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Anchor Brewery Sold

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anchor-steam
Today around lunchtime, I heard the rumor from two separate sources that Anchor Brewery had been sold and started working the phones, calling everyone I knew, to no avail. But apparently at least two beer publications received the following press release, which is below. In addition, see below for some updates and thoughts. Also see a second update below.

The Griffin Group, an investment and consulting company focused on beverage alcohol brands, announced its acquisition of Anchor Brewing Company which includes its portfolio of craft beers and artisan spirits, including the award winning Anchor Steam Beer.

The Griffin Group is led by beverage alcohol veterans, Keith Greggor and Tony Foglio, two longtime San Francisco residents who have been working with Anchor Brewing Company’s owner, Fritz Maytag to maintain the iconic brewery and distillery in San Francisco.

“Anchor Brewing Company has a long history in San Francisco and The Griffin Group is ushering in an exciting era while maintaining our proud, time-honored history,” said Fritz Maytag. “Combining Keith and Tony’s passion for the Anchor Brewing Company, their industry experience and expertise only means that Anchor will be enjoyed in San Francisco for generations to come.”

“Since 1896, Anchor Brewing Company has been an icon of San Francisco’s history and culture,” stated Griffin’s Founding Partner, Keith Greggor, “I am honored to bring Anchor Brewing Company into our family of craft beers and artisanal spirits through establishing Anchor Brewers & Distillers, LLC.”

Anchor Brewers & Distillers intends to establish a “Center of Excellence” in San Francisco for craft brewers and artisan distillers from around the world. An epicenter of development, education, entertainment and innovation, all designed to further contribute to the culture and heritage of craft beer and artisan spirits.

“San Francisco is the perfect place to establish this center,” stated Tony Foglio, “Through our extensive portfolio of craft beers and fine spirits our focus will be to educate and satisfy the increasing consumer demand for authentic, quality and natural products that reflect the passion of their creators.”

Continuing the Anchor heritage, Mr. Maytag has been named Chairman Emeritus of Anchor Brewers & Distillers.

The Griffin Group operates as both boutique merchant and investment bank for premiere craft beers and artisan spirits. In addition to the Anchor Beers, The Griffin Group will assume control of the spirits brands including Old Potrero Whiskey, Junipero Gin and Genevieve Gin through the acquisition of Anchor Brewing Company. Additional affiliated companies to be held under Anchor Brewers & Distillers include Preiss Imports, a leading US specialist spirits and beer importer, and BrewDog USA, LLC, the US division of the leading UK craft beer.

The Griffin Group is headquartered in Novato, Marin County, California.

UPDATES & THOUGHTS: Since the news came out, several odd bits have emerged, which leaves me wondering about all this. First of all, the news itself, the press release. They appear to be from just two sources, Beer Advocate and DRAFT magazine. Inc. magazine has slightly more, including the information that the two principals of the Griffin Group made their money with Skyy Vodka.

Now, some thoughts. This may sound like sour grapes — it’s not — but it seems odd that such big news would be disseminated by two national beer sources and not through local beer sources or local mainstream news outlets. This is especially odd given that the company is in the very town I live in, yet I learned of it from sources outside California. Every other beer journalist I’ve spoken to or corresponded with never got a press release and neither, apparently, did any mainstream newspapers or other media. Why would the news be released that way? I don’t know. In speaking with other beer industry insiders, everybody was caught off guard by the news, and no one I know has been able to reach anyone at Anchor for comment. I was only able to get through to one person I know there, and he couldn’t say anything. I left messages for several others and have not heard back from anyone. I’m not sure what that means, but it does seem odd, almost like we’re being punk’d. But the longer there’s nothing to contradict the news, the more likely it becomes.

That no one has been able to reach anyone from the Griffin Group is likewise somewhat strange. With such big news, you’d think someone would be available and not so hard to reach. I hope I’m wrong, but it doesn’t seem like the best way to ingratiate oneself with the beer community. People are already speculating the worst, as often happens, and it would be great to get additional information one way or the other. Not sure what all of this means, but it’s the talk of the town, and people are getting concerned about the lack of information from either side.

UPDATE 4.27: I have now received confirmation of the deal from John Dannerbeck, CEO of Anchor Brewery. Dannerbeck writes. “Fritz Maytag has entered an agreement to sell the Anchor Brewing Company. This will be an exciting time for us as we begin the process of transitioning to the next generation of owners.” I’ve sent back some additional questions that are likely on all of our minds and will update this once I know more.

I had lunch today with Keith Gregger, one of the principals at the Griffin Group. It’s been a busy afternoon and I”ll have more from our talk shortly.

Today Show Today: Good Beers, Bad Ideas

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The Today Show today aired another segment on craft beer, which they still insist on calling microbrews, though I guess it’s better than boutique beers, which they used way too much in a previous segment. Overall the segment was comme ci, comme ça, with some good points made, some great beers, but also some of the same nonsense that always bothers me when mainstream media covers beer.

The guest was the Today Show’s Food Editor Phil Lempert, who also bills himself as the Supermarket Guru. While the beers he chose were all pretty good (all GABF winners, he said), the mix and the way he presented them showed he doesn’t know as much about beer as he thinks he does. The beers they tasted were, in this order:

  • Firestone Walker Union Jack IPA
  • Arcadia Cereal Killer Barley Wine
  • Hopworks Urban Brewery Ace of Spades (Organic)
  • New Glarus Totally Naked
  • Lost Abbey Carnevale
  • Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale
  • Hopworks Urban Brewery IPA

All great beers, but it’s the order in which they tasted them that was awful: IPA, Barley Wine, Imperial IPA, pale lager, saison, brown ale and another IPA. Does that seem like the right order to anyone?

That, coupled with calling them microbrews, bothered me, though I know the rallying cry will be at least they’re covering craft beer. And while I agree that’s a good thing, I’d still be happier if they didn’t cover it quite so badly. This is especially true because Lempert characterizes himself as an “expert analyst on consumer behavior, marketing trends, new products and the changing retail landscape.” For someone whose job description is predicting trends and being on top of what’s going on, you’d think he’s realize that no one’s been calling them microbrews for at least a decade, probably longer. I know it’s a small point, but it’s indicative of a larger problem with food “experts” who read a few websites, maybe glance at a book or two, and think they’re beer experts, too. I just think there should be beer experts on TV, too, not just food and wine pretenders.

Then there’s the subtle snarkiness, the ubiquitous jokes about drinking in the morning that never seem to accompany wine tastings on morning shows. Why can’t they treat beer with the same seriousness? Why must is always accompany casual jokes and no respect. When Jillian Michaels, the trainer on “The Biggest Loser,” joined the tasting, she remarked about Dogfish Head’s brown ale by smacking her lips and saying “it’s very masculine,” whatever that means. She then admits, seemingly grudgingly, that beer has health benefits but frames it that “dark beer has some health benefits,” which Lempert agrees with by saying dark beers are healthier. WTF is that? All beer has health benefits. Since when are all the health benefits in roasted malt? And that’s what I mean about them being pretenders. Yes, it’s good to see beer on TV, but the price is misinformation almost every time.

Beer In Art #74: LC Neill’s Heineken Beer Caps

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art-beer
Today’s work of art was painted in 2007 by LC Neill, a North Carolina artist. She does a small painting every day, and this is one of them. It’s formal title is Two Will Do, though it’s also known as Heineken Beer Caps. It’s a 5″x 5″ oil painting.

Heineken Beer Caps

Here’s what Lori Neill says about the painting:

This was an extremely challenging piece for me as I found the lettering to be a lot of work. You would be surprised how much you learn about a bottle cap after drawing it and painting it with this level of detail.

I loved the contrast of the deep green with the bright red graphic star, and ultimately wanted the finished painting to have a creative feel to it. One beer cap is lying face down and the other is standing inside the first one. They are sitting on a highly reflective surface. I hope you enjoy it!

There’s a short biography at her website, where you can also see a number of her other paintings. You can also see many more of her “daily paintings” at Still Rivers Studios and at Daily Painters.

A Visit To Three Floyds

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Today, of course, is the annual Dark Lord Day at Three Floyds Brewery in Munster, Indiana. Since many people will not have a golden ticket and be waiting in line to buy this year’s Dark Lord Russian Imperial Stout, here’s a little tour of the brewery I took the Sunday after CBC a couple of weeks ago. Three Floyds’ sales manager Lincoln Anderson was kind enough to drive Sean Paxton and me from our hotel in Chicago (and then dropped us off at the airport, thanks Lincoln) after we spent a thoroughly enjoyable few hours n Munster drinking and eating. I knew the beer would be good, I’d had plenty of it before, but I was blown away with how good the food was. Even the frites were top notch (look for a frites review soon) but everything else on the diverse menu we tried was spectacular. The walls were decorated with beer labels and cool original graffiti art. For a lazy Sunday afternoon, the brewpub filled up quickly with tourists, young couples and even families obviously just come from church.

We also had a chance to walk around in the brewery. It was fun to see the Lagunitas fermenters again that Tthree Floyds had bought from them, especially Kaboom. I also shot a short video tour of the brewery, which is below. Happy Dark Lord Day.

While we were there, preparations for Dark Lord Day were well under way, and Lincoln explained to us what else would be added, just for the day’s activities. One hiccup was that during a CBC tour it appears someone stole a bottle of Dark Lord 2010 and had put it up on eBay. Rawmar2 from Spring Grove, Illinois sold it for $12,800, though I suspect that was a false bid so no one could buy it. Even though an eBay win is a contract, it couldn’t be enforced if the goods being sold were stolen.

Three Floyds Entrance
At the entrance to the brewery.

Dark Lord Day banner from 2009
A Dark Lord Banner from 2009 hangs in the brewery.

Below is a slideshow of the Three Floyds Brewery. This Flickr gallery is best viewed in full screen. To view it that way, after clicking on the arrow in the center to start the slideshow, click on the button on the bottom right with the four arrows pointing outward on it, to see the photos in glorious full screen. Once in full screen slideshow mode, click on “Show Info” to identify each photo.

A here’s a short video of me walking through the brewery.

Beer In Ads #94: National Bohemian’s Wet, Cold & Delicious

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ad-billboard
Friday’s ad closes strange glances week with a 1957 ad for National Bohemian. The ad’s tagline is “Wet, Cold and Delicious … just the way you want your beer.” The woman in the bathing cap, popping up out of the water at the side of the pool is likewise certainly wet, possibly cold though I’m touching that last one. Still, I think it’s fair to assume that it was their unspoken plan to suggest that connection. Then there’s that hilariously odd sideways glance as she eyes the beer bottle.

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If you want to see a larger size ad, there is one here, though the text is cropped.

Tracking The Lost Pubs

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pub-sign
I don’t know how long it’s been going on, but I just learned of the Lost Pubs Project, a wonderful idea. The project is “Charting The Decline Of The British Pub” by listing, by county, every pub closing. They currently list 10,104 lost pubs. According to the website, “there are 60,000 pubs still in existence in the UK today, [and] they are closing at the rate of 25 per month. Once closed they rarely reopen as most are either demolished or converted to housing.” It’s a collaborative project, and they’re asking for help from locals all over Great Britain to let them know about any “pub which has closed at any time in the past,” and they”re also collecting “any memories, information or photographs” of the closed pubs. Sounds like a very worthwhile thing to do.

GQ Picks 50 Beers To Try

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Finally, mainstream magazines are learning. A number of them, usually men’s magazines, publish an annual list of their picks for good beers, whether global or just American, and varying in the number on the list. But they go wrong by trying to call their lists the “top,” “best” or some similar hyperbole. With such a subjective sensation as taste, getting people to ever agree on a list is a fool’s errand, and ends up pissing people off whose favorite wasn’t included or wasn’t high enough on the list. Personally, I love lists but have found they can be dangerous enterprises.

GQ published one today they’re calling I’d Tap That! 50 Beers to Try Right Now. And despite the awkward “I’d tap that” beginning (why do mainstream beer stories always start with a bad pun?) I think they’re taking the right approach. Just presenting 50 beers they think are worth trying to an audience who may not be familiar with many of them is, I think, the way to go. There’s no rankings, no suggestion that these are the beers, or that they’re better than all the rest. They’re just suggestions. And there are some pretty good ones, too. Of course, there are some I wouldn’t have put on the list, but that’s the nature of these lists.

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GQ’s 50 Beers to Try Right Now

  1. Allagash White
  2. Anchor Christmas Ale
  3. Anchor Steam
  4. BrewDog Smokehead
  5. Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout
  6. Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron
  7. Fritz Briem 1809 Berliner Weisse
  8. Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold
  9. Hitachino Lacto Sweet Stout
  10. Lagunitas Cappuccino Stout
  11. Leelanau Whaleback White
  12. Lion Stout
  13. Ommegang Hennepin
  14. Oskar Blues Dales Pale Ale
  15. Oskar Blues Old Chubb
  16. Picobrouwerij Alvinne Melchior
  17. Pretty Things Jack D’Or
  18. Rodenbach Grand Cru
  19. Rogue Dead Guy Ale
  20. Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout
  21. Sierra Nevada Harvest Ale
  22. Sixpoint Sweet Action
  23. Smuttynose Barleywine
  24. Stone Imperial Russian Stout
  25. Stone Old Guardian
  26. Trumer Pils
  27. Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier
  28. AleSmith Speedway Stout
  29. Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye
  30. The Bruery Saison Rue
  31. Cantillon Iris
  32. De Struise Pannepot
  33. Dieu du Ciel Route des Epices
  34. Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA
  35. Jolly Pumpkin La Roja
  36. Marin Brewing Company IPA
  37. Orval
  38. Port Brewing Shark Attack Red
  39. Russian River Pliny the Elder
  40. Saison Dupont
  41. Schneider Aventinus
  42. Westvleteren Abt 12
  43. Harviestoun Old Engine Oil
  44. Great Divide Espresso Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout
  45. Double Mountain Black Irish Stout
  46. Samuel Adams Utopias
  47. Founders KBS
  48. Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier
  49. Russian River Beatification
  50. Monk’s Café Flemish Sour Ale

Then there are five more “bonus beers” under the sub-heading “In Defense of Bodega Beer,” which presumably means the downscale contrast to the upscale first fifty.

  1. Budweiser
  2. Tecate
  3. Magic Hat #9
  4. Red Stripe
  5. Yuengling Traditional Lager

Boobquake Monday

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This is slightly off topic, except that I learned about it from British beer writer Melissa Cole. Perhaps you saw the news report where Iranian cleric Hojatoleslam Kazem Sedighi is blaming earthquakes on women. Well, not all women, just the ones with the temerity to show a little skin. Sedighi is quoted as follows. “Many women who do not dress modestly … lead young men astray, corrupt their chastity and spread adultery in society, which (consequently) increases earthquakes.” Crazy, right? Maybe, but let’s make sure first.

Purdue senior Jen McCreight has a plan to test Sedighi’s theory. She wrote an offhand blog post at her Blag Hag entitled In the Name of Science, I Offer My Boobs. She’s asking all women everywhere this Monday, April 26, to wear their most revealing outfit, whether it’s cleavage enhancing, shoulder baring or ankle-showing. The idea is to see if all that immodest dressing (or lack of it) will “significantly increase the number or severity of earthquakes.” It may have started as a little joke, but nearly 90,000 people have signed up to participate on the Facebook Event Page for Boobquake so the event is taking on a life of its own. She’s even written some additional clarifications in case the idea raises your feminine hackles.

Here’s her entreaty to participate:

On Monday, April 26th, I will wear the most cleavage-showing shirt I own. Yes, the one usually reserved for a night on the town. I encourage other female skeptics to join me and embrace the supposed supernatural power of their breasts. Or short shorts, if that’s your preferred form of immodesty. With the power of our scandalous bodies combined, we should surely produce an earthquake. If not, I’m sure Sedighi can come up with a rational explanation for why the ground didn’t rumble. And if we really get through to him, maybe it’ll be one involving plate tectonics.

According to the Facebook Fan Page, the story’s now been featured on CNN and will be covered on BBC News shortly. I know Melissa Cole will be playing along, how about you? Can the immodesty of bare skin produce an earthquake? Let’s find out this Monday. If you decide to participate and tweet about it, the hashtag is #boobquake.

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British actress/model Jennifer Ellison doing her part a few years early, at a 2008 Axe the Tax Rally.

Toronado Belgian Blunch 2010

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This past Sunday I attended the annual Belgian Beer Lunch, which I’ve taken to calling a blunch, at the Toronado in San Francisco. The meal was again designed and created by Sean Paxton, the Homebrew Chef. The blunch was twelve courses, include 16 beers and lasted just over five hours.

The Toronado ready for a beer dinner
The Toronado decked out for a beer dinner.

Arlene Paxton, Dave Keene and Sean Paxton
Arlene and Sean Paxton, with Dave Keene, owner of the Toronado, in the middle.

Below is a slideshow of the 2010 Toronado Blunch beer dinner. This Flickr gallery is best viewed in full screen. To view it that way, after clicking on the arrow in the center to start the slideshow, click on the button on the bottom right with the four arrows pointing outward on it, to see the photos in glorious full screen. Once in full screen slideshow mode, click on “Show Info” to identify each photo.