Hitachino Nest is the world-renowned craft beer brand produced by Kiuchi Shuzo, a multi-generational brewery in Ibaraki that continues to brew premium sake–the beverage that it actually started with–along with other fine products like umeshu (plum wine) and, more recently, whisky. It’s restaurant in San Francisco, Hitachino Beer & Wagyu (featured in issue 15 of…
One of Japan’s best off-the-beaten-track travel destinations is Shimane, located on Japan’s quiet, rural West Coast. The prefecture also has amazing sake, as we reported in issue #17. Even earlier, in issue #2, we wrote in detail about its beautiful capital city, Matsue. This Sunday, the sake brewers guild of Shimane is hosting a special…
Attention San Francisco Bay Area sake fans (especially those in the East Bay)! Takara USA in Berkeley is hosting a special tasting Wednesday (10/24) to Sunday (10/28) that will feature limited quantities of its ShoChikuBai Junmai Nama Genshu. Okay, let’s break this down to see what all the fuss is about. “Nama” refers…
The largest celebration of World Sake Day outside of Japan is almost here. This Saturday (September, 29th), Beau Timken and his team at True Sake in San Francisco host the 13th annual iteration of their Sake Day SF event, an ever-evolving festival showcasing all things sake. We’ve been attending for five years and can affirm…
(photo: the lab at Dassai) In our last issue (ST#17) we looked at the choice of yeast in sake brewing. That article covered how much yeast contributes to aromas–more so, in fact, than just about anything else in the sake brewing process. We also talked about the main sources for yeast available to sake…
World Sake Day on October 1st will be here before you know it! How will you be celebrating? Organizations, bars and restaurants around the world will be holding special events on or around that date. We’ll be highlighting a few of them over the next ten days. To start, Ayaka Ito of BESHOCK Ramen and…
Sake Spring, Kyoto’s premier sake festival, is back for an autumn edition. No, the name hasn’t changed to “Sake Autumn”, but it will be held this coming September 29th and 30th, 11am to 6pm, at the Kyoto International Conference Center. The previous installments, in Kyoto and Shinagawa (Tokyo) this past spring, drew upwards of 30,000…
photo: Kaetsu Shuzô president Shunichi Satô with yeast (in solution) text: by John Gauntner A sake’s aroma might be described as its kanban-musume, a term that refers to a charming young woman that attracts the attention of passers-by and draws potential customers into a store on a busy shopping street. This is especially the case…
It’s inspiring to consider what the ancients knew. Their discoveries and canons of knowledge, developed without the benefit of modern digital technology, are astounding. True, their understanding of the world may not have been as ‘complete’ or as well-balanced as we believe ours is today, but sometimes particular advances they made were extraordinary. There are…
Saga, a small, rural prefecture in a quiet corner of Japan, is not known for tourism riches. Outdoor adventurers may feel drawn to it because of its hiking and climbing opportunities, and hot spring enthusiasts will likely not be disappointed by Ureshino Onsen. For the sake ceramics enthusiast, however, there is ample reason to visit.…