A shame they weren’t able to adapt to modern beer tastes. As long as I can remember, I've thought of them as the mediocre beer I’ll begrudgingly drink only if all other options are exhausted.
Part of the problem is that the steam beer process they used is a cheap and nasty process by design and they were one of the last holdouts of that style. I did a tour of their brewery where they do the open air fermenting (hence the name, steam came off it). It's a way to save refrigeration costs in brewing and makes for a poor beer.
If they adapted to modern tastes they wouldn't really be steam beer anymore. They'd be another beer brewed the same way as the others. At which point you're calling non steam beer steam beer.
They were only a "holdout" insofar as they sued anyone else who used that process. They were kind of a shitty corporate citizen and I'm not sad to see them go.
The obvious follow up is I think they must not have kept up with the times
I’d guess bottles are the majority of the business and I think that product is inferior
I don’t know what the other breweries do, maybe it’s just freshness and inventory, or a better or more consistent bottling
—
I should also add that I lived in SF, so it’s definitely possible that most customers out of city think of them as a bad bottled beer brand, whereas I had a different impression
I guess Sierra Nevada was a big influence early on, and since then I’ve come to appreciate a large variety, from more hoppy offerings from the likes of Russian River, Lagunitas, Stone and recently Almanac, to lagers from Pacifico and Dos Equis, several prominent Belgian brands, and some local sours. I enjoy a wide variety, but always thought of Anchor Steam as bland, malty, and mediocre, on the same low level as Fat Tire, to name a comparable brand.
That said, I’ve only had it bottled, never on tap.
AnotherGoodName|2 years ago
If they adapted to modern tastes they wouldn't really be steam beer anymore. They'd be another beer brewed the same way as the others. At which point you're calling non steam beer steam beer.
local_crmdgeon|2 years ago
They were only a "holdout" insofar as they sued anyone else who used that process. They were kind of a shitty corporate citizen and I'm not sad to see them go.
chubot|2 years ago
In the bottle it seems to lose everything for some reason
I never buy it in the bottle, but I get it on tap
But I’ll admit there are a zillion options that are similar or better now. The market changed a lot
chubot|2 years ago
I’d guess bottles are the majority of the business and I think that product is inferior
I don’t know what the other breweries do, maybe it’s just freshness and inventory, or a better or more consistent bottling
—
I should also add that I lived in SF, so it’s definitely possible that most customers out of city think of them as a bad bottled beer brand, whereas I had a different impression
the_common_man|2 years ago
WiseWeasel|2 years ago
That said, I’ve only had it bottled, never on tap.