In 1871, Gottlieb Brekle bought a saloon in San Francisco near Russian Hill, close to the ocean and bordering the Marina District. He turned it into a brewery and ran it for 25 years before selling it to a German brewer named Ernst Baruth and his son-in-law Otto Schinkel. It was the two of them who named the brewery Anchor in 1896, which is recognized as the brewery's origin. There’s no record of where the name came from, the brewery's proximity to the ocean is the likely culprit.

A rocky start

Unfortunately, only ten years into their venture, Ernst died suddenly of an apparent heart attack in 1906. Not even a full year later, Otto was run over by a streetcar and passed away from his injuries. The brewery's history is, in many ways, a troubled history, but it is also a history of resilience. This latest round of resilience came from a somewhat unlikely source, with Chobani founder Hamdi Ulukaya purchasing the historic brewery after it had to shut its doors for almost a year. My selfish hope is that the spirit of perseverance will continue for the brewery, and it remains open for as long as possible.

If you’re interested in more details about the brewery's founding, their website has a well done timeline.