If You Miss Anchor Steam Beer, Here's How You Can Still Get That Old School California Taste

We still recall the first time we tried Anchor Steam in a New Orleans' bar called Snake and Jake's Christmas Club Lounge sometime in the early '90s. The amber-colored brew was creamy, malty, and absolutely delicious. The beer came with an unsolicited history of steam beer from the bartender. Steam beer, also known as California common (since Anchor Steam actually trademarked the name), is one of the very few beer styles native to the United States. San Francisco's Anchor Steam was the best known version. In 2023, Sapporo, the Japanese brewing company that had owned Anchor Steam since 2017, shut down the brewery. As of now, its beer is unavailable, and it's one of several beers we may be never getting back.

If you're missing that unique flavor born during the California Gold Rush in the mid-19th century — the one that uses lager yeast, but is fermented at a higher temperature like an ale — you'll have to go elsewhere, at least for now. Surprisingly, considering California common's unique history, it's not that easy to find. We've found that your best bet is to look for this style of beer at a specialty beer store. Toppling Goliath Brewing Company out of Iowa offers a tasty version called Dorothy's New World Lager. It has distribution across 30 states might be available in your area. In some cases, you may have to travel to a brewery tap room to find California common beer.

There are still a few breweries making this sadly uncommon style of beer across the country, including Washington, D.C.'s Atlas Brew Works and the Empyrean Brewing Company in Lincoln, Nebraska. You can find it in Canada as well — 33 Acres Brewing in Vancouver, British Columbia, makes an exceptional version. Beyond that, other breweries have done special releases of California common styles, but tracking them down can sometimes feel like a game of Whack-A-Mole. For instance, two of the 15 best breweries to tour in the U.S. — Tröegs Independent Brewing in Hershey, Pennsylvania, and Verde Brewing Company in Camp Verde, Arizona — have both produced their own versions. While you can still get it on tap at the former, at the latter it's not currently available. 

There is still a chance that Anchor Steam will be back. That's right — this brewery that first started in 1896 and managed to survive for more than 120 years before Sapporo nixed it was bought by billionaire Hamdi Ulukayan. The entrepreneur best known for his yogurt company, Chobani, announced the news on Instagram in May 2024. Still, a year has already gone by with no noticeable progress in getting the brewery back up and running. If you're craving a steam beer, you'll have to do a little leg work to locate some — or you could always brew your own.