[HN Gopher] Anchor Brewing Company ends national distribution, k...
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       Anchor Brewing Company ends national distribution, kills beloved
       beer
        
       Author : kaycebasques
       Score  : 13 points
       Date   : 2023-06-12 22:09 UTC (52 minutes ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.sfgate.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.sfgate.com)
        
       | version_five wrote:
       | I remember getting Anchor Steam in California nearly 20 years
       | ago, having been told about it by a relative as something to try.
       | And having been happy to try a different tasting beer. The other
       | California one I liked was Sierra Nevada pale ale.
       | 
       | I feel like that was a much more innocent time. Now no matter
       | where you are, there's a pile of competing craft beers, trying to
       | out do one another across different dimensions (though mostly
       | hops), it's hard to keep track. At the same time, good beer seems
       | to mean a lot less now, because of how spoiled we all are.
        
         | eyelidlessness wrote:
         | > trying to out do one another across different dimensions
         | (though mostly hops)
         | 
         | In places with younger craft markets, it's like an even split
         | between hops and extreme naming/label graphics. Here in
         | Seattle, beer names are like Obscure Mythology Reference and
         | you might enjoy the Wikipedia hole it starts you on while you
         | imbibe. The first craft brew I remember seeing visiting my
         | original home state, Virginia, was literally named Raging Bitch
         | with a fierce looking dog baring its teeth and blood-like
         | splatters of red ink. It was actually a pretty decent stout
         | IIRC.
        
       | mikece wrote:
       | Too costly to produce, too much competition, insufficient demand
       | outside California. A loss for sure but with so much competition
       | I doubt it will be missed by many.
        
       | 0zemp3c wrote:
       | Liberty Ale is a true classic of brewing, but you can find
       | something like it in any city now
       | 
       | Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is another classic and you can find it
       | practically anywhere
        
       | ProjectArcturis wrote:
       | 20 years ago, Anchor was pretty decent. Like Sam Adams, there
       | wasn't a lot of competition for US-brewed beer beyond the Bud-
       | style macrobrews. Now there's a dozen good-to-great breweries in
       | every city, and no reason to buy Anchor Steam anymore.
        
         | eyelidlessness wrote:
         | I disagree, despite living in one of the earlier craft brew
         | havens (Seattle). Anchor Steam was already a unique offering
         | when I happened on it ~15 years ago, and its uniqueness has
         | only been more pronounced as the craft(ish) market has
         | consolidated around IPAs. Anchor Porter isn't nearly so unique
         | a style, but it's an exceptional one in the category and has
         | consistently been my preference over local porters even when
         | they were more common. Their winter seasonal really is stellar,
         | and has long stood out in a category that's basically become a
         | mix of mislabeled IPAs and the occasional barleywine-ish heavy
         | ale.
        
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       (page generated 2023-06-12 23:01 UTC)