Customer Reviews

Beer School: Bottling Success at the Brooklyn Brewery

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4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
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Just from a title perspective, this book was too good to pass up... Beer School: Bottling Success at the Brooklyn Brewery by Steve Hindy and Tom Potter. But even better, the book delivers the goods on a number of levels. One of the most enjoyable business book reads I've had in awhile...

Contents: Steve Tells How Choosing a Partner Is Like a Second Marriage; Steve Discusses the Importance of Building a Solid Team; Tom Talks about Creating the Business Plan - A Money-Raising Tool and More; Tom Asks, "What's the True Mission of the Business?"; Steve Discusses the Keys to Successfully Motivating Employees; Tom Tells the Story of Their Dot-Com Revolution - Fishing for Finance and Failing; Steve Talks about Building a Brewery in Brooklyn; Steve Discusses Publicity - The Press Wants You!; Steve Reveals How the Revolution Kills Its Leaders First; Tom Talks about Cashing Out and Reinventing the Business, Again; Tom Wants to Know If You Have What It Takes; Timeline; Index

Hindy was a foreign correspondent for a news agency, and Potter was an executive at a bank, but both felt as if they wanted to do something different in their lives. Their love of home-brew beer gave Hindy the idea of starting a brewery in their hometown of Brooklyn, a city rich with brewery history. Potter was less convinced about the whole project until he visited a homebrewer's convention in 1986. This was right at the start of the microbrew phenomenon, and they decided to seriously pursue their dream. The book chronicles their work from 1986 through 2005, while also distilling what they learned about entrepreneurship along the way. And since this is beer "school", each chapter ends with them giving themselves a grade on how they did in that particular area. Unlike many business books that make the principals all-knowning and omniscient, Hindy and Potter are brutally honest about what worked and what didn't, where they were skillful and where they got lucky. It's a fascinating read, both for the brewery story and for the business insights.

There aren't too many business books with stories about being robbed at gunpoint of $30000, visiting a metal fencing operation to get a fork-lift battery charger back, and getting a visit from organized crime and union leadership, intent on getting a piece of their business. Even if you dropped the business lessons, the narrative of the Brooklyn Brewery would be enough to make this a recommended read. When you add in the small business information, this becomes a must-read for anyone dreaming of starting their own business. And if you're already interested in homebrewing or microbrews, then this book will probably end up being read in a single sitting.

An excellent read on a number of levels...

When I found out about Beer School and its topic I knew that I had to read it. First off, I'm a homebrewer and beer geek and I've seen a number of my friends leave successful, conventional careers to take a gamble with their dreams working with beer. Secondly, I'm an entrepreneur who started a business 15 years ago (not in the beer business), which, thankfully, turned out to be successful. And thirdly, I live in New York City and I'm a big fan of all things Brooklyn, especially the Brooklyn Brewery!

Beer School is a fast read, thanks to plenty of intriguing, amusing anecdotes that explain how this start up went from a simple idea to a major success, with the all-important countless pains, trials and tribulations in between.

I honestly didn't expect to learn anything new from the book, since I had already started a business. And I've followed the progess of and have been a supporter of Brooklyn Brewery since I moved to NYC in the early 90s. I was wrong. Not only did I pick up a lot of interesting business lessons, I sharpened my historical knowledge of the Brewery, which was, to my surprise, full of gaps.

I find that life experience is the best teacher. Beer School is one of the essential text books for a degree in entrepreneurship from the university of life, as it draws on the real life successes, failures and mixed results of two regular guys who had a dream to build a great brewery.

You don't need to be starting a business to get something out of Beer School. It's a damn good read, for the sake of entertainment alone! The stories of their run in with the mob, their chutzpah in getting a hot shot designer to work with them, their admirable philosophy of worker equity - there are plenty of fun, funny and revealing stories throughout the book.

Certainly for those interested in starting a business or interested in the beer business at all, it's a must read. Oh, and their beer ain't half bad, either!

By nature, I am not a "reader"... I have a large stack of books that I've picked up over the years to pacify me while traveling. Most still have their respective airline ticket stubs safely marking the spot where I left off reading. So yes, it's a tad ironic that I'm now leaving a book review here... However, I read this cover-to-cover in two (long) evenings (that alone will tell anyone that knows me that this was a really good book!) so I'm at least qualified to comment on THIS one.

I've homebrewed for a couple of years and am in the early stages of investigating the feasibility of trying to make a living out of brewing. The story in the book really struck close to home for me... My potential partner and I work in fields that really couldn't be further from the brewing industry, much like the authors. While I know that the odds are against us, it was refreshing to read a story of someone that took a swing at it and hit a home run.

The book is by no means a step-by-step business plan for starting a brewery. It is much more a story of the trials and tribulations that faced them as they progressed from a crazy dream to a crazy success. It's a story about partnership. It's a story about taking a leap of faith. So don't purchase it expecting a step-by-step recipe for you to go out and quit your day job, but do purchase it and expect a general high-level look at starting a brewery, some good general business ideas that you may not have thought of, and a good story to tie it all together.

I found it to be a very honest, open story... The authors take turns writing chapters, and there were at least a couple of times that they were so honest that I caught myself thinking "Jeez, I'm pretty sure that the other guy's going to read this... Are you sure you wanted to say that?!" As you progress through the book though, you learn that this is just the relationship that they've built over the years... Very honest and open with one another whether it is good news or bad. I think that reading about the partnership was really one of the biggest take-aways that I got out of the book, but it certainly has more to offer than that.

In summary, I really enjoyed this book and would have no issues whatsoever giving it a very high recommendation for anyone that is considering starting ANY new business, brewery or not.

I just finished Beer School and thoroughly enjoyed it. As a beer lover, and a fan of Brooklyn Brewery's products, I enjoyed learning about how the beer came to life, as well as the birth (rebirth?) of craft brewing in the United States. Mayor Bloomberg was right in the introduction, the book will make you thirsty.

As for the business aspect, I teach high school economics and intend to use some examples cited in Beer School to illustrate my lessons. If I taught on the college level, this book would be one of the required readings. It is a great example of entrepreneurship, economies of scale, marketing, start-ups, and business plans.

I've no great interest in the brewery business, but I do enjoy well-written, instructive tales of entrepreneurship. 'Beer School' definitely falls into that category. One-time journalist and co-founder Steve Hindry can really write. No surprise there. The pleasant surprise is that ex-banker and fellow co-founder Tom Potter's chapters are just as enjoyable. Like their beer, the chapters go down smooth. The arrangement of the book makes it clear who's written what parts - the chapters are given names that start with either "Steve Tells..." or "Tom Tells...". Where Steve has written a chapter, we get Tom's viewpoint with "Tom Weighs In," and vice-versa. Sounds sort of clunky, but it's well executed by the co-authors. They clearly worked very closely in shaping a final, cohesive product. As a result, the format works well.

What drew me to the book originally was the forward by Mike Bloomberg. His endorsement is good enough for me.

Steve and Tom are to be congratulated for letting us in on nearly every aspect of this 20 year adventure, even the times that they disagreed. The format is organized along "lessons learned" so it is easy to go back at a later date and re-read the lessons you don't learn the first time!

If you are looking for a "how to" book you will find plenty of useful information from how to build a team to how to get your name in lights. If you are looking for some insight into the drama that goes along with starting and owning a business, you'll find that too. I even got a few chuckles, my favorite part being Tom's discourse on Jack Welch's philosophy. "Well, you're probably no Jack Welch either." Right on Tom, most of us aren't.

Read this book, you won't be disappointed.

i bought this for my son's 25th birthday ~ he brews beer and i bake breads, both use yeast. He enjoys the book. (:

Great, inspirational reading. If you're thinking about starting a microbrewery or brewpub read this first. Their no-holds barred approach puts a candid entrepreneurial perspective on their endeavour.

I read this book on the recommendation of a neighbor who is an expert on the beer industry (and knows one of the authors). I found the book very educational, entertaining and enlightening. The approach of each author writing their perspective on a topic area worked very well and also provided insight on what made them click as entreprenuers and partners.

If you are thinking of starting a business this book could be inspirational or it might make the project seem daunting depending on your perspective. This is because they present a realistic view of the journey they took to make their dream become a reality. The passion, commitment, hard work, and anxieties all come through loud and clear.

I related to the book also because I own a three year old business with a partner. Even though our businesses are unrelated (we own a green building development company), the similarities of the relationship with my partner and our experiences to date with the authors story are amazing. I found it inspiring and I just bought multiple copies for my partner and other associates to read, learn and enjoy.

To be very candid, I reluctantly began reading this book as it was loaned to me by a trusted relative who strongly endorsed it.

Quite frankly, I've grown tired of reading uninspiring "how-to" books filled with dry check lists for building businesses. Or even worse, celebrity start-up executives or financial people seeking to lionize their own accomplishments under the guise of advancing the collective knowledge of what makes a venture succeed or fail.

And then along comes Beer School - a refreshing contrast to the above genre. In short, it is a great story about a pair of real entrepreneurs who build the foundation for what would ultimately become a real, successful business - The Brooklyn Brewery. The founders built the business over several decades and overcame countless struggles in a ultra competitive business.

In my view, it is an easy, entertaining read with the Authors offering a candid chapter-by-chapter critique of their own performance (a chapter by chapter retrospective). I especially appreciated their genuine care and consideration towards their employees as well as angel investors. It speaks volumes about their ethics and fairness. Very nicely done, gentlemen!

I have been in venture capital for over a decade and believe aspiring entrepreneurs (and money people, for that matter) would benefit by carefully reading this book, taking the Authors' hard-earned experiences to heart.

I have already unconditionally recommended Beer School to friends and colleagues. It deserves to be read.

For what that's worth.

M. Rubin