Anchor Public Taps

Will Anchor Brewing Workers Really Be Able to Buy the Company? | Eater SF

"On July 27 I witnessed the final day of bottling at Anchor Brewing’s historic Potrero Hill plant, where shop steward and packaging lead Patrick Mochal and his co-workers signed their names on the last bottle headed into the final case of steam beer and cried as they worked the floor until they literally ran out of glass—even overturning old boxes to scrounge material to feed the machines; when supplies finally ran out everyone toasted and phones were put away to archive those last moments, and Mochal said, “It’s the end — for now.” Founded in 1896 and credited with inventing California common (steam beer), the pioneering company has survived repeated crises—Fritz Maytag rescued it in 1965, it was sold to Griffin Group in 2010, and to Sapporo in 2017—but now about 40 unionized workers, led by the Anchor Brewing union, are preparing a bid to buy the company and convert it to worker ownership. They face real hurdles—navigating a complex liquidation process, assembling financing, and rallying enough worker support—but have formalized their intent (a July 19 letter to Sapporo USA president Mike Minami) and secured support from law firm Tuttle Group, ILWU Local 6, and Project Equity. Workers say they ran the packaging floor without a manager in the final weeks and were even producing 25 or more extra cases a day, and company bar sales hit the 2023 annual target by the third week of July, while community members, capital providers, lawyers, and the craft-brewing community have offered backing. The workers also claim Sapporo denied them timely financial information and told them it was “too close” to the August 1 liquidation start; once a liquidator is in place the workers can access the same data as other bidders and submit a formal offer. If they succeed Mochal says they will refocus on the brand’s core identity and fan base, undo the over-corporatization and product overexpansion they see as mistakes, and bring allies with decades of machinery and distribution experience upstairs to sustain the company, a plan supporters hope will “keep this going for the next generation.”" - Paolo Bicchieri