Full disclosure that this is something very dear to my heart as I have been working on the translation/localisation and then voiceover for this course on and off for the last two and a half years! (I get no royalties and am not being paid to promote it, I genuinely think it is worth it.)
Mostly known as the keepers and distributors of Japan’s classic strains of sake yeast, the Brewing Society of Japan (日本醸造協会, Nihon Jōzō Kyōkai) have a much wider remit including research, publication of academic articles, sharing technical information – and education. Their Introductory Sake Brewing Seminar was developed as a kick-start for new employees at sake breweries, and aims to give them a thorough understanding of the entire brewing process: all the way from checking water quality before the brewing year starts to dealing with questions from customers long after the sake has shipped.
Full details are available on the course page, including two 30-second samples from the video lectures. (The second one gives you a good idea of the incredible level of detail the course goes into.) It includes about 8 hours of video, PDF copies of the slides, and costs JPY 55,000 (around USD 375/ EUR 350/ GBP 300) for 120 days’ access, which sounds like forever but some of the lectures may take a while to get through. [And yes, that’s my voice. Still getting used to hearing it!]
Although I already had multiple sake qualifications before watching and translating this course (WSET level 3, SSI International Kikisake-shi, John Gauntner’s Certified and Advanced Sake Professional, JSA Sake Diploma) it made me feel like I knew next to nothing. The coverage of the sake brewing process in lectures 2 and 3 is incredibly deep, and other lectures are on subjects that have very little information available in English, such as standard analysis methods (for alcohol, acidity and amino acids), microbial control, characteristics of the sake yeast strains held by the BSJ, and the history of koji and sake brewing. Some of the information is specific to Japan, as noted on the course page, but very little is not immediately useful if you want to understand sake, and particularly if you want to brew it.
If you have any questions about the course, feel free to ask!
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The translations/summaries of Japanese language news articles or other resources, personal commentary and other content provided on this site or through its associated newsletter are part of a personal project to increase the amount of information about Japanese sake and related fields available in English.
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