Entertaining and informative, Beer School is the true story of two neighbors???a banker and a journalist???who decided to quit their jobs and open the Brooklyn Brewery. Starting with no knowledge of commercial brewing, cofounders Steve Hindy and Tom Potter quickly learned that their four combined Ivy League degrees would only take them so far in this competitive business. Nevertheless, they were determined to tackle one of the hardest challenges imaginable: building a sales-driven manufacturing company from scratch in the heart of New York City. Through the firsthand experiences of Hindy and Potter, Beer School takes readers on a long brewing journey (more than 15 years in the making), from the kitchen of a Brooklyn brownstone (where the beer was initially brewed) to the shelves of stores around the world. More than just an interesting read about barley and hops, Beer School looks at the business side of this lucrative industry. It contains practical lessons on starting a business under difficult circumstances and important insights on managing expectations and growth. Beer School is an exciting read???for both seasoned business owners and those dreaming to strike out on their own???that proves hard work and determination still pays off.

"This winning tale of the rise of the Brooklyn Brewery follows the basic pattern of every entrepreneur's memoir: a restless visionary sets out to accomplish a dream, barely survives a series of setbacks, emerges victorious — and ready to tell readers how they can do the same. But this account serves up more than the usual suds and foam — its counsel is sound and its prose lively, and it should appeal to both wannabe industrialists and beer drinkers, not that those categories are mutually exclusive. In fact, the authors, foreign correspondent Hindy and banker Potter, decided to found their New York brewery, now 17 years in business and among the top 40 in the U.S. in sales, after consuming many bottles of Hindy's homebrew. The longtime partners tell their story in engaging, candid voices, delivering cautionary anecdotes, reflections on longstanding disagreements and lingering resentments, and brutally frank self-assessments. It helps the story immeasurably that beer is a more colorful subject than, say, spreadsheet software, a fact that gets the reader past the inevitable chapter on financing. Though Hindy and Potter may not help the aspiring entrepreneur strike gold, they offer a compelling model and a heartening story." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"We faced many scary moments over the years, both spiritual--staring at the brink of bankruptcy--and physical--staring down the barrel of a 9mm pistol. When you start a business, it is not only your money and your investors' money that is on the line, it is your dream, your idea, and sometimes your life."

--Steve Hindy and Tom Potter From the beginning, the odds were against Steve and Tom. It's estimated that eight out of ten businesses fail in their first year. Yet these entrepreneurs succeeded in acompetitive arena dominated by mega-corporations and mega-money. The brew they began making in a Brooklyn brownstone over twenty years ago is now sold around the world. Their story, recounting the fears and obstacles they faced and the decisions and successes they shared, will inspire you. Like discovering the perfect brew or starting a business, reading this book is a heady experience. Cheers!

This is the story of a banker and a foreign correspondent, neighbors in Brooklyn, who decide to quit their jobs and start their own brewery in 1986.  Improbably, they succeed.  Starting with no knowledge of commercial brewing, they learn that their four combined Ivy League degrees only take them so far.  They nevertheless tackle one of the hardest challenges imaginable: building a sales-driven manufacturing company from scratch in the heart of New York City.  In the next 15 years, they encounter an encyclopedia of obstacles and build a company that is not just economically successful, but one that serves the community as well.    This is a “ how  to do it” book for current business managers/owners, and a “ you can do it, too” book for those people that are dreaming of being an entrepreneur. It contains practical and crucial lessons and tells the story of the Brooklyn Brewery rising from the dreary recession of the late '80s and expanding into the urb renewal and growth of the '90s.