Rare Beer Club 2-Bottle Selections - December 2025
Black Miso
Japas Cervejaria Artesanal – Louisville, Kentucky
[Russian Imperial Stout with Red Miso Paste (16-oz cans) – 11.5% ABV]
Japas Cervejaria Artesanal is a trailblazing brewery founded by four Brazilian women of Japanese descent whose mission is to fuse Japanese cultural elements with modern craft beer. Since debuting their first release, the wasabi-infused Wasabiru in 2014, they’ve continued to build a reputation for boundary-pushing beers made with ingredients like yuzu, matcha, and sake yeast. Their rise within Brazil’s craft beer community reflects both their technical skill and their commitment to honoring heritage through creative brewing. To bring their beers to North America, they partner with Against the Grain in Louisville, Kentucky, brewing limited batches that remain highly sought after in select U.S. markets.
Black Miso pours an opaque, inky black capped with a dense mocha-brown head, offering captivating aromas of espresso, dark chocolate, molasses, soy, and roasted nuts layered with dried fig and caramelized sugar. The palate is full-bodied and velvety, carrying deep flavors of cocoa, espresso, toffee, and umami-rich miso with a subtle saline lift. Firm roasted bitterness and 68 IBUs keep the richness balanced, while the 11.5% ABV integrates seamlessly, leading to a long, bittersweet finish echoing dark cocoa, soy glaze, and charred oak. A bold yet elegant fusion of roasted depth and Japanese-inspired savory nuance.
NOTE: Black Miso is packaged in 16-oz cans, so instead of one 750-ml bottle, your shipment will include two 16-oz cans.
Kodiak
Sudwerk Brewing – Davis, California
[Imperial Black Kolsch (Hybrid of the Doppelbock and an Imperial Stout) (16-oz cans) - 10% ABV]
Sudwerk Brewing, founded in 1989 in Davis, California by two German descendants, has spent more than 35 years championing high-quality German-style lagers while pushing the boundaries of American craft beer. Their approach blends traditional German technique with modern West Coast precision, yielding crisp, clean, meticulously crafted lagers—including the highly decorated People’s Pilsner, an eight-time GABF medalist. Their unique relationship with UC Davis’ Master Brewers Program—located directly above the brewery—creates a rare collaborative environment where students mentor on Sudwerk’s pilot system, helping maintain technical rigor. Named Brewer and Brewery of the Year in 2021 and boasting numerous awards, Sudwerk remains one of California’s most respected lager-focused breweries, deeply connected to its community and its craft.
Kodiak pours deep mahogany to near-black with a creamy tan head and opens with bold aromas of espresso, dark chocolate, toasted grain, caramel, and subtle dark fruit. On the palate, it delivers rich layers of chocolate, roast, brown bread crust, molasses, and dried cherry supported by firm bitterness and a smooth, velvety body. Despite its 10% ABV, the beer stays balanced and focused, finishing warm, polished, and increasingly complex as it evolves in the glass. A hybrid of imperial stout richness and German-lager clarity, Kodiak rewards slow sipping with deepening notes of cocoa, nuttiness, and gentle roast.
NOTE: Kodiak is packaged in 16-oz cans, so instead of one 750-ml bottle, your shipment will include two 16-oz cans.