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Mid-summer Greetings to all readers
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‘Round about this time every year, I begin this email newsletter by saying that August is a rare mellow time in the sake industry. Not much is happening, I drone. It’s hot. People want to drink beer. The industry is enjoying a lull in activity, a calm before the storms of the fall – the storms of tasting events and gearing up for another grueling brewing season.
Yeah, well, perish that thought. There is plenty happening in the sake world in this warm and formerly mellow season. Of course there is O-bon, the weeklong holiday season in August that is one of about three times a year that Japan basically shuts down and everyone relaxes, and that remains intact. But just before and right after that, sake events continue. This event and that event, yeast events, rice events, sake and music events, hundredth anniversary events, and events with just about any conceivable permutation of society and sake – they are all happening.
Sheesh; everybody and his brother has a sake gig going these days. Ain’t it great?
All facetiousness aside, there are lots of
events happening and it is clearly indicative of how popular sake has become – and continues to be. Those in Japan are likely enjoying these already. Those in other countries have a great opportunity to search out sake events happening or create you own. It’s easy; all you need is a bottle of sake, a glass, and at least one more person. And in a pinch, you can make do with just the first of those three.
Please enjoy the newsletter as you do that.
John Gauntner
Sake Confidential - Learn even more about sake!
Interested in sake? Please pick up a copy of my most recent book!
Sake Confidential is a beyond-the-basics guide to the sake world, and after a short introductory chapter on all things sake, it goes into depth on many topics not usually touched upon. It is a practical and concise yet complete guide to sake idiosyncrasies, misperceptions, and controversies presented in a conversational and informal tone. Easy to read and frank, it also includes sake recommendations tied into each of the topics presented.
Read a veritable cornucopia of reviews
here a New York Times brief mention
here, and order from your favorite bookseller
here as well.
Sake Today Issue #14 is shipping now!
Sake Today issue #14 will ship soon. If you are a subscriber, please look for your copy soon, and plan to tell all your friends that they, too, should subscribe.
If you are not yet
subscribed, what are you waiting for?
This issue includes an article by Haruo Matsuzaki on the inimitable sake of Shizuoka Prefecture, perhaps my single favorite sake locale. We follow that up with a second article on what to enjoy in that region, written by Sake Today’s Brian Kowalczyk, who lived there and will retire there in time. He can hardly contain his passion for the region. There is also a feature on the Gekkeikan sake brewery in the US, and tiny Kidoizumi in Chiba, whose existence and sake are physical manifestations of the concept of successfully going against the grain.
Learn about the real effectiveness of Kid power as expressed through the sake of the same name, “Kid,” out of Wakayama Prefecture. Learn about acidity in sake, and just why Yamada Nishiki is as great as it is. And learn how to cook with the motherlode of umami that is shio-koji. Finally, this issue features the first of a two-part series on great sake-centric restaurants in the foggy city. All that and more in this issue of Sake Today.
Subscriptions, single issues as well as packages (all back issues + subscription) are available from the website: www.sake-today.com.
If you'd like to
subscribe, you can do so
here.
Nothing says, “what a cool idea; what a cool magazine!” better than subscribing. Thanks for your support!
Please direct all inquiries about subscriptions to info@sake-today.com
Subscriptions, single issues as well as packages (all back issues + subscription) are available from the website:
www.sake-today.com.
Please direct all inquiries about subcriptions to info@sake-today.com
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Pilfering Yeast
Borrowing Bubbles
Brewer Number One stood up and faced the crowd.
And he talked about his sake. Its lively yet balanced nature is the result of a family of yeasts, one of which was discovered at his brewery several decades ago, he explains. It has contributed to – if not created – the high reputation enjoyed by all of the sake in that region, which only came into sake prominence about 30 years ago.
Brewer Number Two spoke next.
While several years younger than Number One, they are friends (or were, anyway) and both went to Tokyo Agricultural University, the “UC Davis of the sake world.” With his typically dry sense of humor, he jokingly (or so we thought) explained how Number One’s father actually stole that yeast from his brewery to get it all started.
Several days later, Brewer Number One send Brewer Number Two an email that basically e-tore him a new e-asshole. “You should not be saying groundless and untrue things like that; you will confuse and mislead people.”
While it was an email between the two of them, I know Number Two well enough that later, he told me about it, and even showed me the e-tearing email. “I actually thought it was a true story, but it seems I was confusing my anecdotes. I have cleared that up now, but not before Number One laid into me about it.”
What is this all about, this stealing of yeast? How does one steal a naturally occurring micro-organism, and why would one if it is just floating around in the air? I mean, you can't just stuff it in your pocket and walk out the door, can you? And is it illegal?
Yeast is massively important to the making of great sake. While they contribute to aromas more than anything else, good yeasts will also ferment strongly and not peter out too early, tolerate high levels of alcohol, yield appropriate levels of acidity that are not too high nor low, and much more.
While long ago all yeast was naturally occurring, dropping in from the ambient environment, these days brewers get yeast from a few supply chains. These often include local research centers as well. Sometimes, as in the case of Brewer Number One, these yeasts never officially leave the prefecture. And there are those brewers that still use proprietary yeasts, stuff they found in their brewery that does not get released, which is how it all used to be.
And so, if you could get your grubby little paws on the yeast from a great brewery, you could often use it yourself, transposing its main characteristics onto those of your own brewery and sake. And doing so surely would not be illegal, provided that something like “breaking and entering” was not involved.
Nothing like this takes place these days, of course. With so many great yeast strains so easily available, there is no reason to do so. But in the not too distant past, it did happen from time to time.
How does one steal micro-organisms that one cannot see?
Oh, let’s say you visit a brewery whose sake you respect. You just want to pass through, see their setup, ask a question or two and see if you can learn a thing or two from the venerable toji. And as you look down into a tank of fermenting mash and its rising swaths of foam, you smell the aromatic goodness and note how vigorously it is fermenting. Just before you move on to the next tank you let your hand nonchalantly drop down near the surface and scoop up a fingerful of foam. And as you turn to walk away, you casually wipe that off on the underside of the brim of your baseball cap. You just stole their yeast.
When you get back to your own kura, you wash off that area of your cap or sleeve and do what you need to do to revive and let multiply the yeast you know is in that slightly grimy discoloration on your cap. If you do it properly, you will be able to propagate that and eventually use it in your own sake.
While surely not simple, it is far from impossible, and happened often enough that many kura were loathe to let brewing personnel from other companies visit them. Or so I have heard.
Again, this really does not happen anymore; nor was it ever a huge industry problem. But I have heard about it from several brewers, elevating it above simple legend. Also, just getting a good yeast is not the end of the challenge. A brewer with any new yeast needs to learn its idiosyncrasies during preparation, throughout fermentation, and beyond.
Furthermore, they would not be able to talk about it, and brag how it was painstakingly isolated over several years from amongst ten thousand others by the prefectural research center, or any other such romantic story. Nope.
Nor would it have roots or traceability. All they could really do is call it, “proprietary.” So there are no huge advantage to doing this, nor any real need anymore. It’s a bit like stealing sand from the beach.
But back to our true story, enter Brewer Number Three, nicknamed Mr. Unabashedly Unscrupulous. Apparently, he did in fact visit Brewer Number Two years ago and did in fact steal their yeast. However, he was not able to successfully reconstitute it, and as such it was all for naught. In time, he ‘fessed up about it; no harm done. But wow. Such audacity.
And, when Brewery Number Two chided Brewer Number One about his father’s supposed heist, it seems he was crossing his wires.
“Yeah, I mixed up my yeast-thievery stories and characters,” he admitted to me later. “I suppose I should check my facts before saying things like that in public…” he conciliatorily conceded.
Again, to be clear: this is not something that happens anymore, and is certainly not a problem in the industry. It is nothing more than a fun little anecdote that goes far to convey the important role that yeast plays in making great sake.
The only thing that we need to remember is that the gift of aromas you enjoy in your sake tonight are driven by the choice of yeast. |
Some People Just Don't Know When to Quit
Or Maybe they can't
Some guys just don’t know when to quit – or can’t quit – making sake.
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Mr. Naohiko Noguchi is one of the most decorated, respected, accomplished and famous toji (master brewers) in the history of the sake brewing industry. And at 84 years of age, he is coming out of retirement for the fourth time to brew sake at a new brewery starting up next month. At 84. That’s eighty-four. As in LXXXIV. As in “hachijuyon.” One would think enough is enough; not for some folks.
He does have people running the financial and business side of things. According to some sources, the details are a bit murky in a way that is beyond the scope of this newsletter. But the point is that he has most things taken care of, all he has to do is concentrate on brewing sake. And that is certainly plenty.
But this all begs the question, why? Quite simply, he loves the work. He cannot imagine himself not doing it. It is such a part of his being that if he is not brewing sake, he gets sick. Literally.
A bit more about this illustrious toji: He started brewing at age 16, and worked his way up the ranks for a few years at a handful of kura. He joined Kikuhime in Ishikawa Prefecture in 1961 and brewed sake there for 36 years. He retired from that company, and came out of retirement down the street (figuratively) a few days later at the brewery making Jokigen, also in Ishikawa. After a decade and a half there, he retired again, and this time he probably meant it. But he resurfaced after taking one season off, to make sake at the eponymous Noguchi Shuzo. One year there, two more off, and he is back at it again.
He is famously known as one of the four “Noto Toji no Shiten-o,” or “Four Guardians of Heaven of the Noto Toji Guild,” along with three others. Across his tenure at the first two kura, he won 27 gold medals at the annual National New Sake Tasting Competition, and was designated as a “contemporary master craftsman” by the Japanese government. I had the pleasure of meeting him once, and verified he was sharp as a tack, and not nearly as scary as I had expected. You can read about that
here.
He was not likely the easiest guy to work for. Not that I would know. But one does not get that good at a craft like sake brewing by being laid back and lackadaisical. He was surely particular about his ways. An attitude of, “Ah, that’s likely good enough…” is neither part nor parcel of sake brewing at that level.
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In fact, a friend of mine actually worked under him for twelve years at Kikuhime. But it was another ten years after the time that Noguchi-san retired (uh, the first time) that he could actually speak directly to him. Even while toiling under his direction, their difference in hierarchical rank was so great that all communication had to go through someone else. Wow. (Nowadays, they actually hang out from time to time.)
Back to the question of why: he has gone on record saying that he wants to spend the rest of his life doing what he loves best. Furthermore, he is convinced it is actually better for his health – even at age 84 – to continue brewing sake.
His body concurs. He has become ill, including a bout with cancer, when not brewing. His family has naturally expressed concern with his plans to keep at it, but he has expressed that “Continuing to brew sake will actually keep me healthy. I will be satisfied if I can die brewing sake,” he said.
Mr. Noguchi’s trademark style of sake is not for the light-hearted. He excels at making yamahai, but not just any yamahai, what I like to call “two-by-four-upside-the-head” yamahai. Very rich, full, with oodles of umami and the acidity to drive it home. It laughs in the face of maturity, and in fact revels in aging. The color is inevitably a gorgeous golden. He cannot even
spell “charcoal filtration.” It is, ultimately exquisitely balanced and delicious. But light and fruity it ain’t.
Of course, he may change all that this coming season when he starts again. But at 84, probably not.
Rumor has it that Mr. Noguchi will make a limited amount of sake at his new brewery. It will certainly be hard to score some. But I will certainly at least try, of course.
You can read an interview (in Japanese) of Mr. Noguchi
here .
The website (in Japanese) for the new brewing venture is
here .
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Announcements and Events
Sake Professional Course in Denver, Colorado
August 28-30, 2017
Only Ten Seats Remain Open!
From Monday August 28 to Wednesday August 30, 2017, I will hold the 27th North American running of the Sake Professional Course at the University of Denver, (Fritz Knoebel School of Hospitality, Daniels College of Business) in Denver, Colorado. The content of this intensive sake course will be identical to that of the Sake Professional Course held each January in Japan, with the exception of visiting sake breweries.
The course is recognized by the Sake Education Council, and those that complete it will be qualified to take the exam for Certified Sake Specialist, which will be offered on the evening of the last day of the course.
You can learn more about the course
here, see the daily syllabus
here,and download a pdf
here. If you are interested in being in the mailing list for direct course announcements, please send me an email to that purport.
Testimonials from past graduates can be perused
here as well.
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Sake Education Council Website
Please take a moment to check out the website for the Sake Education Council, the organization behind the Certified Sake Professional and Advanced Sake Professional certifications. We plan to grow steadily, strongly and continually, and we will need the support of all those that love sake to do so. Follow us through the "usual suspects" of social media.
Don't forget the archives!
Older editions of this newsletter are archived
here.
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Sake Education Central
Sake's Hidden Stories and The Sake Notebook are now available for the Kindle, Nook and iBooks!
The Sake Notebook is now available for the
Kindle as well as the
Nook. And now, it is available for iBooks on
iTunes as well!
Sake's Hidden Stories too is now availabe on the
Kindle as well as the
Nook. And now, it is available for iBooks on
iTunes as well!
Both are
less expensive than their original pdf version too. Now is your chance to learn more about sake from your phone or tablet! Check 'em out!
Sake Dictionary App for the iPhone, iPod and iPad
"For 99 cents, this app ROCKS!!"
-a satisfied customer
There you are, perusing a menu, or standing in front of a shelf of great sake, or perhaps reading a sake newsletter… and up pops one of those hairy, pesky sake terms in Japanese. You know you have heard it many times, but dammit, you just cannot remember what it means now…
No problem! Just whip out your iPhone or iPod and fire up your trusty old version of
The Sake Dictionary. In a matter of seconds, you’ll be amongst the cognoscenti once again. But… if only you could pronounce it properly. Now that would really rock!
Done! Just tap on the term and you will hear a clear example of how to pronounce the term in Japanese. Repeat it a couple of times and the term is yours for eternity, to toss about and impress your mates.
What’s more, it’s
less!
Less than what it cost before, much less. Like less than one-seventh less. For a limited time only, the audio-enhanced version of The Sake Dictionary iPhone app is available for a mere $0.99.
The Sake Dictionary is a concise little package of all the terms you might ever come across when dealing with sake. Almost 200 of them - including sake grades, rice variety names, seasonal sake terms, special varieties, rare types, post-brewing processing words and the myriad terms used in sake production - many of which are not even familiar to the average Japanese person on the street - are listed up here with concise, useful and clear definitions and the written Japanese version as well. And now, with the new audio component, you can listen and learn just how to pronounce those terms properly.
Start to toss around Japanese sake terms like you were raised knowing them! Gain a level of familiarity hitherto unimaginable! Avoid frustrating paralysis when faced with a sake-related purchase!
Get your copy of The Sake Dictionary now and never be confused by sake terms - or how to pronounce them - again.
Get it here: http://itunes.com/apps/sakedictionary
(Note if you have already purchased it, this upgrade to the audio version is free. Just go to iTunes and get it!)
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Sincere apologies for the hassle, mixed with gratitude for reading this newsletter. |
I hope you have found the above information helpful and entertaining. For more information about all things sake, please check out
www.sake-world.com. Until next month, warm regards, and enjoy your sake.
Questions and comments should be directed to John Gauntner, at this
email address.
All material Copyright, John Gauntner & Sake World Inc.
Regards,
John Gauntner
Sake World, Inc.
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