Anchor Brewing brings in the dogs in aid of Flagship February

Amid falling sales of flagship beers, Californian beer brand Anchor Brewing is supporting a new initiative called Flagship February with promotional events and puppy pictures.

Anchor Brewing has enlisted the help of some young recruits to help promote Flagship February.

Celebrating its flagship beer, Anchor Steam, the San Francisco-based brewer is supporting the global marketing initiative, founded this year by beer writers Stephen Beaumont and Jay Brooks.

As part of the month-long campaign, at its San Francisco tap room on De Haro Street, Anchor will be serving its unfiltered Steam beer on tap and will be offering an Anchor Steam pint card program, offering a free t-shirt for every 10 points notched up.

Earlier this month, it also teamed up with Family Dog Rescue to host a fundraising and adoption event, providing the perfect opportunity to create some dog-inspired marketing material.

A number of taprooms and breweries across the world are taking part in the Flagship February initiative, including Michigan’s B. Nektar, Pennsylvania’s Yuengling and Great Lakes Brewing in Ohio. For the full programme of events, please click here.

The campaign’s main sponsors are New Belgium’s Fat Tire brand and Boston Beer’s Sam Adams lager.

Speaking about the initiative, Beaumont told Forbes: “A lot of beer drinkers have developed a sort of ADD with respect to the beers they drink, so going for a glass of beer at the bar or pub becomes less a pleasant distraction and more a relentless search for what’s new and exciting.

“In this mad rush towards the unusual and unknown, we tend to forget the great, familiar and still-wonderful beers that guided us all along the path to the craft beer renaissance.”

On Twitter, he added: “Just because a beer is new or unusual doesn’t mean that it’s good, and in my non-professional time I’ve found myself retreating more and more to proven greats rather than the ballyhooed unknowns of the ‘special release’ world.

“Of course, as a beer writer focused on new releases, I have to take my share of the blame for the current state of affairs, so I guess this is part of my penance.”