ADAM (VOICEOVER): In the early '80s,
there were just eight craft breweries
in the entire United States.
Today, there are more than 9,000.
In 1984, 35-year-old Jim Cook quit his consulting gig
and turned his home brewing hobby into a new career path,
founding the Boston Beer Company with an original brew
as revolutionary as its namesake, Samuel Adams.
The company now brews over seven million barrels of beer a year,
bringing in $1.7 billion in 2020 alone,
and today, I have an exclusive opportunity
to meet the genius who started the beer revolution.
ADAM: Was it your recipe?
JIM KOCH: Nope, it was, like, family recipes.
It my great, great grandfather's recipe.
ADAM: How did you find the recipe?
JIM KOCH: My dad had it.
He took me up into the attic, and he had this trunk.
And it had a couple of family recipes,
and he said, Jim, this is the beer you should make.
That's where Sam Adams came from.
Wow.
ADAM (VOICEOVER): The family recipe
handed down by Jim's great, great grandfather
and given to him in 1983 is still used today
in Sam Adams Boston lager.
JIM KOCH: What did I want my beer to be?
I wanted it to create a beer revolution in the same way
that Samuel Adams, the Patriot, had
created a political revolution.
ADAM: Uh-huh.
JIM KOCH: That's how I got to the name.
ADAM (VOICEOVER): Founding father
Samuel Adams has always been a pretty big deal in Boston.
He was known for playing a vital role in the Boston Tea Party,
while helping achieve our country's independence.
But Sam also had beer in his blood,
selling malt to brewers before his political career took off.
He also called for a boycott of imported British beers,
challenging local New England Brewers to fill the void,
and thankfully, in the 1980s, Jim Cook
also took on that challenge.
ADAM: I remember, in the '80s, seeing
a beer this color was just-- it was like seeing
the Loch Ness Monster.
Everything was very pale, very yellow.
And it's so balanced.
Like, that's the thing that I've always loved about it.
JIM KOCH: This was the very first batch.
It didn't even have labels.
This will be a first.
We will see what 37-year-old Sam Adams tastes like
from the very original batch.
Are you willing to open it?
JIM KOCH: Of course.
Wow.
JIM KOCH: All right, so this hasn't happened for 37 years.
Wow.
ADAM (VOICEOVER): Consuming expired food or beverage
is not to be taken lightly.
Please, don't try this at home.
Let's drink the '80s.
JIM KOCH: Cheers to the '80s.
Wow, that's cool.
ADAM: It's wild.
It's like a liqueur now.
JIM KOCH: Yeah, the hop character is still there.
Yeah.
JIM KOCH: The malt has oxidized the sherry-like notes.
Yeah, it's almost like desert malt.
ADAM (VOICEOVER): Getting to taste an original Sam Adams
from the '80s was awesome.
Jim Cooke's great, great grandfather
crafted a recipe so good that the brew
has held up to this day.
This beloved brand kicked open the doors for craft beer, which
has since flooded the nation and forever changed
how people drink in America.
But I can't leave without one final toast
from this historic brewery's latest batch.
You still love your own beer.
You still take pride in it, and I
think the quality of the product just speaks about your passion.
JIM KOCH: Well, thank you for drinking my beer.
If you didn't drink it, I couldn't make it.
I'm happy to do my part.