The sake industry has been undergoing radical change over the last few decades. Few would argue that this change was necessary to stimulate an industry that had been in steady decline. Japan's aging population, combined with a tendency amongst the younger generation to consume less alcohol, led to almost three decades of stagnation. Of upmost importance was eliminating the poor reputation that blighted sake domestically and alienated almost an entire generation who passed it

In the clinical world of sake brewing, reducing risk is one of the most crucial challenges facing a master brewer. Each batch is made up of several meticulously prepared stages that gradually increase in size and scale. As the stakes get higher and higher with every addition to the mash, getting off to a good start is of paramount importance. This begins with a moto: a small mixture of rice, water and koji, the purpose of which is to propagate as much healthy yeast cells as p

Co-founder & Head Brewer Tom Wilson The word "Craft" is used very liberally in today's more consumer conscious drinks market. Indeed, the question of what actually constitutes a craft product is both highly debatable and comes with its own spectrum of differing definitions. Some say it is determined by the size of the producer, while others ignore this element altogether, simply focusing on the batch size of the product being made. Locality also features heavily, with some no

There is a very famous saying amongst sake brewers that goes: 1st koji, 2nd moto, 3rd moromi. This is a list of three key stages in the sake brewing process in order of their importance. Repeated like mantra within the walls of the numerous kura throughout Japan, to dispute these words of wisdom is to argue against centuries of proven success in brewing one of the world's most sophisticated and refined alcoholic beverages. However, there is one other crucial stage that is so

Last year a sake made from rice that had been polished to just 1% of its original weight was released to much hype and fanfare. Before the lids had even been popped, komyo, or Zenith as it is called in English, had garnered attention from what felt like every corner of the food and drinks media. Its makers even went as far as suggesting that it was "the future of sake brewing". Tatenokawa, the Yamagata based brewery behind the sake, were rightly praised for managing the incre

Isn't it interesting how certain images stick in our subconscience. Back when I first started taking an interest in sake, the inevitable first point of call was the extensive body of work written by John Gauntner. It was all those years ago reading one of his books or articles that I first laid eyes on a bottle called Wandering Poet. At that time, I knew nothing about the brewery (kura) where it was made, and had never even heard of the part of Japan it came from. However, th

When it comes to brewers rice, one variety consistently steals the limelight. Originally bred by agriculturists in 1936 for the specific purpose of brewing sake, the mighty Yamada-Nishiki (山田錦) has a reputation for being strong, predictable for the brewers, and slightly easier to grow in comparison to some other sake rice varieties. As a result, it has long been considered the ultimate brewer's rice, and therefore shouldn't come as much of a surprise that this champion-suprem