Last year, the owners of Embolden Beer Co. built on a series of events and beverages celebrating Japanese culture with the establishment of a spinoff brand of beers. Dubbed Shōgun by Embolden, those ales and lagers are infused with ingredients culled from and representing the Land of the Rising Sun. Those adjuncts include various forms of matcha (shade-grown green tea leaf powder sourced from local business and Embolden’s longtime partner organization Matcha Cafe Maiko), as well as yuzu and ube. The latter shows up in an opaque purple hazy IPA called Dawn in Ube, which debuted the last week of April.
“Releasing these beers as R&D projects at our events allowed us to immediately see their enthusiastic reception and provided us with insight and motivation to develop the line full-scale,” says Embolden co-founder Andy Sist. “We are incredibly honored that a wider and more diverse audience is discovering these flavors and enjoying them, which has been the biggest – and most pleasant – surprise.”
Sist and company have also been thrilled to see beer-drinkers in the country they are celebrating take to the Shōgun beers. The company has distributed its beverages (which also include hard seltzers and hard sparkling teas from sister brand New Motion Beverages) via international partner, Nagano Trading, and have seen the Shōgun line gain major traction over the past six months. Currently, export makes up only a small portion of Embolden’s overall business, but Japanese craft consumers’ growing interest has Sist and his partners setting up distribution partnerships to get those beers to South Korea and Italy, with a deal to also add Thailand in the works. Singapore, Taiwan and Indonesia are also being considered.
Last month, Matcha Cafe Maiko owner William Sutjiadi represented Embolden as part of a seven-brewery contingent selected by U.S. trade organization, the Brewers Association, to attend the 2025 Korean International Beer Expo (KIBEX) in Seoul. In many ways, this was an info-gathering mission for Sutjiadi, as he and Embolden’s owners didn’t know what to expect, but what started out as dipping their collective toes in the Korean beer market quickly became a cannonball-strength splash.
“Shōgun went viral on day one of the show, to the point that the tasting line for our beers became over 100 people long and grew to an extent where it ended up partially blocking the entrance to the show, causing event security to break up our line because it was simply too long,” says Sutjiadi. “Our booth ended up being by far the longest queue at the convention and many attendees were begging to purchase product on the spot, which is unfortunately restricted at the event.”
One of the most popular beers among the KIBEX crowd was Midnight in Tokyo, a matcha-infused hazy IPA. Served as part of a media dinner associated with the expo, it garnered numerous compliments, including one from famed Korean chef Crystal Kim, who shared with Sutjiadi how impressed she was with how easily the beer could be paired with a variety of different foods.
Back at home, the success of the Shōgun line has helped Embolden lean even harder into its culturally inspired ventures. Last fall, the company teamed with Sutjiadi to open the Rising Sun Collective in the former Sipz space on 30th Street in North Park. That Japanese-inspired business includes drinks from Embolden Beverage Group and Matcha Cafe Maiko, plus food from Salt & Butter by Okayama Kobo and vegan fare from Sipz. Happy with how it turned out, Embolden and Sutjiadi used it as the model for a new project called Ramen Station, which is built next door to (and can be accessed interiorly from) Matcha Cafe Maiko’s Kearny Mesa outpost.
Located on the 8000 block of Clairemont Mesa Boulevard, the space totals 2,300 square feet and can seat up to 50 guests. In addition to a 27-tap bar that, following ABC license approval, will serve beer, wine, sake, soju and shochu cocktails, the Embolden add-on features a self-serve “instant ramen bar”. The latter is stocked with more than 100 varieties of instant ramen procured from Korea, China, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries, as well as a self-serve cooking station and variety of toppings, allowing guests to prepare their selections to their personal preferences. Even with that, it’s still a work in progress.
“We will be incorporating an industrial-modern, Japanese cafe aesthetic that is cozy and inviting, while complementing Matcha Cafe Maiko next door, providing our customers with a seamless experience throughout their stay,” says Sist. “We envision this location as a hub for students, young adults and professionals to socialize after-hours.”
Ramen Station is currently in its soft-open phase, and its hours of operation are 5 to 10 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 5 p.m. to 11 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays. Sist says the venue will eventually expand its hours to open at 9 a.m., offering breads and pastries from the aforementioned Salt & Butter. Ramen Station will also stay open later, closing as late as 2 a.m. once it is in full swing.
Though Sist and co-founder Kyle Pool didn’t envision going this direction when founding their business back in 2020, they are happy with where they are headed and the fact they are offering something unique in a crowded marketplace awash with craft beer.
Says Sist, “We are very excited to open new cultural doors for brave souls on both sides of the Pacific with our east-meets-west offerings and expose craft-beer lovers to new, exciting experiences, while serving up a taste of adventure wherever they may be.”
Embolden Beer Co.’s Ramen Station is located at 8068 Clairemont Mesa Boulevard in Kearny Mesa