(PRESS RELEASE) The North Carolina Rare & Vintage Beer Tasting returns for its 11th year on Jan. 28 at the
historic Durham Athletic Park. The annual event will bring together 500 beer lovers from all over
to raise money for The Michael James Jackson Foundation for Brewing & Distilling (MJF), an
organization that funds scholarship awards for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color in the
brewing and distilling trades.

As part of broader actions across the beer industry to enhance
diversity, equity, and inclusion, the 100% not-for-profit event expects to raise $10,000-$15,000
for the MJF.


Started in 2012 to raise funds for Pints For Prostates, the Rare & Vintage Beer Tasting raised
$115,000 and hosted 4,500 attendees in its first decade. Over 60 breweries from North Carolina
and across the country are sending beer to support this year’s event, including beloved
breweries like Trillium Brewing, Fremont Brewing, and WeldWerks Brewery.


“I started this thing, using my industry connections as a local taproom owner, as a way to do
something good while sharing my passion for beer,” says event founder, Daniel Kulenic, “and it
worked.”


Kulenic said the Rare & Vintage Tasting began giving its proceeds with MJF last year because
of the need to support an organization focused on diversity and inclusion.


“The MJF is taking a critical role to ensure professional opportunities are open to everyone,
which improves our industries overall,” shares Kulenic. “Brewing and distilling are very
disproportionately white spaces, so supporting an organization that opens them to greater
diversity means bringing more people, experiences, and ideas to the table, which leads to
innovation and growth. That’s an easy cause to support.”


New this year, The Rare & Vintage Beer Tasting will host its first Rare & Vintage Brewer’s
Forum, where brewers will gather for an afternoon of beer tasting and technical discussion.
Highlighted by a panel discussion on quality control and a presentation on flavor development,
the Brewer’s Forum will provide a learning and networking opportunity for local brewers and
visiting brewers in town for the tasting. During the event, additional donations will be collected
from sponsors and participants for the MJF.


“Craft beer thinks of itself as such a progressive industry, and what the MJF does truly puts that
into action,” says Dean James, one of Kulenic’s co-organizers for the tasting. “We realized that
in order to amplify their work and give them the type of meaningful support we wanted to, it was
time to expand beyond a single event.”


The Rare & Vintage Tasting also worked this year to expand retail sponsorships and build a
series of satellite events with local craft beer venues. By committing donations to the MJF,
these retail partners get access to exclusive beers from breweries involved in the event, and a
built-in, beer-drinking audience as people gather in Durham for the weekend.

“[We’re] partnering with the Rare & Vintage Beer Tasting to help support a great cause, while
also offering folks the opportunity to try some really cool and hard to get beers from some of the
best breweries in the world,” says Jared Gatewood, manager at the craft beer retailer Pour
Taproom in Durham. “[It’s] a fantastic mission, and we hope to not only offer support, but to help
spread the word so that others can do the same.”


Participating brewers, cidermakers, and winemakers in the Rare & Vintage Tasting this year
include:
Alpine Beer Co
ANXO Cider
Appalachian Mountain Brewery & Cidery
Back Bay Brewhouse
Benchtop Brewing
Blackbird Brewing
Bluejacket
Bond Brothers Beer Co
Botanist & Barrel Cidery & Winery
Boulevard Brewing
Brasserie Cantillon
Brasserie Fantôme
Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Brouwerij De Ranke
Burial Beer Co
Casita Brewing
Cellarest Beer Project
Creature Comforts Beer Co
DSSOLVR
Durty Bull Brewing
Duvel Moortgat
E9 Brewing
Edmund’s Oast Brewing
Faction Brewing
Fair Isle Brewing
Firestone Walker Brewing
Forgotten Road Ales
Fox Farm Brewery
Fremont Brewing
Fullsteam Brewery
The Glass Jug Beer Lab
Goose Island Brewing
Green Bench Brewing
Haw River Farmhouse Ales
Hi Wire Brewing

HopFly Brewing
Interboro Spirits & Ales
Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers
J. Wakefield Brewing
Jackie O’s Brewery
Little Oblivion Brewing
Magnanimous Brewing
Modern Times Beer
New Anthem Beer Project
Plēb Urban Winery
Ponysaurus Brewing Co
Postdoc Brewing
Potter’s Craft Cider
Resident Culture Brewing
Schilling Beer Co
Southern Pines Brewing
SweetWater Brewing
The Veil Brewing Co
Trillium Brewing
Tripping Animals Brewing
Trophy Brewing
Unseen Creatures Brewing & Blending
Vīdl Cellars
Visuals by Burial
Weathered Souls Brewing
WeldWerks Brewery
Wicked Weed Brewing
Wilmington Brewing

About the North Carolina Rare & Vintage Beer Tasting:
The Rare & Vintage Beer Tasting is a 100% not-for-profit event held on the last Saturday of
every January as a way for beer enthusiasts to mingle with brewers as they experience the
excitement of trying beers they have never, and would never get to taste without visiting a
brewery taproom or being involved in a similar such event. For over a decade, the Tasting has
brought some of the rarest beers from around the globe and the brewers that make them to
Durham, North Carolina through all-volunteer efforts, raising money for charitable foundations to
the collective tune of more than $115,000.
www.ncrarebeer.com

About The Michael James Jackson Foundation for Brewing & Distilling:
The Michael James Jackson Foundation is a grant-making organization that funds scholarship
awards to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color within the brewing and distilling trades. The program is open to candidates at the beginning of their careers, as well as those looking to continue their education. The MJF awards present an opportunity for members and patrons of the brewing and distilling industries to directly fund a more just, equitable, and dynamic future. www.themjf.org