State of Craft Beer

Presented by Brooklyn Brewery + First We Feast

As the leader of one of the country’s top craft breweries for twenty-six years, Brooklyn Brewery co-founder Steve Hindy brings keen insight to the beer industry as the craft beer revolution continues to boom. Steve will be moderating a discussion between Jim Koch, founder of Boston Beer Company and Samuel Adams; Dan Kenary, CEO of Harpoon Brewery; Rob Martin, president of Ipswich Ale Brewery and president of the Massachusetts Craft Brewers Guild; and John Holl, editor of All About Beer, covering the controversies and opportunities facing brewers today. The panel will be introduced by Beer Scribe's Andy Crouch.

You'll be able to revisit the evening's discussion and hear more from brewers all over the world thanks to our friends at First We Feast. They are releasing every State of Craft Beer as a podcast on their site and through iTunes so that beer drinkers everywhere can find out what Steve, John and the movers and shakers of craft beer have to say about life on the front lines of the beer industry.

Jim Koch is the founder of the Boston Beer Company and Samuel Adams. He founded Samuel Adams in 1984 with his great-great-grandfather's brewing recipe for Boston Lager and changed the landscape of American beer. He has been a tireless advocate for excellent beer over the years, appearing regularly on television and at public events to speak eloquently about the dedication behind his company and his craft. Today, the Boston Beer Company brews more than sixty styles of beer, developing new styles and creating perfect examples of classical beers through dedication to using the finest ingredients. Jim Koch has been at the helm of the company for more than 30 years, becoming one of the best-known names in beer throughout America.

Dan Kenary is the CEO of Harpoon Brewery. He graduated from Harvard College in 1982 with a degree in American History and went on to earn an MBA from the University of Chicago in 1985 while working for the First National Bank of Chicago. In 1986 he left the bank to co-found Harpoon Brewing with Harvard classmate Rich Doyle in Boston, where he quickly became an essential part of the city. He has served on numerous boards for brewing advocacy and environmental protection, including time as president of the Boston Marine Park Business Association and as president of the Massachusetts Craft Brewers Guild. In August 2014 Dan oversaw the transition of Harpoon to become an Employee Stock Ownership Program (ESOP) company, and continues to serve as CEO. 

Rob Martin is the president of Ipswich Ale Brewery and president of the Massachusetts Craft Brewers Guild. He began his life in beer in 1995, joining the relatively new Ipswich Ale Brewery as an employee under the original owners. Rob could be counted on to do just about anything within the company from running the bottling line to driving delivery trucks throughout their rapidly growing territory. In 1999 Rob purchased the company, fortifying it with the establishment of Mercury Brewing Company to parallel production and expand into distribution, creating craft sodas and more. As president of the Massachusetts Craft Brewers Guild Rob is also a tireless public advocate for craft brewers in his native state and can often be found spreading his vision of excellent beer throughout New England.

John Holl is the editor of All About Beer Magazine and the author of the American Craft Beer Cookbook. An award winning journalist, he has visited more than 950 breweries around the world, conducting research for his beer-and-travel books as well as articles for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Wine Enthusiast, the Washington Post, and many other publications. He has judged beer competitions around the world, regularly lectures on the culture of beer, and appears often on NBC’s Weekend Today in New York. Follow him @John_Holl on Twitter.

All About Beer Magazine is America’s leading beer magazine, dedicated to covering the people, places, news, trends, and events that define the beer community. For 35 years, it has been our mission to celebrate the world of beer culture and enrich the lives of beer lovers through education, enjoyment and events like the World Beer Festivals. Click here to sign up for a free trial.

Steve Hindy (co-Founder and Chairman of The Brooklyn Brewery) founded one of America’s top 25 breweries. A former journalist, he became interested in home-brewing while serving as a Beirut-based Middle East Correspondent for The Associated Press. Back in the states as Newsday’s assistant foreign editor in 1988, he began brewing his own beer and persuaded his neighbor, banker Tom Potter,to start a brewery. Hindy is a member of the Board of Directors of the Beer Institute and The Brewers Association. He is a director of Brooklyn’s Prospect Park Alliance, chairman of the Open Space Alliance for North Brooklyn, former chair of Brooklyn’s Tourism Consortium and a former member of Community Board 1. Hindy also serves on the Board of Transportation Alternatives and the Alcohol Beverage Manufacturer’s Research Foundation. With Potter, Hindy co-authored Beer School: Bottling Success at the Brooklyn Brewery, Forward by NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, published by John Wiley & Sons. His second book, The Craft Beer Revolution: How A Band Of Microbrewers Are Transforming The World’s Favorite Drink was released in the spring of 2014. You can follow Steve @SteveKHindy on Twitter.

Andy Crouch is an award-winning freelance beer journalist, with pieces appearing on NPR, All About Beer Magazine, Men's Health and many more. He has also written two books, Great American Craft Beer and The Good Beer Guide to New England, dedicated to guiding drinkers through the packed landscape of craft beer in America. He started BeerScribe.com in order to discuss the "art, complexity, and business of beer." Andy currently lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he writes about beer and practices criminal law.

We'll be pouring:
Summer Ale
Brooklyn Lager
Sorachi Ace
I Wanna Rye-It

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