Is Anchor Falling Behind?

Brekle's Brown and Humming Ale are both relatively recent new beers from Anchor, and their Bock is from within the last decade. They also have a limited Our Barrel Ale.

When it comes to beer, I'm a big fan of "good" - "new" isn't necessarily as impressive.

 

I'm not sure how they are doing sales wise but they've never really been the brewery that brews 20 new beers per year and I don't think anyone expects them to be that brewery.

Old Foghorn is a quality brew though.

 

There's something to be said about just making good beer and not putting out 300 new but mostly terrible beers a year.

 

Steamers got me started on Crafts.... I'll always be thankful!

 

They tend to focus on a core group of beers. Like said above, they recently released Breckle's and Humming. They make great beers, and it is nice to have a brewery focus on a couple of beers instead of trying to brew a million different varieties.

 

Curious who you think does that? I think there's room for many different models without one right answer.

 

They change their christmas ale each year or is it called holiday ale. anyways, they change it each year per the label. i think that should count. Honestly though their lineup cannot get more solid than Liberty Ale, Humming Ale, and Steam. That is the trifecta of light and drinkable beer.

 

Very solid lineup, and let's not forget their Porter which is about as good as it gets.

 

One part of their beer culture is not to grow above their means. They stick to a solid business plan.

 

I think the IPA and stout craze are relatively minor in the greater beer world. Go to Costco and I regularly see megapacks of Steam and absolutely no stouts or IPAs (save for Guinness (not the type of stout I think you were referring to) and whatever IPA is included in the Kirk Sig pack).

 

Their porter is one of the best porters anywhere and everything they brew is pretty darn great. Have you had the Brekle's Brown? About as good as it gets for that style as well. I don't think they're falling behind anyone. Consistency and quality count for a lot in my book.

 

So true. Reliable as they come.

 

If they only put out their bock for the rest of time I wouldn't say a word, I love that stuff. But I hear where the OP is coming from. When you're dealing with breweries like Stone, Sierra Nevada and DFH who seem to put out something new every month you start to wonder if breweries like Anchor are "doing it wrong." Clearly there is more than one way to skin a cat on this one, as Anchor Steam, in my opinion at least continues to impress me, even if it's with their consistent approuch.

 

I was thinking mostly of the Bruery and CCB. I think the Bruery is probably on net more hit than miss, but there are so many misses. CCB on the other hand may as well only make Hunahpu's, from what I've had, at least.

 

Reliable, yes, but I find there are countless porters I enjoy more than Anchor. I think they've been surpassed by many in that category.

 

Pistols at dawn, then?

 

Eight o'clock. I do my killin' after breakfast!

 

Excellent.

I'll put my affairs in order and bring along a couple of Mayflower Porters so you can pry them from my cellar-temp dead hands.