After years of declining sales due to competition with larger breweries, Anchor was purchased by Frederick Louis “Fritz” Maytag III in 1965, preventing its closure.

[5][6] Sapporo's ownership oversaw significant declines in revenue for the brewery, and in 2023, Anchor Brewing ceased operations, with plans to liquidate the business.

[9] The brewery that would become Anchor was built during the California Gold Rush when Gottlieb Brekle arrived from Germany and began brewing steam beer in San Francisco.

The brewery continued operations through the 1950s, but suffered heavily from the country's increasingly strong preference for beers produced by mega-breweries.

[12] While there had been more than 4,000 breweries at the turn of the twentieth century, shifts in the industry due to Prohibition and the consolidation of brewing companies meant that only 70 remained by the 1960s.

[13] As a result of declining sales, Anchor shut down in 1959, but was bought and reopened the following year at a new location by Lawrence Steese.

[20] Before offering in bottles, sales were only as draft beer to thirty local establishments that had long carried the brand.

Anchor ultimately served as an early example of a microbrewery, being among the first American breweries to produce porters, barley wine, and India pale ales with regularity.

In 2010, Maytag sold the company to former Skyy vodka executives Keith Greggor and Tony Foglio, from Novato, California, who planned to expand Anchor's business while keeping its commitment to artisan brewing.

The unionization efforts were overwhelmingly supported by local bars which served Anchor Steam Beer in the city.

[36] The three-year union contract was officially ratified in 2020, providing workers with increased wages, health insurance, and other benefits.

On the eve of their 125th birthday, the brewery replaced their vintage-looking labels with a large Anchor logo in a two-tone color schemes per beer.

Sapporo blamed the closure on decreased sales at restaurants and bars caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, competition from other local brewers, and a shift in consumer preferences to alcoholic beverages other than beer.

[45][46] The announcement led to significant outrage from brewery workers, San Francisco bartenders, and locals, with passing drivers chanting "keep brewing" outside the building.

[47] A spokesman for Sapporo quoted by the New York Times said that the firm sought a buyer for Anchor before announcing that the brewery would close, and that it was still possible one might emerge.

[43] To liquidate Anchor, Sapporo has elected to enter into an alternative to the traditional bankruptcy process known as "Assignments for the Benefit of Creditors".