Revisiting a revolution in beer-making
Over the next few years, Maytag devoted himself to learning traditional craft brewing from the ground up.
His approach toward brewing, defined by innovation, creativity, and exploration, marked the beginning of the craft-beer revolution.
Between 1965 and 1971, Maytag learned how to brew from scratch, and when Anchor again began selling its Steam beer in 1971, it became recognized as the representative California common beer, a modern handcrafted brew encapsulating the history and culture of the original California immigrants' brewing processes.
A new kind of beer
San Francisco had just been founded, and conditions on the West Coast were fairly rustic. There was no refrigeration or ice to be had, and brewing the low-temperature German lagers was impossible.
It's unclear where the term "Steam" beer originated, but it may have come out of the necessities involved with brewing in the still-primitive city's climate.
A wayfaring brewery
Anchor has existed at six different locations in San Francisco throughout its history, and moved to its current location on Mariposa Street in Potrero Hill, seen here, in 1979.
Closed, sold, bought, and reopened
When Fritz Maytag stepped in and bought a majority share of the brewery in 1965 for just a few thousand dollars, it was only weeks away from closing again.
All-malt mash still handmade in copper kettle
Steiner and Stiegl hops
Here, hops wait to be added to the next batch of Anchor brew.
Chilling the brew in 'cool ships'
As the beer cooled from around 200 degrees, the wort in the rooftop cool ships gave off steam. Some think this might be where the Anchor Steam name came from, but no one seems to know for sure.
Today, in the fermenting room (seen here), Anchor continues to ferment its beer in similarly shaped, long, shallow vessels akin to those used in the traditional method.
Resurrecting the tradition
Frosty vats
Eighty-five employees
A perk of the job is that everyone gets a case or two of beer to take home each week.