Goodbye Written by the Anchor Brewing Historian

Anchor Steam Beer is San Francisco’s liquid treasure. And the story of Anchor Brewing is as unique as it is compelling: its Gold Rush roots; its 1871 birth as Golden City Brewery; its becoming “Anchor” in 1896; its demise in the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire and rebirth in 1907; its closure from Prohibition to Repeal; its burning and reopening in 1934; its closure in 1959 and reopening in 1960; its rescue from bankruptcy by Fritz Maytag in 1965; and the craft beer revolution that he and his brewery ignited.

I was a member of the Anchor team for more than 31 years — almost half my life. Like most everyone there in 1991, I started out on the bottling line. Fritz wanted you to learn how to do everything, encouraging everyone to find and blossom in the duties that best suited their individual talents. Working side-by-side with Fritz and his team — some of whom are still at the brewery today — taught me many lessons about beer, brewing, and the values that make for a great product, a great company and a great life.

Beer is among the most democratic of beverages. In Fritz’s mind, we were all brewers, and everyone who walked in the door was our best customer. He generously shared his philosophy with countless aspiring brewers and entrepreneurs — open source long before it was called open source — although the ingredients in Christmas Ale remain our secret.

At Anchor, the ethos of Fritz Maytag’s great-grandfather’s eponymous appliance company melded with the best attributes of his Anchor predecessors: devotion to quality, respect for tradition, unshakable perseverance, boundless optimism, resilience and enthusiasm.

Fritz wanted his brewery to run like a small, one-of-a-kind, San Francisco restaurant. Knowing that the integrity of its product was dependent on the integrity of its people, he hired you for the content of your character, then fostered your curiosity, esprit de corps and appreciation for the dignity of work. Fritz assembled, inspired, and empowered an incomparable team — from brewhouse to bottling line — who believed in themselves, each other, and the joy of making great beer. Together, we could do anything.

This is Anchor’s legacy, which endures in the hearts, minds, and taste buds of every person — then and now — who’s worked for or with the company, been to the brewery or Public Taps, or just enjoyed an Anchor Steam, Porter, Liberty, Christmas Ale, Old Foghorn, California Lager or any other beer made by America’s first craft brewery.

It’s not conceivable that Anchor has used up the last of its nine lives. It’s a survivor. Surely there must be another angel, hovering over the brewery, who sees the value in a small business that makes unique, local, delicious, beautiful products — San Francisco in a glass. So I won’t say goodbye to Anchor Steam, but rather au revoir — goodbye for now.

David Burkhart was Anchor Brewing’s historian for more than 31 years and is the author of “The Anchor Brewing Story.”