Ask an alumnus: Free State Brewing Co.’s Tommy Kelley
Alumnus Tommy Kelley pivoted from studying business to brewing beer. The 2009 finance graduate currently serves as Free State Brewing Co.’s head brewer at its east Lawrence production brewery.
Kelley started at Free State as a busboy at its downtown restaurant while studying at KU. He was invited to help out with special events and festivals and fell in love with beer, eventually becoming a bartender.
“Still being in college and pouring beer at one of the busiest bars in town was like a dream job to me at the time,” he said.
When he graduated, the recession was in full swing and being a finance major looking for a job in banking proved challenging. Kelley was on the job hunt when the owner of Free State asked if he was interested in learning how to brew beer.
“I had honestly never thought of brewing beer nor had I even attempted to home-brew at the time, but it was a job that could potentially become a career, so I gladly accepted the opportunity,” he explained. “From that point, I was an assistant brewer at our downtown pub brewery, where I learned everything about the brewing process from grain to glass.”
What’s your favorite part of what you do and working at Free State?
Well, beer I guess is the obvious answer, but to me it’s much more than that. I love being a part of something that I truly feel is great. As a bartender and a brewer, seeing the way folks react to our beers is very rewarding. We — not just the brewers, but everyone at Free State — are truly proud of what we do and what we offer to our customers. I’ve worked here for going on 13 years now, and it has introduced to me so many different people that I can call friends and even some that I consider family, and it’s all because of beer!
Do you feel like your background in business helps you in your current role? If so, how?
Currently, yes, absolutely. I’m responsible for ordering and inventory of our raw materials and use a lot of spreadsheets to keep an eye on costs and supply levels.
What are some of your best memories at the School of Business? Did you have a favorite class or instructor?
Kelly Welch was hands-down my favorite instructor during my time at the School of Business. Just listening to him talk about finance and the way markets work and react, you can really tell how much he knows. He would never just give you the answer, but he would give you all the tools you need and have a way of explaining things to you so that it really made sense.
I was one of the first students in his course called Business Valuation (FIN 448), which was a semesterlong project in which you valued a publicly traded company based on public information. I, of course, chose a beer company (Boston Beer aka Sam Adams), and I can honestly say I learned more about finance and business in this semester than I did throughout my other classes.
What is your advice to current students?
I feel like when I was in school, when thinking about getting a job after graduating, I felt like I could only look in the banking industry or something similar. I may not use all the things I learned in b-school for my job, but it came in handy when it came to buying a home, and figuring out a retirement plan that was best for me. I guess my main advice is to not limit yourself to one industry. Beer is fun, but running a brewery is a business, and it takes people with a good grasp of business to be successful. There is a reason that we just celebrated 30 years in the craft beer industry.
