this post was submitted on 12 Jul 2023
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That's a bit much, don't you think? Just because you don't prefer them, did not mean they "weren't good enough." Beer (and drinks/food in general) are highly subjective, there's no such thing as a definitive "good" beer, and thus their success is really controlled by marketing and business more than anything. That's why gimmicks constantly come and go (remember kveik yeast?) and brewers race to see how much they can hop their IPAs. Anchor Steam hasn't had a hold of their business side for a while, even after their acquisition, so they're closing, there's nothing more to it.
People put a lot of good work into Anchor, and their offerings were more unique than the dime-a-dozen breweries that are everywhere. Really frustrating to see you come here and not respect other people's hard work and craft just because it wasn't to your taste.
I've tried a great many beers, from most breweries in the Bay Area, and in my opinion, alright, Anchor was one of those dime-a-dozen ones. They followed the trends like everyone else but never made anything stand out beside their California common. Just look at their current uninspiring lineup. I don't disrespect the people putting in the work to make the beer, but whoever made the decisions in the business failed badly at product development.
With sales steadily declining since 2016 it’s clearly not just my taste in beer. Maybe they should’ve adapted…
Yeah, fair enough any business running for over a 100 years has done something right. However, the amount of (craft) beer competition in the last century just wasn't even close to the level it is today. In 1978 there were only 89 breweries nationwide. There's more than that in the Bay alone now. Considering how many really great local breweries and beers are now available, yeah I don't think their products were good enough to stand out. Then again this is a problem a lot of breweries are having, they are not unique. I never said their beer sucked btw.
Craft beer isn't new, but it has been building up to this point, especially in the last decade. The number of US breweries has quadrupled in this period and the past couple of years I've easily had many of the best and most interesting beers I've ever had in my life, often from local Bay Area breweries. That's all very new, and the "classic" couldn't compete when there's better, or let's say at least more interesting choices available. A more likely story for declining sales than "distribution and marketing issues" for a brand which is far more well-known than almost any other SFBA beer with the backing of a global megabrewer.
There's too many IPAs though on that we can agree.
Well I just saw the other comment with the vinepair article, and while I think competition from the explosion of craft beers is a part of it, the stories of mismanagement hurt to read :(