A Tour of a Legacy: Anchor Brewing Company

My friend, JR, invited me on his reservation for the Anchor Brewing Company.  Since it's one of the few breweries in the city of San Francisco, I've always wanted to go, but never got around to it.  I think the most prohibitive issue was knowing that there's a long waiting list to get on the tour.  Today, I was told that the tours are booked through August and the Friday tours are booked through October. 

This was my second time to Anchor.  I've been on a lot of brewery tours around the world.  This tour was pretty standard; they walk you through the brewing process from brew to bottle and then let you taste beers at the end.  However, this is one of the more beautiful breweries that I've visited because of the 1930's art-deco architecture, the copper brew kettles from Germany, and the fantastic view of the city skyline (even from the bathroom).  Anchor is unique in that they have a long history in San Francisco, since 1896, which means that they survived the Great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Prohibition. Joe, our tour guide, emphasized how Fritz Maytag saved Anchor from bankruptcy in 1965 and turned the brewery around which igniting the craft beer movement. 

Since buying Anchor last year, the Griffin Group has been expanding while trying to keep the Anchor legacy of San Francisco-based craft beer.  In mid-July, Anchor is going to increase the capacity of their bottling line.  In order to install the new line, which cannot be assembled piecemeal, they will need to knock down the wall to their bottling room and have a crane drop in the new bottle line. I'm looking forward to seeing what will develop from Anchor as they preserve their traditions while expanding their production and possibly their brand.

 

2011 Craft Brewers Conference: Living Legends, Food Pairing, and Lots of Craft Beer

The 2011 Craft Brewers Conference in San Francisco kicked off with a POP! (literally) as we toasted to craft beer with Fritz Maytag of Anchor Brewing and Ken Grossman of Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. This is the first beer industry conference that I've attended so it's the first time that I've checked in at a conference registration and been handed a four-pack of craft beer with by packet. Still, there was work to be done and new ideas to explore in the midst of this explosive time in craft beer.

Pairing Food and Beer
There was a lively discussion about beer and food at the "Working with Chefs" panel, which featured Adam Dulye of The Monk's Kettle, Greg Koch of Stone Brewing Co.,  and Jared Rouben of Goose Island Brewpubs.

The past two years have seen the envelope pushed beyond the conventional pairing of beer and food. Porters and stouts are no longer just for desserts. Progressive brewpubs are trying break the expected standard of designing the meal from light to heavier. Instead, the panel advised brewers to start with a cleaner slate of possibilities. Afterall, the biggest wins in food pairing come from trying new things that you have never imagined. For example, multiple beers with one course causes different actions on the palate so that diner is constantly engaged throughout the course. As a result, portion control is a topic that needs to be discussed when planning the meal since you want to ensure that the diner can finish the course by washing down the flavors on the palate with a beer.

The panel tried to dispel the myth that the chef creates the food and then finds a suitable beer. Instead, the process should be collaborative.

There seems to be a common communication divide between the brewer and the chef as I often heard brewers ask, "What kind of language should I use when discussing this issue with the chef?" To that, the panel offered business-saavy advice: set a price for the dinner and say that you still want to make money.


Read more about the Keynote talk, General Session, and Sustainability talks that I attended at the CBC on my guest blog post on Beer 47:
http://beer47.com/2011/04/2011-craft-brewers-conference-keynote-and-general-session/#more-1846

*Thanks to Gemma Amor for the use of the beer mugs photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/21763895@N05/2107941577/

Anchor Brewing’s 140th Anniversary Party and Brekle's Brown

Tonight, I attended Anchor Brewing’s 140th Anniversary Party. This was an invitation-only launch party catered by Fork & Spoon Productions and featured Brekle's Brown, a smooth hoppy brown ale.

I've visited breweries in Japan, China, Belgium, Russia, and the US.  Anchor Brewing is one of the most beautiful facilities I've visited because of the Art Deco architecture, the shiny copper kettles surrounded by blue tiles, and the view of the SF skyline and Bay Bridge from the kettle room.

Also, this was the first time I had seen shallow fermentors in production.  The aroma of barley and hops wafted down the corridor as the real VIP's were led in and out of this room on a private tour.

The food was themed with beer ingredients:

• water (steamed char siu baos) 
• yeast (pretzels made with beer yeast and a Gruyere fondue)
• barley (seared scallops on a potato slice -  unfortunately, I can't remember the barley in this one) 
• hops (hops-infused mini cupcake with a browned butter cream). 

Overall, this was a well-organized party that marked the half-way point of SF Beer Week 2011.