Anchor Brewing Co.
San Francisco, California, USA · Est. 1896
Tally's Take
Why this matters
The brewery that started American craft beer, and then became its most public casualty. Fritz Maytag bought a failing Anchor in 1965 and revived Steam Beer — a genuinely American style, born of San Francisco brewing without refrigeration — decades before anyone used the word craft. Sapporo bought it in 2017. It closed in July 2023 after 127 years, workers attempted a co-operative buyout, and in May 2024 Chobani founder Hamdi Ulukaya bought it promising a revival. As of now it still has not reopened, though label approvals have been granted and there are signs of movement. The archive keeps it as closed until beer is actually pouring again.
The Museum
Timeline
- 1896Founded
Anchor Brewing Co. begins brewing in San Francisco, California.
- 1959Loses its own name
An ownership change sells the facilities without the Anchor Brewing Company or Anchor Steam Beer names. The company name is physically removed from its barrels and replaced with "Steam Beer Brewing Company".
- 1977Maytag buys the name back
April 1977 — Fritz Maytag III secures the rights to return the Anchor Brewing Company name, eighteen years after it was lost.
- 2023Closed
Shut down by Sapporo in 2023, then purchased in 2024 by Chobani founder Hamdi Ulukaya to be resurrected.
- 2023The material goes to the Smithsonian
Accession 2023.0113 — barrels, tap handles, the house yeast, the Liberty Ale banner and a tasting glass dated to July 2023, given by the company through Mike Minami.
The People
Behind the beer
Bought a failing Anchor in 1965 aged twenty-seven; widely credited as the start of American craft brewing.
The Beer Library
Beers
Anchor Steam
Year-RoundCalifornia Common
Gold Rush-era San Francisco had no refrigeration, so brewers fermented lager yeast warm on rooftops — 'steam beer.' The brewery died in 2023 and was rescued by the founder of Chobani yogurt. History is strange.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Anchor Porter
Year-RoundAmerican Porter
Introduced in 1972, when dark beer was commercially close to dead in America. It kept a style alive that the craft movement would later build on.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Surviving objects
15 objects held by National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, all under accession 2023.0113. The archive links to each record rather than reproducing its photograph — the images belong to the holding institution and are licensed object by object.
- Anchor Brewing Company steam beer barrelc. 1880–1900
Wooden barrel, six iron hoops, "STEAM BEER BREWING CO. SAN FRANCISCO" carved along the bottom ring
- Cat
- 2023.0113.01
- Accession
- 2023.0113
- Size
- 24 1/2 × 59 in
Gift of Anchor Brewing Company through Mike Minami
Brewhouse tool
- Cat
- 2023.0113.03
- Accession
- 2023.0113
- Size
- 12 × 10 × 5 in
Gift of Anchor Brewing Company through Mike Minami
Trade sign
- Cat
- 2023.0113.05
- Accession
- 2023.0113
- Size
- 35 3/4 × 24 in
Gift of Anchor Brewing Company through Mike Minami
- Anchor Steam Beer1989–1990
Bottle
- Cat
- 2023.0113.08
- Accession
- 2023.0113
- Size
- 7 1/2 × 2 1/2 in
Gift of Anchor Brewing Company through Mike Minami
Bottle
- Cat
- 2023.0113.09
- Accession
- 2023.0113
- Size
- 7 1/2 × 2 in
Gift of Anchor Brewing Company through Mike Minami
The house strain, kept as an object
- Cat
- 2023.0113.11
- Accession
- 2023.0113
- Size
- 5 3/16 × 2 13/32 in
Gift of Anchor Brewing Company through Mike Minami
- Anchor Brewing Co. tasting glassJuly 2023
Glassware — dated to the month the brewery closed
- Cat
- 2023.0113.12
- Accession
- 2023.0113
- Size
- 3 1/4 × 2 1/4 in
Gift of Anchor Brewing Company through Mike Minami
Banner
- Cat
- 2023.0113.13
- Accession
- 2023.0113
- Size
- 30 × 46 in
Gift of Anchor Brewing Company through Mike Minami
Tap handle
- Cat
- 2023.0113.17
- Accession
- 2023.0113
- Size
- 13 × 3 1/2 in
Gift of Anchor Brewing Company through Mike Minami
Tap handle
- Cat
- 2023.0113.18
- Accession
- 2023.0113
- Size
- 12 1/2 × 3 1/2 in
Gift of Anchor Brewing Company through Mike Minami
Tap handle
- Cat
- 2023.0113.19
- Accession
- 2023.0113
- Size
- 13 × 3 1/2 in
Gift of Anchor Brewing Company through Mike Minami
Tap handle
- Cat
- 2023.0113.21
- Accession
- 2023.0113
- Size
- 7 19/32 × 3 3/4 × 1 in
Gift of Anchor Brewing Company through Mike Minami
Tap handle
- Cat
- 2023.0113.22
- Accession
- 2023.0113
- Size
- 2 3/4 × 2 3/4 × 1 in
Gift of Anchor Brewing Company through Mike Minami
Award
- Cat
- 2023.0113.33
- Accession
- 2023.0113
- Size
- 17 × 5 in
Gift of Anchor Brewing Company through Mike Minami
Laboratory glass, from Fritz Maytag's brewing science
- Cat
- 2023.0113.39
- Accession
- 2023.0113
- Size
- 6 3/4 × 3 1/2 × 1 1/2 in
Gift of Anchor Brewing Company through Mike Minami
Show your working
Sources
- recordProbable
Brewery record taken from Tally's California master, Pass 187, which cited https://www.kqed.org/news/12089758/iconic-illustrated-anchor-steam-labels-appear-headed-for-revival for this entry. The cited page has not been opened by the archive.
Tally's California master, Pass 187 (research workbook) · Tally's Beer Universe research workbook · 2026
CommercialMedium reliabilityAccessed 2026-08-19Reviewed 2026-08-19 - historyConfirmed
A 1959 ownership change sold Anchor's facilities without the company or brand name, and "Anchor Brewing Company" was physically removed from its barrels and replaced with "Steam Beer Brewing Company" until Fritz Maytag secured the name back in April 1977. Recorded on the Smithsonian's catalogue entry for the barrel itself, which still carries the replacement lettering.
Anchor Brewing Company collection, accession 2023.0113 · National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution · 2023
OfficialHigh reliabilityAccessed 2026-08-20Reviewed 2026-08-20 - artifactsConfirmed
Fifteen catalogued objects at the National Museum of American History under a single accession, 2023.0113, given by the company through Mike Minami after its 2023 liquidation. The archive links to each record and does not reproduce the photography, which is licensed per object — this accession's records read "Usage Conditions Apply" rather than CC0.
Anchor Brewing Company collection, accession 2023.0113 · National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution · 2023
OfficialHigh reliabilityAccessed 2026-08-20Reviewed 2026-08-20
Only the claims above are sourced. Everything else on this page is the archive's own research and has not yet been tied to a document — which is worth knowing rather than hiding.
Straight answers
Common questions about Anchor Brewing Co.
- Who owns Anchor Brewing Co.?
- Anchor Brewing Co. is independently owned — there is no parent company above it on record. It is based in San Francisco, California, USA.
- Is Anchor Brewing Co. independent?
- Yes. Anchor Brewing Co. is recorded as independent, with no parent company. Independence is recorded as the brewery states it; where a stake is a minority holding or joint venture, this archive leaves it unmapped rather than calling it ownership.
- Is Anchor Brewing Co. still open?
- No. Anchor Brewing Co. has closed (2023). Closed July 2023 after 127 years, under Sapporo ownership. A worker co-operative buyout was attempted; in May 2024 Chobani founder Hamdi Ulukaya acquired the brand and pledged a revival. Not reopened as of this record — beer label approvals have been granted and there are reported signs of activity at the Potrero Hill site. California Pass 187. Anchor closed in 2023 and was acquired in 2024 for revival. As of Aug. 10, 2026 there is evidence of restoration activity but no authoritative confirmation that brewing or public operations have resumed, so it is not counted active.
- When was Anchor Brewing Co. founded?
- Anchor Brewing Co. was founded in 1896 in San Francisco, California, USA.
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