The Anchor Brewing Story

A highly illustrated guide to craft beer from America's oldest and most iconic craft brewery, featuring a history of American brewing traditions and clone beer recipes for Anchor's top brews including Anchor Steam and California Lager.

A pioneer in the craft beer movement, Anchor is the unlikely San Francisco microbrewery that inspired a generation of small brewers and created a revolution in beer. After its founding during the Gold Rush, it endured fires that wiped out two locations, the death of an owner who fell from a cable car, and Prohibition, only to find itself facing the mammoth beer corporations of the 1960s and a country dominated by bland, watery, mass-produced lagers. Through narrative history and hundreds of archival photos, Anchor Brewing resident historian David Burkhart tells the story of how Anchor, on the verge of bankruptcy and with just a single employee, fought back to become the brewing legend it is today through a focus on craftsmanship, quality ingredients, and flavor. In the process, Anchor started many of the innovations that are now key parts of craft beer culture, such as brewing the first IPA and post-Prohibition Porter in the US (and the only dark beer in America at the time), releasing a seasonal beer, and reinvigorating interest in steam beer, the oldest indigenous beer style in the United States. With clone recipes, Anchor beer profiles, and unseen images from the brewery's vast collection, The Anchor Brewing Story is a must for any homebrewer or beer buff.