(Press Release) The Rare & Vintage Beer Tasting returns for its 13th year on Jan. 25, 2025 at the historic Durham Athletic Park. The annual event will bring together over 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 50 breweries from North Carolina and across the country will be sending beer to support this year’s event, including beloved breweries like Burial, Cantillon, 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 to MJF in 2022 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.”
The Rare & Vintage Beer Tasting will also return with its third annual Brewer’s Forum, where brewers will gather for an afternoon of beer tasting and technical discussion. Highlighted by panel discussions on brewing science and presentations on innovative brewing ideas, the Brewer’s Forum will be a platform for diverse voices to share, learn, and network among 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 will also continue to expand retail sponsorships as it maintains a series of satellite events with local craft beer venues. By committing donations to the MJF, 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.
“The Rare & Vintage Beer Tasting is known for showcasing some of the finest craft beers from the most innovative and talented breweries, and it is an absolute honor to be able to help host and help connect these breweries to each other and give some of their North Carolina fans a chance to try some really special beers,” says Kerri Hoffman, Beverage Manager at the craft beer retailer Beer Study in Durham. “By supporting emerging talent from all backgrounds, it ensures that the industry reflects the rich diversity of beer drinkers themselves.”
Participating brewers, cidermakers, and winemakers in the 2025 Rare & Vintage Tasting will include:
Atomic Clock Brewing
Blackbird Brewery
Bond Brothers Beer Co
Burial Beer Co
Cantillon
Cellarest Beer Project
DSSOLVR
E9 Brewing
Edmund’s Oast Brewing
Eno River Brewing
Finback
Fonta Flora
Fox Farm Brewery
The Glass Jug Beer Lab
Hi Wire Brewing
HopFly Brewing
Postdoc Brewing
Schilling
The Veil Brewing Co
Vīdl Cellars
WeldWerks Brewery
Wicked Weed Brewing
(Full list available online)
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 $145,000.
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.