Anchor Brewing Company Shuts Down a Month after Limiting Distribution to California

The craft brewing industry took another hit, as San Francisco’s Anchor Brewing — considered the country’s oldest craft brewer — announced it will close its doors and has already ceased beer production.

Last month, Anchor announced that it was limiting distribution of its products to California and eliminating its popular Christmas Ale, but according to reports, that move wasn’t enough to overcome rising costs and expenses that continued to pile up.

Anchor Brewing traces its roots back to the time period shortly after the California Gold Rush, and it nearly went out of business in the 1960s before being purchased by Fritz Maytag, who proceeded to build the company up. Japanese brewer Sapporo purchased Anchor in 2017 for $85 million, but the acquisition didn’t pan out over time. Over the past six years, Sapporo has introduced the brewing of new flavors from Anchor, as well as a brand overhaul and selling Anchor beer in a can for the first time in its history.

According to reports, Anchor had seen production declines in every year under Sapporo’s ownership, with the exception of 2021. A company spokesperson told one news outlet that the brewery was losing millions of dollars a year. Beer production has already stopped at the brewery, but the taproom would remain open until the end of the month.