Anchor Steam Brewery

Ronda & I(mostly me) decided to take a tour of the Anchor Steam brewery in San Francisco. Had to make reservations, they only do tours during the week. Very popular tour as there were many people on the Thursday at 11:00 am we went. Appeared to be people from out of town checking out the SF landmark.

The brewery has been making beer since the late 1800's in the city. The current owner, Fritz Maytag, bought the place to save it from closure in the 60's while he was a student at Stanford. He's the son of the guy who owns Maytag appliances and the world famous Maytag blue cheese. Fascinating, I know.

Tour lasted about 45 minutes with alot of historical info. No pictures were allowed past a certain point so no pics of the awesome HOP ROOM! and bottling line and other cool stuff. After the tour the bring you into the tasting room and let you have samples of all their beers. When I say sample I mean they pour you about 6 ounces of each. And as many as you want. Wow! This includes the barleywine, Old Foghorn. Tour is free as well. Nice.

They also have a "micro distillery" where they make Junipero Gin. Voted the top american made gin by the New York Times apparently. They also make a whiskey, Potrero. Didn't get the chance to sample any of these unfortunately. They make wine too, York Creek Vineyards, but at a different facility in Napa.

Highly recommend this tour. Made for a fun day in the city.