Boston Beer Company

The Boston Beer Company is a brewer founded in 1984. Boston Beer Company's first brand of beer was named Samuel Adams (often shortened to Sam Adams) after Founding Father Samuel Adams, an American revolutionary patriot. The company launched Angry Orchard brand hard ciders in 2012.Based on sales in 2016, the Boston Beer Company is the second-largest craft brewery in the U.S.HistoryEarly historyThe Boston Beer Company was founded in 1984 by James "Jim" Koch and Rhonda Kallman. The initial beer offering was Samuel Adams Boston Lager, a 4.8% abv amber or Vienna lager. Koch, the sixth-generation, first-born son to follow in his family's brewing footsteps, brewed his first batch of the beer in his kitchen, using the original family recipe for Louis Koch Lager. At the time, Koch was working at Boston Consulting Group after receiving BA, MBA and JD degrees from Harvard University. While serving in his role as a manufacturing consultant at BCG, Koch developed a business plan for a locally focused beer company. He invested $100,000 of his own money and raised additional funds from investors, family members, and friends including former classmates and BCG colleagues. The company was organized as a limited liability partnership; most early investors did not have active roles in the company. However, one early investor, John B. Wing, held a board seat until 2002.