In August 1965, Fritz Maytag, heir to the washing machine empire and recent Stanford grad, made an arguably terrible business decision: he bought controlling interest in the nearly bankrupt Anchor Brewery Company. Maytag threw himself into learning everything about beer, reviving old recipes which would eventually became the iconic Anchor Steam Beer. Maytag went on to also brew Anchor Porter, an English style porter that no other brewery was producing at the time, a proto-IPA brewed with Cascade hops called Liberty Ale, the first modern American barley wine named Old Foghorn, and the first modern Christmas ale. Maytag’s commitment and innovation helped inspire subsequent brewers to revive beer styles and develop new ones.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the brewery that spearheaded the craft beer movement, the SF Mayor’s office officially proclaimed August 16-23 "Anchor Brewing Company Week” (a.k.a. “Drink Steam Week”). Raise your Anchor by participating in citywide tap takeovers, giveaways, and other events.

Here is a sampling of what’s planned:

August 16 — Drink Steam at Stern Grove Festival. Grab a 6-pack of Anchor Steam and head out to the free concert featuring Talib Kweli at 2pm. // Sloat Boulevard

August 20— Drink Steam with local artist Ricky Watts and watch him painting live at Zeitgeist from 6-10pm.// 199 Valencia St.

August 21 — Get a free scoop of Humphry Slocombe’s Anchor Steam Cream with a pint of Anchor Steam Beer from 4-7pm at The Yard. // 100 Terry A Francois Blvd. 

August 24 — Drink Steam with TechShop SF from 6-9pm. Techshop SF is a community-based workshop and prototyping studio on a mission to democratize access to the tools of innovation. Come check out TechShop’s cutting-edge tools, equipment, and computers in a space that supports a community of San Francisco makers. // 926 Howard St

 // Visit DrinkSteam.com to find an updated list of the happenings.