Anchor Brewing revived

[fredthecat]

@dmtaylor

@fredthecat

i think this does really get to the core of the issue with “reviving” this brewery - no offense but why? the only reason i could imagine, is that it was a regional thing, but i kind of doubt that. if they revive it, i mean they’ll probably have to completely change it conceptually or it wont work anyway. so… ???

Billionaires can do whatever they want.  We have zero comprehension of how meaningless money is to a billionaire.  Nobody might buy the beer and he doesn’t need to care.  At least the Christmas Ale will sell well, wherever it is distributed, hopefully broadly.

unrelated but this kind of purchase reminded me of buying pabst blue ribbon. which is now a virtual brewery ie. there is no pabst brewery in the world.

contract brewing is growing rapidly. more and more and MORE (i have to add emphasis here, its shocking tbh) import brands from everywhere in the world have had agreements made to be contract brewed in canada, and they are making far inferior products.

just had a contract brewed lion stout the other day. it was not terrible, but very different from the original product from sri lanka, which i have probably drunk 20 litres of in my life over decades. the original had a strong campfire smoke taste, way smoother and lighter carbonation (it was bottle carbed) and a smoother taste, presumably from more time in tanks or bottles.

this one is just a strong generic imp stout wth the lion stout label on it in a can, force carbed.

its interesting and relevant how the state of the beer industry continues to change in ways people never anticipated, and that more and more homebrewing is going to be important IMHO when your choices are taken away by the core element of business - profit.

[CounterPressure]

@fredthecat

contract brewing is growing rapidly. more and more and MORE (i have to add emphasis here, its shocking tbh) import brands from everywhere in the world have had agreements made to be contract brewed in canada, and they are making far inferior products.

I think Anheuser-Busch in Texas is contract brewing for Yuengling now. Not all their styles but several.

[dbeechum]

@fredthecat

unrelated but this kind of purchase reminded me of buying pabst blue ribbon. which is now a virtual brewery ie. there is no pabst brewery in the world.

Pabst is a weird case though. You’re right there’s no “Pabst Brewery” (there actually was for a hot minute a yearo r two back after they bought the Miller plant in Irwindale but they only held that for a little bit before Blue Ribbon Partners (which is the group that owns the whole Pabst portfolio) sold the brewery to City Brewing (which handles the largest portion of the country’s contract brewed beers, RTDs, seltzers, etc)… and then bought City Brewing.

So yes, the “Irwindale Brew Yard” (which sports the large historical “Miller” sign on top of it) is a City Brewing facility that brews Pabst while being owned by the parent company that owns Pabst. So, not a Pabst brewery, but a Pabst’s parent’s brewery.

Ok and back to Anchor - here’s why it matters to me - Fritz buying Anchor is absolutely a cornerstone story of the American Craft Beer Movement and Anchor is a perfect example of something that lost its way under it’s non-Fritz ownership as the Craft movement has matured into the non-growth field it is today. This purchase, this owner can hopefully put the burnish back on one of the crown jewels of the story.

[BrewBama (Dwain)]

+1. It’s nostalgic to have old breweries still active. It gives a sense of history and depth. A facet in the diamond of the craft.

[brewthru]

Wegmans in the NOVA area carried Anchor Steam.

Once, at a restaurant in Gainesville, VA, they had Anchor Steam on tap. Nirvana.

IMO, the older Anchor Steam was very good. However, the recent Anchor Steam was awful.