When you are drinking a Samuel Adams beer you might not be thinking about all that went into creating that lager. Founder of The Boston Beer Company, brewer of Samuel Adams Boston Lager, and a key catalyst of the American craft beer revolution, Jim Koch offers his unique perspective when it comes to business, beer, and turning your passion into a successful company or career.
Back in 1984 Jim looked to make a name in the American beer industry. People might have doubted Koch’s plan to leave his consulting job and start a brewery, but that didn’t stop him. Jim chose a nineteenth-century family recipe and launched Samuel Adams. Today his company is one of America’s leading craft breweries. Samuel Adams has redefined the way Americans think about beer and helped spur a craft beer revolution.
Jim shares his journey in his book, Quench Your Own Thirst. Koch lets us in on everything that went into setting up his company. His innovative business model and refreshingly frank stories offer counterintuitive lessons that you can apply to business and to life.
I was able to interview Jim about his book, beer, and fatherhood.
Art Eddy: Let’s first talk about your book Quench Your Own Thirst: Business Lessons Learned Over a Beer or Two. What inspired you to pen this book?
Jim Koch: I was inspired to write Quench Your Own Thirst when I realized that I could help others by sharing the experiences I have had starting and growing Sam Adams over the past 32 years. I travel a lot. Click here – travel agency management software – Plover co, the one I use to plan my travels. And over the years, I’ve shared beers with people in bars and I’ve met business owners through our Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream program. Everyone asks what I’ve learned along the way. As I’ve shared some of those lessons – the successes and the colossal screw-ups – I realized that I can help others that are starting a business or making a major life change.
AE: In your book you help people find their own Yoda. As a Star Wars fan I was definitely intrigued by that idea. How does one find their own Yoda?
JK: I did a lot of research to find out who were the best brew masters in America. All roads led me to my own Yoda, Dr. Joe Owades. But that was just the beginning. I was not alone in wanting him to share his wisdom with me, and I had to persuade him that it would be fun, interesting and profitable for him to work with us. I think the rare Bavarian Noble hops in the recipe – Mittelfrueh and Tettnang Tettnanger – that’s what sold him. Once I showed him my great-great grandfather’s recipe, I think he was intrigued.
My advice to others would be to do the research; find the right person who inspires you, and then, do your homework so you have a persuasive story to tell. In advance of meeting a potential Yoda, think what’s in it for him or her? Equity? Fun? A challenge? Fame and fortune?
AE: What were some of the stories you wanted to make sure got into this book?
JK: Well, given that the subhead of Quench Your Own Thirst is Business Lessons Learned Over a Beer or Two, it wasn’t enough to tell good stories. I have had lots of good and funny experiences I could have shared, but for the book, I chose those stories that had an impactful moral or a lesson.
I certainly wanted to talk about my “String Theory”. In a nutshell, it says that creativity and innovation trumps money. Also, a basic story, “Make it Better or Cheaper”, which says that if you’re going to introduce a product or service it’s got to be better or cheaper than what’s already available. Those are valuable lessons for any entrepreneur. I also needed to include my most colossal screw-ups and what I learned from them. Also, there’s a chapter about our “doldrums” a period of several years where sales didn’t increase, but where we continued to grow as a company, improving our training, systems and technology. It prepared us for the next big growth phase.
AE: Which was harder, writing this book or coming up with a new beer?
JK: Ha! Well, it’s never taken me three years to come up with a new beer! Writing this book was far more time-consuming than I ever imagined, and it was very difficult for me to put down my pen and say, “There. It’s done.” I kept wanting to edit and polish. I got a first draft done, and then I realized that I hadn’t added enough lessons. So, I started over, not from scratch, but I reimagined it. There was lots of cutting and pasting.
I know how to make beer. I just didn’t know how to make a book. I was grateful for my editor, Will Schwalbe, and a couple of really helpful people I knew who are great editors.
AE: If you could go back in time and meet up with yourself when you first started your venture into beer what would be the number one thing you would tell yourself?
JK: I guess I would reassure my younger self by saying, “Hey, Jim. You’re really onto something. You are at the forefront of an American Craft Beer Revolution – beyond your wildest dreams. Aim high! Samuel Adams will be successful and you’re going to be very happy doing what you love.”
AE: As technology has advanced in the beer industry you see a lot of people making their own homebrew. What is the biggest piece of advice you would tell those people?
JK: Keep it clean! Sanitation is really important. I would join a brew club where experienced homebrewers can show you the ropes. Find your Yoda. Then, pick a classic 4 ingredient recipe.
AE: Switching to fatherhood now, what are some of the core values you looked to instill in your kids as they grew up?
JK: I am blessed to have four wonderful children, three daughters and a son. I think I’m not too different from most parents. The most important thing is that my kids are happy. Education is very important in my family and so is having a strong work ethic, and I hope I passed those things, that I learned from my parents, along to them. But to me values comes down to the Golden Rule: treat people the way you would want to be treated.
AE: Starting up a beer business is serious work. How were you able to balance work and family?
JK: Poorly, much of the time. Starting and growing a business can be an 80 hour a week commitment. In the early years of Sam Adams, when my two oldest kids were little, I didn’t travel as much. My time with them was sacred, and I could usually build work around that. But then, when the company took off, that became more difficult. When I remarried and had two more children, I became far more protective of my time with the girls, but by then, I was traveling much of every month. We take family vacations and spend good chunks of time together in the summer. But, it’s a struggle, and anyone who tells you it isn’t, is lying.
AE: What advice do you have for new dads out there?
JK: Childhood is not infinite. Guard your family time. Its way more finite than you realize. Having raised four children, I realized that by the time your child is 12, you will have already spent together 75% of the time you will ever spend together. When they’re 12, you’re already on the last 25% of your time with them. Treasure it. Take them to work with you sometimes. It’s good for them to see what the other piece of your life is like.
Life of Dad Quick Five
AE: What is your favorite family movie that you guys like to watch together?
JK: Spaceballs
AE: Do you guys have a favorite song that you all like to dance to?
JK: Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts.
AE: Describe the perfect family vacation.
JK: For several years now, my family and another family have chartered a boat together for a week or two. That’s spectacular. I love to kayak and spend time outdoors. The kids can snorkel, swim, fish, anything they want. It’s like camping at sea. Last year, I confess, I spent a chunk of that vacation working on my book. Some of the pages flew away and I watched them drift away, thinking a fish would be the first creature to get a taste of the book. I then rewrote the pages.
AE: It might be Summer Ale, but do you have a favorite Sam Adams beer for the summer?
JK: All beer is good, and I love trying new beers, but for me Samuel Adams Boston Lager will always be my favorite. It’s my “firstborn” but I also think it’s the most beautiful, well-balanced, beer in the world.
AE: I love Octoberfest. I can’t wait for that beer to come out in the fall. It is my favorite beer of all time. What is the most requested seasonal beer in your lineup?
JK: Thank you. I’m glad you like it. You might be interested to know that Sam Adams OctoberFest is the best-selling Oktoberfest in the world. In Germany, there are lots of brewers making an Oktoberfest so no one of them dominates the way our does in the U.S. For me, it’s like capturing the season in a pint.
Click here to purchase Quench Your Own Thirst: Business Lessons Learned Over a Beer or Two and if you are 21 years or older follow Samuel Adams Brewery on Twitter @SamuelAdamsBeer.