Greetings

Rice Woes

Events: Sake Professional Course in Japan!,  Las Vegas, and Sake Tours for 2014

Sake Education Central

October Greetings to all readers,

Sake Brewing begins this month! 

As it seems to almost every year in Japan, summer defiantly hung on until one day it almost instantly morphed into fall. I think that happened this morning. 

It is indeed a tumultuous period of time in everything from weather to politics. With fall tastings just finished, and Sake Day just beyond us, most brewers are just about now beginning their first batches. Diligent cleaning and disinfecting will be followed by starting the first batches and feeling out the year's rice. The hot summer is expected to make the rice harder than usual, and brewers will need to tweak it to coax out the flavors. Let us encourage them from afar.

Other upcoming news: 

I will hold the autumnal Sake Professional Course October 28 to 30 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Hang around after the course for Halloween in Vegas - that has to be fun. You can learn more below, or by sending me an email to that purport. There are still one or two seats open. 

The Japan-based Sake Professional Course is now open for registration. Learn more below.

And... as a sneak announcement, I will be starting a sake-only English language magazine due out the middle of next month. Sake Today is what it will be called, and you can learn a bit more here , where you can also follow us via the usual suspects of social media. 

And please, as always, enjoy the newsletter - preferably with a glass of fresh sake! 

Warm regards,
John Gauntner

Rice Woes 

Of all the problems the sake industry faces – sake has dropped to eight percent of all alcohol consumed in Japan – a shortage of sake rice is not one that they need at this point in time. But it is one they must now deal with.

Several brewers I have spoken with have prefaced their comments about the coming year with,” If we can get the rice. But I think we will be OK.”

As most readers surely remember, sake rice is different from table rice in many ways, including size, higher starch content, lower fat/protein content, and a physical structure that places the starch in the center. That last point allows producers to mill it more and more, thereby grinding away more of the outside and remove more fat and protein, leaving only the starch behind. And sake rice costs much more too – as much as two to three times more than some table rice.

Table rice can, in fact, be used to make sake. But premium sake can be much more easily made to be wonderful when sake rice is used. Actually, perhaps 75 percent of all sake is not made using sake rice, but instead using table rice. Still, sake rice is indispensable to making great sake for sure. And sake rice is an official and separate classification, not just a nickname.

But recently, the government has been trying to reduce the number of fields on which rice is grown in an effort to stabilize the price of table rice on the market. As a part of that policy they have thrown sake rice in with table rice in terms support and subsidies for things like fertilizer and insecticides.

While that is all fine and good, the real truth of it all is that yields for table rice are much higher than sake rice. And if a farmer is going to get no more help on sake rice than table rice, there is a lot more money to be made on rice with higher yields per field. As such, most farmers then go for the most economically sound decision for themselves.

Certainly there are those that grow sake rice by direct, mutually agreed upon contracts. But the majority of it goes through the standard channels of agricultural co-ops.

So in the end, brewers are running into shortages of Yamada Nishiki and other sake rice types as a direct result of these policies. Note, too, that this goes against the current efforts of at least three government ministries that are trying hard to increase exports of sake around the world. Apparently, these policies are being reviewed in search of a solution.

As one concrete example, I ran into the toji of a kura from Yamaguchi Prefecture, the makers of Kahori-tsuru at a recent industry tasting. They, and another brewer down there whose sake I like, use a sake rice called Saito no Shizuku (“Droplets of the Western City”) in some of their products. I am fond of it, and struck up a conversation with him that began with me expressing as much.

“Yeah, I like it too, and I like using it,” be started off, “but I can’t hardly get the stuff!” He continued to explain that, as great as it is to have a local sake rice that supports local economy and regionality, it was like pulling teeth to get a farmer to grow it.

“They have choices, of course, about what they grow. And the market price for this particular rice is the same as that for Gohyakumangoku (a popular eating rice), but the yields for Saito no Shizuku are significantly less, you see.”

Again; we can surely understand the rice producer’s point of view as well. But it continues.

“But then, ‘course, there is the sake rice Yamada Nishiki. The yields for that are the same as Saito no Shizuku, but Yamada commands a much higher rice. So yeah, they’ll grow that. But not my Saito no Shizuku,” he lamented.

“Wow,” I commented. “I did not know that.”

“Yeah, neither did I!” he replied. “I realized I know far too little about how these things work, how they change, and how they will affect me.”

That last line is the one that amazed me. The system is complex and constantly changes, and the motivations of the players change along with that. I am sure that everyone is doing what they feel is best for the greater good. But it is opaque enough to adversely affect sake brewers unexpectedly and directly.

We are very excited to announce two new destinations in 2014 to Okayama (January 27th - 31st) and Niigata (February 17th – 21st). There’s something special about these two destinations. The Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association is supporting part of the cost. They invite all sake enthusiasts to really experience Japan through sake with their help. This is a one-time opportunity you cannot miss!

Both tours are 5-day excursions into the world of sake brewing, drinking, and enjoyment, featuring an exclusive seminar by the greatest sake sensei. The contents of the tours feature sumptuous cuisine, luxurious yet quiet relaxing time at hot springs, and excursions to fantastic cultural highlights in areas seldom visited by foreigners.

Okayama January 27 - 31, 2014 (Monday-Friday)
Visit four sake brewers in the home of Omachi sake rice. The Okayama tour combines sake, food, and art with visits to beautiful classic towns. Some very memorable experiences you will find only with us are: a session with Omachi sake rice grower, hands on rice field plowing, private Kagura dance performance, private Shiki Hocho fish cutting knife ritual once performed only for the emperor, hands-on guinomi sake cup making experience with Bizen artists, observing art of sword making and more. On the last day, simply relax at the hot springs by the river far away from the city, in the snow.

Niigata, February 17 – 21, 2014 (Monday-Friday)

Niigata is known as the sake and rice capital. From over 90 breweries, you will visit four breweries who represent very distinctive traditions including Sado Island. In addition to a chance to interview sake brewers and rice growers, some special moments include: a private Geisha performance at dinner, a masterful tea ceremony, paring of Niigata sake at French restaurant, and hands on experience of Kodo Taiko drum. Of course, we'll have time to explore the distinctive cultural heritage of the area and to relax at hot springs.

Both tours are 270,000 JPY per person. With 50,000 JPY support from Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association, your cost is only 220,000 JPY.

Please visit http://saketours.com for tour information after September 15. Group size is limited to 12.

Details are still being finalized for the Okayama and Niigata tours, so email Etsuko at info@saketours.com for more information. 2014ke is.