SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — A Miramar brewery is revolutionizing the craft beer scene by infusing traditional Asian flavors like matcha, ube, and hojicha into alcoholic beverages, creating what may be the first-of-its-kind fusion drinks in the beer industry.
Embolden Beer Company offers a purple ube hazy IPA among several unique Asian and American-inspired alcoholic drinks that stand out in the traditional craft brewery landscape.
"Some of the flavors that we have is really first in the world in the beer industry," said co-owner William Sutjiadi.
The brewery extends beyond beer to create multi-flavored and colored seltzers using Calpico, a Japanese non-carbonated soft drink, for flavors including mandarin orange, melon and strawberry.
"Let's bring a new flavors into the alcoholic space and introduced Calpico that's so famous in non-alcoholic space, and that's where Calpico seltzer was born," Sutjiadi said.
Sutjiadi, an Asian American who immigrated from Indonesia at age 15, says he and his team aim to display both Asian and American cultures through their beverages. The co-owner also operates a matcha shop in the Convoy District and describes combining his passion for flavors like matcha with beer as a natural progression.
"It's still this concept of East meets West that we then we kind of tried to put every, all of that within, you know, everything that we do in all of our branding," Sutjiadi said.
The brewery's branding showcases San Diego landmarks alongside iconic Japanese architecture. Their drink "Dusk in Kyoto," a hojicha green tea lager, features a Kyoto temple in Japan positioned next to Balboa Park.
"Every labels that we created, we try to implement these, you know, uniqueness of landmark in San Diego, landmark in Tokyo, or landmark in Japan, and we're gonna continue to do that as we grow," Sutjiadi said.
The beers are now available at major retailers, including Whole Foods, Barrons, Ralphs, and Vons. While the seltzers aren't available in cans yet, the brewery offers these flavors on tap at their Miramar location.
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