The Daily Escape:
Dawes Glacier, Endicott Arm Fjord, AK – July 2023 iPhone photo by Wrongo. The face of the glacier is 600’ high. While we were in front of it, the glacier calved 5 times, although never when a camera was pointed at it.
Word came that Anchor Brewing, America’s oldest craft brewer, is shutting down after 127 years in business. From CNN:
“The San Francisco-based company announced Wednesday it’s ceasing operations and liquidating the beloved business “following a combination of challenging economic factors and declining sales since 2016,” a press release said. Craft brewers, in particular, have been struggling for a variety of reasons including changing consumer habits, rising costs and lingering supply-chain challenges.”
Wrongo is old enough to remember when Anchor Steam was a cult beer in the eastern US. It was difficult to find, and it was more expensive than the big local beers. It was really an upmarket lager. There’s nothing wrong with being an upmarket lager, but today, plenty of craft brewers also do that, so America’s first craft brewery and the maker of the Steam Beer will be sold for parts. The surprising fact was that it employed just 61 staff.
It’s been a few years since the Wrong family had any Anchor products in the house. The last one was the Anchor Christmas Ale, which was for a time, an annual tradition at the holidays. But with the rise of local craft beers, tastes changed.
Today, family parties often include a craft beer made near where one of the kids live. The beers are admired because they are hard to get, and often have amusing names. The taste tests are conducted with much seriousness, although they’re similar in form to decades ago when someone would bring Coors Beer back from the west for all to taste.
Back in the day, we bought Anchor and Sierra Nevada when there were very few other craft beer offerings in the NY area. Now there are hundreds of craft beer choices throughout the country. And there’s so much good beer around, it seems logical that Anchor would fail. It’s surprising that Sierra Nevada actually seems to hold up.
But the industry’s facing headwinds:
“During the first three months of 2022, at least 53 craft breweries shut their doors, up from 42 closures in the first quarter of last year. That still leaves some 9,100 breweries in operation, but more closures are expected.”
That’s 9,100 breweries and 36,000 IPAs!
The pandemic and its ongoing effects, and the war in Ukraine continue to drag down smaller brewers, who are battling climbing costs, rising rents, and supply chain challenges.
2022 was supposed to be the “make or break” year for craft breweries, but problems remain in 2023. The biggest issue is increased competition in what has become a shrinking market for beer. Since most craft breweries cater exclusively (or mostly) to local markets, why wouldn’t Anchor still be viable in CA or a few western states? Apparently they were mis-owned.
Sapporo is a Japanese beer company that bought the brand in 2017. VinePair, a digital magazine that covers beer, wine and food reported last month that employees complained about Sapporo’s alleged mismanagement and lack of understanding of craft beer in the US. Sapporo also owns Stone Brewing, another craft beer with a national following. Let’s hope that Sapporo doesn’t do to Stone what it’s done to Anchor.
But there’s still 9,000+ breweries nationwide, so it’s easier than ever for consumers to find great beers within a few neighboring zip codes. For the brewers, they need to find a niche and make an extremely good product line. The brewer in our town has become quite successful with one location, and a rotating group of about 10 beers. They have gotten distribution in local supermarkets and liquor stores and seem willing to be a big fish in a small pond.
It’s Saturday, and in the northeast, we’re experiencing continued rounds of thundershowers that make it difficult to do much outside. In the past week, we’ve picked up around 5.5” of rain, so we won’t have to water the vegetable garden for a week or so.
And since it’s Saturday, its time for our Saturday Soother, where we step back from another week of news you can’t use and find a few moments to live as simply as possible in the present.
So grab a mug of coffee and take a seat near a large south-facing window and listen to “Jupiter” from Gustav Holst’s “Planet Suite” played here by The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Sir Charles Mackerras. The Planet Suite took nearly three years (between 1914 and 1917) to compose:
The market for beer overlaps the market for soft drinks – for something cold on a hot day. And these “soft drinks” have been mixes with alcohol and now sold in the same cooler of the liquor store or grocery store as beer. And for younger customers, the “hard lemonades” etc are drawing away buyers. So for the casual customer, part of the challenge for beer has been the new beverages that come from soft drinks.
My wife was born in SF (father’s family was there for generations) and she always liked Anchor Steam. They had a good run. I like them, also Sierra Nevada. But I don’t buy enough to keep the brewery open.