One thing you’ll never hear Alchemist head brewer John Kimmich say, is to call the beers he makes product.

As the man who brews one the best, and most famous beers in the world, Heady Topper, he applies an almost Zen-like focus and control over the operation to ensure the quality of the beers he brews is maintained.

From the time he started to brew his own beer more than 20 years ago, John has had a calling to brew his beer the right way; an approach he uses to this day as the brewery he founded, The Alchemist, continues to enjoy a reverence bordering on religious fervor. He explained his business journey and approach as he joined Assistant Professor Allison Kingsley’s class last week.

He got hooked on brewing beer when craft beer was just starting, and after graduating Penn State worked several jobs to save enough money to begin his brewing dream. He came to Vermont in 1994 to learn the craft beer industry from local brewing legend Greg Noonan, and ultimately worked as head brewer at Vermont Pub and Brewery in Burlington, VT., where he met his future wife, Jen.

They began their journey that included stops in Jackson Hole and Boston, and eventually wound up back in Vermont. The couple found a suitable space in Waterbury that after much sweat equity was transformed into their dream brew pub, which they finally opened just after thanksgiving with $100 in the bank.

John credits Jen for pushing for a separate production facility (at this time the beer was brewed in the basement under the brewpub) a decision that turned out with hindsight to be a blessing, as just a few days after beer production started Hurricane Irene blew through to flood them out. That separate production facility allowed their business to survive. The brewpub was ultimately sold, so John and Jen could focus just on the brewing side of the business. Their famous beer, Heady Topper, has became much sought after; so much so that the small retail store in Waterbury that sold approximately 70% of the beer was closed as large crowds, and traffic issues were becoming too much to handle and disruptive to the small town. This meant another business challenge with a leap into distribution.

Once again the vision and experience of learning on the job paid off. Distribution was achieved and by focusing on John’s passion, the brewing; expansion the way the couple always envisioned it, was possible and financially viable.

A new tasting room and production facility in Stowe is now planned, which will increase production and allow for the creation of additional new beers. But this increased production is still firmly under the control of John and Jen. “The amount of beer we make now allows us to make a good living, but we maintain the quality and affordability of the beer” he stressed. ”Bigger doesn’t always mean better.”  His advice for the students also included “take it slow and don’t be in a hurry to take in investors; they have a downside as they will take their cut whatever shape your business is in. Our philosophy was if we couldn’t afford to do something, we waited until we could.” 

That philosophy extends to his workforce, currently at 25 but about to almost double with the expansion at Stowe. “You cannot treat employees well enough” he said. “The ability to build a business here and create jobs and futures for Vermonters is so great for me….I just love it here.”

Thank you John for taking the time to share your insights with our students!