Sake News from Japan / Sake Muse

If you fancy blending your own sake, My Sake World in Kyoto will let you do just that. Opened on 23 Jan 2025 by the sake division of Leaf Publications, which operates the Sake World, Sake World NFT and Assemblage Club sites, this blending laboratory lets visitors...

The Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association (JSS) partnered with the Association de la Sommellerie Internationale (ASI) in 2022 in a strategic move to make sake something wine sommeliers need to know about. JSS kept hammering home that message at the ASI meeting in...

Published in June 2024, just as the brewing year was coming to an end, the NTA Osake no Shiori 2024 provides a reliable and thorough snapshot of the Japanese drinks industry at that point in time. It starts with a rundown of the familiar threats: declining birthrate...

As well as regulating, taxing and providing training for alcohol producers, Japan's National Tax Agency (NTA) also has a budget for promoting the Japanese drinks industry. So, how much do they have, and where is it going? The NTA supplemental budget for promotion...

This is allegedly the question being asked by megabrewer Hakutsuru, known for their sprawling and highly automated multi-site operation in Nada. But did you know that they also operate a teeny tiny (37 m2) completely autonomous brewery inside their museum? Opened in...

In a move that will be welcomed by anyone trying to figure out whether you mean Asashi Shuzō in Yamaguchi or Asashi Shuzō in Niigata (makers of Kubota), the Yamaguchi one is changing its name to Dassai to make it the same as their brand. The soon-to-be Dassai KK also...

n another sign that deeper interest in sake is on the rise, major tour operator JTB have announced a 7-day, 6-night tour of sake breweries and more with a French-speaking guide. The tour includes visits to five breweries - Kikumasamune, Kobe Shushinkan and...

n a interesting twist on the recent UNESCO listing, someone is already taking exception to the definition of sake (nihonshu) as made from rice (and rice koji) alone.  And that person is none other than Shoya Imai, former toji at Wakaze in Paris, who has boldly...

The National Research Institute of Brewing (NRIB) describes it as similar to "rotten cabbage, gas, or takuan" (pickled daikon), and research published in the Journal of the Brewing Society of Japan points at DMTS (dimethyl trifulfide) as a probable cause... Yes,...