Sake News from Japan

So, according to the NTA–and survey company Teikoku Databank (TDB)–the value of sake produced has actually increased very slightly over the last few years, no doubt thanks to the shift towards higher value-added, higher-priced categories. Does this mean sake breweries...

I went looking for updated sake export figures recently, which led me to the National Tax Agency's July 2025 Sake no Shiori (酒のしおり) "state of sake" report (sake in the wider sense of alcohol in general, but including nihonshu/seishu in particular, and I will...

Niizawa Shuzō (Miyagi Prefecture), makers of the super-low polishing 7% NIIZAWA and NIIZAWA KIZASHI ranges, teamed up with art project company ARTLOGUE to hold a competition for contemporary artists–with the winning works adorning their sake labels.  The Grand Prize...

Niigata Prefecture-based FARM8, who developed Ponshu Guria (180 ml cups containing dried fruit, etc. for instant "sake cocktails") and FER (lactic acid-fermented amazake cocktails), and operate the Sakepost sake-in-a-180-ml-pouch subscription service, polled their...

I actually got into bean-to-bar chocolate and coffee before I fell in love with sake, and although I am not and will never be any kind of wine expert (I don't even drink it) I keep an eye on the IWC's Canopy magazine as they often feature sake. So bear with me while I...

Following on from Niigata Prefecture's announcement on 1 Oct 2025 that they were going to focus on sake tourism (in the wider sense of "sake" encompassing all alcoholic drinks), the first joint conference for sake breweries and the tourist industry was held as a...

As you've heard from me and anyone else watching the sake industry, the price of everything breweries need (rice, obviously, but also fuel, packaging, logistics, salaries and other necessities) has risen sharply enough that they can no longer absorb it by cutting into...

You've probably all heard of Association Yeast, Society Yeast–or, to give it its trademarked name, Kyokai Yeast. The Brewing Society of Japan (Nihon Jо̄zо̄ Kyо̄kai, 日本醸造協会, BSJ) held an online seminar on 24 Oct 2025 to highlight their sake yeast strains, including...

The brewing season is underway and lots of breweries are documenting it online, including some terminology specifically linked to to starting up the brewing process. Tsuchida Sake Brewery in Gunma Prefecture posted a short video featuring the ubiquitous Woodson rice...