But the inherent focus on high-alcohol beers at AleSmith was challenging in its own way for Matt. “These weren’t the beers that I liked drinking. The beer that I took home was the beers that no one cared about. My fridge was full of the small guys, Anvil ESB, X, and Nut Brown Ale.” All the while, Matt continued to homebrew, creating his own recipes based upon the type of beer that he liked drinking. Undoubtedly, all of the AleSmith beers—both big and small—are some of the best beers in the world, but he had the strong desire to be a “steward of change,” as he says it, to put his own spin on the types of beers that AleSmith was producing. In 2011, in order to implement the change he wanted, Matt walked away to craft something that was all his own.



Like many small businesses, Benchmark Brewing Company is a family-driven operation that is run by the people who live the day-to-day, side-by-side, in an intimate setting. Matt’s parents, Jim and Margaret Akin, are co-founders and partners in the company; but it is Matt and his wife Rachael who are the face of the brewery. Matt is head of production, while Rachael is the design force. Rachael’s background began with theater. She started as an apprentice to a professional stage manager when she was 16 years old, and by age 19 she was running her own shows. “It was an all-encompassing labor, to put an amazing and beautiful show up, only to have to tear it all back down to nothing.”