less life friends and I would go to the Great American Beer Fest in Denver every other year or so. You'd get toward the end of the last night and all the regular stuff would be running low, but every brewery still had "Blueberry Peach Pie Cobbler Sour," or whatever random ass combination of ingredients the maker seemed to come across, and I'd curse those as brewers trying to show off to one another. (This was slightly before sours started showing up so heavily in stores.)

 

[Pilot]

I was sad to see the news about Anchor Steam, but honestly, my first thought was "Oh no, I like that beer! I haven't had one in ... a long, long time." I guess my instinct has been to pick a local brew ahead of something from the coast. It's not 2000. It's a damn competitive world for microbrews these days, between powerhouse coast-to-coast "micros" like New Belgium and local micros at every store.

 

[Cosmo]

The craze that has me pushing back on crafts is sours. Whenever I go shopping for beer (which lately hasn’t been often. I just find myself not wanting to drink unless there’s an occasion) I get my hopes up when I see new offerings from different crafts. But they’re all sours. I end up going back to Anchor because they have a simple, tasty beer. I don’t want a triple bitter, triple the alcohol IPA.

Don’t get me wrong, a good IPA is still good, but I want something simpler to enjoy two of.

Heard a radio interview where craft brewers show off to each other with lagers. Those are usually more time consuming so they tend to be what brewers judge skill.

That is absolutely correct. An IPA is way, way easier to make.

 

[micropolitan guy]

Interesting. In a previous, child-less life friends and I would go to the Great American Beer Fest in Denver every other year or so. You'd get toward the end of the last night and all the regular stuff would be running low, but every brewery still had "Blueberry Peach Pie Cobbler Sour," or whatever random ass combination of ingredients the maker seemed to come across, and I'd curse those as brewers trying to show off to one another. (This was slightly before sours started showing up so heavily in stores.)

In Rochester they'd call that the beer-making equivalent of a garbage plate.

 

[Scout]

IPAs just plain suck.

Lagers, especially in the summer, all day long.

 

[HanSenSE]

Walked through the beer aisle during lunch today and all the Anchor Steam was gone. Even our wine guy was astounded.

 

[Vombatus]

Not sure if it’s been mentioned yet, but these younger folks drinking all this seltzer **** isn’t helping the micro beer market either.

And I blame all the IPA-2x-3x focus for that too. Those are more calories. And along comes seltzers… to offer lower cal options.

It’s amazing to see seltzers go from just one tap at a joint to several, and the ensuing reorganization of shelf, floor and refrigerator space in stores.

I go into some stores and look around and think “****”.

 

[Spartan Squad]

Walked through the beer aisle during lunch today and all the Anchor Steam was gone. Even our wine guy was astounded.

Went through the store this afternoon and peeked just to see. All the Anchor stuff was gone.

 

[Cosmo]

Not sure if it’s been mentioned yet, but these younger folks drinking all this seltzer **** isn’t helping the micro beer market either.

And I blame all the IPA-2x-3x focus for that too. Those are more calories. And along comes seltzers… to offer lower cal options.

It’s amazing to see seltzers go from just one tap at a joint to several, and the ensuing reorganization of shelf, floor and refrigerator space in stores.

I go into some stores and look around and think “****”.

A lot of breweries are now brewing their own hard seltzers to capture the non-beer people who come with their friends. Smart move.

 

[dixiehack]

I have beers I can drink to be social. When I tried a Summer Shandy at the minor league park this spring, it was the first time I ever finished a beer and strongly considered ordering another. Some of us are not cut out for the hops life.

 

[justgladtobehere]

The craze that has me pushing back on crafts is sours. Whenever I go shopping for beer (which lately hasn’t been often. I just find myself not wanting to drink unless there’s an occasion) I get my hopes up when I see new offerings from different crafts. But they’re all sours. I end up going back to Anchor because they have a simple, tasty beer. I don’t want a triple bitter, triple the alcohol IPA.

Don’t get me wrong, a good IPA is still good, but I want something simpler to enjoy two of.

Heard a radio interview where craft brewers show off to each other with lagers. Those are usually more time consuming so they tend to be what brewers judge skill.

Lagers are frowned upon for a bunch of reasons. Homebrewing and craftbtewing came out of UK beer culture, which is ale. Macros were all lager, which was seem as the enemy. It's much cheaper to brew an ale. You don't have to keep the temperature down and it takes half as long. There is more to do with ale, also

 

[micropolitan guy]

I have beers I can drink to be social. When I tried a Summer Shandy at the minor league park this spring, it was the first time I ever finished a beer and strongly considered ordering another. Some of us are not cut out for the hops life.

A Leinie's shandy is a staple of my summers.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

I remember drinking an original Leinenkugel's from Chippewa Falls, Wis, in the '70s. It induced a brain-splitting headache.

Of course the current Leinie's is a boutique brand for MillerCoors. Miller brews a lot of Leinie's at a high-tech automated brewery in Milwaukee. It's a macro masquerading as a craft beer.

The brewery workers at Leinie's Chippewa Falls plant just went on strike, BTW.

 

[justgladtobehere]

A lot of breweries are now brewing their own hard seltzers to capture the non-beer people who come with their friends. Smart move.

Sam Adams has been sneakily doing the hard cider and seltzer bit for the last decade.

 

[Tighthead]

When I was 21, I spent the summer taking courses at Berkeley. Coming from absolute rural Ontario, I thought I was quite the sophisticate ordering Anchor Steams in various establishments. High sentimental value for this rube.

 

[ChrisLong]

When I was 21, I spent the summer taking courses at Berkeley. Coming from absolute rural Ontario, I thought I was quite the sophisticate ordering Anchor Steams in various establishments. High sentimental value for this rube.

There are a bunch of great breweries in the Berkeley-Oakland-San Leandro area -- Drake, Linden St., 21st Amendment (in S.F.), Elevation 66, Triple Rock, Trumer. Beer Revolution is a couple blocks east of Jack London Square. .......

 

[Spartan Squad]

There are a bunch of great breweries in the Berkeley-Oakland-San Leandro area -- Drake, Linden St., 21st Amendment (in S.F.), Elevation 66, Triple Rock, Trumer. Beer Revolution is a couple blocks east of Jack London Square. .......

Rare Barrel out of Berkeley also offers some great beer.

21st Amendment is great. They have a blood orange IPA I make a point to get when I am stocking up.