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SF's Anchor Brewing Company shutting down after 127 years

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Re: SF's Anchor Brewing Company shutting down after 127 years

#251

Post by serf »

jms703 wrote: post #200
bartread wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think that is an important point but, with that said, I'd suggest that perhaps the reason Anchor were struggling is they didn't really innovate. Rather they rested on the laurels of that 127 year heritage. Certainly a very personal opinion but the first time I tried Anchor beers sometime in the noughties I was underwhelmed. Don't get me wrong: they're certainly better than Bud, Coors, etc., but as a Brit coming fro…

Why does a beer have to innovate?

the same reason as any market needs to innovate : consumer trends and goals shift with the times.

Let's take the most run-of-the-mill common bolt in the world as a product example : the 200 year old company that has changed to sell that run-of-the-mill bolt online w/ fast delivery and with a companion app has innovated without a product change.

innovation doesn't imply a product change, it implies that a company is necessarily flexible to meet the shifting demands of consumers. This can be done in other ways than shoving newer and shinier products out the door.

Re: SF's Anchor Brewing Company shutting down after 127 years

#252

Post by rdj »

tptacek wrote: post #237
krustyburger wrote: post #21

It’s important to note that Anchor as a division is being shut down as a cost-saving measure by its owner Sapporo, a transnational, publicly-traded corporation. Sapporo says they have tried to find a buyer for Anchor, but to no avail. Meanwhile Sapporo recently purchased Stone Brewing in San Diego and are beginning Sapporo production there while still making Stone beers. If Sapporo hadn’t also bought Stone, presumabl…

My understanding was that the Sapporo transaction was a fire sale; is that wrong? If it isn't, it doesn't much matter what Sapporo did; Anchor was a dead brewery walking anyways.

That's the sentiment in the industry. Here's some numbers from when the sale happened.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/japans-sapporo-buys-craft-...

Re: SF's Anchor Brewing Company shutting down after 127 years

#253

Post by alasdair_ »

reillyse wrote: post #187
darth_avocado wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> had a successful unionization effort Just forming a union should not be a measure of success. If it ultimately led to shutdown of the division because it was unprofitable, I would argue it was a pretty unsuccessful effort.

I haven’t seen anyone suggest unionization has had anything to do with it, in fact I’m going to groundlessly state that it probably is the only reason they lasted this long.

They only unionized four years ago. The union probably wasn't a reason why they lasted.

Re: SF's Anchor Brewing Company shutting down after 127 years

#254

Post by NoboruWataya »

hyperbovine wrote: post #234
munificent wrote: post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder how much of this is the beer industry eating its own seedcorn by focusing more and more on super bitter IPAs that beer snobs love at the expense of more middle of the road palatable beers. The long term consequence of that plus beer snobbery looking down on light beers is that younger drinkers with sweeter palates just don't drink beer at all because the beer that is socially acceptable is too bitter for the…

I really despise this about the American beer industry. Your typical tap list these days is 8 IPAs, 1-2 dIPAs, 4 sours, something that contains coffee, some other weird shit (cucumber göse e.g.), and like one normal everyday lager or pilsener that isn't making some sort of personality statement and pairs well with food. Worse, this appears to be catching on among trendier bars in Europe, even in places like Munich an…

They're there because they sell, and they sell because people like them. IMO one pilsner or lager is enough; what's the point of having a whole bar full of different beers that all pretty much taste the same? They certainly don't justify the premium pricing that these bars often charge.

Germans think their own beer is the best in the world. To the rest of us, it is reliable but boring. It's not just an American thing, Scandinavia and the UK also have a much greater variety of styles and tastes. I think all that's happening in Munich and Vienna is people are getting more exposure to this variety and are realising they like it.

Re: SF's Anchor Brewing Company shutting down after 127 years

#255

Post by emodendroket »

542354234235 wrote: post #53
mjfern wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You’re just regurgitating conservative talking points that don’t align with reality. The California economy is the largest in the USA, by a significant margin, and its economic growth over the last 15 years far outpaced the U.S national average. California is on track to overtake Germany as the world’s 4th largest economy.

Also, don't Californians move to other states for the same reason expats move to Costa Rica or Thailand? Because they are much richer than the locals, so they can have an outsized lifestyle for their money. Coming in and outbidding for the nicest houses certainly doesn't sound like refugees fleeing a collapsing government. I don't understand how people can see that and think people are "escaping".

Motivated reasoning.

Re: SF's Anchor Brewing Company shutting down after 127 years

#256

Post by emodendroket »

jimmychoozyx wrote: post #37
athinggoingon wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you expect these corporate announcements to contain anything but PR and euphemisms?

Exactly. One of the cardinal sins in statistics is: Self-reports are biased. A corporation is telling you about that same corporation? You can expect some bias ;) I find it quite telling this attitude of "If someone tells you something, it's got to be true! Especially if it's a corporation!!" quite telling, regarding those folks who are saying "Hey you can't criticize California! You conservative!" It's like... Reall…

I moved here a few years ago, so I don’t think I’m that lacking in perspective, and I think it’s nicer than other places I lived in a lot of ways. Certainly not seeing reasons for panic.

Re: SF's Anchor Brewing Company shutting down after 127 years

#257

Post by trashface »

Sad news. I drank a ton of it back in the 90s (back then at many bars in CA, it was either that or Sierra, or else megabrew swill). But I generally liked both of them and still do. I did a tour of the brewery then and it was a fun time, and "sampled" plenty of good beer there too. At one point the tour guide asked a brewer what he was making and he said "Sierra Nevada Pale Ale" and everyone chuckled, as there was a rivalry at that time.

Steam is a lager beer which at least in the craft segment seems to have lost out to highly hopped IPAs (which are also often very high ABV) in the US. Anchor did have liberty IPA which was pretty good but perhaps not really exceptional; hard to stand out when everyone is doing the same thing. I still think Steam is pretty unique flavorwise, you can really taste the Cascade hops they use whereas other brewers often tend to drown them out. Never really found another lager like it.

They also made the "small beer", which was nice low alcohol beer (~3%) derived from the brewing of the (much stronger) old foghorn. I haven't seen it in stores for a long time though as I now live on east coast and its harder to get anchor here.

Re: SF's Anchor Brewing Company shutting down after 127 years

#258

Post by efsavage »

bartread wrote: post #90
krustyburger wrote: post #21

It’s important to note that Anchor as a division is being shut down as a cost-saving measure by its owner Sapporo, a transnational, publicly-traded corporation. Sapporo says they have tried to find a buyer for Anchor, but to no avail. Meanwhile Sapporo recently purchased Stone Brewing in San Diego and are beginning Sapporo production there while still making Stone beers. If Sapporo hadn’t also bought Stone, presumabl…

I think that is an important point but, with that said, I'd suggest that perhaps the reason Anchor were struggling is they didn't really innovate. Rather they rested on the laurels of that 127 year heritage. Certainly a very personal opinion but the first time I tried Anchor beers sometime in the noughties I was underwhelmed. Don't get me wrong: they're certainly better than Bud, Coors, etc., but as a Brit coming fro…

My beer journey started in the 90s and Anchor had good distribution when such things were difficult for smaller brands, but even back then it was always the last beer in the cooler at a party. I'm surprised they lasted this long.

Re: SF's Anchor Brewing Company shutting down after 127 years

#260

Post by yamazakiwi »

spookthesunset wrote: post #204
yamazakiwi wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't have the numbers... but I'm going to assume that regular beer drinkers drink the popular light beers or already have a craft beer they like and spend less money trying new products. It took contentious political media to get die-hards to stop drinking their favorite light beer. That's how ingrained these brands are. It's harder to sell a new Amber Ale than a Juicy Mango/Dragonfruit IPA. These 2 beers serve di…

Those light beers are also low ABV, which is ideal for warm summer days where to just want something refreshing without getting plastered. A simple tasting 4% beer works great for that. A complex, bitter 12% double IPA? Not so much. I’d much rather drink an amber ale on a nice warm day than yet another IPA.

To take that one step further I think most new drinkers find seltzers more refreshing in the heat than low abv light beers.
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