Anchor
Christmas Ale
Every year since
1975 the brewers of Anchor Steam® Beer have brewed a distinctive and unique
Christmas Ale, which is available from early November to mid-January. The
Ale's recipe is different every year—as is the tree on the label—but the
intent with which we offer it remains the same: joy and celebration of the
newness of life. Since ancient times, trees have symbolized the winter
solstice when the earth, with its seasons, appears born anew. Our tree for
2011 is the bristlecone pine. Found high atop California's White Mountains,
bristlecones are among the oldest living things on the planet. Some date
back nearly 5,000 years, to the dawn of the ancient art of brewing.
Each year our Christmas Ale gets a unique label and a unique recipe for the
Ale itself. Although our recipes must remain a secret, many enthusiasts save
a few bottles from year to year—stored in a cool dark place—to taste later
and compare with other vintages. Properly refrigerated, the beer remains
intriguing and drinkable for years, with different nuances slowly emerging
as the flavor mellows slightly.
Anchor Brewing Company
Anchor Brewing Company is an American alcoholic beverage producer, operating a
brewery and distillery on Potrero Hill in San Francisco, California. The brewery
was founded in 1896, and was purchased by its current owner, Frederick Louis
Maytag III, in 1965, saving it from closure. It moved to its current location in
1979. It is one of the last remaining breweries to produce California Common
beer, also known as Steam Beer, a trademark owned by the company.
Anchor Brewery is largely responsible for the growth of the microbrewery
movement in the United States. After prohibition ended in the U.S., many small,
locally-operated breweries were able to re-open and recommence brewing (although
many more, perhaps most, were not). The vast majority of these concerns served
only the immediate vicinity of their sole plant, a radius of a few miles to
perhaps a 100 or so. Local breweries and beers were the source of local pride in
many communities, especially those with large populations of German, Polish, or
Czech extraction. Many of these thrived on through World War II and into the
1950s. Most did not survive the 1950s, however, due to the influence of
television advertising and the mass marketing tactics of major national
breweries such as Anheuser-Busch, Schlitz, Pabst, and Miller. The whole idea of
such beers and breweries was largely forgotten in the U.S. Maytag desired to
establish such a small-scale brewery, with small-town quality and taste being
the hallmarks of his beer. He was already a fan of Anchor Steam Beer when he
learned that the brewery was about to close. In 1965, Maytag purchased 51
percent of the brewery for a few thousand dollars, and later purchased the
brewery outright.
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