Anchor Brewing Rebrand: Raise Anchor to the Next 125 Years!

This is heuristic.
I have the impression that the people complaining about the redesign of the Anchor labels have not themselves bought the beer in years.
"How could they change such an iconic herald!?", they clamor. Complaining about something makes them feel better - perhaps superior - to someone else. Ask them when they last had the beer?
"{stammering} Err, Uhhh, it wasn't that long ago - it was around when...uhhh... there was a lot of discussion about whether Anchor would begin canning its beers... yeah, yeah."
You're part of the problem, bunky. You have left Anchor far behind while you chased every new ale from other breweries.
Anchor needs more people purchasing its classic American ales. The brews have not changed (which is what you should fear), only the packaging has.
Geez.
Populate the Great Lakes forum and read the posts in which people complain that Two Brothers Brwg.'s labels look old & outdated.(!) Are there going to be members griping if & when Two Brothers changes its labels?! I surmise principals @ Two Bros. are taking notes of this situation. But can it adopt a new appearance for its labels without suffering the same excoriations that Anchor is getting here?

 

I picked up a six pack of Steam with the new label. Canned in Feb, which is the freshest I have seen it in many years (hell, the last time I tried to buy a six pack it was over a year old). The packaging itself did not stand out at all, if it wasn't for this press release and thread it would have been lost to me in a see of green, blue and yellow labels. Maybe if I saw a six pack of the bottles, that would be more catching. As is, glad I was able to get a pretty fresh six pack and its great. The label still sucks, is not anything that pops from anything else, and will go back to being a non purchase as soon as these get old, unfortunately

If I can keep finding relatively fresh though, this will once again make its way into my rotation, here is to hoping.

 

I picked up a six pack cans of Anchor Crisp Pilsner. I don't know if it's me or the beer but I am not liking it at all. I get more of a floor cleaner taste than crisp pils. Maybe some quality control issues with the new recipe.

As far as the role of the new labels, I saw the Steam cans first and then noticed the Pilsner (blue label) to the side.

 

Sorry to hear this.

I hope I didn't misread those new generic labels -- I thought I saw California Lager.

 

Here's the rebranded Anchor Liberty Ale. This subdued blue certainly does not pop on the shelf but I'm happy I found it. I haven't had it in years and this single Cascade Hop Ale is slapping my taste buds around in a very entertaining way. 2 months in the can.

 

What was wrong with the old labels? Seems kind of like an instant fail to me. I guess it’s so we don’t yearn for the old classics...and instead embrace those weird fruit brews they started on a couple years ago and the inevitable hazy train.

 

I missed anchor getting into the fruity beer game. Were they fruited barrel sours or something?

 

Check their "Beer Cellar" (no longer brewed beers) -
Mango, Blackberry, Lemon, Blood Orange.
https://www.anchorbrewing.com/beer/beer_cooler

 

I think, according to most reasonable definitions of craft, it has to be the oldest US craft brewery (since prohibition, at least), whether you define it from the days prior to Maytag, or just since the upgrade and relaunch by Maytag. Other brewers were making excellent specialty beers, but their primary products were macro lagers.

 

As has already been pointed out the term "craft brewery" is fairly recent (e.g., 1980's) but if we wanted to use the term of "craft beer/brewery" from waaay back I personally would vote for Yuengling Brewery before Anchor Brewery. Yuengling brewed a Porter and Lord Chesterfield Ale when they first opened in 1829.

The whole topic of the history of "craft brewing' can be a controversial topic but I took a crack at discussing this thorny topic in my article entitled "What is Craft Beer?"

https://www.morebeer.com/articles/What_Is_Craft_Beer

Cheers!

 

And if a rebrand fails to increase their footprint, Anchor will have jettisoned a history deeper than many other US craft breweries in return for (relative) anonymity. That's a pretty big gamble.

Also, it's pretty heady to presume that some of the critics here on BA "don't know anything about Anchor" or what they're trying to do. Having strong opinions about a rebrand when many here have been familiar with Anchor for multiple decades isn't anywhere near out of bounds IMO.

 

No, I'm in branding, and I get it . . . it's just a bad rebrand. Generic, uninspired design + bland brand voice. Just because they are motivated by market realities doesn't mean they've succeeded in addressing them.

 

I was not implying that the fruit beers were coinciding with the current re-branding, my bad I didn’t make that clear. Even if that was 2-3 years ago, it seemed awkward and out of character at the time for a classic brewery such as Anchor. I also cannot imagine those were a success, otherwise why were they short lived and why not a return? Seemed very gimmicky, especially coming from this particular brewery, and one who’s flagship beer is the opposite of gimmicky and was based on tradition. Blackberry IPA? Come on....and damn, they better not get rid of those bottles!

 

I regret Anchor finds itself in a situation where their idea of "doing something" means changing label styles. I would cheerfully drink their stuff as is if I could find it.

 

Hmm those are significantly less gimmicky than I was expecting. I'm another one who pretty much only sees steam, our special Xmas, and the occasional pack of California lager and some of their newer ipas. The mango wheat immediately brought.me back to my aunt and uncle being super excited when they could get pyramid apricot wheat beer from Michigan.

 

I would think that some people understand the market conditions that would drive the rebrand... but they can still question if this is the move that will actually do them any good in the long-run. Is a rebrand really strong enough to overcome the marketplace obstacles that won't be going away? Time will tell.

I know you really like the brand and it's clear that you want to come to their defense... but keep in mind that certain criticisms from other consumers can also be coming from a place of really caring about the brand too.

Focusing on your words: "stay relevant in a rapidly changing beer landscape"... Perhaps the best way for Anchor to "stay relevant" is to double down on their historical importance in a "rapidly changing beer landscape" rather than blending in with the rapid change that far less relevant brewers take part in. BUT, I'm not pretending that that idea is the answer either. They'll do what they think they gotta do and I don't fault them for it.