About the Anchor Brewery
In 1871 Gottlieb Brekle bought an old saloon in San Francisco, which he would transform into a brewery. In 1896 Gottlieb’s brewery was purchased by Ernst Baruth and Otto Schinkel Jr. and the duo renamed it Anchor. Ernst Baruth would die suddenly in 1906, and Otto Schinkel Jr. would die in 1907 after being run over by a streetcar. Anchor brewing was in jeopardy until Joseph Kraus, August Meyer and Henry Tietjen came in to save the day. Unfortunately in 1920 Prohibition would hit and the brewery shuttered their doors once again. When Prohibition ended in 1933, Joe Kraus would begin brewing Anchor Steam Beer, until a fire would destroy the brewery. Kraus and a new partner, Joe Allen, would re-open the brewery and once again help to grow beer sales. Kraus passed away in 1952, and seven years later their sales declined and Allen would shut the doors.
In 1960 Lawrence Steese purchased Anchor, but 5-years later he was ready to close the doors. Fritz Maytag would step-in and buy 51% of the brewery, saving it from its imminent bankruptcy. In 1971, Fritz began bottling Anchor Steam and 4-years later they had produced four other distinctive beers. Fritz would announce his retirement in 2010 and sell the brewery to Keith Greggor and Tony Foglio. In 2017 Saporro purchased Anchor and remains the current owner of the iconic brewery.
