Uncharted Waters: Anchor Public Taps (San Francisco, CA)

San Francisco's iconic Anchor Brewing Company

In the increasingly muddled world of what defines a craft brewer, the August 2017 news related to San Francisco's Anchor Brewing threw more haze into the equation. Essentially, the purchase of this craft beer pioneer by Japan-based Sapporo Holdings technically made Anchor a craft brewer no more, at least according to the current Brewers Association definition.

For many craft beer aficionados, the news was disappointing to say the least and, as a long time resident of the Bay Area, it had a similar effect.  With that said, it wasn't surprising, knowing the company's numerous struggles to keep its foothold within its home port (something we learned on a tour of the main brewery roughly eight years ago, ironically just before longtime owner/brewer Fritz Maytag’s sale to an investor group was widely known) as well as get its brews out to a larger audience. In a weird way, it made the brewery's new Anchor Public Taps space, advertised on Anchor Brewing's website as a "new pilot brewery and bar" and "one-of-a-kind San Francisco experience" a must visit on our recent travels to California to see what was going on.