quote:

Weird stuff going on. Every year for decades I have been purchasing Bass Ale around Father's Day. Last year I couldn't find it.

I was a big fan of Bass Ale, back in the day. I found this:
Bass Ale Discontinued 2023 – Is it still available?
https://discontinuednews.com/bass-ale-discontinued/

Beer giant's clumsy treatment of Bass ale
https://protzonbeer.co.uk/comm...reatment-of-bass-ale

Well that really sucks, I liked Bass Ale too

Fat Tire is decent. It never used to be available in PA and I'd have my sister in NC bring me a case whenever she'd visit but a number of years back it started showing up everywhere here all of a sudden.

I'm a big fan of this stuff from Yards Brewing, it's similar to Bass Ale and Fat Tire but IMO better:



Crafted in the style of an English mild, this malt-forward ale is great when you want to go a few rounds. Its smooth character, hints of caramel and toast and remarkable drinkability define this ruby-colored brew as a knockout session ale.

San Francisco's iconic Anchor Brewing company ceasing operations

“America's first craft brewery is shutting is doors after more than 120 years in business.

Anchor Brewing Company, which is owned by Japanese beer maker Sapporo,  announced Wednesday morning it is ceasing operations and liquidating the business, citing persistent inflation and an overly competitive beer industry.

Spokesman Sam Singer told the San Francisco Chronicle the company was 'losing millions of dollars a year' and 'economic pressures have made the business no longer sustainable.' …”

DailyMail article:
https://mol.im/a/12291735

That was quick... A mere month from "we're scaling back" to "we're shutting down".

My family friend that lives in SF emailed me this development, he knew that I used to be a die hard fan of Anchor Steam in the day. He says that being in San Francisco killed the company, along with its workers unionizing a number of years back. Anchor sold a lot of beer in bars and restaurants in SF and the Bay Area, and that revenue stream suffered tremendously in the last several years.

San Francisco is killing off everything else, so this is no surprise.

Damn, Anchor Steam was an excellent beer. One of my top ten.

Grew up int he Bay Area. Anchor Steam was a good one as was Sierra Nevada out of Chico

Any of my OG Bay Area folks remember Petes Wicked Ale? We also really enjoyed Gordon Biersch and the restaurant in downtown San Jose. We’d go there a lot when I was attending San Jose State U. and drink. One of my professors wrote his PhD dissertation on beer distribution protections and it’s effect on prices and a bunch of econ majors ( very, very small department) would meet there once a week and prof would hold court and usually buy a few pitchers for us students who were 21 of course.

Sad to see anchor steam go down and I feel bad for the 60+ people losing their jobs. Not sure why they can’t relocate to a cheaper part of CA like the central valley or some other state entirely. They have been around in SF since the 1880’s I believe.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: ElToro,

quote:

Petes Wicked Ale

Haven't heard that name in a while.

I remember Pete’s Wicked from college.

Growing up in Berkeley we drank a lot of Henry Weinhard.

Anchor closing is rough. Was never a huge fan of their standard but the Christmas beer was fun and and California lager they made hit just right in the summer.

quote:

Originally posted by ElToro:
Not sure why they can’t relocate to a cheaper part of CA like the central valley or some other state entirely. They have been around in SF since the 1880’s I believe.

They are owned by Sapporo which bought Stone Brewing last year. Stone Brewing is located in a cheaper part of the of California and has a brewery in Virginia as well.

I’m guessing when you own two breweries in close proximity and the profitable one outsells the other 5-1, you make the decision to cut your losses.

quote:

We also really enjoyed Gordon Biersch and the restaurant

There was one here in Tysons Corner; gone now. Really liked their Ocktoberfest/Märzen style beer.

Somebody call Yuengling and see if they can buy Anchor Steam
In the meantime, buy what you can, they've ceased production and selling off their inventory

quote:

Originally posted by corsair:
...they've ceased production and selling off their inventory

You don't say...

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:

quote:

Originally posted by corsair:
...they've ceased production and selling off their inventory

You don't say...

quote:

Originally posted by ElToro:
Sad to see anchor steam go down and I feel bad for the 60+ people losing their jobs. Not sure why they can’t relocate to a cheaper part of CA like the central valley or some other state entirely. They have been around in SF since the 1880’s I believe.

Long time favorite restaurants and bars are gone forever. Major convention hotels stopped paying their property loans. Hundreds of stores, permanently closed, more waiting in line. Commercial real estate values down 50-75%. Residential real estate tumbling. And beer companies going out of business. San Francisco is finally getting its comeuppance, its cup overflowing, with no stopping it. The City By The Bay is done.

quote:

Originally posted by chellim1:

quote:

Weird stuff going on. Every year for decades I have been purchasing Bass Ale around Father's Day. Last year I couldn't find it.

I was a big fan of Bass Ale, back in the day. I found this:
Bass Ale Discontinued 2023 – Is it still available?
https://discontinuednews.com/bass-ale-discontinued/

Beer giant's clumsy treatment of Bass ale
https://protzonbeer.co.uk/comm...reatment-of-bass-ale

Removing my hat and bowing my head at the thought that never again will I be able to say, “A black and tan, please.”

I can't pretend to shed a tear for another San Franfreako company going under.

I've had the beer. It was better than average but not excellent. I do typically see their beers on the shelves around Alaska, but I purposefully avoid buying Kommifornia products whenever I can. I do go out of my way and spend a little extra to purchase local quality stuff, and when it comes to beer we've got a few decent options to choose from here.

It would seem prudent of companies in these locations to move before they go bankrupt....but they tend to be owned by the very people causing the problem. Again, I won't shed any tears.

quote:

Originally posted by oddball:

Long time favorite restaurants and bars are gone forever. Major convention hotels stopped paying their property loans. Hundreds of stores, permanently closed, more waiting in line. Commercial real estate values down 50-75%. Residential real estate tumbling. And beer companies going out of business. San Francisco is finally getting its comeuppance, its cup overflowing, with no stopping it. The City By The Bay is done.

Oh I’m super familiar with the situation talk to my folks and friends there weekly if not text them daily and I still work for an SF based company albeit 100% remote here in free America.
Many of our clients are suffering from the Real estate situation. I would not want to be a commercial property landlord right now. Especially in the FiDi. I worked downtown for 15 years. And then I was out for almost 3 years while remote. I was back there a few months ago to attend wedding and worked in the office a few days, downtown was like a hell scape. All the little 100 square foot take out only food places gone. Some of the good bars downtown closed forever. Way to go with that covid shutdown. The people never came back despite the return to office mantra.

I’m begging everyone I know and love to bail while the getting is good, especially my folks they could sell their real estate and life their remaining days in a lavish way but my mom doesn’t want to leave her friends. Despite them all being nutty commies or at least voting that way. Oh well.

I did enjoy a few of their Christmas ales over time.

The cost of business in that area is crippling factor number one. It seems like the big brewing conglomerates don’t understand how to handle craft breweries. Based on what happened to Green Flash, Ballast Point and a few others, craft breweries don’t seem to understand what it takes to go from a regional to a national brewery. Anchor literally mimicked their name and couldn’t bring themselves to make a financial/physical move to survive, hence the sale to Sapporo.