Anchor Brewing is not turning its back on San Francisco.
A report in a niche beer publication that the dormant brewer is leaving the city for good is false, brewery owners told The Standard.
Since abruptly going dark in July 2023, San Franciscans have been waiting for Anchor Brewing to reopen its factory and bring back its famous steam beer and ales that it’s been crafting for 125 years.
The erroneous article, published Tuesday by American Craft Beer (opens in new tab), has the alarmist title “Beer Buzzkills: Anchor Brewing Leaves San Francisco.” It asserts that CEO Hamdi Ulukaya’s team had told The Standard that they have no intention of reopening the Portrero Hill brewery. Instead, it claims that Anchor beer will be brewed by a contract partner from outside the city.
American Craft Beer misrepresented what The Standard reported in May: that the brewery had seen little visible movement since Ulukaya acquired it in May 2024, with no announced reopening date and no confirmed plans for starting production.
A representative of Ulukaya’s family office, Shepherd Futures, confirmed that the claims in the American Craft Beer article were false and said reopening plans are in the works but did not provide a timeline.
Tom Bobak, the editor-in-chief of American Craft Beer, apologized for the error and blamed his use of ChatGPT for the misinterpretation of the Standard’s reporting. The website has added a note updating readers on the reality.
But the misinformation has started to spread. Other publications, including TheStreet, have repeated the unverified claims.
Anchor Brewing, founded in 1896, is no stranger to dramatic headlines. The brewery has survived earthquakes, Prohibition, near-bankruptcy and the rise and fall of craft beer trends. Under Fritz Maytag, who owned the brewery from 1965 to 2010, it pioneered the modern craft beer movement. Ulukaya’s purchase in 2024 was a relief to fans, though beer production remains in limbo. Ulukaya, who founded yogurt behemoth Chobani, told The Standard in May that he intended to rebuild Anchor in its original form, as he was a fan of the brewery’s historic branding and imagery.
“Being part of a rebirth and brand of the company and being part of maybe a new dimension of the city is pretty exciting,” he said.