The sweeping illustrated story of America’s oldest and most iconic craft brewery, featuring a history of American brewing traditions and homebrew recipes for Anchor’s top brews including Anchor Steam and California Lager“A tale of worldly curiosity, brilliance, persistence, and a thirst to succeed . . . If you ever wondered why beer drinkers get passionate about good beer, read this book.”—Charlie Papazian, author of The Complete Joy of HomebrewingSan Francisco’s Anchor Brewing Co. is one of America’s oldest breweries, with an extraordinary heritage rooted in the California Gold Rush. Undaunted and resilient, it has survived earthquakes, fires, insolvency, and Prohibition. In 1965, when mass-produced, mass-marketed beer completely dominated the American brewing landscape, Fritz Maytag rescued the nation’s smallest brewery and its unique Anchor Steam Beer from the brink of bankruptcy. Focusing on tradition, quality, and flavor, Maytag transformed Anchor Brewing, igniting a revolution that paved the way for today’s craft beer movement.
Anchor brewery historian David Burkhart tells the story of America’s first craft brewery in this compellingly definitive insider’s guide. With three hundred images—most shown for the first time—and original homebrew recipes for four of Anchor’s iconic brews (Anchor Steam, Anchor California Lager, Anchor Porter, and Liberty Ale),
The Anchor Brewing Story is a book for beer drinkers, homebrewers, pro brewers, entrepreneurs, San Francisco–philes, and anyone who loves a good comeback tale.
A highly illustrated guide to craft beer from America's oldest and most iconic craft brewery, featuring a history of American brewing traditions and clone beer recipes for Anchor's top brews including Anchor Steam and California Lager.
A pioneer in the craft beer movement, Anchor is the unlikely San Francisco microbrewery that inspired a generation of small brewers and created a revolution in beer. After its founding during the Gold Rush, it endured fires that wiped out two locations, the death of an owner who fell from a cable car, and Prohibition, only to find itself facing the mammoth beer corporations of the 1960s and a country dominated by bland, watery, mass-produced lagers. Through narrative history and hundreds of archival photos, Anchor Brewing resident historian David Burkhart tells the story of how Anchor, on the verge of bankruptcy and with just a single employee, fought back to become the brewing legend it is today through a focus on craftsmanship, quality ingredients, and flavor. In the process, Anchor started many of the innovations that are now key parts of craft beer culture, such as brewing the first IPA and post-Prohibition Porter in the US (and the only dark beer in America at the time), releasing a seasonal beer, and reinvigorating interest in steam beer, the oldest indigenous beer style in the United States. With clone recipes, Anchor beer profiles, and unseen images from the brewery's vast collection, The Anchor Brewing Story is a must for any homebrewer or beer buff.
