Sugidama Sake Podcast

The final episode of Season 4 is about a new Shochu Advisor Course, run by the Intentional Sake School. I have recently taken it and decided to share my experience. The course was taught by amazing Toshio Ueno, a Co-Founder of the Sake School of America, Director of Sake at MTC. Ueno san is Sake Samurai and advisor to many Japanese government bodies, associations and companies. His knowledge stretches from wine and beer to sake and shochu and many other areas. It's a new and I think the...

It's the conclusion of the Sake Around the World miniseries. We started it in Birmingham with Simon Boulton, then flew to Hong Kong to talk to Eric and Will, after that we chatted with Timothy and John from the Sake Revolution podcast in New York and made a stop in Paris to discuss sake and wine culture with Tony. Finally, we are back in England to speak with Jamie Ryder about the sake scene in Manchester and the North of England. Jamie Ryder is a hospitality copywriter and marketer and ...

Kuheiji Kuno is a maverick. He's a trailblazer of the sake world taking his inspiration from hundreds of years of sake brewing tradition, Japanese culture and philosophy of living with nature, and French winemaking. He believes in terroir, which remains a controversial topic in the sake industry. But he doesn't just believe in it, he demonstrates it with his sake.So we sit down with Nao Torisawa and Hiro Kumagami from Japan Centre, which is one of the largest sake retailers in the UK, a...

We continue our journey around the world to find out how sake fares in different countries. And today I am talking to Tony Yip from VSF Wine Education about France. How does sake coexist with wine in one of the key wine-making countries? Do people drink sake at all there and what about local sake? I have asked Tony all these questions. So listen to the episode to find out what he replied!Don't forget, Sugidama Podcast now has a sponsor, London Sake, an excellent online sake store....

A new English-language book about sake is always big news. They do not come that often. It's passed almost a year since Exploring the World of Japanese Craft Sake by Nancy Matsumoto and Michael Tremblay (see Episode 30). And this time we are treated by Discovering Yamaguchi Sake by Jim Rion.You should know Jim very well. He's a sake writer, translator and co-host of the fantastic Sake Deep Dive podcast. He's already been on Sugidama Podcast before talking about modern sake trends in Episode 3...

The United States is the largest export market for Japanese sake. And for the last few decades, New York has been the key destination for sake outside Asia. Many sake brands first came there and only after that to Europe. A dedicated sake bar Decibel opened its doors in New York in 1993, almost 30 years before London got its first sake bar. So how does the sake scene in the United States and in New York in particular look like now? In this episode, I am talking to Timothy Sul...

Founded in 1711, Niida Honke has been brewing sake in the same location in Kōriyama, Fukushima Prefecture for more than 300 years. The brewery is known for the combination of traditional brewing techniques with its strong commitment to natural ingredients and its philosophy that everything has to be done in harmony with nature. The name of the brewery's flagship brand, Shizenshu, means “natural sake". Niida Honke uses only organic rice, fresh water from the local spring, and natural yeas...

From Birmingham to Hong Kong following sake around the world! I am talking to Eric Fung and Will Jarvis about the sake scene in Hong Kong.Hong Kong is one of the largest export markets for sake just behind the US and Mainland China due for a number of reasons: Due to the proximity to Japan, consumers in Hong Kong have very good understanding of sakeThe city has low import tariffs, which also makes it a re-export marketHong Kong is a hub for wine trading at a commercial scaleHong Ko...

Yoshida Sake Brewery, the maker of Tedorigawa sake, is famous not only for its amazing and delicious sake but also for the documentary, The Birth of Sake, which follows the process of traditional, craft sake making throughout the winter of 2013. So we sat down with Asami Tasaka and Masayo Nuttall from World Sake Imports UK to talk about the brewery and try three of their excellent sake. Founded by Chris Pearce in Honolulu, Hawaii, World Sake Imports is also one of the key sake importers here ...

This is the first episode in the Sake Around the World series. Today I am talking with Samuel Boulton about sake in Birmingham. With almost 15 years in the industry, Sam boasts many accolades such as CLASS Awards 2022, Bar Employer of the year, The Drinks Trust Golden Pineapple 2022 Winner of the award Best Internal Staff Initiatives. Samuel is also on the Spirits Judging Committee for the world-renowned IWSC, specialising in Vermouth and liqueurs. In 2021 Sam published his first book Th...

Noguchi Naohiko is a legend in the world of sake. He has been making sake since 1949 and is widely known as the God of Sake Brewing. After working at a number of breweries as a toji (master brewer) he now heads The Noguchi Naohiko Sake Institute (NNSI) established in 2017 with the vision of passing Noguchi-Toji’s skill, spirit and sake philosophy to a new generation of brewers. At last, Noguchi sake is available in the UK thanks to Tengu Sake and its charismatic owner, Oliver Hilton-Joh...

The wait is over and Season 4 is on with a lot of interesting interviews, breweries overviews, tastings, special episodes and even a competition together with London Sake, which will be announced later.In this episode, I am talking to a bunch of very cool people I met at the British Sake Association Grand Tasting of Sake in October 2022. You will hear from Natalie from Kanpai London, Chie from Wakaze Sake, Hiroyuki from Shirakabegura, Maria Laura from Tanaka 1789 X Chartier, Tony from V...

Yay, it's been two years and three seasons of Sugidama Podcast! And this is the last episode of Season 3, where I share some observations from the IWC Sake judging this year and the Award Winning Sake Tasting at the Embassy of Japan followed after.During that tasting event, I took comments from my fellow judges, sake breweries and even from the Ambassador of Japan to the United Kingdom, His Excellency Hayashi Hajime. You will also hear Oliver Hilton-Johnson from Tengu Sake, who wa...

This is the second interview, which concludes the Emergence of Sake series and highlights the modern sake trends. This time with Jim Rion and Andrew Russell from the super interesting and informative Sake Deep Dive podcast. Andy has already been on Sugidama Podcast before passionately talking about sake yeast in Episode 19. He is a sake brewer at Imada Shuzo and the author of the Origin Sake blog. Jim is a freelance translator and writer working primarily in the tourism, sake, and enter...

After concluding The Emergence of Sake series tracing the history of sake brewing from ancient times until the modern times, I decided to follow it with two interviews highlighting the modern trends in sake making.And in this episode, I am talking to Tom Wilson, a master brewer and owner of the first UK sake brewery, Kanpai London. Kanpai represents a modern approach to sake brewing but follows the same philosophy as most brewers in Japan for hundreds of years: to make the best possible...

Last time we were talking about the Edo period, which brought many techniques and innovations into sake brewing resulting in better and more stable sake. But the real revolution in sake-making happened after the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate: during the Meiji era but particularly at the beginning of the 20th century. In this episode I am talking about huge changes in the sake industry, the foundation of the National Research Institute of Brewing and the development of yamahai and sokujo brew...

Sake is not a very easy topic. If you want to understand it well, you need to do some studying. You can buy a book or two about sake (see Episode 12 Essential Books about Sake) and read them. You can go to sake events and probably join a sake promoting organisation such as the British Sake Association. Finally, you can go to a sake course and get a sake qualification.And my guest for this episode is Marie Cheong-Thong, a certified WSET sake, wine and spirits educator, freelance writer a...

The Edo period for sake brewing was like the Victorian era for the industrial revolution. So many things that happened then still influence the drink now: from technological advances and new brewing techniques to the geography and taste. In this episode, we are looking at the evolution of sake during the Edo period and the emergence of kimoto as a dominating brewing method.Don't forget, Sugidama Podcast now has a sponsor, London Sake, an excellent online sake store. London Sake has one of the...

It's always exciting to read a new book about sake. There are not that many of them published outside Japan. But the fact that this new book is written by two amazing authors and sake specialists Nancy Matsumoto, a renowned sake and food journalist and Michael Tremblay, Sake Samurai and sake educator, makes it even more thrilling.In this episode, I am talking with Nancy and Michael about their new book, Exploring the World of Japanese Craft Sake: how they came up with the idea, what it ...

Soboshu, the sake brewed by monks played a very important role in the development of sake brewing techniques in medieval Japan. The monasteries possessed many key components necessary for successful sake-making: economic power, skilled labour force, scientific knowledge and strong political clout. However, it all was ended by Oda Nobunaga, who saw temples as a threat to his rule. One of the very significant inventions was bodaimoto, a brewing technique developed by the monks of the Shoryaku-j...

The new interview with Naoki Toyota and Tracey Delaney from The Sparkling Sake Brewery based in Cambridgeshire. Inspired by nature, Naoki went to study sake brewing in Nara, the birthplace of Japanese sake. After returning to the UK, he went on the mission to create the sake, which would express the beauty of UK nature. His collaboration with Tracey, who is a certified sake specialist has led to the creation of AWA, a beautiful sparkling sake made by a traditional fermentation in the bo...

I continue the mini-series about the emergence of sake with an episode about probably the major technological breakthrough in sake making: the use of koji, this amazing friendly microorganism, I was talking with Akemi Yokoyama about in Episode 16. But what is the link between sake and the Imperial Court? And what is "soboshu", monk sake? Don't forget, Sugidama Podcast now has a sponsor, London Sake, an excellent online sake store. London Sake has one of the widest selections of premium ...

The first interview of Season 3: a conversation about a new Japanese sake and grocery store, HIS Japan Premium, with John Opondo, who is Managing Director of HIS Europe and Masahiro Tsuji, HIS Business Development Manager.John and Masahiro are telling a story of how a travel company decided to open a sake and grocery store in Central London during the COVID-19 pandemic. HIS Japan Premium has an excellent sake selection curated by Natsuki Kikuya, who was a guest of Sugidama Podcast in Episode ...

After a break Sugidama Podcast is back with a short series talking about the emergence of sake brewing methods from ancient times to our days. In this episode, we are talking about the roots of sake from how people discovered alcohol in the first place to ancient sake brewing technics used up to 800 CE using the archaeological evidence and Japanese myths and legends.Don't forget about our sponsor, London Sake, an excellent online sake store. London Sake has one of the widest selections of pre...

In the final episode of Season 2, I am talking to Andy Travers, the founder of London Sake, an online sake shop, and Sugidama Podcast's sponsor. We covered quite a lot of topics from the London Sake story, to the Olympics, bottle labels and managed to taste and discussed three excellent sake during our conversation. London Sake is an excellent online sake store and has one of the widest premium and craft sake selections available online today. They deliver across the UK and Europe, and with o...

The fourth episode in the short Sake Focus series is about ginjo, premium and super-premium sake made from highly polished rice. The name comes from two Chinese characters and could be translated as "crafted or carefully brewing". But there's much more in ginjo than just a high milling ratio.Don't forget, Sugidama Podcast now has a sponsor, London Sake, an excellent online sake store. London Sake has one of the widest selections of premium and craft sake available online today. They del...

The third episode in the short Sake Focus series is about namazake, unpasteurised sake which is known for its unruly wild and lively character. Nama can be translated from Japanese as live, raw, fresh, or even natural. And it's all true about namazake. Listen to the episode to find out about different types of namazake including famous autumn sake called hiyaoroshi. Don't forget, Sugidama Podcast now has a sponsor, London Sake, an excellent online sake store. London Sake has one of the widest...

The second episode in the short Sake Focus series is about nigori, which takes its origin from the ancient sacred drink called doburoku. Doburoku is the oldest method of sake brewing which survived more than a thousand years of history and is still around nowadays. Nigori is cloudy sake, where rice and yeast particles from fermentation left in the final product. Sometimes it’s called unfiltered sake, but it’s not correct. Listen to the episode to find out why. Don't forget, Sugidama Podcast n...

Recently, I have spoken to one of my listeners, who praised this podcast for its wonderful content. “But you know”, he said. “Sake is a completely new thing for me and I feel a bit overwhelmed with the amount of information you put in each episode. Why don’t you make them a bit easier to digest?” And he’s absolutely right. So I decided to do a series of episodes focusing on one particular topic, I have mentioned before. And this time it's junmai/honjozo.Don't forget, Sugidama Podcast now has ...

The conclusion of the Sake Ingredients mini-series with an interview with Andrew Russell about sake yeast, which he calls an unsung hero of sake brewing. Andrew moved to Japan from Scotland to pursue his interest in what he described as “a fascinating and multifaceted country” and fulfil his dream of becoming a sake brewer. He started working as kurabito, a sake brewery worker, first at a small brewery on the outskirts of Okayama prefecture and then at iconic Imada Shuzo, a sake brewery locat...

On a nice April morning, I've got a call from Rie Yoshitake, whom I know from numerous sake events. "Alex, would you like to be a sake judge at IWC", she asked out of the blue. "Yes!", I replied without any hesitation. It was my dream for the last couple of years and now it's been fulfilled! Yay!In this episode, I am talking about the IWC (International Wine Challenge), how the judging happens, my personal experience and my takeaways from three days of intensive judging. Don't for...

A great interview about sake, cooking, mirin and other things with Kinu Yukawa. She is a Japanese chef and cookery teacher from Kobe, Japan, currently based in London. She ventured into the world of food early in life and fostered the basics of cooking from her grandmother. Later she trained in French cuisine at Ecole Ritz Escoffier Paris and traditional Japanese cuisine in Kyoto.Don't forget, Sugidama Podcast now has a sponsor, London Sake, an excellent online sake store. London Sake has one...

Koji is a magical ingredient of sake. A tiny microorganism that turns starch into sugar and makes it possible to make this beautiful drink. It's a national benevolent mould of Japan, which appeared in the country more than a thousand years ago and responsible for a large part of Japanese cuisine.And to talk about koji I invited Akemi Yokoyama, who is a chef, cookery teacher, specialising in Japanese cuisine and a koji specialist, who knows so much about this beautiful creature, which she comp...

Rice is the essence of sake. It’s the source of alcohol and it gives sake its flavour, aroma, texture and character. It’s like grape to wine but slightly different. But rice is not the most suitable ingredient for an alcoholic beverage for one obvious reason: it does not have much sugar. But people found a way to turn starch which dominates the rice grain into sugar using koji and to make beautiful sake.In this episode, I am talking about the role of rice in sake making, how sake rice is diff...

The importance of water is difficult to overestimate. It’s second only to the brewer’s skill and as important as good rice and koji. But honestly, given good water, a skilful toji can make excellent sake from even table rice. But I am not sure if even a genius of a toji can make a delicious sake from low-quality water. At least there is a quote in the excellent The Japanese Sake Bible by Brian Ashcraft when he asks Akira Tanaka, the director at Kinshi Masamune sake brewery if it’s possi...

What could be more disappointing than ordering something, waiting for it with excitement and then realising that it’s something you don’t like. It happens quite often unfortunately and buying and ordering sake is not an exception. So in this episode, I would like to give you a few tips on choosing sake and also talk about some parameters you will find on the bottle beside a milling ratio. And my tips of course are based on my own experience.In addition to this episode, you can listen to the i...

There are plenty of books about wine or whiskey. You go to any bookshop and you can always find something. Unfortunately, there are actually not many English language books available about the beautiful drink of Japanese sake. Definitely more than 5 (I’ve got seven) but still probably fewer than 15. But the five books I am going to talk about are probably the must. Don't forget, Sugidama Podcast now has a sponsor, London Sake, an excellent online sake store. London Sake has one of the widest ...

The origin of sake is covered in mystery. In order to get some clarity, I have spoken to Natsuki Kikuya, who is a certified sake and wine professional, educator and sake sommelier. She’s been a sake judge at the prestigious IWC Sake Category since 2011. In 2013, she launched “Museum of Sake” website, which she calls an intangible museum providing sake education, promoting the craft sake across the UK and Europe, organising sake events and many other exciting things. Coming from a family with ...

Erika a sake and wine specialist and director of Moto London, a sake bar which opened in London Covent Garden just about a year ago. She is an amazing person and whom I have known for some time through my blog, Instagram and personally. The story of Moto is really fascinating. You can imagine what it means to open a bar and not just a bar but a sake bar three months before the UK went into a complete lockdown for more than 2 months and then again in November. But let’s listen to her story.Don...

Oliver Hilton-Johnson is a Sake Specialist and Director of Tengu Sake, a sake imports, wholesale & retail company. Tengu Sake supplies quality Japanese sake and spirits to some of the UK’s finest restaurants and bars and is the recipient of the International Wine Challenge’s ‘Sake Merchant of the Year’ award 2016 - 2019. In November 2019 Oliver was named as one of the ‘Future 50’ drinks industry professionals to watch. Oliver has got a fascinating story about how he went from hating sake ...

The second part of the exciting two-parter about how sake is made. I never stop admiring the skill and craftmanship of sake brewers. They manage to create a beautiful drink from rice and water. In this episode we continue exploring the sake brewing process learning about sandan jikomi, multiple parallel fermentation, pressing and post-production. Don't forget, Sugidama Podcast now has a sponsor, London Sake, an excellent online sake store. London Sake has one of the widest selections of...

Satomi Dosseur is a sake professional and educator, a founder of Enshu Limited, which runs a great and very interesting sake specialist course (Kikisake-shi) in London, which I took a few years ago. Satomi can talk hours about sake and is very good at encouraging people to try it and enjoy. Born and raised in Tokyo, Satomi grew up with a deep understanding and love of Japan’s exceptional culture. She was taught by her Japanese parents to appreciate and love the diverse uniqueness of Jap...

Great news! Sugidama Podcast now has a sponsor, London Sake, an excellent online sake store. London Sake has one of the widest selections of premium and craft sake available online today. They deliver across the UK and Europe, and with over 100 sake from 25 breweries, there really is something for everyone. Using simple online tasting notes and sensible, affordable food pairings they help you find the perfect sake without any of the fuss. Listeners of the podcast can get a 10% discount L...

A lot of people often ask me why sake. They are usually quite intrigued. I’m not Japanese (they don’t know that sake in Japan is not that popular these days), I’ve never lived in Japan (only visited two times as a tourist), my wife is not Japanese (again, another thing that could link me to the drink, don’t know why). I wouldn’t say that I fell in love with sake at the first sight or shall I say sip. For a long time, my drink of choice was wine or beer. I love German Riesling, I enjoyed Frenc...

The process of making sake is really exciting! There are several sake brewing methods: three main ones, kimoto, yamahai and sokujo (or sokujo-moto) and another one, bodaimoto, which is even older but has been rediscovered only recently. Sake taste profile depends to a certain extent on the method used to make it. So if you know what each method means, you can make a better choice of sake.All the methods differ by the way, the starter is created. In kimoto, the starter is churned for hours wit...

While sake has a milder taste compared to wine, it's diversity is astounding. You not only have sake grades or styles which have their own flavour profiles but also sake types, which add another dimension to the sake universe. Nigori, namazake, koshu, all these words mean variations in brewing technics adding unique characteristics to sake. If you know what these names mean, you can better choose sake for your meal or an occasion. The long names of sake, which sounded like spells from old fai...

Junmai, honjozo, ginjo, daiginjo... What do all these strange words mean? Do we have to know them to enjoy sake? It will definitely help you to identify the sake types you like, to understand a difference between these incomprehensible sake bottles in a shop or exotic sake names on a wine-list, to decide what sake you should choose for a particular meal, or whether you need to pop the bottle in the fridge before drinking or it’s fine as it is and so on.So let me be your guide in this va...

Welcome to the first episode of Sugidama Podcast, the podcast about Japanese sake, the amazing drink, I am madly in love with, profoundly fascinated by and eager to tell you about!Sake is a mysterious drink for the Western audience. Many heard but only a few have tried. As any mysterious object, it’s surrounded by myths and legends. Some of them are completely false and others have some truth in them. Before I started my sake journey I also had many misconceptions about it. So I would like to...