For the past few years, the Boston Beer Company has been doing more than just brewing Samuel Adams Boston Lager. They've also been helping to brew up small businesses with a microloan program. This week, they expanded that program to include businesses in Chicago. Michele Norris talks with Boston Beer Company founder and chairman Jim Koch about the "Brewing the American Dream" program.

Transcript

MICHELE NORRIS, host: When it comes to the business of beer, here's a guy who knows something about building a big company out of nothing. Jim Cook is the man behind Samuel Adams Boston Lager. He started the company with his own savings and loans from his family and friends. He became perhaps the best-known craft brewer in the United States. And these days, Cook is so successful that he's helping entrepreneurs get their upstart businesses off the ground, through a microloan program.

This week, he expanded the Brewing the American Dream program to Chicago. And Jim Cook joins me now from Denver, where he's attending the Great American Beer Festival.

Welcome to the program.

JIM COOK: Michele, it's a pleasure to be here.

NORRIS: Who is this program for?

COOK: This program is for low and moderate income small businesses in food beverage and hospitality, which is an area that we know. And we coupled it with coaching and counseling to help those businesses to be successful, grow their business and create jobs. And, ultimately, pay the money back so that we can then loan that money back out again and help more businesses.

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