Episode 168. We are off to explore the sake scene in another region of Japan! This time it is beautiful Oita Prefecture!  As we don't know much about Oita, despite there being 33 sake breweries there, we needed to phone-a-friend.  Luckily for us, our buddy Chris Johnson (aka The Sake Ninja) lived for 3 years in rural Oita on the Jet program.  Chris gets us up to speed on the charms of Oita as well as the local customs and food culture.  We also hear tales of Onsen that are so hot, they are known as the Seven Hells as well has compulsory sumo wresting and a drinking game or two thrown in for good measure.  We also taste Wakabotan sake, a newly exported Oita brew.  Let's explore together what Oita has to offer!  #SakeRevolution

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Episode 167. If we think about sake, usually an image of a glass bottle pops to mind.  But if we scratch the surface and investigate a bit more the way that sake is packaged and shipped, there is a world of variety out there you may not have considered! This leads us to our latest series we are calling "Funky Packaging"... think of it as sake beyond the glass bottle.  Cups, bags, paks, and today's packaging - the Kikusui Funaguchi "Smart Pouch".  It's kinda like a Capri Sun and a boxed wine had a baby.  This is definitely not your old school glass sake bottle.  The spout allows for quick and easy dispensing with no oxygen exposure and the pouch itself stands up on it's own without a box.  Listen in as we explore another variation of funky packaging.  #SakeRevolution

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Episode 166. If we think about sake, usually an image of a glass bottle pops to mind.  But if we scratch the surface of exploring how sake is packaged and shipped, there is a world of variety out there you may not have considered! This leads us to our latest series we are calling "Funky Packaging" - think of it as sake beyond the glass bottle.  Cups, bags, pouches, and today's inaugural packaging - the Tetra Pak Juice Box.  Could this form factor we know from our school lunchbox be a good one for sake?  In this episode, John and Tim think INSIDE the box to explore what is going on with sake in juice box packaging. Is the sake worth the squeeze? Let's find out together!
 #SakeRevolution

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Episode 165. If you hear the term "CEL-24" and the first thing you think of is prison, and not a sake yeast, I don't think anyone would blame you.  But today we're here to spread the word on CEL-24 sake yeast and it's role in bringing us some of the most fruit-driven sake aromas on the planet.  Developed in Kochi prefecture in the 90's, CEL-24 was a response to the market demands for more aromatic and fruity sake styles. And after tasting a CEL-24 sake for ourselves, we can say that the apple, pineapple and other fruit aromas are strong and powerful as promised.  Yeast can have a big impact on a sake's aromatics and CEL-24 yeast really shows this to be true. Join us as we explore the world of sake yeast and perhaps push the boundary of how fruity a sake can be! #SakeRevolution

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Episode 164. On New Year's Day, 2024, the Noto Peninsula of Ishikawa Prefecture was the epicenter of a major earthquake measuring a 7.6 on the Richter scale.  The affected areas are especially well known for sake brewing and in Ishikawa in particular, 24 out of 33 Ishikawa Sake Brewery Association member breweries suffered damage, with 8 suffering complete destruction. While the news of the earthquake and the recovery efforts have fallen out of the headlines, we wanted to offer our support and good wishes to the affected breweries inside Ishikawa and the surrounding prefectures as well, as they continue their road to recovery and rebuilding.  One thing we can all do to support the sake industry is easy - ordering more sake from the affected regions and keeping an eye out for Noto sakes when they make their return to the market.  We profile one such sake in this episode - Hakuto Tokubetsu Junmai. We look forward to supporting this brand and many others whenever they are able to restart brewing in their repaired facilities. Look for updates on this in future episodes!  #SakeRevolution

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Episode 163. Word on the street is that travel to Japan is surging! One of the joys of travel to Japan is returning with a suitcase full of sake! But how best to do it?! This week, John and Timothy discuss the ins and outs of bringing back sake from Japan.  What's allowed and what's not!  Where to buy sake and how to package it.  Import duties and duty free shops!  If you want the lowdown on our experience bringing sake home from travel to Japan, this episode is for you. Let's UNPACK these topics and taste some of the sake (not for sale in the U.S.) we brought back ourselves.     #SakeRevolution

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Episode 162. With 2023 drawing to a close, it's time to take a look back at the sake year that was.  Join us this week for some casual sipping and some discussion on the highlights, surprises and challenges of this past year's sake adventures. Tim and John both let us know their favorite sake stories and their favorite episodes from the past year. Do you know which episode was our most downloaded from 2023?  Let us know in the comments and we look forward to another year of great sake and many kanpais. Happy Sake New Year! #SakeRevolution

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Episode 161. This week, John and Timothy explore another brand profile: Masumi from Miyasaka Jozo in Nagano Prefecture. Most well known as the birthplace of Association Number 7 sake yeast, Masumi has a long history dating back to 1662.  Located on beautiful Lake Suwa, Masumi is a brand that is well known outside of Japan.  The brand name of "Masumi" means transparency or truth and traces its origin to an ancient bronze mirror, which is a treasure of the local shrine and is the proverbial "mirror of truth".  Masumi also recently updated their label design and sake portfolio to tie into their legacy as the home of number 7 sake yeast - a yeast that has gone on to become the most widely used sake yeast in the industry. Let's explore the flavors and history of Masumi together!  #SakeRevolution

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Episode 160. It's time to get wild again! Wild about sake rice, that is.  Wild Rice is our series where we look closer at different strains of sake rice and what makes them unique.  This time around, we look to a rice native to Hiroshima Prefecture - Hattannishiki.  Known to not grow as tall as other sake rice, but still have a well developed shinpaku (starchy core) Hattannishiki is a fairly modern rice, as it was developed in the 1970's. Let's dive in and see what flavors Hattannishiki has in store for us! #sakerevolution

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Episode 159. Week in and week out, our standard gear for tasting and evaluating sake is a simple wine glass. This works really well and almost everybody has one nearby. But in Japan, there are a wide variety of shapes, materials and sizes used to make cups for drinking sake. That got us wondering if we should take some other cups out for a test drive and compare them to our usual stemware. This week we are exploring Guinomi. This style of sake cup is a larger sibling to the standard ochoko, holding more sake per pour and often having a more rustic texture. The "GUI" of gui-nomi is an onomatopoeia for the glug-glug-glug sound, indicating perhaps a sake cup that is well suited for gulping sake!  How does this cup stack up against our standard wine glass?  Tune in this week to find out! #sakerevolution

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