sam-ex101

The purpose of The Boston Beer Company, Inc. Equity Plan for Non‐Employee Directors (the “Plan”) is to attract and retain the services of experienced and knowledgeable independent Directors who are not employees (“Non‐Employee Directors”) of The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (“Boston Beer”) for the benefit of Boston Beer and its shareholders and to provide additional incentive for Non‐Employee Directors to continue to work in the best interests of Boston Beer and its shareholders through continuing ownership of Boston Beer Class A Common Stock, par value $.01 per share (“Class A Stock”). The Plan amends, restates, and supersedes in all respects the Boston Beer Restated 1996 Stock Option Plan for Non-Employee Directors.

(a)Awards under the Plan (“Stock Awards”) may be in the form of options (“Options”) or restricted stock units (“RSUs”).

(b)The total number of shares of Class A Stock (“Shares”), for which Options and RSUs may be granted under the Plan shall not exceed 550,000 in the aggregate, inclusive of Shares issued under all predecessor equity plans for Non-Employee Directors, subject to adjustment in accordance with Section 9 hereof.

(i)Each newly elected or appointed Non‐Employee Director shall be granted an Option under the Plan to acquire the greatest number of whole Shares having a value of up to Sixty-Five Thousand and 00/100 Dollars ($65,000.00), computed using the trinomial option‐pricing model as of the date of grant, upon their initial election to the Board of Directors of Boston Beer (the “Board”), provided that in the case of a Non-Employee Director newly elected to the Board between annual meetings of the shareholders of Boston Beer, the number of Shares underlying the Option granted to such newly elected or appointed Non‐Employee Director shall be pro‐rated based upon the number of regular meetings of the Board remaining prior to the next annual meeting of shareholders.

(ii)In addition, each Non‐Employee Director shall be granted an option under the Plan to acquire the greatest number of whole Shares having a value of up to Sixty-Five Thousand and 00/1000 Dollars ($65,000.00), computed using the trinomial option‐pricing model as of the date of grant, upon their reelection to the Board at an annual meeting of shareholders.

(iii)Options granted under this Section 3(a) shall be effective as of the date of the Non‐Employee Director’s election or appointment or reelection or reappointment, as applicable.

(iv)Options granted under this Section 3(a) shall be non‐qualified options not intended to meet the requirements of Section 422 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”).

(i)Each newly elected or appointed Non‐Employee Director shall also be granted RSUs covering Shares having a value of up to Sixty-Five Thousand and 00/100 Dollars ($65,000.00) as of the date upon their initial election or appointment to the Board (the “RSU Grant Date”), provided that in the case of a Non-Employee Director newly elected or appointed to the Board between annual meetings of the shareholders of Boston Beer, the number of Shares underlying the RSUs granted to such newly elected or appointed Non‐Employee Director shall be pro‐rated based upon the number of regular meetings of the Board remaining prior to the next annual meeting of shareholders. The actual number of RSUs awarded will be based on the close price of Class A Stock on the day before the RSU Grant Date, rounded up to the nearest whole number of shares. 100% of the RSUs will vest on the first anniversary of the RSU Grant Date provided that the Non-Employee Director remains a member of the Board as of that date.

(ii)In addition, each Non‐Employee Director shall be granted RSUs covering Shares having a value of up to Sixty-Five Thousand and 00/100 Dollars ($65,000.00) upon their election, appointment, or re-election to the Board. The actual number of RSUs awarded will be based on the close price of Class A Stock on the day before the RSU Grant Date, rounded up to the nearest whole number of shares. 100% of the RSUs will vest on the first anniversary of the RSU Grant Date provided that the Non-Employee Director remains a member of the Board as of that date.

(iii)RSUs granted under this Section 3(b) shall be effective as of the date of the Non‐Employee Director’s election or appointment or reelection or reappointment, as applicable (the “RSU Grant Date”).

Each Stock Award granted under the Plan shall be evidenced by an agreement (the “Agreement”), duly executed by the Non‐Employee Director to whom such Stock Award is granted. Each Agreement shall: (i) comply with and be subject to the terms and conditions of the Plan, (ii) provide that the recipient agrees to continue to serve as a Director of Boston Beer during the term for which he or she was elected, and (iii) contain such other provisions not inconsistent with the provisions of the Plan, including with respect to obligations of each Non‐Employee Director not to compete with Boston Beer, as the Board may determine.

Subject to the provisions of Section 9 hereof, the exercise price for Options granted under the Plan shall be the fair market value of the Shares covered by the Option on the date of grant of the option. For the purposes hereof and of Section 6(b), the fair market value of Shares shall be the closing price of Class A Common Stock reported by the New York Stock Exchange or any other national securities exchange on which such shares may be primarily traded, on the last trading day before the date of grant, provided that if the Class A Common Stock of Boston Beer is not listed on or actually trading on the New York Stock Exchange or another national securities exchange, fair market value shall be determined in good faith by the Board.

(a)Options granted under the Plan shall, subject to the provisions of Section 7, be immediately exercisable in full; provided, however, (i) no Option granted under the Plan may be exercised prior to approval of the Plan by the holders of Boston Beer’s issued and outstanding Class B Common Stock, as required by Section 13 and (ii) exercise may be made only in full compliance with the requirements under the various Boston Beer Policies specified in Section 16(c), as then in effect.

(b)Each Option may be exercised in full at one time or in part from time to time by giving written notice to Boston Beer, signed by the person or persons exercising the option, stating the number of Shares with respect to which the Option is being exercised, accompanied by payment in full for such Shares, which payment may be in cash or in whole or in part in Shares already owned for a period of at least six months by the person or persons exercising the option, valued at fair market value, as determined under Section 5 hereof, on the date of exercise; provided, however, that there shall be no such exercise at any one time as to fewer than one hundred (100) Shares or all of the remaining Shares then purchasable by the person or persons exercising the option, if fewer than one hundred (100) Shares. Upon such exercise, delivery of a certificate for paid‐up non‐assessable Shares shall be made at the principal Massachusetts office of Boston Beer to the person or persons exercising the option at such time, during ordinary business hours, not more than thirty (30) days from the date of receipt of the notice by Boston Beer, as shall be designated in such notice, or at such time, place and manner as may be agreed upon by Boston Beer and the person or persons exercising the option.

(c)Subject to the RSU recipient’s continued engagement as a Director on the vesting date, all RSUs shall vest one (1) year from the RSU Grant Date. The default payment method to cover taxes for the vesting of RSUs shall be the net withhold payment method.

(a)Each Option shall expire ten (10) years from the date of the granting thereof but shall be subject to earlier termination as herein provided.

(b)In the event of the death of a Non-Employee Director to whom an Option has been granted, the Option granted to such Non-Employee Director may be exercised by their estate or by any person or persons who acquired the right to exercise such Option by bequest or inheritance or otherwise by reason of the death of such Non-Employee Director. Such Option may be exercised at any time within one (1) year after the date of death of such Non-Employee Director, at which time the Option shall terminate, or prior to the date on which the Option otherwise expires by its terms, whichever is earlier.

(c)In the event that a Non-Employee Director ceases to be a Director of Boston Beer any Option granted to him or her may be exercised by him or her at any time within three (3) years after the date such Non-Employee Director ceases to be a Director of Boston Beer, at which time the Option shall terminate, but in any event must be exercised prior to the date on which the Option expires by its terms, unless termination as a Director (i) was by Boston Beer for cause, in which case the Option shall terminate immediately at the time the such Non-Employee Director ceases to be a Director of Boston Beer, (ii) was because the Non-Employee Director has become disabled (within the meaning of Section 22(e)(3) of the Code), or (iii) was by reason of the death of the Non-Employee Director, in which event, the provisions of Section 7(b) above shall apply. In the case of disability, the Option may be exercised at any time within one (1) year after the date of termination of the Non-Employee Director’s directorship with Boston Beer, at which time the Option shall terminate, but in any event prior to the date on which the Option otherwise expires by its terms.

(d)In the event of the death or disability of an RSU recipient, all then unvested RSUs shall become fully vested. In the event that an RSU recipient ceases to be a Director of Boston Beer for reason other than death or disability, any unvested RSUs shall be immediately forfeited to the Company.

(a)The right of any Non-Employee Director to exercise an option granted to him or her under the Plan shall not be assignable or transferable by him or her, otherwise than by will or the laws of descent and distribution, or pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order as defined by the Code or Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, or the rules thereunder. Any Option granted under the Plan shall be exercisable during the lifetime of such optionee only by him or her. Any Option granted under the Plan shall be null and void and without effect upon the bankruptcy of the optionee, or upon any attempted assignment or transfer, except as herein provided, including without limitation any purported assignment, whether voluntary or by operation of law, pledge, hypothecation or other disposition, attachment, trustee process or similar process, whether legal or equitable, upon such option.

(b)Unvested RSUs granted under the Plan shall not be assignable or transferable by the RSU recipient, otherwise than by will or the laws of descent and distribution, or pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order as defined by the Code or Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, or the rules thereunder.

In the event that the outstanding shares of the Class A Stock of Boston Beer are changed into or exchanged for a different number or kind of shares or other securities of Boston Beer or of another corporation by reason of any reorganization, merger, consolidation, recapitalization, reclassification, stock split‐up, combination of shares or dividends payable in capital stock, appropriate adjustment shall be made in the number and kind of shares as to which outstanding options, or portions thereof then unexercised, shall be exercisable, to the end that the proportionate interest of the optionee shall be maintained as before the occurrence of such event, and such adjustment in outstanding options shall be made without change in the total price applicable to the unexercised portion of such options and with a corresponding adjustment in the option price per share.

Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 6 hereof, Boston Beer may delay the issuance of Shares covered by the exercise of any option or the vesting of any RSU granted under the Plan and the delivery of a certificate for such Shares until one of the following conditions shall be satisfied:

(i)

the Shares with respect to which an option has been exercised or an RSUs has vested are at the time of the issue of such Shares effectively registered under applicable Federal and state securities acts now in force or hereafter amended; or

(ii)

counsel for Boston Beer shall have given an opinion, which opinion shall not be unreasonably conditioned or withheld, that such Shares are exempt from registration under applicable federal and state securities acts now in force or hereafter amended.

It is intended that all exercises of options and vesting of RSUs granted under the Plan shall be effective. Accordingly, Boston Beer shall use its best efforts to bring about compliance with the above conditions within a reasonable time, except that Boston Beer shall be under no obligation to cause a registration statement or a post‐effective amendment to any registration statement to be prepared at its expense solely for the purpose of covering the issue of Shares in respect of which any option may be exercised or any RSU may vest, except as otherwise agreed to by Boston Beer in writing.

Unless the Shares to be issued upon exercise of an option granted under the Plan have been effectively registered under the Securities Act of 1933 (the “1933 Act”), as now in force or hereafter amended, Boston Beer shall be under no obligation to issue any Shares covered by any option unless the person who exercises such Option, in whole or in part, shall give a written representation and undertaking to Boston Beer which is satisfactory in form and scope to counsel to Boston Beer and upon which, in the opinion of such counsel, Boston Beer may reasonably rely, that he or she is acquiring the Shares issued to him pursuant to such exercise of the option for their own account as an investment and not with a view to, or for sale in connection with, the distribution of any such Shares, and that he or she will make no transfer of the same except in compliance with any rules and regulations in force at the time of such transfer under the 1933 Act, or any other applicable law, and that if Shares are issued without such registration a legend to this effect may be endorsed upon the securities so issued. In the event that Boston Beer shall, nevertheless, deem it necessary or desirable to register under the 1933 Act or other applicable statutes any Shares with respect to which an option shall have been exercised, or to qualify any such Shares for exemption from the 1933 Act or other applicable statutes, then Boston Beer shall take such action at its own expense and may require from each optionee such information in writing for use in any registration statement, prospectus, preliminary prospectus or offering circular as is reasonably necessary for such purpose and may require reasonable indemnity to Boston Beer and its Officers and Directors from such holder against all losses, claims, damages and liabilities arising from such use of the information so furnished and caused by any untrue statement of any material fact therein or caused by the omission to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading in light of the circumstances under which they were made.

Boston Beer shall not, directly or indirectly, lend money to an optionee or to any person or persons entitled to exercise an option by reason of the death of an optionee for the purpose of assisting any of them in the acquisition of Shares covered by an Option granted under the Plan.

The Plan shall be subject to approval by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the issued and outstanding shares of the Class B Common Stock of Boston Beer present or represented and entitled to vote at a duly held shareholders’ meeting, or by written consent of all of the holders of such Class B Common Stock and shall take effect immediately as of its date of adoption upon such approval.

All costs and expenses of the adoption and administration of the Plan shall be borne by Boston Beer, and none of such expenses shall be charged to any optionee or RSU recipient.

Unless sooner terminated as herein provided, the Plan shall terminate on June 1, 2032. The Board may at any time terminate the Plan or make such modification or amendment thereof as it deems advisable; provided, however, that, except as provided in Section 9 hereof, no modification or amendment to the provisions of the Plan may be made more than once every six (6) months other than to comport with changes in the Code, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, or the rules thereunder, if the effect of such amendment or modification would be to change (i) the requirements for eligibility under the Plan, (ii) the timing of the grants of stock awards to be granted under the Plan or the exercise price of options, or (iii) the number of Shares subject to stock awards to be granted under the Plan either in the aggregate or to one Director. Any amendment to the provisions of the Plan which (i) materially increases the number of Shares which may be subject to stock awards granted under the Plan, (ii) materially increases the benefits accruing to Non‐Employee Directors under the Plan, or (iii) materially modifies the requirement for eligibility to participate in the Plan, shall be subject to approval by the holders of Boston Beer’s Class B Common Stock obtained in the manner stated in Section 13 hereof. Termination or any modification or amendment of the Plan shall not, without the consent of an stock award recipient, affect their rights under a stock award previously granted to him or her.

(a)An optionee shall not be deemed to be a shareholder of Boston Beer for any purpose with respect to any Shares underlying an Option, except to the extent that the Option shall have been exercised with respect thereto and, in addition, a certificate shall have been issued theretofore and delivered to the optionee.

(b)An unvested RSU holder shall not be deemed to be a shareholder of Boston Beer for any purpose with respect to any of the unvested RSUs, and accordingly unvested RSU holders are not eligible to participate in dividends.

(c)Each Stock Award granted under the Plan and any transaction related thereto shall be subject to Boston Beer’s Insider Trading Policy, Stock Ownership and Retention Guidelines, Ban on Hedging/Pledging Company Stock, and any other similar policies or guidelines established by the Company. Boston Beer will ensure that copies of such documents are readily available and accessible to all Non‐Employee Directors.

Any communication or notice required or permitted to be given under the Plan shall be in writing and mailed by registered or certified mail or delivered by hand, if to Boston Beer, to its principal place of business, Attention: President, and, if to a Stock Award recipient, to the address as appearing on the records of Boston Beer.

It is the intention of Boston Beer that the Plan comply in all respects with Rule 16b‐3 promulgated under Section 16(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “1934 Act”) and that Participants remain disinterested persons for purposes of administering other employee benefit plans of Boston Beer and having transactions under such other plans be exempt from Section 16(b) of the 1934 Act. Therefore, if any Plan provision is found not to comply with Rule 16b‐3 or if any Plan provisions would disqualify Participants from remaining disinterested persons, that provisions shall be deemed null and void, and in all events the Plan shall be construed in favor of its meeting the requirements of Rule 16b‐3.

Approved by the Board of Directors and by the holders of the Class B Common Stock of the Company on February 9, 2023. Amendments to option and RSU grant amounts approved on February 9, 2023 are not retroactive but shall be effective for any grants awarded on or after that date.