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

Do distributors really look at labels when deciding what to carry? That’s silly if you ask me. Would Pliny or Maine beers not be carried due to what the labels look like? Not really sure how relabeling gets them carried more. What is the reason their distributors “should” support them more? I really doubt these new look cans will do anything but cost a lot of money to whoever designed them.

I drank the porter over the winter and really enjoyed it, it’s just not available all the time. Their old dating system was trash and kept me away for many years. Maybe if they had used dates people did not need a decoder ring for they might be in better shape today.

Shame such a legendary company might not survive but maybe it was the choices they made years ago, not the labels.

Enjoy

 

Anchor has been using normal canned/bottled on dates for some time now.

 

I can only anecdotally report that several years ago I stopped purchasing Anchor beers because of their cryptic dating system. I know from reading BA threads that they made a change to this dating a year or so ago. But I am already in the mode of no longer buying Anchor beers and instead purchasing beer from other breweries that have consistently used easy to understand dates. Maybe I should give Anchor another chance (or just keep buying the beers from the other breweries that never had a stupid dating system)?

Cheers!

 

If by "rebranding" we mean just changing the label, I'm perfectly fine with it. Just don't mess with the heavenly nectar inside.

 

I've had the Steam and Porter under the new branding (thus very fresh) and both were superb.

 

Also found the newly branded Steam at my local shop and picked up a sixer, it's delicious as always. Better, too, since it was so fresh which is rare to find here. Plan to go back and buy another.

 

I was a distributor for decades and can tell you that I was very attuned to packaging as well as quality to value, and where any product might fit into the competitive realm. Packaging and great quality predicted a great price for the Wicked Weed brand.

 

This is sad news. The anchor steam bottle with the nostalgic artwork and blue cap have a fond place in my heart. As a junior in high school we made the drive from SoCal, made a transaction on haight ashbury with an old hippie, picked up some anchor steam and had a beautiful day. Every time I open one the memories of that day return. This stinks

 

FWIW -- the beer is still good -- that should be a bigger part of the memory-making.

 

As was depicted in the OP:



But if you go the the Anchor Brewing website this is what you see for Anchor Steam Beer:



https://www.anchorbrewing.com/beer/anchor_steam

Kinda interesting that Anchor Brewing is not 'proclaiming' their new branding style on their website.

Cheers!

 

I can find it.
https://raiseanchor.anchorbrewing.com/?_ga=2.74061140.777328379.1622827585-1926980.1622596231

Just takes some observational creativity.

 

All of the above quotes are from the Summerfest thread, but I hope people don't mind me using them to make a post in this thread.

Before the rebrand, I promised myself to purchase Liberty Ale the next time I saw it less than a few months old. The new Liberty Ale cans showed up and I kept that promise despite the issue that I could not locate a date on the box. I have never seen a date on the box of a sixer of Anchor cans. It's possible that I simply couldn't find it... on every box of cans I looked at across their portfolio. The bottom of the cans are stamped... visible after you purchase them.

It was easier to ignore Anchor cans in the past (by buying bottles), but with the rebrand, Liberty Ale is now only in cans. I don't think I will buy Liberty Ale ever again. The old date code system was infamous, but the current practice is worse. I saw their new pilsner but have no interest in trying it. Why bother if you can't buy it with any confidence a few months from now?

@jesskidden - perhaps 3/26/21
@steveh
@deanzaZZR
@BJC

 

Oof. Hopefully this will be corrected. I really enjoyed that sharp Cascade Hops blast from fresh Liberty Ale.

 

I agree with you. I've taken to just opening the packs to look at a can. If its an acceptable date I'll take the pack I opened. If its not I set it back and alert an employee if.they're nearby. If no ones in the vicinity I just leave it. Maybe if retailers bitch about people opening boxes to check dates that will get the brewers attention?

 

I did this with a mixed-pack of Paulaner beers -- no date on the outside and was a little frustrated. All the bottles were within good range and I had no trouble taking the opened box to the cashier -- but would have done the same as you if the dates were crap.

 

I clicked on beer -> Anchor Steam.

Cheers!

 

To be fair, it's not *terribly" clear what that tab is telling you, but it *is* the internet -- click at will!