Sake Education Council

Newsletter for the CSP & ASP Community

Volume 2, Newsletter 4 November/December 2012
sm barrels
Greetings to all SEC members,

I hope you are all well as the fall and soon the year of 2012 draws to a close – all too fast. Again. The good news is that the sake brewing season and all its new products, offerings, and surprises (or lack thereof) is upon us, so there is much to see, hear and learn, after which a fresh brewing season will begin.

Next, my apologies for not being more regular with this newsletter. I honestly would like to publish it monthly, but myself and the other three directors are all quite busy with a plethora of things, and this newsletter is one thing that ends up falling through the cracks. As we gather more resources and momentum, this should all improve. But for now, please accept my apologies. I will be doing my utmost to publish this SEC newsletter monthly all throughout 2013!

Between the last newsletter and this one, there have been three Certified Sake Professional courses, and 162 new CSPs are now out there proselytizing about sake. More about these three courses, their results, and their graduates, are listed below .

Read too about the upcoming courses in January and February in Japan – and beyond.

Warm regards, keep well this holiday season, and enjoy the newsletter,
John
INDUSTRY NEWS
I recently wrote an article for my regular newsletter and my blog about the current state of the industry. If you missed that, you can read it here: http://sake-world.com/wordpress/?p=103

Let me augment the above with even more stats, just confusing things more. The stats for the amount of sake “moved” (it really refers to how much taxes were paid, i.e. sold, but perhaps a bit skewed from what other data might show) in November were down a full 10 percent from September of 2011. Reasons given include
(1) a warmer than average September, keeping folks drinking beer and
(2) two less sales days in the month – which can be significant.
And, just to top it off with good news, for the first eight months of the year, sake was UP 2.1 percent over the same period last year. While that might not be huge, it is at least heading in the right direction! And we are up for the year, despite dismal September.

Import Restrictions Lifted

The EU recently lifted all restrictions on importing sake and whiskey from Japan that had been in place since soon after the nuclear accident in March of 2011. With that, only Russia and China hold restrictions in place, and those are for sake made in prefectures close to the accident.

Exports Up

Sake Exports Up 14% for August – Exports of sake from August of this year (the most recent data available!) showed exports were up 14% (in volume) over the same month a year ago. In terms of sales, it was even better, as August of 2012 was up 19% over 2011. The US was still the largest importer, although imports to that country were down 12% for that month. Next was Korea, somewhat surprisingly, up 36% from a year ago.

Yamada Nishiki Looking Good This Year

Reports in the sake-press and from brewers to whom I have spoken indicate that the Yamada Nishiki rice (and rice in general) looks good this year. Not outstanding, mind you, but good. A long and hot late-summer / early-fall dried the rice out a bit, thereby necessitating care when soaking as it could be more prone to cracking than normal. “Still,” shrugged one brewer, “if we are careful and make use or our experience, everything should be OK…”

Rice Costs Increase Drastically

The costs of rice used in brewing sake are rising significantly for many reasons. These include increased transportation costs and the costs for implementing traceability and testing since the nuclear accidents of March 2011. Also, the drought in the US has led the government to offer higher subsidies for growing rice used for exporting as livestock feed than for rice used for sake brewing (run-of-the-mill rice, not sakamai). Sakamai (sake rice) yields are down this year as well for reasons that were not clear to me from the article. These will almost inevitably combine to lead to higher prices when sake is released next fall.


RECENT COURSES AND GRADUATES

CSP Chicago - July 2012

The 2012 Chicago CSP Course took place in Chicago this past July 18, 19 and 20. Indeed, Chicago is quite the happening spot as far as sake is concerned these days. Fifty-five individuals successfully passed the Certified Sake Professional Exam following the test. Congratulations to you all! Their names are listed below; see if anyone you know is on there!

Adam Craig Feichter, Alan Chen, Amanda Jansen, Anthony Citriglia, Brian Fogarty, Cameron Courson, Carlee Delp, Carol Guerra, Chiyo Takemoto, Chozo Yokota, Claudia Valencia, Dan Fullick, Dan Steffen, David Legge, Davvy Lee, Dustin Ryan, Emily Rodemoyer, Eric Rath, Erin Craig, Frankie Carl, James Adam, James Betts, James Pollock, Jane Milauskas, Jeanette Gorthy, Jeremy Sutton, Joe Glunz, John Badalati, John Constantine, Joseph Bernadzikowski, Krassi Boboshevsky, Lindy Mangubat, Lisa Bell Kysela, Marie Capone, McKenzie Mundy, Michael Traves, Miguel de Leon, Mike Brinkman, Mike Gorthy, Mindy Le, Nancy McClelland, Nikki Hannewald, Richard Kaiser, Rick Lopus, Robert Jones, Rodney Alex, Sean Razee, Sydney Zarp, Sylvia Ogrodzinski, Tanya Blazic, Tiffany Knight, Tim Brown, Tim Fields, Trampas Thompson, Ty Fujimura, Wayne Shennen

CSP Chicago - September 2012

There was a CSP Course held in Chicago, again, in September for Southern Wine and Spirits employees from all around the US. Fifty-one individuals successfully passed the Certified Sake Professional Exam following the test. Congratulations to you all!

Their names are listed below; see if anyone you know is on there!

Adam Petitti, Alex Killingbeck, Amy Cherrie, Andy Caulfield, Brian Hadley, Cari Focht, Charlie Madden, Chris Foster, Christina Ver Bryck, Dan Brasic, Dan Burke, Dave Jaramillo, Dave Swan, Derek Jarosz, Ed Bessner, Erin Rzepka, Gary Enloe, Gary Hirsch, Heidi Kabanuk, Ian Post, Jake Ciha, Jeevan Singh, Jeff Kienzle, Jim Mead, Jo Terlato, Jocelyn Nave, Joe Bluver, Joe Giorango, Joe Keefe, John "Tony" Fese, Josh Price, Julie King, Ken Winn, Kim Jacobs, Liz Rubesha, Matt Schoenberger, Michael Bowlds, Mike Milarski, Pat Hannigan, Paula Zubrzycki, Roni Vela, Rose Rafferty, Ryan Gleason, Steve Gulden, Steve Strand, Steve Tauschman, Tami Aber, Ted Alexandrakis, Tricia Binetsch, Vikki Classen, Zack Cook

CSP San Francisco - October 2012

The 2012 San Francisco CSP Course took place in San Francisco this past October 24, 25 and 26. San Francisco continues to be one of the most interesting places to drink sake in the world, with lots of sake-based activity happening. Fifty-five individuals successfully passed the Certified Sake Professional Exam following the test. Congratulations to you all!

Their names are listed below; see if anyone you know is on there!

Andrea Markel, Anna Tamura, Arwen Johnson, Bill Barnes, Carlos Smith, Chase Gonzales, Chris Kinney, Constancia Loubriel, Cory Rentz, Dave Wood, Deborah Stone, Eamonn O'Mahoney, Eduardo Dingler, Elaine Silver, Filippo Bevilacqua, Frank Haddad, George Franceschi, Hiedi Bullock, Indrek Jarma, Jeff Frese, Jeff Tanabe, Jennifer Lim, Jess Morris, John Farmer, John Sygowski, John Vuong, Joshua Seto, Judy Donahoe, Katherine Borgelt, Kevin Lyman, Laura Conroy, Mendy Kim, Michael Jones, Michiaki Yamada, Mishi Grogan, Mitch Fortune, Monte Bollinger, Nicole Hubbard, Reggie Narito, Richard Fein, Rodrigo Peca, Rob Soule, Ryan Bailey, Shannon Davis, Shannon Marie Latting, Shawn Robison, Shiho Fukushima, Stella Parker, Stephanie Anderson, Tim Farrell, Todd Clark, Tom Chin, Vivian Hatherell, William Rainford

IN THIS ISSUE

INDUSTRY NEWS

FUTURE COURSES

RECENT COURSES

FUTURE COURSES

ASP Course in Tokyo, Japan February 2013

The 2013 Advanced Sake Professional Course, also known as “Level II,” will be held in the Tokyo area from February 11 to February 15. More about “Level II” can be red here:

http://www.sake-world.com/html/lii.html

Currently, with 21 or so participants, the course is full. The following individuals are currently signed up for Level II,
http://www.sake-world.com/html/reserved.html

If you expected your name to be on that list and it is not, please let me know asap. If your name is here and you do not plan on attending, please let me know that as well.

CSP Course in Tokyo, Japan January 2013

The Japan-based Sake Professional Course with CSP testing for 2013 will take place January 21 to 25, 2013 in Tokyo and Osaka/Kyoto/Kobe. Currently, there are 12 individuals that have signed up for the course. I can handle as many as 22 and as such there are about ten seats remaining open. Should you know anyone that is in dire need of the best sake education on the planet, by all means, please do send them my way!

More information about this year’s course can be read here:
http://www.sake-world.com/html/spcjapan.html

CSP Course in New York City, May 2013

I am currently planning a CSP course in May in New York City, but the exact dates and venue are currently being considered. More will be announced as soon as information is available.

CSP Course in Dallas, TX, August 2013


CSP Course at TexSom, August 8-10. Currently, the one CSP course that is firmly scheduled for 2013 will take place August 8, 9 and 10, just before TexSom, in the Dallas, Texas area. While details have yet to be hammered down, the dates are set, and I am taking “soft” reservations at this time.

CSP Course in Europe??

There remains a possibility of another course in the fall, as well as one in Europe if enough interest exists and if enough support can be mobilized. We will indeed keep you posted!

In Closing,

Happy Holidays to all ASPs and CSPs everywhere!

We hope you are well, where ever you are, and enjoying sake in some capacity.
By all means, all CSP and ASP readers are encouraged to submit content for the SEC newsletter. Don’t be shy!

If you are no longer involved with sake, God forbid, or for any other reason you prefer to not receive this email, then please let us know.

Sake Education Council

CONTACT DETAILS

Sake Education Council

johngauntner@sakeeducationcouncil.org

paultanguay@sakeeducationcouncil.org

sallymohr@sakeeducationcouncil.org

jonathandriver@sakeeducationcouncil.org

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