California brewery named winner of Samuel Adams' craft beer competition

Crowns & Hops, a Black and woman-owned, veteran operated business, emerged as the champions of Samuel Adams' 13th annual craft brewers' competition. 

The brewery's co-founders, Beny Ashburn and Teo Hunter, now join a growing list of craft brewers who have won the Brewing & Business Experienceship competition and get the chance to take advantage of support and mentorship from the Boston Beer Co.'s Samuel Adams brand and its founder Jim Koch, who is credited with starting the craft beer revolution four decades ago.

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The competition is a part of Koch's philanthropic program Brewing the American Dream, which has been geared toward helping food and beverage entrepreneurs trying to make a name for themselves in the heavily competitive industry by mentoring them and helping them gain access to capital with the Accion Opportunity Fund.

"It's always hard to get capital, and it's especially hard to get loans," Koch told FOX Business. 

Koch is all too familiar with the challenges of securing funding while turning a dream into a business. In 1984, when he was first starting the Boston Beer Company out of his kitchen, Koch said getting capital was "impossible." 

"No bank would lend me money. Everybody thought it was a joke," Koch said. The idea of starting a brewery was "inconceivable." 

Now his company is a household name known for brands such as Sam Adams, Twisted Tea, Angry Orchard and Truly Hard Seltzer. 

Today, he wants to help those who are in a similar situation. Koch noted that one of the most important pieces about the Brewing the American Dream Program is that he will not acquire equity in their companies. Koch is purposefully providing loans, so entrepreneurs can keep their ownership. 

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"That's what brewing the American Dream is all about. We don't want a piece of anybody's business. We want them to stay independent," Koch said. "We want them to pay the loan back because we can then take that money and help another brewery." 

Crowns & Hops is the latest to get a helping hand. The brewery is described as a "beer brand that ignited a global movement after forming in 2016, paving the way for more Black and Brown faces to enter the beer community, from consumers to entrepreneurs," according to Sam Adams. 

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It's also credited for disrupting the traditional model in the craft beer industry by building a brand that extends beyond beer. 

In 2020, Crowns & Hops launched the 8 Trill Initiative, which is a nonprofit dedicated to supporting the business development, growth and sustainability of Black entrepreneurs in and around the craft beer ecosystem. 

Their goal is to attain true representation of the Black community in craft beer. Their mission: to achieve 13% Black ownership among breweries in the U.S. 

This win will help, given that it effectively boosts the brand's exposure within the highly saturated market. 

"This recognition from Brewing the American Dream is a remarkable milestone as we look to evolve our business to new heights," Ashburn said. 

The team believes "this opportunity will not only enhance our ability for continued impact locally, but also propel us towards the broader footprint we've always envisioned," she added. 

For over the past 16 years, the company has given more than $109 million in loans to more than 4,300 small businesses, coached over 15,000 entrepreneurs nationwide and helped establish over 11,500 jobs.