Anchor Brewing to Open Second Facility in 2015

One of the country’s oldest breweries will soon drop anchor at a secondary production facility.

Anchor Brewing will begin construction on its new Pier 48 brewery in late 2014 and expects to complete the buildout by late 2015. The new facility, to be located across from the San Francisco Giants baseball stadium, will quadruple the company’s annual production capacity from 180,000 to 680,000 barrels.

It’s part of the $1.6 billion Mission Rock Development Project — a mixed use urban neighborhood spearheaded by the San Francisco Giants. Anchor is the first company to sign onto the project, which will also include the construction of new parks, office space, and residential units as well as parking garages, retail shops and restaurants.

“It is believed that ‘Anchor’ was chosen as the brewery name for its indirect, but powerful allusion to the booming Port of San Francisco,” said Keith Greggor, co-owner and CEO of Anchor Brewers & Distillers. “We’re excited to bring Anchor to our first waterfront home at Pier 48. Our plans are to begin brewing in late 2015, starting with Anchor Steam Beer [draft only] as we develop the facilities to include packing.”

The new space will also accommodate visitors in a way the company’s current location in the Potrero Hill neighborhood cannot. In addition to brewing, distilling, packaging, storing, and shipping facilities, the brewery will include a restaurant, museum and educational space.

“We aren’t really geared up for visitors,” Greggor told ABC-7 News on Tuesday. “When we thought about the brewery, we really wanted to make it a destination.”

Anchor Brewing has been making beer in San Francisco since 1896. The company was purchased by craft beer pioneer Fritz Maytag in 1965. Maytag led the company until 2010, when he sold the business to Keith Greggor and Tony Foglio, both former SKYY Vodka executives. Anchor produced approximately 120,000 barrels of beer in 2012.

Additional information on the brewery expansion project is included in a company press release below.

SAN FRANCISCO – Anchor Brewing, the City’s largest manufacturer, today joined Mayor Edwin Lee and the San Francisco Giants to announce plans to construct a world-class facility at Pier 48 as part of the Mission Rock Development Project.

Anchor will continue to operate its facility in Potrero Hill, but will greatly expand its operations with the development of the Pier 48 facility. The two facilities will allow the company to quadruple its annual production capacity from 180,000 barrels to 680,000 barrels.

“Anchor Steam┬« Beer is a San Francisco original since 1896 and Anchor Brewing has already called six San Francisco locations home during its rich history,” said Keith Greggor, Co-owner and CEO of Anchor Brewers & Distillers. “It is believed that “Anchor” was chosen as the brewery name for its indirect, but powerful allusion to the booming Port of San Francisco. We’re excited to bring Anchor to our first waterfront home at Pier 48.”

Pier 48, the southern-most structure of the Port’s Embarcadero Historic District, will be fully rehabilitated and re-established as an industrial hub of the central waterfront. The new Anchor facility will feature production facilities for brewing, distilling, packaging, storing, and shipping; a restaurant, museum and educational facility in the headhouse of Pier 48; and a restored walkway around the entire pier apron that will connect pedestrians to the Portwalk and allow views into the Anchor brewhouse. Anchor will offer tours of the facilities and educational seminars with a focus on the history of craft beer, the art of craft distilling and Anchor’s history in San Francisco. The construction project beginning late 2014 will feature the use of green and sustainable materials, setting the standard for a modern urban brewery.

The Anchor expansion will create approximately 200 new jobs, 75% of which are production-oriented positions that employ a diverse work force.

“We are making things in San Francisco and creating a magnet for jobs for thousands of people from every background in our thriving local manufacturing sector,” said Mayor Ed Lee. “Making sure our homegrown companies stay and grow right here in San Francisco remains my top priority and I want to thank Anchor Brewing and the San Francisco Giants for driving the engine of economic growth, bringing jobs and revitalizing our world class waterfront.”

The Anchor Brewery expansion project also represents the first major tenant of the Mission Rock Project — a new, mixed use urban neighborhood currently being developed by the San Francisco Giants. The Anchor Brewing facility will cover 22% of the overall project site.

“As a longtime partner of the Giants, we are delighted to welcome Anchor Brewing to the waterfront and to partner with them on what will become an exciting place for San Franciscans to live, work and play,” said Larry Baer, Giants President and CEO. “Given the rich history of the Giants and Anchor Brewing in San Francisco, it is only fitting that we work together to help transform this historic part of the City’s waterfront.”

In addition to Anchor Brewing’s new facility, the Mission Rock Project will include more than eight acres of parks and open space, 650-1,500 residential units, 1-1.7 million square feet office space, parking structure to serve ballpark and Mission Rock patrons, and up to 250,000 square feet of retail, restaurants, and public amenities. In total, Mission Rock is expected to create 4,800 construction jobs and 6,400 permanent jobs.

The Mission Rock Project is one of several development projects on Port Property. The Port of San Francisco, which will celebrate its 150th anniversary in April, is currently implementing a long range master plan which focuses on expanded maritime use and increasing public access to the City’s historic waterfront.

About Anchor Brewing

Anchor Brewing Company’s roots date back to the California Gold Rush making it one of America’s oldest breweries. Its Anchor Steam┬« Beer is San Francisco’s original since 1896. In 1965, Fritz Maytag acquired and revived the struggling brewery at a time when mass production of beer dominated and seemed unstoppable. Maytag started a revolution in beer that originated today’s craft beer movement. An undisputed icon, Anchor is America’s first craft brewery where beers are handmade in our traditional copper brewhouse from an all-malt mash. At Anchor, we practice the time-honored art of classical brewing, employing state-of-the-art methods to ensure that our beers are always pure and fresh. We know of no brewery in the world that matches our efforts to combine traditional, natural brewing with such carefully applied, modern methods of sanitation, finishing, packaging and transporting. See what we are brewing today at www.anchorbrewing.com.

About the San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants are dedicated to enriching the community through innovation and excellence on and off the field. One of the oldest franchises in Major League Baseball, the 131-year old franchise moved to San Francisco from New York in 1958. After playing a total of 42 years in Seals Stadium and Candlestick Park, the team moved to the privately constructed AT&T Park in 2000. The organization is widely recognized for its innovative business practices and baseball excellence. In 2010, the franchise was named the Sports Organization of the Year by Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal and in 2012 was named Organization of the Year by Baseball America.Since opening its gates, AT&T Park has become internationally-renowned as a premier venue in the world of both sports and entertainment. On the diamond, more than 40 million spectators have witnessed a number of magical moments and five playoff appearances, including the franchise’s second World Series Championship in the past three years. The first World Series title earned by the Giants since moving west came in 2010 with the second championship in 2012. On June 13, 2012, the franchise’s first-ever perfect game was thrown by Giants ace Matt Cain. AT&T Park has also played host to some of music’s biggest acts, including the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band and Green Day.