Sake Revolution

Episode 165. If you hear the term "CEL-24" and the first thing you think of is prison, and not a sake yeast, I don't think anyone would blame you.  But today we're here to spread the word on CEL-24 sake yeast and it's role in bringing us some of the most fruit-driven sake aromas on the planet.  Developed in Kochi prefecture in the 90's, CEL-24 was a response to the market demands for more aromatic and fruity sake styles. And after tasting a CEL-24 sake for ourselves, we can say that the apple, pineapple and other fruit aromas are strong and powerful as promised.  Yeast can have a big impact on a sake's aromatics and CEL-24 yeast really shows this to be true. Join us as we explore the world of sake yeast and perhaps push the boundary of how fruity a sake can be! #SakeRevolutionSupport the show

Episode 164. On New Year's Day, 2024, the Noto Peninsula of Ishikawa Prefecture was the epicenter of a major earthquake measuring a 7.6 on the Richter scale.  The affected areas are especially well known for sake brewing and in Ishikawa in particular, 24 out of 33 Ishikawa Sake Brewery Association member breweries suffered damage, with 8 suffering complete destruction. While the news of the earthquake and the recovery efforts have fallen out of the headlines, we wanted to offer our support and good wishes to the affected breweries inside Ishikawa and the surrounding prefectures as well, as they continue their road to recovery and rebuilding.  One thing we can all do to support the sake industry is easy - ordering more sake from the affected regions and keeping an eye out for Noto sakes when they make their return to the market.  We profile one such sake in this episode - Hakuto Tokubetsu Junmai. We look forward to supporting this brand and many others whenever they are able to restart brewing in their repaired facilities. Look for updates on this in future episodes!  #SakeRevolutionSupport the show

Episode 163. Word on the street is that travel to Japan is surging! One of the joys of travel to Japan is returning with a suitcase full of sake! But how best to do it?! This week, John and Timothy discuss the ins and outs of bringing back sake from Japan.  What's allowed and what's not!  Where to buy sake and how to package it.  Import duties and duty free shops!  If you want the lowdown on our experience bringing sake home from travel to Japan, this episode is for you. Let's UNPACK these topics and taste some of the sake (not for sale in the U.S.) we brought back ourselves.     #SakeRevolutionSupport the show

Episode 162. With 2023 drawing to a close, it's time to take a look back at the sake year that was.  Join us this week for some casual sipping and some discussion on the highlights, surprises and challenges of this past year's sake adventures. Tim and John both let us know their favorite sake stories and their favorite episodes from the past year. Do you know which episode was our most downloaded from 2023?  Let us know in the comments and we look forward to another year of great sake and many kanpais. Happy Sake New Year! #SakeRevolutionSupport the show

Episode 161. This week, John and Timothy explore another brand profile: Masumi from Miyasaka Jozo in Nagano Prefecture. Most well known as the birthplace of Association Number 7 sake yeast, Masumi has a long history dating back to 1662.  Located on beautiful Lake Suwa, Masumi is a brand that is well known outside of Japan.  The brand name of "Masumi" means transparency or truth and traces its origin to an ancient bronze mirror, which is a treasure of the local shrine and is the proverbial "mirror of truth".  Masumi also recently updated their label design and sake portfolio to tie into their legacy as the home of number 7 sake yeast - a yeast that has gone on to become the most widely used sake yeast in the industry. Let's explore the flavors and history of Masumi together!  #SakeRevolutionSupport the show

Episode 160. It's time to get wild again! Wild about sake rice, that is.  Wild Rice is our series where we look closer at different strains of sake rice and what makes them unique.  This time around, we look to a rice native to Hiroshima Prefecture - Hattannishiki.  Known to not grow as tall as other sake rice, but still have a well developed shinpaku (starchy core) Hattannishiki is a fairly modern rice, as it was developed in the 1970's. Let's dive in and see what flavors Hattannishiki has in store for us! #sakerevolutionSupport the show

Episode 159. Week in and week out, our standard gear for tasting and evaluating sake is a simple wine glass. This works really well and almost everybody has one nearby. But in Japan, there are a wide variety of shapes, materials and sizes used to make cups for drinking sake. That got us wondering if we should take some other cups out for a test drive and compare them to our usual stemware. This week we are exploring Guinomi. This style of sake cup is a larger sibling to the standard ochoko, holding more sake per pour and often having a more rustic texture. The "GUI" of gui-nomi is an onomatopoeia for the glug-glug-glug sound, indicating perhaps a sake cup that is well suited for gulping sake!  How does this cup stack up against our standard wine glass?  Tune in this week to find out! #sakerevolutionSupport the show

Episode 158. Enough playing it safe! It's time for another walk on the high wire that is our extreme sake series! This time, the guys skirt the law and explore the rough and ready style of home-brew style sake known as Doburoku. While Home brewing of doburoku has been outlawed in Japan for over a hundred years, Doburoku can be produced legally in specially designated Doburoku zones across Japan and by facilities with an appropriate doburoku production license. Doburoku festivals are also held annually at dozens of shinto shrines around Japan each year. While it has bold flavors of rice, yogurt and a tangy, higher acidity, it is really the texture that makes Doburoku extreme. This is truly an "unfiltered" brew - no pressing of the mash at all.  Bring your fork as doburoku is funky and chunky! In addition, the alcohol is low due to a shorter fermentation period.  Buckle up and lets dive into another extreme sake!  #SakeRevolutionSupport the show

Episode 157. For our final episode recorded live at this year’s American Craft Sake Festival, we are happy to bring you another U.S. sake brewer interview. This time, we visit with our pal Byron Stithem, owner and brewer at Nashville’s Proper Sake Co., and the owner at Rice Vice, the attached sake bar and restaurant. Byron has lots to celebrate… as he sat down with us, he had just stepped off the stage after receiving the Silver Medal Audience Choice Award at the American Craft Sake Festival for the second year in a row. This comes on the heels of Rice Vice being named one of the 2023 Best Bars in America by Esquire Magazine. When it comes to our tasting, we were lucky enough to sip on “The Diplomat”, Proper Sake’s flagship sake. By tasting this sake with Byron, we happily sailed way to “Yamahai Island”, where flavor, aroma and umami are hard earned, but absolutely delicious. What is that Yamahai aroma all about? Well – you’ll know it when you smell it! Kanpai, and congratulations Byron! Special thanks to SBANA, the Sake Brewers Association of North America, for organizing the festival and to North American Sake Brewery for hosting the event location. #SakeRevolutionSupport the show

Episode 156. Again this week, we revisit our field trip to the American Craft Sake Festival held this year in Charlottesville VA and bring you another U.S. sake brewer interview. This time, we get a two-for-one as we interview Blake Richardson and Nick Lowry of Moto-i Sake Brewery, which is based in Minneapolis, MN. Founded by Blake in 2008, Moto-i has been creating delicious sakes that are served locally and super fresh on tap. Blake works as Toji and Nick tells us how he graduated from customer to Lead Brewer, following his passion for making great sake. It’s a fun and friendly conversation culminating in a tasting of their delicious flagship Junmai Ginjo “Another Dalliance”. Listen in and be sure to visit the Moto-i Brewery, taproom and restaurant if you are anywhere near Minneapolis – it’s not to be missed! Special thanks to SBANA, the Sake Brewers Association of North America, for organizing the festival and to North American Sake Brewery for hosting the event location. Look for other interviews from the American Craft Sake Festival in coming weeks. #SakeRevolutionSupport the show

Episode 155. Our visit to the American Craft Sake Festival was awash with brewers, but one non-sake booth in particular caught our eye.  Without rice, there is no sake and we had the chance to sit down with Whitney Isbell Jones of the world famous Isbell Rice Farm in England, Arkansas.  Whitney grew up on the farm and tells us the story of how her family discovered Japanese rice varieties and how they eventually became global experts in growing premium sake rice varieties in particular. While us city boys think of space in terms of square feet, Whitney explains how the Isbell rice fields are expansive in size - the largest being up to 90 acres each! In addition to growing specialty sake rice strains for the U.S. market, Isbell Farms will soon have a hand in milling sake rice as well.  It's exciting times for rice and sake in the States and we enjoyed our chat with Whitney about all things short, medium and long grain!   Special thanks to SBANA, the Sake Brewers Association of North America, for organizing the festival and to North American Sake Brewery for hosting the event location.  Look for other interviews from the American Craft Sake Festival in coming weeks!#SakeRevolutionSupport the show

Episode 154. Taking a quick detour from our American Craft Sake Festival series, we're sneaking in a seasonally appropriate episode before it's too late.  "Natsu Sake" or summer sake, is a new-ish genre of brews meant to take the edge off of the sweltering summer heat, all while letting us enjoy the flavors of sake in the summer.  Often presented in clear or frosted bottles with cool-toned blue-ish labels, these sakes definitely give off a chill vibe.  With lower alcohol as well as clean, crisp and refreshing flavors, these sakes shine when served icy cold.  As the dog days of summer are a traditionally slow time for sake sales, these cool Natsu Sakes are meant to inspire us to drink a chilled nihonshu instead of a cold brewski or that wine spritzer over ice.  More and more summer sakes are hitting shelves here in the States, just as temperatures are hitting record highs.  Let's take advantage and chill out with some wonderful natsu sakes.#SakeRevolutionSupport the show

Episode 153. Listen in as we continue our series of live interviews from the American Craft Sake Festival 2023! This week it's all about SAKE Y'ALL, as the T-shirt of our interviewee says.  We welcome Co-founder and Head Brewer of The Void Sake Company, Justin LeVaughn. Justin runs Kentucky's only sake brewery founded in 2020.  He talks to us about his road to discovering sake as well as the styles of sake that are popular at his taproom. Orange Creamsicle Nigori anyone? We also discuss how the local water impacts the fermentation and finish on his brews. If you are in Kentucky, this taproom is really worth a visit, as they often feature live music and an array of events.  Special thanks to SBANA, the Sake Brewers Association of North America, for organizing the festival and to North American Sake Brewery for hosting the event location.  Look for other interviews from the American Craft Sake Festival in coming weeks. Kanpai, Y'all!#SakeRevolutionSupport the show

Episode 152. This week, we take Sake Revolution on the road!  John and Timothy recently attended the 3rd annual American Craft Sake Festival in Charlottesville, VA.  Sake Revolution hosted a live podcast recording of a "brewers roundtable" on stage in front of an enthusiastic crowd of sake lovers at the Festival.  We were lucky enough to interview Blake Richardson from Moto-i in Minneapolis MN and Todd Bellomy from Farthest Star Brewery in Boston, MA.  It was our first time recording in front of an audience, so you may notice some differences in our audio along with some background noise, but it was worth it to be able to connect with many fantastic U.S. Sake Brewers and sake fans all in one place. Special thanks to SBANA, the Sake Brewers Association of North America, for organizing the festival and to North American Sake Brewery for hosting the event location.  In addition to our roundtable with Todd and Blake, we recorded many other interviews at the festival, so look for them in coming weeks!#SakeRevolutionSupport the show

Episode 151. Everyone knowns that sake is made from rice, but how much of a role does rice variety really play in a sake's taste? We're lucky enough to have a Toji on speed dial!  We phoned up our friend and local sake brewmaster Brandon Doughan, the Toji at New York's first sake brewery, Brooklyn Kura.  We tasted two of Brandon's sakes: their well-loved flagship Blue Door Junmai made with California calrose rice and also an experimental bottling, the "Blue Door on Jupiter", which is a version of their junmai made with domestically-grown Jupiter sake rice from Arkansas.  The recipes  and production are very similar with the only difference being the rice strain itself.  Together with Brandon, let's explore the role of sake rice and taste for ourselves what a difference just a change in rice can make.#SakeRevolutionSupport the show

Episode 150. This week we continue our series on prefecture profiles with a special focus on those prefectures that are "landlocked" with no access to the sea or ocean.  Despite no ocean view, Shiga is awash in water with 20% of it's area covered by Lake Biwa, Japan's largest lake!  This water feeds a robust rice growing industry and there is a healthy sake industry in Shiga as well. When it comes to food, listen in as Timothy recounts a harrowing run-in with Shiga's most famous, and definitely most funky fermented food that is best suited for - shall we say - extremely adventurous eaters.  Today's sake from Shiga's Mifuku Shuzo is something new imported into the States and it's always fun to try something new.  Let's explore Shiga sake together! #sakerevolutionSupport the show

Episode 149. This week we return to another fun and sake-rich prefecture: Gunma! This area is home to onsens, national parks, record breaking tunnels and some pretty darn good sake.  After we first touched on this region in episode 8, we thought it deserved another visit and a bit more exploration of their food, culture and traditions.  We'll taste a much loved sake from Ryujin Shuzo, makers of the Oze no Yukidoke brand.  This sake features the much beloved Omachi sake rice and snow melt water from the oze plain that springs from a well guarded by a dragon!  It's a delightful brew that will have us returning to Gunma again and again in our glass!  Keep an eye out for more prefecture profiles soon! #sakerevolutionSupport the show

Episode 148. Did you know that there is a booming business in skincare products made from sake? In this episode, we dive face first into the world of sake beauty products, from the use of sake in your bath, to sake kasu used to soften skin and finally to the science behind kojic acid and how it's used in a variety of commercially available sake skincare products. We also slap on a  Japanese sake face mask to the test out sake skincare for ourselves. Hopefully we'll finish up the episode moisturized and refreshed. We finish by toasting our success with a special sake featured in a previous episode - Toyo Bijin Junmai Ginjo Karakuchi, also known as Asian Beauty. So, if you're ready to learn about the fascinating connection between sake, cosmetics and skincare, you won't want to miss this episode!  #SakeRevolutionSupport the show

Episode 147. How do you like them apples?! When we discovered the Kinoene "ripe apple" Junmai Ginjo sake from Iinuma Honke Brewery, we knew we need to take a bite and find out what this unique sake is all about.  This took us on a journey exploring yeast, acidity and some pretty extreme fruity flavors.  It may very well be a case of comparing apples to oranges, but this fruity confection of a sake does share some traits with a typically bright and crisp white wine.  The secret here is malic acid - often found in wine - which is given center stage in this sake.  This type of acidity brings us to the delicious intersection of sweet and sour with a bright fruity flavor that will have you asking "how did they do that!?"  If we can have it sake form, we'll be glad to enjoy an apple a day to keep the doctor away. #SakeRevolutionSupport the show

Episode 146. Do you judge a book by it's cover? Or even more likely, perhaps you've purchased a sake based only on the label?  Since we've all been there, we thought it might be fun to explore the world of sake labels and share some likes, dislikes and survival tips for navigating your way around a bottle of sake. In particular, learn our technique to read a Japanese sake label "by the numbers".  Whether they are all in Japanese, all graphics or including some english, the sake bottle labels can have a major impact on sales so it is well worth learning more. So, get ready to judge sake bottles by more than just their covers in this episode, as we take you through the ins and outs of understanding whats on the label.  #sakerevolutionSupport the show