Brewers, you’re doing it wrong

I don’t see much criticism (constructive or otherwise) coming out of Japan, so this plea from the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association (JSS) Information Center caught my eye.

If you haven’t been to the Information Center, I highly recommend dropping in if you’re in Tokyo on a weekday – located on the ground floor of the same building as the JSS offices, the centre has not only information but fantastic curated flights of sake, shochu, awamori and amazake that change monthly, plus well-informed staff and some great accessories.

Delivered over two Instagram posts, the tone of this critique is still very gentle and it’s conveyed as the musings of someone with long experience in the sake industry (there’s no name to say who wrote it but many people working at/with the centre or JSS would fit the description). And it does line up very neatly with conversations sake professionals in Europe are having, and dovetails with observations about how tasting and evaluation is done in Japan.

If you’ve seen a score sheet for a Japanese sake competition, for example the Annual Japan Sake Awards (aka National New Sake Appraisal, zenkoku shinshu kanpyokai, 全国新酒鑑評会 – see below), it bears little resemblance to a conventional Western wine tasting score sheet. And the sensory training kits available (in Japan) from the Brewing Society of Japan focus on off-aromas or other negative aspects rather than positive ones. The positive ones are there, for example ethyl caproate, but they’re in the minority.

Part of this is due to the fact that competitions were historically held by brewers and associated organisations, for brewers, and the sake submitted was evaluated on the technical skill needed to make it rather than consumer-friendly sensory characteristics.

First of two posts from the JSS Information Center on their Instagram account.
(JSS Information Center Instagram (Japanese), JSS Information Center site (English))

None of the above is a problem in and of itself – brewers want and need both feedback and the growth and development that comes with it. But what happens after the brewing process has ended, the sake is shipped out from the brewery, and ends up in the decidedly non-technical world of the consumer? 

Anyone reading this newsletter is probably familiar with the fine detail on a sake label and able to get excited about a particular rice variety, yeast strain or brewing process. But most people don’t have that level of knowledge and just want to know if they’re going to enjoy what’s in the bottle–which turns this technical information from a help into a hindrance.

The JSS Information Center post frames this as a question about how brewers (and others) can communicate the value of sake to consumers. A lot of work goes into making sake, and putting technical details on the label does communicate value to those in the industry. But the writer pushes breweries to go further and think about what information they can give restaurants or shops that will help them sell to ordinary drinkers. Interestingly, the writer expresses despair at the product descriptions submitted for the sake they serve at the centre, which mostly contain no information of use to consumers, and singling out “it’s delicious” (「おいしい酒です」) as practically an abdication of responsibility on the part of the maker.

But this is constructive criticism, so the writer gives some examples of what they’re hoping for: Tatsuya Ishikawa, chair of the Japan Toji Guild Association, describes what he produces as “sake that makes you hungry when you drink it“–a description devoid of any particular details but that still tells you so much both about the sake and the maker. Another example comes from Toichi Takahashi, toji representative for Akita Prefecture, who describes his sake as “delicious when drunk at room temperature in each season“. 

A final example comes from Takashima Shuzo in Shiuzoka Prefecture, makers of Hakuin Masamune, who weave the technical characteristics of their water into the qualities to be found in their sake, and the fine detail of the local climate into what they intend their sake to pair with. So the technical is made meaningful to the consumer, and a lot of thought is put into how the drinker will experience the drink: “a sake you remember the next day“, “with a common style regardless of exactly how it was made“, “made to be light when chilled and just right when warmed“, “low in acidity and amino acids but also low in sugar so the acidity comes through“, “solid but light“.

The writer of the Instagram posts closes by acknowledging the limited space on labels to convey information, but emphasises that this makes it all the more important to give that information to shops and restaurants so they can make use of it in displays and menus, and also figure out where they can place the sake in their selection. And unless breweries make a real effort to express and communicate, there’s no chance of making their products appealing to consumers.

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Japan Sake and Shochu Information Center (English)
1-6-15 Nishishinbashi, Minatoku, Tokyo 105-0003, near Tokyo Metro Toranomon station (Ginza Line) and Uchisaiwaicho station (Mita Line), open 10:00–18:00 weekdays (closed weekends and holidays)