EP-125 Scott Ungermann of Anchor Brewing and Distilling

In the age of hyper-local craft, we have a competing—or perhaps
complementary?—narrative in the U.S., and that’s heritage brands.

You may have heard my counterpart, Matthew Curtis (who's based in London),
mention the UK's traditional breweries more than once. It’s an interesting
dynamic having young, upstart craft brands entering the market alongside
these elder statesmen who are sometimes hundreds of years old, and both
sets of companies are trying to reach drinkers with a message about quality
and craftsmanship.

To U.S. ears, it’s a bit like listening in on a bizarro universe. We simply
don’t have much of that traditional brewery credibility left because of
prohibition. Most U.S. drinkers only rewind the tape as far as Sierra
Nevada or Sam Adams. If you're from Pennsylvania like me, you might think
of Yuengling (founded in 1829). Or in Minnesota, perhaps Schell’s comes to
mind (founded in 1860). But those are the wonderful exceptions that prove
the rule. By and large, the U.S. doesn’t have a traditional brewing scene.

One other exception, this time on the west coast, is Anchor Brewing
Company. Founded in 1896, it’s largely known for its Steam Beer, or the
California Common, arguably the only wholly-American-invented style of
beer. It even owns the trademark on that. It operated in regional obscurity
for almost 100 years before Fritz Maytag bought it and saved it from
closure. Without that beer, the story goes, breweries like Sierra Nevada
may have never started.

Anchor is still brewing its open fermentation beers, as well as many newer
styles, in the location on Potrero Hill it moved to in 1979. But in 2010,
it was purchased by The Griffin Group, an investment company specializing
in alcoholic beverages. Shortly after, the brewery started distilling
spirits.

Through all those years, the changes have been few, including the changes
in brewmaster. And the latest shift in that role happened quite recently,
leading to a host of new beer offerings that straddle the line between the
traditional brewing approach of Anchor, and the constantly evolving craft
beer industry of 2017.

Scott Ungermann has taken the weighty rings of this storied business and is
combining his longstanding desire to have his own brewery with his
experience at Anheuser-Busch to help bring Anchor along into the next
generation ever so delicately.