BOSTON BEER CO INC - Annual Report: 2017 (Form 10-K)

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

For the fiscal year ended December 30, 2017

OR

For the transition period from                  to                 

Commission file number: 1-14092

THE BOSTON BEER COMPANY, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

One Design Center Place, Suite 850, Boston, Massachusetts

(Address of principal executive offices)

02210

(Zip Code)

(617) 368-5000

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.    Yes  ☐    No  ☒

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act.    Yes  ☐    No  ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes  ☒    No  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files.    Yes  ☒    No  ☐

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulations S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of the registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.  ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, small reporting company, or emerging growth company. See definition of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “small reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).    Yes  ☐    No  ☒

The aggregate market value of the Class A Common Stock ($.01 par value) held by non-affiliates of the registrant totaled $1,163.8 million (based on the average price of the Company’s Class A Common Stock on the New York Stock Exchange on July 1, 2017). All of the registrant’s Class B Common Stock ($.01 par value) is held by an affiliate.

As of February 16, 2018, there were 8,814,850 shares outstanding of the Company’s Class A Common Stock ($.01 par value) and 3,017,983 shares outstanding of the Company’s Class B Common Stock ($.01 par value).

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Certain parts of the registrant’s definitive Proxy Statement for its 2018 Annual Meeting to be held on May 17, 2018 are incorporated by reference into Part III of this report.

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THE BOSTON BEER COMPANY, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

FORM 10-K

FOR THE PERIOD ENDED DECEMBER 30, 2017

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PART I.

General

The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (“Boston Beer” or the “Company”) is one of the largest craft brewers in the United States. In fiscal 2017, Boston Beer sold approximately 3.8 million barrels of its proprietary products.

During 2017, the Company sold over sixty beers under the Samuel Adams^® brand names, over ten flavored malt beverages under the Twisted Tea^® brand name, over twenty hard cider beverages under the Angry Orchard^® brand name, five hard sparkling waters under the Truly Spiked & Sparkling^® brand name, and over fifty beers under four brand names under the A&S Brewing Company, which include the Traveler Beer Co.^®, the Angel City Brewery^®, the Concrete Beach Brewery^® and the Coney Island^® Brewing Co.

Boston Beer produces alcohol beverages including malt beverages (“beers”), hard cider and hard sparkling water at Company-owned breweries and its cidery and under contract arrangements at other brewery locations. The Samuel Adams Company-owned breweries include breweries located in Boston, Massachusetts (the “Boston Brewery”), Cincinnati, Ohio (the “Cincinnati Brewery”) and Breinigsville, Pennsylvania (the “Pennsylvania Brewery”) and the A&S Brewing Company breweries. The A&S Brewing Company breweries are located in Los Angeles, California (the “Angel City Brewery”), Miami, Florida (the “Concrete Beach Brewery”) and Brooklyn, New York (the “Coney Island Brewery”). The Company owns an apple orchard and cidery located in Walden, New York (the “Orchard”).

The Company’s principal executive offices are located at One Design Center Place, Suite 850, Boston, Massachusetts 02210, and its telephone number is (617) 368-5000.

Industry Background

Before Prohibition, the United States beer industry consisted of hundreds of small breweries that brewed full-flavored beers. After the end of Prohibition, most domestic brewers shifted production to less flavorful, lighter beers, which use lower-cost ingredients, and can be mass-produced to take advantage of economies of scale in production. This shift towards mass-produced beers coincided with consolidation in the beer industry. Today, two major brewers, Anheuser-Busch InBev (“AB InBev”) and MillerCoors LLC (“MillerCoors”), comprise over 80% of all United States domestic beer production, excluding imports.

The Company’s beers are primarily positioned in the Better Beer category of the beer industry, which includes craft (small, independent and traditional) brewers, domestic specialty beers and most imports. Better Beers are determined by higher price, quality, image and taste, as compared with regular domestic beers. Samuel Adams is one of the largest brands in the Better Beer category of the United States brewing industry. The Company estimates that in 2017 the Better Beer category percentage volume growth was approximately 5% with the craft beer category volume growth approximately 5% and total beer category volume essentially flat. The Company believes that the Better Beer category is approximately 22% of United States beer consumption by volume.

The domestic beer industry, excluding Better Beers, has experienced a decline in shipment volume over the last ten years. The Company believes that this decline is due to declining alcohol consumption per person in the population, drinkers trading up to drink high quality, more flavorful beers and increased competition from wine and spirits companies.

The Company’s Twisted Tea products compete within the flavored malt beverage (“FMB”) category of the beer industry (and the Company’s Twisted Tea products are included in generic references to the Company’s “beers” in this report). The Company believes that the FMB category comprises approximately 4% of United States beer

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consumption and that the volume comprising the FMB category declined by approximately 4% in 2017. This category is highly competitive due to, among other factors, the presence of large brewers and spirits companies in the category and a fast pace of product innovation.

The Company’s Angry Orchard ciders compete within the hard cider category that has similar characteristics to the beer industry. The Company believes that the hard cider category comprises less than 1% of United States beer consumption. This category is small and highly competitive and includes large international and domestic competitors, as well as many small regional and local hard cider companies. The hard cider category experienced very fast growth until a slowing in 2015 and a decline in 2016, and the Company estimates the category volume declined again in 2017 by approximately 6%.

The Company’s Truly Spiked & Sparkling beverages compete within the hard sparkling water category that has similar characteristics to the beer industry for reporting and regulatory purposes. This category is small, in its early stages of development, highly competitive and includes large international and domestic competitors. The Company launched Truly Spiked & Sparkling in the second half of 2016 and believes that the hard sparkling water category comprises approximately 0.3% of United States beer consumption.

Description of Business

The Company’s business goal is to become the leading supplier in the Better Beer category and the other categories where it competes by creating and offering high quality alcohol beverages. With the support of a large, well-trained sales organization and world-class brewers, the Company strives to achieve this goal by offering great beers, hard ciders and hard sparkling waters, and increasing brand availability and awareness through traditional media and digital advertising, point-of-sale, promotional programs and drinker education.

The Company’s Beers, Hard Ciders and Hard Sparkling Waters

The Company’s strategy is to create and offer a world-class variety of traditional and innovative alcohol beverages, with a focus on promoting the Samuel Adams brand, but supported by a portfolio of complementary brands. The Angry Orchard brand family was launched in the second half of 2011 in several markets and achieved national distribution in 2012. Since 2013, Angry Orchard has been the largest selling hard cider in the United States. The Twisted Tea brand family has grown each year since the product was first introduced in 2001 and has established a loyal drinker following. In 2016, the Company began national distribution of the Truly Spiked & Sparkling brand and it maintained its place as one of the leading brands in the hard sparkling water category in 2017. The Company’s A&S Brewing subsidiary currently has four brands, including Angel City^®, The Traveler Beer Co.^®, Coney Island^® and Concrete Beach^®.

The Company sells its beverages in various packages. Kegs are sold primarily for on-premise retailers, which include bars, restaurants and other venues, and bottles and cans are sold primarily for off-premise retailers, which include grocery stores, club stores, convenience stores and liquor stores.

Samuel Adams Boston Lager^® is the Company’s flagship beer that was first introduced in 1984. The Samuel Adams Seasonal beers are brewed specifically for limited periods of time and in 2017 included Samuel Adams Hopscape^®, Samuel Adams Fresh as Helles^®, Samuel Adams Summer Ale, Samuel Adams OctoberFest, and Samuel Adams Winter Lager.

Certain Samuel Adams beers may be produced at select times during the year solely for inclusion in the Company’s seasonal variety packs. During 2017, Samuel Adams Noble Pils, Samuel Adams Irish Red and Samuel Adams Ella Blanc IPL were brewed and included in Spring variety packs, Samuel Adams Hefeweizen, Samuel Adams Berliner Weisse, Samuel Adams Tropic of Yuzu , Samuel Adams Golden Hour and Samuel Adams Session IPA were brewed and included in Summer variety packs, Samuel Adams 20 Pounds of Pumpkin,

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Samuel Adams Black Lager, Samuel Adams Maple Red, Samuel Adams Honey Rye Pale Ale, Samuel Adams Bohemian Pilsner and Samuel Adams Dunkelweizen were brewed and included in Fall variety packs, Samuel Adams Amber Bock, Samuel Adams Chocolate Bock, Samuel Adams Oatmeal Stout and Samuel Adams Old Fezziwig^® Ale were brewed and included in Winter variety packs. Additionally, beginning in 2011 the Company began limited releases of seasonal beers in various packages. In 2017, these limited seasonal release beers included Samuel Adams Cold Snap^®, Samuel Adams Porch Rocker^®, Samuel Adams Harvest Hefe and Samuel Adams White Christmas.

In 2014, the Company began a national rollout of Samuel Adams Rebel^® IPA, a West Coast style IPA brewed with hops from the Pacific Northwest. Since the national rollout, the Company has added additional styles to support Samuel Adams Rebel IPA, including Samuel Adams Rebel Grapefruit IPA, Samuel Adams Rebel Juiced^® IPA, Samuel Adams Rebel Rouser^® IPA, Samuel Adams Rebel Raw^® IPA and Samuel Adams Rebel Anytime^® Session IPA. The Company also produces a variety pack called Samuel Adams Rebel IPA Pack of Rebels^®.

After some market testing and pilot launches late in 2017, the Company began the national launch in the first quarter of 2018 of both Samuel Adams Sam ’76, a revolutionary beer that is a uniquely flavorful and refreshing lager ale union and Samuel Adams New England IPA, an unfiltered IPA with citrusy hop flavor.

The Samuel Adams Brewmaster’s Collection is an important part of the Company’s portfolio and heritage, but receives limited promotional support. The Barrel Room Collection and Limited Edition Beers and certain specialty variety packs are produced in limited quantities and are sold at higher prices than the Company’s other products. The Company also releases a variety of specialty draft beers brewed in limited quantities for festivals and Beer Week celebrations.

The Twisted Tea, Angry Orchard and Truly Spiked & Sparkling brands are all available nationally while the majority of the A&S Brewing brands focus on local distribution and tap rooms. The Company will continue to look for complementary opportunities to leverage its capabilities.

In the first quarter of 2018, the Company began the national launch of Angry Orchard Rosé. This cider has a floral aroma, is apple forward in taste and complimented by refreshing light tannins, similar to semi-dry wine.

The Company continually evaluates the performance of its various beer, hard cider and hard sparkling water styles and the rationalization of its product line as a whole. Periodically, the Company discontinues certain styles and packages. Certain styles or brands discontinued in previous years may be produced for the Company’s variety packs or reintroduced.

The Company’s beers, hard ciders and hard sparkling waters are sold by the Company’s sales force to the same types of customers in similar size quantities, at similar price points and through substantially the same channels of distribution. These beverages are manufactured using similar production processes, have comparable alcohol content and generally fall within the same regulatory environment.

Product and Packaging Innovations

The Company is committed to maintaining its position as a leading innovator. To that end, the Company continually test brews different beers, hard ciders and other alcohol beverages and occasionally sells them under various brand labels for evaluation of drinker interest. The Company also promotes the annual LongShot^® American Homebrew Contest^® in which homebrewers and employees of the Company submit their homebrews for inclusion in the LongShot six-pack in the following year. In 2017, the Company sold over sixty Samuel Adams beers commercially and brewed many more test brews. The Company’s Boston Brewery spends most of its time ideating, testing and developing alcohol beverages for the Company’s potential future commercial development and evaluating ingredients and process improvements for existing beverages.

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In 2013, the Company completed a two-year research effort to develop a beer can to improve the beer drinker’s experience compared to the traditional beverage can. The features of this custom Sam can were designed to enhance the drinking experience and include a wider lid with an opening slightly further from the edge of the lid, an extended lip and an hourglass ridge, all of which features are believed by the Company to enhance the craft beer drinkers experience relative to a traditional beverage can. Currently, Samuel Adams Boston Lager, Samuel Adams Seasonal beers, Samuel Adams Sam ’76, Samuel Adams Rebel beers and some of the A&S Brewing beers are available in this uniquely-designed can.

Sales, Distribution and Marketing

As dictated by the legal and regulatory environment, most all of the Company’s sales are made to a network of approximately 350 wholesalers in the United States and to a network of foreign wholesalers, importers or other agencies (collectively referred to as “Distributors”). These Distributors, in turn, sell the products to retailers, such as pubs, restaurants, grocery stores, convenience stores, package stores, stadiums and other retail outlets, where the products are sold to drinkers, and in some limited circumstances to parties who act as sub-distributors. The Company sells its products predominantly in the United States, but also has markets in Canada, Europe, Israel, Australia, New Zealand, the Caribbean, the Pacific Rim, Mexico, and Central and South America.

With few exceptions, the Company’s products are not the primary brands in its Distributors’ portfolios. Thus, the Company, in addition to competing with other beers, hard ciders and hard sparkling waters for a share of the drinker’s business, competes with other brewers for a share of the Distributor’s attention, time and selling efforts. During 2017, the Company’s largest Distributor accounted for approximately 3% of the Company’s net sales. The top three Distributors collectively accounted for approximately 7% of the Company’s net sales. In some states and countries, the terms of the Company’s contracts with its Distributors may be affected by laws that restrict the enforcement of some contract terms, especially those related to the Company’s right to terminate the relationship.

Most products are shipped within days of packaging resulting in limited product order backlog. The Company has historically received most of its orders from domestic Distributors in the first week of a month for products to be shipped the following month and the Distributor would then carry three to five weeks of packaged inventory (usually at ambient temperatures) and three to four weeks of draft inventory.

In an effort to reduce both the time and temperature the Company’s beers experience at Distributor warehouses before reaching the retail market, in late 2010 the Company introduced its Freshest Beer Program with domestic Distributors in several markets. The goal of the Freshest Beer Program is to provide better on-time service, forecasting, production planning and in cooperation with the Distributors, substantially reducing Distributor inventory levels. At the close of its 2017 fiscal year, the Company had 167 Distributors participating in the program, representing approximately 79% of the Company’s domestic volume. The Company has successfully reduced the inventories of participating Distributors in the aggregate by approximately two weeks, resulting in fresher beer being delivered to retail. The ordering process has changed significantly for Distributors that participate in the Freshest Beer Program and has resulted in a shorter period between order placement and shipment and a resulting reduction in open orders.

Boston Beer has a sales force of approximately 390 people, which the Company believes is one of the largest in the domestic beer industry. The Company’s sales organization is designed to develop and strengthen relations at the Distributor, retailer and drinker levels by providing educational and promotional programs. The Company’s sales force has a high level of product knowledge and is trained in the details of the brewing and selling processes. Sales representatives typically carry samples of the Company’s beers, hard ciders and hard sparkling waters, certain ingredients, such as hops and barley, and other promotional materials to educate wholesale and retail buyers about the quality and taste of the Company’s products. The Company has developed strong relationships with its Distributors and retailers, many of which have benefited from the Company’s premium pricing strategy and growth.

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The Company also engages in media campaigns — including television, radio, digital and social media, billboards and print. These media efforts are complemented by participation in sponsorships, which currently includes the Boston Red Sox, the Richard Childress Racing Team of the NASCAR Cup Series, the Dierks Bentley concert tour, the Kentucky Derby and the Boston Marathon, local beer festivals, industry-related trade shows and promotional events at local establishments, to the extent permitted under local laws and regulations. The Company uses a wide array of point-of-sale items (banners, neons, umbrellas, glassware, display pieces, signs and menu stands) designed to stimulate impulse sales and continued awareness.

Corporate Social Responsibility

In 2008, the Company launched its core philanthropic initiative, Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream^®. In partnership with ACCION, the nation’s largest non-profit micro-lender, the program supports small business owners in the food, beverage, and brewing industries through access to business capital, coaching, and new market opportunities. The goal is to help strengthen small businesses, create local jobs and build vibrant communities. Since the inception of the Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream program, Samuel Adams and ACCION have worked together to loan more than $22.4 million to more than 1,500 small business owners who have subsequently repaid these loans at a rate of more than 97%. Samuel Adams employees, together with local business partners and community organizations, have provided coaching and mentoring to more than 8,000 business owners across the country. These efforts have helped to create or maintain more than 5,900 local jobs.

Ingredients and Packaging

The Company has been successful to date in obtaining sufficient quantities of the ingredients used in the production of its beverages. These ingredients include:

Malt. The two-row varieties of barley used in the Company’s malt are mainly grown in the United States and Canada. The 2017 North American barley crop, which will support 2018 malt needs, was generally consistent with historical long term averages with regards to both quality and quantity, though quality from key areas in Canada was again highly variable and in some cases below long term averages. The average booked 2017 barley crop prices were comparable to historical long term averages. There has been a long-term trend of declining acres and production in North America against relatively stable malt demand. The Company purchased most of the malt used in the production of its beer from two suppliers during 2017. The Company currently has a multi-year contract with one of its suppliers and a one year agreement with the other supplier. The Company also believes that there are other malt suppliers available that are capable of supplying its needs.

Hops. The Company uses Noble hop varieties for many of its Samuel Adams beers and also uses hops grown in the United States, England, and New Zealand. Noble hops are grown in several specific areas recognized for growing hops with superior taste and aroma properties. These include Hallertau-Hallertauer, Tettnang-Tettnanger, Hersbrucker and Spalt-Spalter from Germany and Saaz from the Czech Republic. The United States hops, grown primarily in the Pacific Northwest, namely Cascade, Simcoe^®, Centennial, Chinook, Citra^®, Amarillo^®, and Mosaic^® are used in certain Company ales and lagers, as are the Southern Hemisphere hop varieties, Galaxy and Nelson Sauvin. Traditional English hops, namely, East Kent Goldings and Fuggles, are also used in certain Company ales. Other hop sources and varieties including new experimental varieties such as HBC 566 and HBC 682 are also tested from time to time and used in certain beers. The Company uses hops in various formats including T-90 hop pellets, T-45 hop pellets and CO2 Extract.

The European hop crop harvested in 2017 was well above historical long term averages with regards to both quality and quantity due to favorable temperatures and precipitation. The United States hop crop harvested in 2017 was consistent with historical long term averages with regards to quality, with an increase in overall quantity driven by expansion of planted acres in recent years. However, the demand for certain hops grown in the United States has risen dramatically due to the success and proliferation of craft brewers and the popularity of beer styles that include hop varieties grown in the United States, with the result that prices continue to rise for both spot purchases and forward contract pricing and occasionally certain United States hops are in tight supply until the next crop or beyond.

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The Company enters into purchase commitments with ten primary hop dealers, based on the Company’s projected future volumes and brewing needs. The dealers either have the hops that are committed or will contract with farmers to meet the Company’s needs. The contracts with the hop dealers are denominated in Euros for the German and Czech Republic hops, in Pounds Sterling for the English hops, US Dollars for United States hops and New Zealand Dollars for the New Zealand hops. The Company does not currently hedge its forward currency commitments.

The Company expects to realize full delivery on European, United States and New Zealand hop contracts on the hop crop harvested in 2017. The Company attempts to maintain a one to two-year supply of essential hop varieties on-hand in order to limit the risk of an unexpected reduction in supply and procures hops needed for new beers based on its best estimate of likely short-term demand. The Company classifies hops inventory in excess of two years of forecasted usage in other long term assets.

The Company believes it has adequate inventory and commitments for all hop varieties. This belief is based on expected volume and beer style mix, both of which could ultimately be significantly different from what is currently planned. Variations to plan could result in hops shortages for specific beers or an excess of certain hops varieties.

The Company stores its hops in multiple cold storage warehouses to minimize the impact of a catastrophe at a single site.

Yeast. The Company uses multiple yeast strains for production of its beers, hard ciders and hard sparkling waters. While some strains are commercially available, other strains are proprietary. Since the proprietary strains cannot be replaced if destroyed, the Company protects these strains by storing multiple cultures of the same strain at different production locations and in several independent laboratories.

Apples. The Company uses special varieties and origins of apples in its hard ciders that it believes are important for their flavor profiles. In 2017, these apples were sourced primarily from Europe and the United States and include bittersweet apples from France and culinary apples from Italy, Washington State and New York. Purchases and commitments are denominated in Euros for European apples and US Dollars for United States apples. There is limited availability of some of these apple varieties, and many outside factors, including weather conditions, growers rotating from apples to other crops, competitor demand, government regulation and legislation affecting agriculture, could affect both price and supply. The 2017 apple crop in Europe for certain regions was lower than historical long term averages due to climate conditions. The 2017 apple crop in the United States was consistent with historical long term averages. The Company has entered into contracts to cover its expected needs for 2018 and expects to realize full delivery against these contracts.

The Company purchased and opened its cidery at the Orchard in 2015. The Company uses the apple varieties harvested at the Orchard to experiment and develop new hard ciders and for resale to customers.

Other Ingredients. The Company maintains competitive sources for most of the other ingredients used in the production of its beverages.

Packaging Materials. The Company maintains competitive sources for the supply of certain packaging materials, such as shipping cases and glass. The Company enters into limited-term supply agreements with certain vendors in order to receive preferential pricing. In 2017, cans, crowns, six pack carriers and labels were each supplied by a single source; however, the Company believes that alternative suppliers are available.

The Company initiates bottle deposits in some states and reuses glass bottles that are returned pursuant to certain state bottle recycling laws. The Company derives some economic benefit from its reuse of returned glass bottles. The cost associated with reusing the glass varies based on the costs of collection, sorting and handling, including

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arrangements with retailers, Distributors and dealers in recycled products. There is no guarantee that the current economics relating to the use of returned glass will continue or that the Company will continue to reuse returnable bottles.

Quality Assurance

As of December 30, 2017, the Company employed over fifteen brewmasters to monitor the Company’s brewing operations and control the production of its beers, hard ciders and hard sparkling waters. Extensive tests, tastings and evaluations are typically required to ensure that each batch of the Company’s beers, hard ciders and hard sparkling waters conforms to the Company’s standards. The Company has on-site quality control labs at each of the Samuel Adams Company-owned breweries, and supports the smaller local breweries with additional centralized lab services.

With the exception of certain specialty products, the Company includes a clearly legible “freshness” code on every bottle, can and keg of its beers, in order to ensure that its customers enjoy only the freshest products. Boston Beer was the first American brewer to use this practice.

Production Strategy

During 2017, the Company brewed, fermented and packaged over 90% of its volume at breweries owned by the Company. The Company made capital investments in 2017 of approximately $33 million. These investments were made mostly in the Company’s breweries to drive efficiencies and cost reductions, support product innovation and future growth. The Company expects to invest between $55 million and $65 million in 2018, which is highly dependent on future volume and mix estimates and the capital investments to meet those estimates. The actual amount spent may well be different from these estimates.

The Company also engages in various product development activities. Such activities include researching market needs and competitive products, and sample brewing and market taste testing.    

The Pennsylvania Brewery and the Cincinnati Brewery produce most of the Company’s shipment volume. The Pennsylvania Brewery is the Company’s largest brewery and the Cincinnati Brewery is the primary brewery for the production of most of the Company’s specialty and lower volume products.

The Boston Brewery’s production is mainly for developing new types of innovative and traditional beers and brewing and packaging beers for retail sales on site at its gift shop and new tap room, and supporting draft accounts in the local market area.

The Company’s Angry Orchard Innovation Cider House located at the Orchard in Walden, New York, opened in 2015 and its production is mainly for developing new types of innovative hard ciders and fermenting and packaging ciders for retail sales on site and in the local market area.

The A&S Brewing breweries include the Angel City Brewery, Concrete Beach Brewery and Coney Island Brewery. The production at the A&S Brewing breweries is mainly for developing innovative and traditional beers and supporting draft accounts in the respective local market areas and providing for on-premise consumption of their beers at their respective tap rooms.

The Company currently has a brewing services agreement with subsidiaries of City Brewing Company, LLC, to produce its products. The Company carefully selects breweries and packaging facilities owned by others with (i) the capability of utilizing traditional brewing, fermenting and finishing methods and (ii) first-rate quality control capabilities throughout the process. Under its brewing and packaging arrangements with third parties, the Company is charged a service fee based on units produced at each of the facilities and bears the costs of raw materials, risk, excise taxes and deposits for pallets and kegs and specialized equipment required to produce and package the Company’s beverages.

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The Company’s International business is supplied by breweries owned by the Company and brewing and packaging agreements that include packaging bulk shipments of beer and hard cider and production under license at international locations.

The Company believes that it has alternatives available to it, in the event that production at any of its locations is interrupted, although severe interruptions at the Pennsylvania Brewery would be problematic, especially in seasonal peak periods. In addition, the Company may not be able to maintain its current economics if interruptions were to occur, and could face significant delays in starting up replacement production locations. Potential interruptions at breweries include labor issues, governmental actions, quality issues, contractual disputes, machinery failures, operational shut downs, or natural or unavoidable catastrophes. Also, as the brewing industry has consolidated and the Company has grown, the capacity and willingness of breweries owned by others where the Company could produce some of its beers, hard ciders and hard sparkling waters, if necessary, has become a more significant concern. The Company would work with its contract brewers to attempt to minimize any potential disruptions.

Competition

The Better Beer category within the United States beer market is highly competitive due to the increasing number of craft brewers, imported beers with similar pricing and target drinkers, and efforts by large domestic brewers to enter this category. The Company expects competition and innovation among domestic craft brewers to remain strong, as craft brewers continue to experience growth and there were many new startups in 2017. The Company estimates there are over 6,000 craft breweries in operation, up from approximately 1,400 operating craft breweries in 2006. Also, existing craft breweries are building more capacity, adding additional local tap rooms, expanding geographically and adding more SKUs and styles.

Imported beers, such as Corona^®, Heineken^®, Modelo Especial^® and Stella Artois^®, continue to compete aggressively in the United States and have gained market share over the last ten years. Heineken and Constellation Brands (owner of the United States Distribution rights to Corona and Modelo Especial) may have substantially greater financial resources, marketing strength and distribution networks than the Company has. The two largest brewers in the United States, MillerCoors and AB InBev, participate actively in the Better Beer category, both through importing and distributing foreign brands that compete in the Better Beer category and also with their own domestic specialty beers, either by developing new brands or by acquiring, in whole or part, existing craft breweries. In addition, Miller Coors’ Tenth and Blake and AB InBev’s High End Division were formed as business units headquartered in the United States that are focused exclusively on competing in the Better Beer market.

During the last few years, there were numerous acquisitions in the beer industry with the largest being AB InBev’s $107 billion purchase of SAB Miller and the related sale by SAB Miller to MolsonCoors of its 58% share of the MillerCoors joint venture with MolsonCoors. There were also numerous announcements of acquisitions of or investments in craft brewers by larger breweries and private equity and other investors. The most significant include Heineken’s acquisition of Lagunitas Brewing Company for approximately $1 billion, Constellation Brands’ acquisition of Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits for approximately $1 billion, AB InBev’s purchase of multiple craft breweries, including Elysian Brewing Company, Golden Road Brewing, Four Peaks Brewing Company, Breckenridge Brewing, Devils Backbone, Karbach and Wicked Weed and MillerCoors’ purchase of multiple craft breweries, including Hop Valley Brewing, Saint Archer Brewery and Revolver Brewing. Pabst Brewing Company acquired an ownership interest in and entered into an exclusive agreement to distribute nationally Small Town Brewery’s brands, including Not Your Father’s Hard Root Beer^®, and entered into an agreement to distribute various United States cider brands of C&C Group PLC, including ‘Woodchuck’, ‘Magners’ and ‘Hornsby’s.’ AB InBev also acquired Spiked Seltzer, a previously independent hard sparkling water company.

The Company’s products also compete with other alcoholic beverages for drinker attention and consumption and the pace of innovation in the categories in which the Company competes is increasing. In recent years, wine and

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spirits have been competing more directly with beers. The Company monitors such activity and attempts to develop strategies which benefit from the drinker’s interest in trading up, in order to position its beers and hard ciders competitively with wine and spirits.

The Company competes with other beer and alcoholic beverage companies within a three-tier distribution system. The Company competes for a share of the Distributor’s attention, time and selling efforts. In retail establishments, the Company competes for shelf, cold box and tap space. From a drinker perspective, competition exists for brand acceptance and loyalty. The principal factors of competition in the Better Beer segment of the beer industry include product quality and taste, brand advertising and imagery, trade and drinker promotions, pricing, packaging and the development of innovative new products.

The Company distributes its products through independent Distributors who also distribute competitors’ products. Certain brewers have contracts with their Distributors that impose requirements on the Distributors that are intended to maximize the Distributors’ attention, time and selling efforts on that brewer’s products. These contracts generally result in increased competition among brewers as the contracts may affect the manner in which a Distributor allocates selling effort and investment to the brands included in its portfolio. The Company closely monitors these and other trends in its Distributor network and works to develop programs and tactics intended to best position its products in the market.

The Company has certain competitive advantages over the regional craft brewers, including a long history of awards for product quality, greater available resources and the ability to distribute and promote its products on a more cost-effective basis. Additionally, the Company believes it has competitive advantages over imported beers, including lower transportation costs, higher product quality, a lack of import charges and superior product freshness.

The Company’s Twisted Tea product line competes primarily within the FMB category of the beer industry. FMBs, such as Twisted Tea, Smirnoff Ice^®, Mike’s Hard Lemonade^®, Bud Light Lime^® Ritas, and Redd’s Apple Ale^® are flavored malt beverages that are typically priced competitively with Better Beers. In 2017, MolsonCoors announced plans to distribute and support Arnold Palmer Hard Tea Lemonade^® and Phusion Projects (maker of Four Loko^®) announced plans to introduce John Daly’s Grip It & Sip It Hard Ice Tea^®. As noted earlier, this category is highly competitive due to, among other factors, the presence of large brewers and spirits companies in the category, the advertising of malt-based spirits brands in channels not available to the parent brands and a fast pace of product innovation.

The Company’s Angry Orchard product line competes within the hard cider category. As noted earlier, this category is small and highly competitive and includes large international and domestic competitors, as well as many small regional and local hard cider companies. Hard ciders are typically priced competitively with Better Beers and may compete for drinkers with beer, wine, spirits, or FMBs. Some of these competitors include C&C Group PLC under the brand names ‘Woodchuck’, ‘Magners’ and ‘Hornsby’s’ Heineken under the brand names ‘Strongbow’ AB InBev under ‘Stella Cidre’ and MillerCoors under the brand names ‘Smith and Forge’ and ‘Crispin Cider’. In recent years, local cideries have built small local businesses that have gained share locally at the expense of the national brands.

The Company’s Truly Spiked & Sparkling beverages compete within the hard sparkling water category. This category is small, in its early stages of development, highly competitive and include large international and domestic competitors. Hard sparkling waters are typically priced competitively with Better Beers and may compete for drinkers with beer, wine, spirits, or FMBs. Some of these competitors include ABInbev under ‘Spiked Seltzer’ Miller Coors under ‘Henry Weinhard’ Mikes Hard Lemonade under ‘White Claw’ and Diageo under “Smirnoff”.

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Regulation and Taxation

The alcoholic beverage industry is regulated by federal, state and local governments. These regulations govern the production, sale and distribution of alcoholic beverages, including permitting, licensing, marketing and advertising. To operate its production facilities, the Company must obtain and maintain numerous permits, licenses and approvals from various governmental agencies, including but not limited to, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, the Food and Drug Administration, state alcohol regulatory agencies and state and federal environmental agencies.

Governmental entities may levy various taxes, license fees and other similar charges and may require bonds to ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations. The federal excise tax on beer and hard sparkling water is $18 per barrel, on hard cider (with alcohol by volume of 8.5% or less) is $0.226 per gallon, on hard cider (with non-qualifying fermentable fruits) is $1.07 per gallon, and on artificially carbonated wine (hard cider with high CO2 levels) is $3.30 per gallon. Beginning in 2018, as a result of the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act”, the Company’s federal excise tax rate on beer and hard sparkling water will decrease from $18 per barrel to $16 per barrel on all barrels below 6 million barrels produced annually. The Company’s Excise tax rates on hard ciders will also decrease slightly. These lower rates for beer, hard sparkling water and hard cider currently expire at the end of 2019. States levy excise taxes at varying rates based on the type of beverage and alcohol content. Failure by the Company to comply with applicable federal, state or local laws and regulations could result in higher taxes, penalties, fees and suspension or revocation of permits, licenses or approvals. While there can be no assurance that any such regulatory action would not have a material adverse effect upon the Company or its operating results, the Company is not aware of any infraction affecting any of its licenses or permits that would materially impact its ability to continue its current operations.

Trademarks

The Company has obtained trademark registrations with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for over 230 trademarks, including Samuel Adams^®, Sam Adams^®, Samuel Adams Boston Lager^®, Samuel Adams Utopias^®, Samuel Adams Rebel^®, Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream^®, Angry Orchard^®, Twisted Tea^®, The Traveler Beer Co.^®, Coney Island^®, Angel City Brewery^®, Concrete Beach^® and Truly Spiked & Sparkling^®. It also has a number of common law marks, including Infinium™. The Samuel Adams trademark, the Samuel Adams Boston Lager trademark, the Angry Orchard trademark, the Twisted Tea trademark and other Company trademarks are also registered or have registrations pending in various foreign countries. The Company regards its Samuel Adams family of trademarks and other trademarks as having substantial value and as being an important factor in the marketing of its products. The Company is not aware of any trademark infringements that could materially affect its current business or any prior claim to the trademarks that would prevent the Company from using such trademarks in its business. The Company’s policy is to pursue registration of its marks whenever appropriate and to oppose infringements of its marks through available enforcement actions.

Environmental, Health and Safety Regulations and Operating Considerations

The Company’s operations are subject to a variety of extensive and changing federal, state and local environmental and occupational health and safety laws, regulations and ordinances that govern activities or operations that may have adverse effects on human health or the environment. Environmental laws, regulations or ordinances may impose liability for the cost of remediation of, and for certain damages resulting from, sites of past releases of hazardous materials. The Company believes that it currently conducts, and in the past has conducted, its activities and operations in substantial compliance with applicable environmental laws, and believes that any costs arising from existing environmental laws will not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial condition or results of operations.

As part of its efforts to be environmentally friendly, the Company has adopted a number of practices designed to reduce waste, improve recycling and utilities consumption at its breweries. The Company also continues to reuse

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its glass bottles returned from certain states that have bottle deposit bills. The Company believes that it benefits economically from washing and reusing these bottles, which result in a lower cost than purchasing new glass, and that it benefits the environment by the reduction in landfill usage, the reduction of usage of raw materials and the lower utility costs for reusing bottles versus producing new bottles. The economics of using recycled glass varies based on the cost of collection, sorting and handling, and may be affected by local regulation, and retailer, Distributor and glass dealer behavior. There is no guarantee that the current economics of using returned glass will continue, or that the Company will continue its current used glass practices.

The Company has adopted various policies and procedures intended to ensure that its facilities meet occupational health and safety requirements. The Company believes that it currently is in compliance with applicable requirements and will continue to endeavor to remain in compliance. There can be no assurances, however, that new and more restrictive requirements might not be adopted, compliance with which might have a material, adverse financial effect on the Company and its operating results, or that such policies and procedures will be consistently followed and be sufficient to prevent serious accidents.

Employees

As of December 30, 2017, the Company employed 1,439 people, of which 89 were covered by collective bargaining agreements at the Cincinnati Brewery. The collective bargaining agreements involve three labor unions, with one contract expiring in 2019, one contract expiring in 2020, and one contract expiring in 2022. No employees are covered under collective bargaining agreements set to expire within one year of December 30, 2017. The Company believes it maintains a good working relationship with all three labor unions and has no reason to believe that the good working relationship will not continue. The Company has experienced no work stoppages, or threatened work stoppages, and believes that its employee relations are good.

Other

The Company submitted the Section 12(a) CEO Certification to the New York Stock Exchange in accordance with the requirements of Section 303A of the NYSE Listed Company Manual. This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains at Exhibits 31.1 and 31.2 the certifications of the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, respectively, in accordance with the requirements of Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The Company makes available free of charge copies of its Annual Report on Form 10-K, as well as other reports required to be filed by Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, on the Company’s investor relations website at www.bostonbeer.com, or upon written request to Investor Relations, The Boston Beer Company, Inc., One Design Center Place, Suite 850, Boston, Massachusetts 02210.

In addition to the other information in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, the risks described below should be carefully considered before deciding to invest in shares of the Company’s Class A Common Stock. These are risks and uncertainties that management believes are most likely to be material and therefore are most important for an investor to consider. The Company’s business operations and results may also be adversely affected by additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to it, or which it currently deems immaterial, or which are similar to those faced by other companies in its industry or business in general. If any of the following risks or uncertainties actually occurs, the Company’s business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows would likely suffer. In that event, the market price of the Company’s Class A Common Stock could decline.

The Company Faces Substantial Competition.

The Better Beer category within the United States beer market is highly competitive, due to the increasing number of craft brewers with similar pricing and target drinkers and gains in market share achieved by domestic specialty beers and imported beers, and more recently the acquisition of craft brewers by the four largest market

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competitors, AB InBev, MillerCoors, Constellation and Heineken. The Company faces strong competition from these brewers, as they acquire craft brewers or introduce new domestic specialty brands to many markets and expand their efforts behind existing brands. Imported beers, such as Corona^®, Heineken^®, Modelo Especial^® and Stella Artois^®, also continue to compete aggressively in the United States beer market. The Company anticipates competition among domestic craft brewers will remain strong, as many local craft brewers continued to experience growth and there were many new startups in 2017. The Company estimates there are now over 6,000 craft breweries in operation up from approximately 1,400 operating craft breweries in 2006. Also, existing craft breweries are building more capacity, adding additional local tap rooms, expanding geographically and adding more SKUs and styles. The continued growth in the sales of craft-brewed domestic beers and in imported beers is expected to increase the competition in the Better Beer category within the United States beer market and, as a result, prices and market share of the Company’s products may fluctuate and possibly decline.

The Company’s products compete generally with other alcoholic beverages. The Company competes with other beer and beverage companies not only for drinker acceptance and loyalty, but also for shelf, cold box and tap space in retail establishments and for marketing focus by the Company’s Distributors and their customers, all of which also distribute and sell other beers and alcoholic beverage products. Many of the Company’s competitors, including AB InBev, MillerCoors, Heineken and Constellation Brands, have substantially greater financial resources, marketing strength and distribution networks than the Company. Moreover, the introduction of new products by competitors that compete directly with the Company’s products or that diminish the importance of the Company’s products to retailers or Distributors may have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business and financial results.

Further, the beer industry has seen continued consolidation among brewers in order to take advantage of cost savings opportunities for supplies, distribution and operations. Illustrative of this consolidation is AB InBev’s $107 billion purchase of SAB Miller and the related sale by SAB Miller to MolsonCoors of its 58% share of the MillerCoors joint venture with MolsonCoors, as well as Heineken’s acquisition of Lagunitas Brewing Company for approximately $1 billion and Constellation Brand’s acquisition of Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits for approximately $1 billion. Also, in the last few years, both AB Inbev and MillerCoors have purchased multiple regional craft breweries with the intention to expand the capacity and distribution of these breweries. Due to the increased leverage that these combined operations will have in distribution and sales and marketing expenses, the costs to the Company of competing could increase. The potential also exists for these large competitors to increase their influence with their Distributors, making it difficult for smaller brewers to maintain their market presence or enter new markets. The continuing consolidation could also reduce the contract brewing capacity that is available to the Company. These potential increases in the number and availability of competing brands, the costs to compete, reductions in contract brewing capacity and decreases in distribution support and opportunities may have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business and financial results.

There Is No Assurance that the Company Can Adapt to the Challenges of the Changing Competitive Environment and Reverse its Recent Sales Declines and Return to Periods of Growth.

Since 2015, the Company has experienced a decline in the domestic demand for its products and has seen craft beer growth rates slow and the hard cider category decline. The Company’s ability to reverse these trends and return its brands to periods of growth may be limited by its ability to increase its market share in domestic and international markets, including markets that may be dominated by one or more regional or local craft brewers, markets affected by an increasing number of competitors and the emergence of local tap rooms as a significant on premise channel, and markets where drinker interest is primarily in new or local products, rather than established brands. The development of new products by the Company to meet these challenges may lead to reduced sales of the Company’s other products, including its flagship Samuel Adams Boston Lager and there is no guarantee of long term volume by these new initiatives. Additionally, changes in use of media and technology are changing the economics of how to market brands to drinkers, and may be diminishing the traditional competitive advantage the Company may have had in buying national media relative to smaller brands. Reduced sales, among other factors, could lead to lower brewery utilization, lower funds available to invest in brand

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support and reduced profitability, and these challenges may require a different mix and level of marketing investments to stabilize and grow volumes. While the Company believes that a combination of innovation, new brand messaging and exploration of new media, and increased investment and sales execution can lead to increased demand, there is no guarantee that the Company’s actions will be successful in maintaining the Company’s historical levels of profitability. A lower growth environment or continued Company Sales declines, will present challenges for the Company to motivate and retain employees, to maintain the current levels of wholesaler and retailer support of its brands, to maintain the current brand investment levels, and to maintain current returns to shareholders, and potentially could require a review of long term organization and brewery needs. Currently the Company believes it can return to long term growth but there is no guarantee it will be successful.

The Company’s Advertising and Promotional Investments May Affect the Company’s Financial Results but Not be Effective.

The Company has made, and expects to continue to make, significant advertising and promotional expenditures to enhance its brands, even though these expenditures may adversely affect the Company’s results of operations in a particular quarter or even for the full year, and may not result in increased sales. Variations in the levels of advertising and promotional expenditures have in the past caused, and are expected in the future to continue to cause, variability in the Company’s quarterly results of operations. While the Company attempts to invest only in effective advertising and promotional expenditures, it is difficult to correlate such investments with sales results, and there is no guarantee that the Company’s expenditures will be effective in building brand equity or growing long term sales.

Changes in Public Attitudes and Drinker Tastes Could Harm the Company’s Business. Regulatory Changes in Response to Public Attitudes Could Adversely Affect the Company’s Business.

The alcoholic beverage industry has become the subject of considerable societal and political attention in recent years, due to increasing public concern over alcohol-related social problems, including driving under the influence, underage drinking and health consequences from the misuse of alcohol, including alcoholism. As an outgrowth of these concerns, the possibility exists that advertising by beer producers could be restricted, that additional cautionary labeling or packaging requirements might be imposed, that further restrictions on the sale of alcohol might be imposed or that there may be renewed efforts to impose increased excise or other taxes on beer sold in the United States.

The domestic beer industry, other than Better Beers, has experienced a slight decline in shipments over the last ten years. The Company believes that this slower growth is due to both declining alcohol consumption per person in the population and increased competition from wine and spirits companies. If beer consumption in general were to come into disfavor among domestic drinkers, or if the domestic beer industry were subjected to significant additional governmental regulations, the Company’s business could be materially adversely affected.

Certain states are considering or have passed laws and regulations that allow the sale and distribution of marijuana. Currently it is not possible to predict the impact of this on sales of alcohol, but it is possible that legal marijuana usage could adversely impact the demand for the Company’s products.

The Company Is Dependent on Its Distributors.

In the United States, where approximately 96% of its beer is sold, the Company sells most of its alcohol beverages to independent beer Distributors for distribution to retailers and, ultimately, to drinkers. Although the Company currently has arrangements with approximately 350 Distributors, sustained growth will require it to maintain such relationships and possibly enter into agreements with additional Distributors. Changes in control or ownership within the current distribution network could lead to less support of the Company’s products.

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Contributing to distribution risk is the fact that the Company’s distribution agreements are generally terminable by the Distributor on relatively short notice. While these distribution agreements contain provisions giving the Company enforcement and termination rights, some state laws prohibit the Company from exercising these contractual rights. The Company’s ability to maintain its existing distribution arrangements may be adversely affected by the fact that many of its Distributors are reliant on one of the major beer producers for a large percentage of their revenue and, therefore, they may be influenced by such producers. If the Company’s existing distribution agreements are terminated, it may not be able to enter into new distribution agreements on substantially similar terms, which may result in an increase in the costs of distribution.

No assurance can be given that the Company will be able to maintain its current distribution network or secure additional Distributors on terms not less favorable to the Company than its current arrangements.

Impact of Changes in Drinker Attitudes on Brand Equity and Inherent Risk of Reliance on the Company’s Founder in the Samuel Adams^® Brand Communications.

In addition to the societal and political risks discussed above, there is also no guarantee that the brand equities that the Company has built in its brands will continue to appeal to drinkers. Changes in drinker attitudes or demands, or competitor activity and promotion, could adversely affect the strength of the Company’s brands and the revenue that is generated from that strength. It is possible that the Company could react to such changes and reposition its brands, but there is no certainty that the Company would be able to maintain volumes, pricing power and profitability. It is also possible that marketing messages or other actions taken by the Company could damage its brand equities, as opposed to building them. If such damage were to occur, it would likely have a negative effect on the financial condition of the Company.

In addition to these inherent brand risks, the founder and Chairman of the Company, C. James Koch, is an integral part of the Company’s Samuel Adams brand history, equity and current and potential future brand messaging and the Company relies on the positive public perception of its founder. The role of Mr. Koch as founder, brewer and leader of the Company is emphasized as part of the Company’s brand communication and has appeal to some drinkers. If Mr. Koch were not available to the Company to continue his active role, his absence could negatively affect the strength of the Company’s messaging and, accordingly, the Company’s growth prospects. The Company and its brands may also be impacted if drinkers’ views of Mr. Koch were to negatively change. If either of these were to occur, the Company might need to adapt its strategy for communicating its key messages regarding its traditional brewing processes, brewing heritage and quality. Any such change in the Company’s messaging strategy might have a detrimental impact on the future growth of the Company.

Turnover in Company Leadership or Other Key Positions May Lead to Loss of Key Knowledge or Capability and Adversely Impact Company Performance.

In 2016 the Company made changes in several senior management positions, including hiring a new Chief Financial Officer, Chief Marketing Officer and Senior Vice President, Supply Chain, and promoting a new Vice President for Human Resources. In early 2017, the President and Chief Executive Officer, Martin Roper, announced his plans to retire in 2018 after leading the Company for more than 17 years. In early 2018, the Company announced that Dave Burwick will join as President and Chief Executive Officer in the second quarter of 2018. Burwick has an established track record of innovation and business success in the beverage and consumer goods industries and has served on Boston Beer’s Board of Directors since 2005. His most recent role is Chief Executive Officer of Peet’s Coffee and prior to joining Peet’s, Mr. Burwick served as President of North America for Weight Watchers and in numerous leadership roles over 20 years at PepsiCo, including Chief Marketing Officer of Pepsi-Cola North America. It is anticipated that Mr. Roper will resign as President and Chief Executive Officer and as a Director, when Mr. Burwick joins the Company. The Company may well experience further changes in key leadership or key positions in the future. The departure of key leadership personnel, especially a long-serving Chief Executive Officer, can take from the Company significant knowledge

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and experience. This loss of knowledge and experience can be mitigated through successful hiring and transition, but there can be no assurance that the Company will be successful in such efforts. Attracting, retaining, integrating and developing high performance individuals in key roles is a core component of the Company’s strategy for addressing its business opportunities. Attracting and retaining qualified senior leadership may be more challenging under adverse business conditions, such as the declining growth environment now facing the Company. Failure to attract and retain the right talent, or to smoothly manage the transition of responsibilities resulting from such turnover, would affect the Company’s ability to meet its challenges and may cause the Company to miss performance objectives or financial targets.

The Company has Significantly Increased its Product Offerings and Distribution Footprint, which Increases Complexity and Could Adversely Affect the Company’s Results.

The Company has significantly increased the number of its commercially available beers, hard ciders and hard sparkling waters that it produces. Since 2010, the Company has introduced many new beers, ciders and hard sparkling waters under the Samuel Adams, Angry Orchard, Twisted Tea and Truly Spiked & Sparkling brand names. A&S Brewing currently has four brands, including three small breweries and retail tap rooms where beer is sold and consumed on-premise. In 2015, the Company opened the Angry Orchard Innovation Cider House at its apple orchard located in Walden, New York, where hard cider is fermented, sold and consumed on-premise. In 2016, the Company began national distribution of certain styles of the Truly Spiked & Sparkling brand. In 2017, the Company opened a Tap Room at the Boston Brewery where beer is sold and consumed on-premise. These additional brands and locations, along with the increases in demand for certain existing brands, have added to the complexity of the Company’s product development process, as well as its brewing, fermenting, packaging, marketing and selling processes. There can be no assurance that the Company will effectively manage such increased complexity, without experiencing coordination issues, and resulting operating inefficiencies, supply shortages or control deficiencies. Such inefficiencies or deficiencies could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business and financial results.

Impact of Reliance on Company-Owned Production Facilities, Reduced Availability of Breweries Owned by Others, and Inability to Leverage Investment in the Company-Owned Breweries Could Have A Material Adverse Effect on the Company’s Operations or Financial Results.

Prior to 2008, the Company pursued a production strategy that combined the capacity at its Cincinnati Brewery, which was acquired in 1997, with significant production arrangements at breweries owned by third parties. The brewing services arrangements with breweries owned by others allowed the Company to utilize their excess capacity, providing the Company with production flexibility, as well as cost advantages over its competitors, while maintaining full control over the brewing process for its beers. The Company purchased the Pennsylvania Brewery in June 2008. As a result of that acquisition and the subsequent expansion of the Pennsylvania Brewery’s capacity, the volume of core brands brewed at Company-owned breweries increased, and currently over 90% of the Company’s volume is produced and packaged at breweries that it owns.

In 2017, the Company brewed its flagship beer, Samuel Adams Boston Lager, at each of its three Samuel Adams breweries, but at any particular time it may rely on only one brewery for its products other than Samuel Adams Boston Lager. The Company expects to continue to brew most all of its domestic volume in 2018 at its Company-owned breweries. This reliance on its own breweries exposes the Company to capacity constraints and risk of disruption of supply, as these breweries are operating at or close to current capacity in peak months. Management believes that it has alternatives available to it, in the event that production at any of its brewing locations is temporarily interrupted, although as volumes at the Pennsylvania Brewery increase, severe interruptions there would be problematic, particularly during peak season. In addition, if interruptions were to occur, the Company may not be able to maintain its current economics and could face significant delays in starting replacement brewing locations. Potential interruptions at breweries include labor issues, governmental action, quality issues, contractual disputes, machinery failures, operational shut downs or natural or unavoidable catastrophe.

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The growth in the Company’s business and product complexity and the expansion of the capacities and manpower at the Company’s breweries to facilitate greater reliance on its owned breweries heighten the management challenges that the Company faces. In recent years, the Company has had product shortages and service issues and the Company’s supply chain struggled under the increased volume and experienced increased operational and freight costs as it reacted. In response to these issues, the Company has significantly increased its packaging capabilities and tank capacity and added personnel to address these challenges. There can be no assurance that the Company will effectively manage such increasing complexity without experiencing future planning failures, operating inefficiencies, insufficient employee training, control deficiencies or other issues that could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business and financial results. The prior growth of the Company, changes in operating procedures and increased complexity have required significant capital investment. The Company to date has not seen operating cost leverage from these increased volumes and there is no guarantee that it will.

The Company continues to avail itself of capacity at third-party breweries. During 2017, the Company brewed and/or packaged certain products under service agreements with City Brewing Company, LLC. In selecting third party breweries for brewing services arrangements, the Company carefully weighs a brewery’s capability of utilizing traditional brewing, fermenting and finishing methods and its quality control capabilities throughout the production process. To the extent that the Company needs to avail itself of a third-party brewing services arrangement, it exposes itself to higher than planned costs of operating under such contract arrangements than would apply at the Company-owned breweries, potential lower service levels and reliability than internal production, and potential unexpected declines in the brewing capacity available to it, either of which could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business and financial results. The use of such third party facilities also creates higher logistical costs and uncertainty in the ability to deliver product to the Company’s customers efficiently and on time.

As the brewing industry continues to consolidate and the Company has grown, the capacity and willingness of breweries owned by others where the Company could brew some of its beers, if necessary, has become a more significant concern and, thus, there is no guarantee that the Company’s brewing needs will be uniformly met. The Company continues to work at its Company-owned breweries, and with its contract brewers to attempt to minimize any potential disruptions. Nevertheless, should an interruption occur, the Company could experience temporary shortfalls in production and/or increased production and/or distribution costs and be required to make significant capital investments to secure alternative capacity for certain brands and packages, the combination of which could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business and financial results. A simultaneous interruption at several of the Company’s production locations or an unexpected interruption at one of the Company-owned breweries would likely cause significant disruption, increased costs and, potentially, lost sales.

The Company’s emphasis on owning production facilities requires it to continue to make a significant level of capital expenditure to maintain and improve these facilities and to incur significant fixed operating costs to support them. In an uncertain volume environment, the Company faces the risk of not being able to support the owned brewery operating costs, if volumes were to decline. At the same time, despite making these expenditures and incurring these costs, if demand were to increase significantly, the Company could still face the risk of not being able to meet the increased demand internally.

The Company attempts to balance these factors through a combination of owned breweries and access to contract facilities, but there is no guarantee that this strategy is optimal and it might result in short term costs and inefficiencies.

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The Company is Dependent on Key Suppliers, Including Foreign Sources; Its Dependence on Foreign Sources Creates Foreign Currency Exposure for the Company; The Company’s Use of Natural Ingredients Creates Weather and Crop Reliability and Excess/Shortage Inventory Exposure for the Company.

The Company purchases a substantial portion of the raw materials used in the brewing of its products, including its malt, hops and other ingredients, from a limited number of foreign and domestic suppliers. The Company purchased most of the malt used in the production of its beer from two suppliers during 2017. Nevertheless, the Company believes that there are other malt vendors available that are capable of supplying part of its needs. The Company is exposed to the quality of the barley crop each year, and significant failure of a crop would adversely affect the Company’s costs.

The Company predominantly uses Noble hops for its Samuel Adams lagers. Noble hops are varieties from several specific growing areas recognized for superior taste and aroma properties and include Hallertau-Hallertauer, Tettnang-Tettnanger, Hersbruck-Hersbrucker and Spalt-Spalter from Germany and Saaz-Saazer from the Czech Republic. Noble hops are rare and more expensive than most other varieties of hops. Traditional English hops, namely, East Kent Goldings and English Fuggles, and/or United States hops are used in most of the Company’s ales. The demand for hops grown in the United States has grown due to the success and growth of craft brewers and the popularity of beer styles that include hops grown in the United States. Certain United States hops are in tight supply and prices have risen for both spot purchases and forward contract pricing, accordingly. The Company enters into purchase commitments with several hops dealers, based on the Company’s projected future volumes and brewing needs. The dealers then contract with farmers to meet the Company’s needs. However, the performance and availability of the hops, as with any agricultural product, may be materially adversely affected by factors such as adverse weather or pests and there is no guarantee the contracts will be fulfilled completely. Further, the use of fertilizers and pesticides that do not conform to United States regulations, the imposition of export/import restrictions (such as increased tariffs and duties) and changes in currency exchange rates could result in increased prices or shortages of acceptable hops.

The Company attempts to maintain up to a two-year supply of essential hop varieties on-hand in order to limit the risk of an unexpected reduction in supply, but as the Company innovates, the availability of certain hop varieties for new products is likely significantly lower. The Company buys new hop varieties for its innovation based on its best estimate of demand and does not try to get to two-year supply on hand immediately. Given the imprecision of forecasting future volumes, the Company is at hop supply risk on certain varieties if its innovations are significantly more successful than expected. The Company stores its hops in multiple cold storage warehouses to minimize the impact of a catastrophe at a single site. Hops and malt are agricultural products and therefore many outside factors, including weather conditions, farmers rotating out of hops or barley to other crops, government regulations and legislation affecting agriculture, could affect both price and supply.

The Company uses special varieties of apples in its ciders that it believes are important for the ciders’ flavor profile. These apples are sourced primarily from European and United States suppliers and include bittersweet apples from France and culinary apples from Italy and Washington state. There is limited availability of these apples and many outside factors, including weather conditions, farmers rotating from apples to other crops, government regulations and legislation affecting agriculture, could affect both price and supply. The Company has entered into contracts to cover its expected needs for 2018 and expects to realize full delivery against these contracts.

Except for a temporary shortage of apples in 2012, the Company has not experienced material difficulties in obtaining timely delivery from its suppliers, although the Company has had to pay significantly above historical prices to secure supplies when inventory and supply have been tight.

The Company’s new product development can also be constrained by any limited availability of certain ingredients. Growth rates higher than planned or the introduction of new products requiring special ingredients could create demand for ingredients greater than the Company can source. Although the Company believes that

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there are alternative sources available for some of the ingredients and packaging materials, there can be no assurance that the Company would be able to acquire such ingredients or packaging materials from substitute sources on a timely or cost effective basis, in the event that current suppliers could not adequately fulfill orders. The loss or significant reduction in the capability of a supplier to support the Company’s requirements could, in the short-term, adversely affect the Company’s business and financial results, until alternative supply arrangements were secured.

The Company’s contracts for certain hops and apples are payable in Euros, Pounds Sterling and New Zealand dollars, and therefore, the Company is subject to the risk that the Euro, Pound or New Zealand dollar may fluctuate adversely against the U.S. dollar. The Company has, as a practice, not hedged this exposure, although this practice is regularly reviewed. Significant adverse fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates may have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business and financial results. The cost of hops has increased in recent years due to the rising market price of hops and exchange rate changes. The continuation of these trends will impact the Company’s product cost and potentially the Company’s ability to meet the demand for its beers. The Company buys some other ingredients and capital equipment from foreign suppliers for which the Company also carries exposure to foreign exchange rate changes.

The Company’s accounting policy for hops inventory and purchase commitments is to recognize a loss by establishing a reserve to the extent inventory levels and commitments exceed management’s expected future usage. The computation of the excess inventory requires management to make certain assumptions regarding future sales growth, product mix, cancellation costs and supply, among others. Actual results may differ materially from management’s estimates. The Company continues to manage inventory levels and purchase commitments in an effort to maximize utilization of hops on hand and hops under commitment. However, changes in management’s assumptions regarding future sales growth, product mix and hops market conditions could result in future material losses.

The Company’s Operations are Subject to Certain Operating Hazards Which Could Result in Unexpected Costs or Product Recalls That Could Harm the Company’s Business.

The Company’s operations are subject to certain hazards and liability risks faced by all brewers, such as potential contamination of ingredients or products by bacteria or other external agents that may be wrongfully or accidentally introduced into products or packaging, or defective packaging and handling. Such occurrences may create bad tasting beer, hard cider or hard sparkling water, or pose risk to the integrity and safety of the packaging. These could result in unexpected costs to the Company and, in the case of a costly product recall, potentially serious damage to the Company’s reputation for product quality, as well as product liability claims.

The Company Relies Upon Complex Information Systems

The Company depends on information technology to be able to operate efficiently and interface with customers and suppliers, as well as maintain financial and accounting reporting accuracy to ensure compliance with all applicable laws. If the Company does not allocate and effectively manage the resources necessary to build and sustain the proper technology infrastructure, the Company could be subject to transaction errors, processing inefficiencies, the loss of customers, business disruptions, or the loss of or damage to intellectual property through security breach. The Company recognizes that many groups on a world-wide basis have experienced increases in cyber attacks and other hacking activity. The Company has dedicated internal and external resources to review and address such threats. However, as with all large information technology systems, the Company’s systems could be penetrated by outside parties intent on extracting confidential or proprietary information, corrupting information, disrupting business processes, or engaging in the unauthorized use of strategic information. Such unauthorized access could disrupt business operations and could result in the loss of assets or revenues, remediation costs or damage to the Company’s reputation, as well as litigation against the Company by third parties adversely affected by the unauthorized access. Such events could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business and financial results. The Company also relies on third parties for supply of software,

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software and data hosting and telecommunications and networking, and is reliant on those third parties for the quality and integrity of these complex services. Failure by a third party supplier could have material adverse effect on the Company’s ability to operate.

The Company May Not Be Able to Meet Demand for Its Products.

The Company’s future growth may also be limited by its ability to meet the demand for its products, whether as a result of production capacity, disruption or operating performance issues at the Company’s owned breweries, limits on the availability of suitable production capacity at third party-owned breweries and the Company’s ability to enter into brewing contracts with third party-owned breweries on commercially acceptable terms, or the Company’s ability to obtain sufficient quantities of certain ingredients and packaging materials, such as hops, malt, cider ingredients, bottles and cans, from suppliers.

An Increase in Packaging Costs Could Harm the Company’s Financial Results.

The Company maintains competitive sources for the supply of certain packaging materials, such as shipping cases and glass. The Company enters into limited-term supply agreements with certain vendors in order to receive preferential pricing. In 2017, cans, crowns, six pack carriers and labels were each supplied by single sources. Although the Company believes that alternative suppliers are available, the loss of any of the Company’s packaging materials suppliers could, in the short-term, adversely affect the Company’s results of operations, cash flows and financial position until alternative supply arrangements were secured. Additionally, there has been acquisition and consolidation activity in several of the packaging supplier networks which could potentially lead to disruption in supply and changes in economics. If packaging costs continue to increase, there is no guarantee that such costs can be fully passed along through increased prices. The Company has entered into long-term supply agreements for certain packaging materials that have shielded it from some cost increases. These contracts have varying lengths and terms and there is no guarantee that the economics of these contracts can be replicated when renewed. The Company’s inability to preserve the current economics on renewal could expose the Company to significant cost increases in future years. Some of these contracts require the Company to make commitments on minimum volume of purchases based on Company forecasts. If the Company’s needs differ significantly from its forecasts, the Company would likely incur storage costs for excess production or contractual penalties that might be significant to Company financial results.

An Increase in Energy Costs Could Harm the Company’s Financial Results.

In the last five years, the Company has experienced significant variation in direct and indirect energy costs, and energy costs could change unpredictably. Increased energy costs would result in higher transportation, freight and other operating costs, including increases in the cost of ingredients and supplies. The Company’s future operating expenses and margins could be dependent on its ability to manage the impact of such cost increases. If energy costs increase, there is no guarantee that such costs can be fully passed along through increased prices.

Changes in Tax, Environmental and Other Regulations or Failure to Comply with Existing Licensing, Trade or Other Regulations Could Have a Material Adverse Effect on the Company’s Financial Condition.

The Company’s business is highly regulated by federal, state and local laws and regulations regarding such matters as licensing requirements, trade and pricing practices, labeling, advertising, promotion and marketing practices, relationships with Distributors, environmental impact of operations and other matters. These laws and regulations are subject to frequent reevaluation, varying interpretations and political debate, and inquiries from governmental regulators charged with their enforcement. Failure to comply with existing laws and regulations relating to the Company’s operations or any revisions to such laws and regulations or the failure to pay taxes or other fees imposed on the Company’s operations and results could result in the loss, revocation or suspension of the Company’s licenses, permits or approvals, and could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition and results of operations. Changes in Federal and other tax rates could have significant effect on the Company’s financial results.

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There Is No Guarantee that the Company Will Not Face Litigation that Could Harm the Company’s Business.

While the Company has from time to time in the past been involved in material litigation, it is not currently a party to any pending or threatened litigation, the outcome of which would be expected to have a material adverse effect on its financial condition or the results of its operations. In general, while the Company believes it conducts its business appropriately in accordance with laws, regulations and industry guidelines, claims, whether or not meritorious, could be asserted against the Company that might adversely impact the Company’s results. See Item 3 — Legal Proceedings below.

The Class B Shareholder Has Significant Control over the Company

The Company’s Class A Common Stock is not entitled to any voting rights except for the right as a class to (1) approve certain mergers, charter amendments and by-law amendments and (2) elect a minority of the directors of the Company. Although not as a matter of right, the Class A stockholders have also been afforded the opportunity to vote on an advisory basis on executive compensation. Consequently, the election of a majority of the Company’s directors and all other matters requiring stockholder approval are currently decided by C. James Koch, who is the founder and Chairman of the Company, as the holder of 100% of the voting rights to the outstanding shares of the Company’s Class B Common Stock. As a result, Mr. Koch is able to exercise substantial influence over all matters requiring stockholder approval, including the composition of the board of directors, approval of equity-based and other executive compensation and other significant corporate and governance matters, such as approval of the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm. This could have the effect of delaying or preventing a change in control of the Company and makes most material transactions difficult or impossible to accomplish without the support of Mr. Koch. While Mr. Koch is currently the 100% holder of the Company’s Class B Common Stock, there is nothing that prevents Mr. Koch or his heirs from transferring some or all shares of the Class B Common Stock to others.

The Company’s Operating Results and Cash Flow May Be Adversely Affected by Unfavorable Economic, Financial and Societal Market Conditions.

Volatility and uncertainty in the financial markets and economic conditions may directly or indirectly affect the Company’s performance and operating results in a variety of ways, including: (a) prices for energy and agricultural products may rise faster than current estimates, including increases resulting from currency fluctuations; (b) the Company’s key suppliers may not be able to fund their capital requirements, resulting in disruption in the supplies of the Company’s raw and packaging materials; (c) the credit risks of the Company’s Distributors may increase; (d) the impact of currency fluctuations on amounts owed to the Company by distributors that pay in foreign currencies; (e) the Company’s credit facility, or portion thereof, may become unavailable at a time when needed by the Company to meet critical needs; (f) overall beer consumption may decline; or (g) drinkers of the Company’s beers may change their purchase preferences and frequency, which might result in sales declines.

The Company has not received any written comments from the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) regarding the Company’s periodic or current reports that (1) the Company believes are material, (2) were issued not less than 180 days before the end of the Company’s 2017 fiscal year, and (3) remain unresolved.

The Company maintains its principal corporate offices in approximately 54,200 square feet of leased space located in Boston, Massachusetts, the term of which is set to expire in 2026. The Company also leases small offices in California and Vermont.

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The Company maintains a brewery and tour center in Boston, Massachusetts in approximately 43,000 square feet of leased space. The current term of the lease for this facility will expire in 2019, although it has an option to extend the term for an additional five years.

The Company owns approximately 76 acres of land in Breinigsville, Pennsylvania, consisting of the two parcels on which the Company’s Pennsylvania Brewery is located. The buildings on this property consist of approximately 1 million square feet of brewery and warehouse space.

The Company owns approximately 10 acres of land in Cincinnati, Ohio, on which the Company’s Cincinnati Brewery is located, and leases, with an option to purchase, approximately 1 acre of land from the City of Cincinnati which abuts its property. The buildings on this property consist of approximately 128,500 square feet of brewery and warehouse space.

The Company owns approximately 62 acres of land in Walden, New York, consisting of an apple orchard and certain buildings, including a small cidery and tour center. The small cidery and tour center on this property consist of approximately 15,000 square feet of space.

The Company leases approximately 48,650 square feet of space in Los Angeles, California, which houses a small brewery, beer hall and tour center. The current term of the lease for this facility will expire in 2021.

The Company leases approximately 11,365 square feet of space in Miami, Florida, which houses a small brewery, beer hall and tour center. The current term of the lease for this facility will expire in 2023.

The Company leases approximately 2,100 square feet of space within the retail section of MCU Park in Brooklyn, New York, which houses a small brewery and tasting room. The current term of the lease for this facility will expire in 2019.

The Company believes that its facilities are adequate for its current needs and that suitable additional space will be available on commercially acceptable terms as required.

The Company is currently not a party to any pending or threatened litigation, the outcome of which would be expected to have a material adverse effect on its financial condition or the results of its operations.

Not Applicable

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PART II.

The graph set forth below shows the value of an investment of $100 on January 1, 2013 in each of the Company’s stock (“The Boston Beer Company, Inc.”), the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (“S&P 500 Index”), the Standard & Poor’s 500 Beverage Index, which consists of producers of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages (“S&P 500 Beverages Index”) and a custom peer group which consists of Molson Coors Brewing Company and Craft Brewers Alliance, Inc. (formerly Redhook Ale Brewery, Inc.), the two remaining U.S. publicly-traded brewing companies (“Peer Group”), for the five years ending December 30, 2017.

Total Return To Shareholders

(Includes reinvestment of dividends)

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The Company’s Class A Common Stock is listed for trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The Company’s NYSE symbol is SAM. For the fiscal periods indicated, the high and low per share sales prices for the Class A Common Stock of The Boston Beer Company, Inc. as reported on the New York Stock Exchange-Composite Transaction Reporting System were as follows:

There were 9,685 holders of record of the Company’s Class A Common Stock as of February 16, 2018. Excluded from the number of stockholders of record are stockholders who hold shares in “nominee” or “street” name. The closing price per share of the Company’s Class A Common Stock as of February 16, 2018, as reported under the New York Stock Exchange-Composite Transaction Reporting System, was $200.70.

Class A Common Stock

At December 30, 2017, the Company had 22,700,000 authorized shares of Class A Common Stock with a par value of $.01, of which 8,665,557 were issued and outstanding, which includes 62,405 shares that have trading restrictions. The Class A Common Stock has no voting rights, except (1) as required by law, (2) for the election of Class A Directors, and (3) that the approval of the holders of the Class A Common Stock is required for (a) future authorizations or issuances of additional securities which have rights senior to Class A Common Stock, (b) alterations of rights or terms of the Class A or Class B Common Stock as set forth in the Articles of Organization of the Company, (c) certain other amendments of the Articles of Organization of the Company, (d) certain mergers or consolidations with, or acquisitions of, other entities, and (e) sales or dispositions of any significant portion of the Company’s assets.

Class B Common Stock

At December 30, 2017, the Company had 4,200,000 authorized shares of Class B Common Stock with a par value of $.01, of which 3,017,983 shares were issued and outstanding. The Class B Common Stock has full voting rights, including the right to (1) elect a majority of the members of the Company’s Board of Directors and (2) approve all (a) amendments to the Company’s Articles of Organization, (b) mergers or consolidations with, or acquisitions of, other entities, (c) sales or dispositions of any significant portion of the Company’s assets and (d) equity-based and other executive compensation and other significant corporate matters, such as approval of the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm. The Company’s Class B Common Stock is not listed for trading. Each share of Class B Common Stock is freely convertible into one share of Class A Common Stock, upon request of any Class B holder.

As of February 16, 2018, C. James Koch, the Company’s Chairman, was the direct holder of record of all of the Company’s issued and outstanding Class B Common Stock.

The holders of the Class A and Class B Common Stock are entitled to dividends, on a share-for-share basis, only if and when declared by the Board of Directors of the Company out of funds legally available for payment thereof. Since its inception, the Company has not paid dividends and does not currently anticipate paying dividends on its Class A or Class B Common Stock in the foreseeable future.

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Repurchases of the Registrants Class A Common Stock

As of December 30, 2017, the Company has repurchased a cumulative total of approximately 13.4 million shares of its Class A Common Stock for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $752.4 million.

During the twelve months ended December 30, 2017, the Company repurchased 965,947 shares of its Class A Common Stock as illustrated in the table below:

Of the shares that were purchased during the period, 2,157 shares represent repurchases of unvested investment shares issued under the Investment Share Program of the Company’s Employee Equity Incentive Plan.

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Forward-Looking Statements

In this Form 10-K and in other documents incorporated herein, as well as in oral statements made by the Company, statements that are prefaced with the words “may,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “continue,” “estimate,” “project,” “intend,” “designed,” and similar expressions, are intended to identify forward-looking statements regarding events, conditions, and financial trends that may affect the Company’s future plans of operations, business strategy, results of operations, and financial position. These statements are based on the Company’s current expectations and estimates as to prospective events and circumstances about which the Company can give no firm assurance. Further, any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect future events or circumstances. Forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as

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a prediction of actual future financial condition or results. These forward-looking statements, like any forward-looking statements, involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or anticipated. Such risks and uncertainties include the factors set forth above and the other information set forth in this Form 10-K.

Introduction

The Boston Beer Company is engaged in the business of producing and selling alcohol beverages primarily in the domestic market and, to a lesser extent, in selected international markets. The Company’s revenues are primarily derived by selling its beers, hard ciders and hard sparkling waters to Distributors, who in turn sell the products to retailers and drinkers.

The Company’s alcohol beverages compete primarily in the Better Beer category, which includes imported beers and craft beers. This category has seen high single-digit compounded annual growth over the past ten years. Defining factors for Better Beer include superior quality, image and taste, supported by appropriate pricing. The Company believes that the Better Beer category is positioned to increase market share, as drinkers continue to trade up in taste and quality. The Company estimates that in 2017 the craft beer category percentage volume growth was approximately 5% and the Better Beer category percentage volume growth was approximately 5%, while the total beer category volume was essentially flat. The Company believes that the Better Beer category is approximately 22% of United States beer consumption by volume. The Company estimates the Hard Cider category to be less than 1% of the total beer category and believes it has many characteristics similar to the Better Beer category. The Company believes that significant opportunity continues to exist for the Better Beer and Hard Cider categories to gain market share in the total beer category. Depletions or Distributor sales to retailers of the Company’s beers, hard ciders and hard sparkling waters for the 52 week fiscal period ended December 30, 2017, decreased approximately 7% from the comparable 53 week fiscal period in the prior year.

Outlook

Year-to-date depletions reported to the Company for the 6 weeks ended February 10, 2018 are estimated by the Company to have increased approximately 6% from the comparable weeks in 2017.

The Company is targeting Non-GAAP earnings per diluted share for 2018 of between $6.30 and $7.30, excluding the impact of ASU 2016-09, but actual results could vary significantly from this target. The Company is forecasting 2018 depletions and shipments percentage change of between zero and plus 6%. The Company is targeting national price increases of between zero and 2%. Full-year 2018 gross margins are currently expected to be between 52% and 54%. The Company intends to increase advertising, promotional and selling expenses by between $15 million and $25 million for the full year 2018, which does not include any increases in freight costs for the shipment of products to its Distributors. The Company intends to increase its investment in its brands in 2018 commensurate with the opportunities for growth that it sees, but there is no guarantee that such increased investments will result in increased volumes. The Company intends to increase general and administrative expenses between $10 million and $20 million due to organizational investments and anticipated new CEO stock compensation costs. The Company estimates a full-year 2018 Non-GAAP effective tax rate of approximately 28%, excluding the impact of ASU 2016-09. Non-GAAP earnings per diluted share and Non-GAAP effective tax rate are not defined terms under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). These Non-GAAP measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for diluted earnings per share and effective tax rate data prepared in accordance with GAAP, and may not be comparable to calculations of similarly titled measures by other companies. Management believes these Non-GAAP measures provide meaningful and useful information to investors and analysts regarding our outlook and facilitate period to period comparisons of our forecasted financial performance. Non-GAAP earnings per diluted share and Non-GAAP effective tax rate exclude the potential impact of ASU 2016-09, which could be significant and will depend largely upon unpredictable future events outside the Company’s control, including the timing and value realized upon exercise

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of stock options versus the fair value of those options when granted. Therefore, because of the uncertainty and variability of the impact of ASU 2016-09, the Company is unable to provide, without unreasonable effort, a reconciliation of these Non-GAAP measures on a forward-looking basis.

The Company is continuing to evaluate 2018 capital expenditures. Its current estimates are between $55 million and $65 million, consisting mostly of continued investments in the Company’s breweries. The actual total amount spent on 2018 capital expenditures may well be different from these estimates. Based on information currently available, the Company believes that its capacity requirements for 2018 can be covered by its Company-owned breweries and existing contracted capacity at third-party brewers.

Results of Operations

Year Ended December 30, 2017 (52 weeks) Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2016 (53 weeks)

Net revenue. Net revenue decreased by $43.4 million, or 4.8%, to $863.0 million for the year ended December 30, 2017, as compared to $906.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2016, due primarily to decreased shipments.

Volume. Total shipment volume of 3,768,000 barrels for the year ended December 30, 2017 decreased by 6.2% over 2016 levels of 4,019,000 barrels, due primarily to decreases in shipments of Samuel Adams and Angry Orchard brand products that were only partially offset by shipment increases in Twisted Tea and Truly Spiked & Sparkling brand products.

Depletions, or sales by Distributors to retailers, of the Company’s products for the year ended December 30, 2017 decreased by approximately 7% compared to the prior year, primarily due to decreases in depletions of Samuel Adams and Angry Orchard brand products that were only partially offset by increases in depletions of Twisted Tea and Truly Spiked & Sparkling brand products.

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Net Revenue per barrel. The net revenue per barrel increased by 1.6% to $229.05 per barrel for the year ended December 30, 2017, as compared to $225.55 per barrel for the year ended December 31, 2016, due primarily to product and package mix and price increases.

Significant changes in the package mix could have a material effect on net revenue. The Company primarily packages its products in kegs, bottles and cans. Assuming the same level of production, a shift in the mix from kegs to bottles and cans would effectively increase revenue per barrel, as the price per equivalent barrel is lower for kegs than for bottles and cans. The percentage of bottles and cans to total shipments increased by 2.3% to 82.6% of total shipments for the year ended December 30, 2017 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2016.

Cost of goods sold. Cost of goods sold was $109.64 per barrel for the year ended December 30, 2017, as compared to $111.17 per barrel for the year ended December 31, 2016. The 2017 decrease in cost of goods sold of $1.53 per barrel was primarily the result of lower brewery processing costs driven by waste reductions and efficiency gains, partially offset by unfavorable fixed cost absorption due to lower volumes and unfavorable product and package mix.

Gross profit. Gross profit was $119.41 per barrel for the year ended December 30, 2017, as compared to $114.38 per barrel for the year ended December 31, 2016. Gross margin was 52.1% for the year ended December 30, 2017, as compared to 50.7% for the year ended December 31, 2016. The increase in gross profit per barrel of $5.03 is due to cost saving initiatives in Company-owned breweries, product and package mix and price increases, partially offset by unfavorable fixed cost absorption impacts due to lower volumes and higher ingredients and packaging costs.

The Company includes freight charges related to the movement of finished goods from manufacturing locations to Distributor locations in its advertising, promotional and selling expense line item. As such, the Company’s gross margins may not be comparable to other entities that classify costs related to distribution differently.

Advertising, promotional and selling. Advertising, promotional and selling expenses, increased $14.4 million, or 5.9%, to $258.6 million for the year ended December 30, 2017, as compared to $244.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2016. The increase was primarily the result of increases in media and digital advertising costs for new campaigns, increased salaries and benefits costs and increased production and market research costs, partially offset by decreases in point of sale costs and freight to distributors due to lower volumes and rates.

Advertising, promotional and selling expenses were 30.0% of net revenue, or $68.65 per barrel, for the year ended December 30, 2017, as compared to 26.9% of net revenue, or $60.77 per barrel, for the year ended December 31, 2016. The Company will invest in advertising and promotional campaigns that it believes are effective, but there is no guarantee that such investment will generate sales growth.

The Company conducts certain advertising and promotional activities in its Distributors’ markets, and the Distributors make contributions to the Company for such efforts. These amounts are included in the Company’s statement of operations as reductions to advertising, promotional and selling expenses. Historically, contributions from Distributors for advertising and promotional activities have amounted to between 2% and 3% of net sales. The Company may adjust its promotional efforts in the Distributors’ markets, if changes occur in these promotional contribution arrangements, depending on the industry and market conditions.

General and administrative. General and administrative expenses decreased by $4.9 million, or 6.3%, to $73.1 million for the year ended December 30, 2017, as compared to $78.0 million for the comparable period in 2016. The decrease was primarily due to decreases in consulting and legal costs and lower salary and benefits costs.

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Impairment of assets. For the year ended December 30, 2017, the Company incurred impairment charges of $2.5 million, based upon its review of the carrying values of its property, plant and equipment. These impairment charges were primarily due to the write-down of brewery equipment at the Company’s Pennsylvania and Cincinnati breweries.

Stock-based compensation expense. For the year ended December 30, 2017, an aggregate of $6.3 million in stock-based compensation expense is included in advertising, promotional and selling expenses and general and administrative expenses. Stock compensation decreased by $0.2 million in 2017 compared to 2016, primarily due to cancellation of unvested equity awards upon departure of key employees.

Provision for income taxes. The Company’s effective tax rate for the year ended December 30, 2017 of 14.7% decreased from the year ended December 31, 2016 rate of approximately 36.3%. This decrease was primarily due to the favorable one-time impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of $20.3 million and the favorable impact of ASU 2016-09 of $4.4 million.

Year Ended December 31, 2016 (53 weeks) Compared to Year Ended December 26, 2015 (52 weeks)

Net revenue. Net revenue decreased by $53.5 million, or 5.6%, to $906.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2016, as compared to $959.9 million for the year ended December 26, 2015, due primarily to decreased shipments.

Volume. Total shipment volume of 4,019,000 barrels for the year ended December 31, 2016 decreased by 5.6% over comparable 2015 levels of 4,256,000 barrels, due primarily to decreases in shipments of Samuel Adams, Angry Orchard, Coney Island and Traveler brand products that were only partially offset by shipment increases in Twisted Tea and Truly Spiked & Sparkling brand products.

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Depletions, or sales by Distributors to retailers, of the Company’s products for the year ended December 31, 2016 decreased by approximately 5% compared to the prior year, primarily due to decreases in depletions of Samuel Adams, Angry Orchard, Traveler and Coney Island brand products that were only partially offset by increases in depletions of Twisted Tea and Truly Spiked & Sparkling brand products.

Net Revenue per barrel. The net revenue per barrel remained flat at $225.55 per barrel for the year ended December 31, 2016, when compared to the year ended December 26, 2015. This was due primarily to price increases and package mix effects that were offset by product mix effects and increased returns.

Significant changes in the package mix could have a material effect on net revenue. The Company primarily packages its products in kegs, bottles and cans. Assuming the same level of production, a shift in the mix from kegs to bottles and cans would effectively increase revenue per barrel, as the price per equivalent barrel is lower for kegs than for bottles and cans. The percentage of bottles and cans to total shipments increased by 1.5% to 80.2% of total shipments for the year ended December 31, 2016 as compared to the year ended December 26, 2015.

Cost of goods sold. Cost of goods sold was $111.17 per barrel for the year ended December 31, 2016, as compared to $107.69 per barrel for the year ended December 26, 2015. The 2016 increase in cost of goods sold of $3.48 per barrel is the result of unfavorable fixed cost absorption and product mix effects partially offset by cost saving initiatives in the Company’s breweries.

Gross profit. Gross profit was $114.38 per barrel for the year ended December 31, 2016, as compared to $117.86 per barrel for the year ended December 26, 2015. Gross margin was 50.7% for the year ended December 31, 2016, as compared to 52.3% for the year ended December 26, 2015. The decrease in gross profit per barrel of $3.48 is primarily due to an increase in cost of goods sold per barrel.

The Company includes freight charges related to the movement of finished goods from manufacturing locations to Distributor locations in its advertising, promotional and selling expense line item. As such, the Company’s gross margins may not be comparable to other entities that classify costs related to distribution differently.

Advertising, promotional and selling. Advertising, promotional and selling expenses decreased $29.4 million, or 10.8%, to $244.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2016, as compared to $273.6 million for the year ended December 26, 2015. The decrease was primarily the result of decreases in freight to distributors due to lower volume and lower freight rates and lower media advertising and point-of-sale spending.

Advertising, promotional and selling expenses were 26.9% of net revenue, or $60.77 per barrel, for the year ended December 31, 2016, as compared to 28.5% of net revenue, or $64.29 per barrel, for the year ended December 26, 2015. The Company will invest in advertising and promotional campaigns that it believes are effective, but there is no guarantee that such investment will generate sales growth.

The Company conducts certain advertising and promotional activities in its Distributors’ markets, and the Distributors make contributions to the Company for such efforts. These amounts are included in the Company’s statement of operations as reductions to advertising, promotional and selling expenses. Historically, contributions from Distributors for advertising and promotional activities have amounted to between 2% and 4% of net sales. The Company may adjust its promotional efforts in the Distributors’ markets, if changes occur in these promotional contribution arrangements, depending on the industry and market conditions.

General and administrative. General and administrative expenses increased by $6.5 million, or 9.1%, to $78.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2016, as compared to $71.6 million for the comparable period in 2015. The increase was primarily due to increases in salary and benefits and facilities costs.

Gain on sale of assets. For the year ended December 31, 2016, the Company recognized a $1.0 million gain on the sale of land owned in Freetown, Massachusetts.

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Impairment of assets. For the year ended December 31, 2016, the Company incurred impairment charges of $0.7 million, based upon its review of the carrying values of its property, plant and equipment.

Stock-based compensation expense. For the year ended December 31, 2016, an aggregate of $6.2 million in stock-based compensation expense is included in advertising, promotional and selling expenses and general and administrative expenses. Stock compensation decreased by $0.5 million in 2016 compared to 2015, primarily due to cancellation of unvested equity awards upon departure of key employees partially offset by new equity awards granted in 2016.

Provision for income taxes. The Company’s effective tax rate for the year ended December 31, 2016 of 36.3% decreased from the year ended December 26, 2015 rate of approximately 36.5%. This decrease was due to a slight decrease in tax valuation reserves during 2016.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Cash decreased to $65.6 million as of December 30, 2017 from $91.0 million as of December 31, 2016, reflecting cash used in financing activities and for purchases of property, plant and equipment that was only partially offset by cash provided by operating activities.

Cash provided by or used in operating activities consists of net income, adjusted for certain non-cash items, such as depreciation and amortization, stock-based compensation expense and related excess tax benefit, other non-cash items included in operating results, and changes in operating assets and liabilities, such as accounts receivable, inventory, accounts payable and accrued expenses.

Cash provided by operating activities in 2017 was $136.0 million and primarily consisted of net income of $99.0 million, non-cash items of $38.3 million offset by a net increase in operating assets and liabilities of $1.4 million. Cash provided by operating activities in 2016 was $154.2 million and primarily consisted of net income of $87.3 million, non-cash items of $51.6 million and a net decrease in operating assets and liabilities of $15.3 million which includes a $12.0 million tax refund in the first quarter of 2016.

The Company used $32.9 million in investing activities during 2017, as compared to $46.0 million during 2016. 2017 investing activities primarily consisted of capital investments made mostly in the Company’s breweries to drive efficiencies and cost reductions, support product innovation and future growth.

Cash used in financing activities was $128.5 million during 2017, as compared to $111.3 million used in financing activities during 2016. The $17.2 million increase in cash used in financing activities in 2017 from 2016 is primarily due to a decrease in proceeds from the exercise of stock options and the related tax benefits partially offset by a decrease in stock repurchases under the Company’s Stock Repurchase Program.

In 1998, the Board of Directors authorized management to implement a stock repurchase program. During the year ended December 30, 2017, the Company repurchased approximately 964,000 shares of its Class A Common Stock for an aggregate purchase price of $144.6 million. As of December 30, 2017, the Company had repurchased a cumulative total of approximately 13.4 million shares of its Class A Common Stock for an aggregate purchase price of $752.4 million.

From December 31, 2017 through February 16, 2018, the Company repurchased approximately 47,000 additional shares of its Class A Common Stock for an aggregate purchase price of $8.9 million. As of February 16, 2018, the Company has repurchased a cumulative total of approximately 13.5 million shares of its Class A Common Stock for an aggregate purchase price of $761.2 million. The Company has approximately $169.8 million remaining on the $931.0 million stock repurchase expenditure limit set by the Board of Directors.

The Company expects that its cash balance as of December 30, 2017 of $65.6 million, along with future operating cash flow and the Company’s unused line of credit of $150.0 million, will be sufficient to fund future

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cash requirements. The Company’s $150.0 million credit facility has a term not scheduled to expire until March 31, 2019. As of the date of this filing, the Company was not in violation of any of its covenants to the lender under the credit facility and there were no amounts outstanding under the credit facility.

Critical Accounting Policies

The discussion and analysis of the Company’s financial condition and results of operations is based upon its consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. The preparation of these financial statements requires the Company to make significant estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. These items are monitored and analyzed by management for changes in facts and circumstances, and material changes in these estimates could occur in the future. The more judgmental estimates are summarized below. Changes in estimates are recorded in the period in which they become known. The Company bases its estimates on historical experience and various other assumptions that the Company believes to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results may differ from the Company’s estimates if past experience or other assumptions do not turn out to be substantially accurate.

Provision for Excess or Expired Inventory

The provisions for excess or expired inventory are based on management’s estimates of forecasted usage of inventories on hand and under contract. Forecasting usage involves significant judgments regarding future demand for the Company’s various existing products and products under development as well as the potency and shelf-life of various ingredients. A significant change in the timing or level of demand for certain products as compared to forecasted amounts may result in recording additional provisions for excess or expired inventory in the future. Provisions for excess inventory are included in cost of goods sold and have historically been adequate to provide for losses on its inventory. Provision for excess or expired inventory included in cost of goods sold was $5.8 million, $4.5 million and $4.0 million in fiscal years 2017, 2016, and 2015, respectively.

Valuation of Property, Plant and Equipment

The carrying value of property, plant and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation, at December 30, 2017 was $384.3 million. For purposes of determining whether there are any impairment losses, as further discussed below, management has historically examined the carrying value of the Company’s identifiable long-lived assets, including their useful lives, semi-annually, or more frequently when indicators of impairment are present. Evaluations of whether indicators of impairment exist involve judgments regarding the current and future business environment and the length of time the Company intends to use the asset. If an impairment loss is identified based on the fair value of the asset, as compared to the carrying value of the asset, such loss would be charged to expense in the period the impairment is identified. Furthermore, if the review of the carrying values of the long-lived assets indicates impairment of such assets, the Company may determine that shorter estimated useful lives are more appropriate. In that event, the Company will be required to record additional depreciation in future periods, which will reduce earnings. Estimating the amount of impairment, if any, requires significant judgments including identification of potential impairments, market comparison to similar assets, estimated cash flows to be generated by the asset, discount rates, and the remaining useful life of the asset. Impairment of assets included in operating expenses was $2.5 million, $0.7 million and $0.3 million in fiscal years 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively.

Factors generally considered important which could trigger an impairment review on the carrying value of long-lived assets include the following: (1) significant underperformance relative to historical or projected future operating results; (2) significant changes in the manner of use of acquired assets or the strategy for the Company’s overall business; (3) underutilization of assets; and (4) discontinuance of products by the Company or its customers. The Company believes that the carrying value of its long-lived assets was realizable as of December 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016.

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Revenue Recognition and Classification of Customer Programs and Incentives

The Company recognizes revenue on product sales at the time when the product is shipped and the following conditions are met: persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, title has passed to the customer according to the shipping terms, the price is fixed and determinable, and collection of the sales proceeds is reasonably assured. If the conditions for revenue recognition are not met, the Company defers the revenue until all conditions are met. As of December 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the Company has deferred $5.5 million and $5.4 million respectively, in revenue related to product shipped prior to these dates. These amounts are included in accrued expenses and other current liabilities in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets.

The Company is committed to maintaining the freshness of the product in the market. In certain circumstances and with the Company’s approval, the Company accepts and destroys stale beer that is returned by Distributors. The Company generally credits approximately fifty percent of the distributor’s cost of the beer that has passed its expiration date for freshness when it is returned to the Company or destroyed. The Company reduces revenue and establishes an accrual based upon both historical returns, which is applied to an estimated lag time for receipt of product, and knowledge of specific return transactions. Estimating this reserve involves significant judgments and estimates, including comparability of historical return trends to future trends, lag time from date of sale to date of return, and product mix of returns. Stale beer expense is reflected in the accompanying financial statements as a reduction of revenue. Historically, the cost of actual stale beer returns has been in line with established reserves, however, the cost could differ materially from the estimated reserve which would impact revenue. As of December 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the stale beer reserve was $3.0 million and $5.2 million, respectively.

Customer programs and incentives, which include customer promotional discount programs, customer incentives and other payments, are a common practice in the alcohol beverage industry. The Company makes these payments to customers and incurs these costs to promote sales of products and to maintain competitive pricing. Amounts paid in connection with customer programs and incentives are recorded as reductions to net revenue or as advertising, promotional and selling expenses in accordance with ASC Topic 605-50, Revenue Recognition- Customer Payments and Incentives, based on the nature of the expenditure. Amounts paid to customers totaled $51.8 million, $54.4 million and $55.3 million in fiscal year 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively.

Customer promotional discount programs are entered into with Distributors for certain periods of time. Amounts paid to Distributors in connection with these programs in fiscal years 2017, 2016 and 2015 were $30.2 million, $33.2 million and $33.2 million, respectively. The reimbursements for discounts to Distributors are recorded as reductions to net revenue. The agreed-upon discount rates are applied to certain Distributors’ sales to retailers, based on volume metrics, in order to determine the total discounted amount. The computation of the discount allowance requires that management make certain estimates and assumptions that affect the timing and amounts of revenue and liabilities recorded. Actual promotional discounts owed and paid have historically been in line with allowances recorded by the Company, however, the amounts could differ from the estimated allowance.

Customer incentives and other payments are made primarily to Distributors based upon performance of certain marketing and advertising activities. Depending on applicable state laws and regulations, these activities promoting the Company’s products may include, but are not limited to point-of-sale and merchandise placement, samples, product displays, promotional programs at retail locations and meals, travel and entertainment. Amounts paid to customers in connection with these programs in fiscal years 2017, 2016 and 2015 were $21.6 million, $21.2 million and $22.1 million, respectively. In fiscal 2017, 2016 and 2015, the Company recorded certain of these costs in the total amount of $15.3 million, $16.1 million, and $16.6 million respectively, as reductions to net revenue. Costs recognized in net revenues include, but are not limited to, promotional discounts, sales incentives and certain other promotional activities. Costs recognized in advertising, promotional and selling expenses include point of sale materials, samples and media advertising expenditures in local markets. These costs are recorded as incurred, generally when invoices are received; however certain estimates are required at period end. Estimates are based on historical and projected experience for each type of program or customer and have historically been in line with actual costs incurred.

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In connection with its preparation of financial statements and other financial reporting, management is required to make certain estimates and assumptions regarding the amount, timing and classification of expenditures resulting from these activities. Actual expenditures incurred could differ from management’s estimates and assumptions.

Stock-Based Compensation

The Company accounts for share-based awards in accordance with ASC Topic 718, Compensation – Stock Compensation (“ASC 718”), which generally requires recognition of share-based compensation costs in financial statements based on fair value. Compensation cost is recognized over the period during which an employee is required to provide services in exchange for the award (the requisite service period). The amount of compensation cost recognized in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income is based on the awards ultimately expected to vest, and therefore, reduced for estimated forfeitures. Stock-based compensation was $6.3 million, $6.2 million and $6.7 million in fiscal years 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively.

As permitted by ASC 718, the Company elected to use a lattice model, such as the trinomial option-pricing model, to estimate the fair values of stock options, with the exception of the 2008 and 2016 stock option grants to the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, which is considered to be a market-based award and was valued utilizing the Monte Carlo Simulation pricing model, which calculates multiple potential outcomes for an award and establishes fair value based on the most likely outcome. All option-pricing models require the input of subjective assumptions. These assumptions include the estimated volatility of the Company’s common stock price over the expected term, the expected dividend rate, the estimated post-vesting forfeiture rate, the risk-free interest rate and expected exercise behavior. See Note L for further discussion of the application of the option-pricing models.

In addition, an estimated pre-vesting forfeiture rate is applied in the recognition of the compensation charge. Periodically, the Company grants performance-based stock options, related to which it only recognizes compensation expense if it is probable that performance targets will be met. Consequently, at the end of each reporting period, the Company estimates whether it is probable that performance targets will be met. Changes in the subjective assumptions and estimates can materially affect the amount of stock-based compensation expense recognized in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income. As of December 30, 2017, the Company had outstanding performance-based options with a fair value of $2.8 million, for which performance achievement was not probable. If performance was considered probable, the Company would have recognized additional stock-based compensation of $0.8 million in 2017.

Business Environment

The alcoholic beverage industry is highly regulated at the federal, state and local levels. The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (“TTB”) and the Justice Department’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives enforce laws under the Federal Alcohol Administration Act. The TTB is responsible for administering and enforcing excise tax laws that directly affect the Company’s results of operations. State and regulatory authorities have the ability to suspend or revoke the Company’s licenses and permits or impose substantial fines for violations. The Company has established strict policies, procedures and guidelines in efforts to ensure compliance with all applicable state and federal laws. However, the loss or revocation of any existing license or permit could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, results of operations, cash flows and financial position.

The Better Beer category is highly competitive due to the large number of regional craft and specialty brewers and the brewers of imported beers who distribute similar products that have similar pricing and target drinkers. The Company believes that its pricing is appropriate given the quality and reputation of its brands, while realizing that economic pricing pressures may affect future pricing levels. Certain major domestic brewers have also developed brands to compete within the Better Beer, FMB, hard cider and hard sparkling water categories and have acquired interests in craft beers and hard cider makers, or importation rights to foreign brands. Import

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brewers and major domestic brewers are able to compete more aggressively than the Company, as they have substantially greater resources, marketing strength and distribution networks than the Company. The Company anticipates competition among domestic craft brewers will remain strong, as craft brewers continue to experience growth and there were many new startups in 2017. The Company also increasingly competes with wine and spirits companies, some of which have significantly greater resources than the Company. This competitive environment may affect the Company’s overall performance within the Better Beer category. As the market matures and the Better Beer category continues to consolidate, the Company believes that companies that are well-positioned in terms of brand equity, marketing and distribution will have greater success than those who do not. With approximately 350 Distributors nationwide and the Company’s sales force of approximately 387 people, a commitment to maintaining brand equity and the quality of its beer, the Company believes it is well positioned to compete in the Better Beer market.

The demand for the Company’s products is also subject to changes in drinkers’ tastes.

The Potential Impact of Known Facts, Commitments, Events and Uncertainties

Contractual Obligations

See Note J of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

See Note B of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

The Company has not entered into any material off-balance sheet arrangements as of December 30, 2017.

In the ordinary course of business, the Company is exposed to the impact of fluctuations in foreign exchange rates. The Company does not enter into derivatives or other market risk sensitive instruments for the purpose of speculation or for trading purposes. Market risk sensitive instruments include derivative financial instruments, other financial instruments and derivative commodity instruments, such as futures, forwards, swaps and options, that are exposed to rate or price changes.

The Company enters into hops purchase contracts, as described in Note J, and makes purchases of other ingredients, equipment and machinery denominated in foreign currencies. The cost of these commitments change as foreign exchange rates fluctuate. Currently, it is not the Company’s policy to hedge against foreign currency fluctuations.

The interest rate for borrowings under the Company’s credit facility is based on either (i) the Alternative Prime Rate (4.50% at December 30, 2017) or (ii) the applicable LIBOR rate (1.49% at December 30, 2017) plus 0.45%, and therefore, subjects the Company to fluctuations in such rates. As of December 30, 2017, the Company had no amounts outstanding under its current line of credit.

Sensitivity Analysis

The Company applies a sensitivity analysis to reflect the impact of a 10% hypothetical adverse change in the foreign currency rates. A potential adverse fluctuation in foreign currency exchange rates could negatively impact future cash flows by approximately $3.7 million as of December 30, 2017.

There are many economic factors that can affect volatility in foreign exchange rates. As such factors cannot be predicted, the actual impact on earnings due to an adverse change in the respective rates could vary substantially from the amounts calculated above.

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REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the shareholders and the Board of Directors of

The Boston Beer Company, Inc.

Boston, Massachusetts

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of The Boston Beer Company, Inc. and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, and the related consolidated statements of comprehensive income, stockholders’ equity, and cash flows for each of the three fiscal years in the period ended December 30, 2017 and the related notes. In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of The Boston Beer Company, Inc. and subsidiaries as of December 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 30, 2017, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 30, 2017, based on criteria established in Internal Control — Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission and our report dated February 21, 2018 expressed an unqualified opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

Basis for Opinion

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

/s/ Deloitte & Touche LLP

Boston, Massachusetts

February 21, 2018

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2015.

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THE BOSTON BEER COMPANY, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(in thousands, except share data)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

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THE BOSTON BEER COMPANY, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

(in thousands, except per share data)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

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THE BOSTON BEER COMPANY, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

For the Years Ended December 30, 2017, December 31, 2016, and December 26, 2015

(in thousands)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

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CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(in thousands)