It was expected that various forms of interest in buying Anchor Brewing would surface after it was announced last week that the historic brewery was closing. Now, two separate attempts to buy the historic brewery are gaining attention, although both appear to be a long shot.
An investor who lives near the San Francisco brewery, which is no longer brewing but is still packaging and shipping the remaining inventory, has said that some investors are already lined up and he is trying to raise additional capital to make a serious offer.
“I was bummed to hear that Sapporo had purchased the company in 2017 because I would have loved to put an investor group together to buy the company,” said Mike Walsh on his newly formed web site called Raise the Anchor. “Like many, I was really bummed to hear that since Anchor Steam is one of my favorite beers. My disappointment was quickly replaced with enthusiasm as I would love to be involved with the brand as an owner.”
Walsh said he would have made the effort before but didn’t know the brewery was looking for a buyer.
Another interesting offer came forward yesterday as reported in Vine Pair. It appears that the union employees of Anchor have met and decided to launch an effort to buy the brewery and run it as a worker co-op.
Considered the grandfather of the craft beer revolution in the US, Anchor has supported many in the industry, and holds a special spot for most. The reasons are varied as to why it closed, and a new owner would face many hurdles if trying to continue the operation at the current site. It remains highly unlikely that any new owner will succeed at taking over any more than the brand’s intellectual property and recipes, but time will tell.