“Copper kettles, real people turning the handles and making the beer,” is what recent Stanford graduate Fritz Maytag witnessed when he ventured to the Anchor Brewery in San Francisco in 1965. He found a collection of “medieval” pre-Prohibition copper equipment used to make beer that was often sour and contaminated, with production having dwindled down to a single monthly brew. Bankruptcy seemed inevitable. But Anchor was Maytag’s favorite beer–produced by one of the only small batch breweries left in the US–during an era of big breweries selling mass-produced inexpensive watery lagers. Despite these numerous challenges, he became enchanted and purchased 51% of the business and devoted his life to a mission of creating more flavorful traditional beers. Maytag, the great-grandson of the founder of the Maytag appliance dynasty, used his Maytag stock as collateral and rescued the old brewery. As Fred Eckhardt says: “It is the story of how one man’s vision of purity and devotion was able to revive a failing business. He risked everything, including personal family relationships (his wife divorced him), in this venture. For almost 12 years, his investment rested on the brink of failure, before becoming the centerpiece of the whole 20th-centry craft beer revolution.” Maytag described his business philosophy as one of: “Respect for materials and design, and the integration of people and things.” Maytag invested extensively, borrowing heavily to revamp the company and expand capacity. He altered the recipe to use premium old style ingredients–splurging on aromatic hops and malted barley. Over time the beer surged in popularity, and Maytag also mentored other microbrewers. “We make beer here from start to finish,” he proudly said. His devotion ushered in the current era of craft brewing, and the number of breweries in the US has increased from about 50 in the 1960s to over 10,000 today. “I have consciously always tried to keep our company in a small size,” said Maytag. “I think there’s something wonderful about the sense of being on a team and knowing we are all responsible for everything we do. And so, if there’s a sense of responsibility, there’s more quality.”