>> THAT’S RIGHT. THEY MEASURED SUCCESS IN A WHOLE
NEW WAY.
NEW WAY. I WENT UP TO FREEPORT, MAINE, TO
SEE HOW THEY DID IT.
>> CHEERS.
>> CHEERS. >> BROTHERS DAVID AND DANIEL
REALLY LIKE BEER.
>> A LITTLE BIT DARKER SO IT HAS
SOME KIND OF ROASTY AND TOASTY
NOTES TO IT.
>> SO MUCH, IN FACT, 10 YEARS
AGO THEY STARTED MAKING THEIR
OWN.
OWN. >> I LEARNED HOW TO MAKE BEER
WHEN I WAS A NEW ASSOCIATE AT A
LAW FIRM.
LAW FIRM. I LIKE MAKING BEER MORE THAN I
LIKE PRACTICING LAW.
>> I SAW HIS PAG AND SAID WOULD
YOU RATHER BE A BREWER OR
ATTORNEY THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.
HE SAID A BREWER.
I SAID, OKAY.
YOU FIGURE OUT THE BEER, I’LL
FIGURE OUT THE REST OF IT, AND
WE’LL GIVE IT A WHIRL.
>> THERE WAS SOMETHING ELSE
BEHIND THE IDEA, TOO.
>> IT’S ALWAYS BEEN ABOUT MORE
THAN BEER.
THAN BEER. >> I THINK A LOT OF IT GROWS OUT
OF THE TIMES IN WHICH WE
STARTED.
STARTED. PEOPLE WERE LOSING THEIR JOBS
AND HOMES.
AND HOMES. YOU LOOKED AROUND AND SAID
BUSINESS IN THIS COUNTRY IS
RUINING PEOPLE’S LIVES.
THERE’S GOT TO BE A BETTER WAY
TO DO THIS.
BEER IS WHAT WE DID BUT NOT WHY
WE STARTED THIS COMPANY.
>> IN 2009 THEY LAUNCHED MAINE
BEER COMPANY AS A KIND OF
EXPERIMENT TO PROVE SMALL
BUSINESSES COULD HAVE A BIG
IMPACT ON THEIR EMPLOYEES, THEIR
COMMUNITIES, AND THE ENVIRONMENT
WHILE STILL TURNING A PROFIT.
>> I’M SURE A LOT OF PEOPLE
THOUGHT WE WERE CRAZY.
YOU GUYS BUSINESS PLAN IS WACKY.
WHY DO YOU WANT TO DO THIS.
>> I LOVE IT WHEN PEOPLE TELL ME
IT WON’T WORK.
>> THEY LAUNCHED WITH A SINGLE
BEER, A SHOESTRING BUDGET.
>> THE ONLY ASSET WE HAD WAS MY
WIFE’S 401(K).
WIFE’S 401(K). >> AND A PLAN.
NOT ONLY TO DONATE TO
ENVIRONMENTAL CAUSES BUT PAY
EMPLOYEES A MINIMUM OF $18 AN
HOUR AND 100% OF THEIR HEALTH
PREMIUMS.
PREMIUMS. >> IT’S ALMOST MORE FOR YOU GUYS
ABOUT WHAT YOU’RE GIVING BACK
THAN BRINGING IN.
>> I THINK THAT SHOULD BE
EVERYBODY’S MEASURE OF SUCCESS.
NOT JUST BY THE BOTTOM LINE BUT
BY WHAT YOU CAN GIVE BACK.
THAT’S THE MEASURE OF TRUE
SUCCESS.
SUCCESS. >> THAT’S NOT TO SAY THOSE EARLY
DAYS WERE EASY.
>> WE’RE WORKING SEVEN DAYS A
WEEK I WAS PRACTICING LAW MONDAY
THROUGH FRIDAY AND BREWING AND
PACKAGING BEER ON SATURDAYS AND
SUNDAYS.
SUNDAYS. >> WAS IT GOOD?
>> NO.
>> NO. IT WAS HORRIBLE.
>> I THINK THE FIRST COUPLE OF
BATCHES IT WOULD HURT IF YOU
DRANK IT, WASN’T SAFE FOR
CONSUMPTION AND GOT BETTER AND
BETTER AND BETTER.
>> THIS SYSTEM ISN’T MUCH
SMALLER THAN THE SYSTEM WE
STARTED OUT ON.
>> THEY MADE 30 GALLONS AT A
TIME.
TIME. >> I WAS A DELIVERY DRIVER,
WHICH HELPED A LOT, BECAUSE THE
FIRST 20 ACCOUNTS OR SO WE HAD,
I WOULD SEE THEM FACE-TO-FACE
EVERY WEEK OR TWO, SO YOU
DEVELOPED A RELATIONSHIP.
>> TEN YEARS LATER THE TEAM OF
TWO BROTHERS HAS TURNED INTO A
STAFF OF 50 FULLTIME EMPLOYEES
PRODUCING 1.5 MILLION BOTTLES OF
BEER LAST YEAR ALONE.
AS FOR THAT ENVIRONMENTAL
DONATION.
DONATION. THAT’S GONE UP, TOO.
>> WHAT WAS IT LIKE THIS LAST
YEAR?
YEAR? >> $170,000.
>> $170,000. >> A TESTAMENT TO THEIR ENTIRE
PHILOSOPHY, SUMMARIZED RIGHT
THERE ON THE LABEL.
>> DO WHAT’S RIGHT.
>> IT’S ON EVERY BOTTLE.
>> ON EVERY BOTTLE.
>> IT WAS IN OUR ORIGINAL
BUSINESS PLAN.
BUSINESS PLAN. IF WE WERE GOING TO START A
COMPANY, A BREWERY, THAT WE WERE
GOING TO DO IT THE RIGHT WAY.
>> DIDN’T MATTER WHAT YOU WERE
SELLING.
SELLING. >> I ALWAYS SAID, WE COULD BE
MAKING TOOTHPICKS.
MAKING TOOTHPICKS. THAT’S NOT NEARLY AS FUN.
PEOPLE WOULDN’T HANG OUT AT A
TOOTHPICK FACTORY BUT I WOULD
ENCOURAGE EVERY TOOTHPICK
FACTORY TO RUN THEIR BUSINESS
THIS WAY.
THIS WAY. >> THE BROTHERS HAVE IMPRESSIVE
SOLAR GOALS CREATING MORE ENERGY
THAN THEY CONSUME AND TO SOLAR
FARMS.
FARMS. TOUGH IT OUT.
YOU HAVE ONE NAMED AFTER A WHALE
OFF OF MAINE.
YOU HAVE ZOE, DAVID’S DAUGHTER
NAME AND YOU HAVE THE ORIGINAL
PEEPER.
PEEPER. >> GOOD STUFF.
CHEERS.
CHEERS. >> SAVANNAH, THANKS SO MUCH.