Gottlieb Brekle, a German immigrant, moved with his family to San Francisco in the 1850s. In 1871 he bought an old beer-and-billiards saloon at 1431 Pacific in the Barbary Coast[1] and called it Golden City Brauerei. Brewing beer in San Francisco was difficult during the Gold Rush days. There was no refrigeration and no means of producing ice, so the yeast needed to produce traditional lager beer could not survive. Brekle, however, developed a new strain of yeast that could survive in mild climate. He would put his beer in open pots on the saloon roof, and as the beer fermented, steam would rise into the air. This type of beer became known as “steam beer” or “California style beer”.
In 1896, the brewery was bought by Ernst Baruch and his son-in-law Otto Schinkel, who changed the name to Anchor Brewery, continuing Brekle’s brewing technique. The brewery burned to the ground in the 1906 earthquake[2], but was rebuilt a year later.
Anchor Brewery was shut down during Prohibition[2A] in the 1920s. In 1933 it reopened under the ownership of Joe Kraus, only to burn down within the year. Kraus brought on a partner, Joe Allen, and the brewery was rebuilt. Kraus died in 1952, and Allen struggled to keep the business afloat as America embraced mass-produced beer. In July 1959 Anchor Brewery closed, but reopened a year later under the ownership of Lawrence Steese. Steese also encountered poor sales and was struggling when, in 1965, Fitz Maytag bought 51% of the business, later becoming sole owner. Under Maytag’s management, Anchor Brewing flourished.
In 1979, Maytag moved the brewery to its present location at 1705 Mariposa in Potrero Hill. In 1993 Anchor Brewery became the first brewery in the world to distill hard alcohol in-house. Besides their original Anchor Steam and other craft beers, Anchor Brewery now features Old Potrero rye whisky, which is purported to have been made by George Washington. The company also distills gin. In 2010 the company was sold to Keith Gregor and Tony Foglio. In 2017 Anchor Brewery acquired Sapporo Breweries. In 2019 brewery workers joined the International Longshoremen and Warehouse Union[3], making them the first unionized craft brewery in the United States.
Anchor Brewery continues to thrive. Their steam beer elicits local pride. One can take a tour of the brewery[4]and sample their various products.
[1] Barbary Coast: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=3823
[2] 1906 Earthquake: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=2849
[2A] James “Sunny Jim” Rolph and Prohibition: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=5365[3] International Longshoremen and Warehouse Union: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=3513
[4] Visit them at https://raiseanchor.anchorbrewing.com
