Episode 74. Kyoto is one of Japan's most well known tourist destinations.  If you think of Kyoto, you'll probably envision geishas, green tea and gardens.  But did you know, this city was not only the capital of Japan for over 1,000 years but it has also been key player in sake culture and history for centuries?  This week John and Timothy travel virtually to Kyoto and discuss some of it's history and stories of their past visits to this amazing sake center. We'll learn about their shared favorite sake bar, and some of the sights both on and off the beaten track that are worth seeing.  Kyoto's sake heartbeat is concentrated in the Fushimi neighborhood, south of Kyoto's main train station, where you'll find a cluster of well-known and centuries-old breweries. The breweries whose sake we taste in today's episode were both founded in the 1670s!  While we still can't visit in person right now, we can pour, sip and discuss a bit of Kyoto's sake heritage together.Support the show

Episode 73.  Can you judge a book by its cover? Or a sake by its label?  This week, John and Timothy put this to the test.  Now there are a lot of label styles out there, so they each found a sake label with a common style: a "kawaii" or super cute label on the bottle.  One is a Muppet-like abominable snowman with a shaggy coat and saucer-like eyes. The other is an adorable kitty drinking sake while surrounded by symbols of good luck. When we looked a little deeper, both labels actually have a surprising connection to their brewery.   We'll discuss how labels might influence our buying decisions and how super cute labels in particular can transcend language and grab our interest. Join us to see if the taste of these sakes matches well with their adorable appearance. Meow!Support the show

Episode 72.  This week John and Timothy explore the Kamoshibito Kuehiji brand.  It's a very old brewery, founded in 1647 and located just outside Nagoya City in Aichi Prefecture.  Under the guidance of the current brewery president Mr. Kuheiji Kuno, the Kuehiji brand takes strong inspiration from the French wine world's notion of a "Domaine".  The brewery, wanting more oversight of its raw materials, purchased land in Hyogo Prefecture to grow their own in-house yamadanishiki rice.  And the influence of French wine culture can also be seen on the bottle of their flagship Kamoshibito Kuheiji brand.  The rice harvest vintage year is featured prominently along with a French name for the sake as well.  In our case, we are tasting the "Eau du Désir" (Water of Desire).  This sake is a wonderful blending of sake making craftsmanship with a nod to the world of french wine, namely a notably higher acidity and a long lingering finish. If someone gives you a taste of this sake, you may not know whether to say arigato or merci, but we think you'll find it delicious.Support the show

Episode 71. You may have heard that most sake is best consumed young and fresh. But what happens when you come across a sake that is older? What's the deal with sakes that are aged 3 years, 5 years or even over a decade? This week, we're exploring what happens when sake is allowed to age gracefully and become what is known as "koshu".  This type of aged or matured sake is also known as Jukuseishu, and it is only a small percentage of the total sake market.  It does tend to be more expensive as well, but it is an interesting area of sake culture and flavor that is well worth looking into.  In this episode, we're learning-by-tasting and sipping a more traditional expression of koshu - an amber-colored yamahai junmai genshu aged for 12 years produced by the Kanbara brand located in Niigata Prefecture.  Known as "Ancient Treasure" this koshu sake is a perfect example of how delicious, deep and unique flavors can evolve when a suitable style of sake is carefully aged by expert brewers with some time on their hands.  Listen in as John and Timothy taste for themselves how time itself can transform simple sake into a mature masterpiece.Support the show

Episode 70. This week finds us at the end of our short series on pressing the sake mash.  But what would you call a pressing method that doesn't actually press?  Enter the drip! "Shizuku" sake, also known as drip or trickle sake is the topic of this week's episode.  The method used to produce shizuku sake is known as "fukurotsuri" (bag hanging) and is the ultimate hands-off, low intervention way of extracting sake from the fermentation mash.  The sake mash bags (known as fukuro) are filled and then hung from a bar and suspended over a clean tank.  The sake that drips out by gravity alone is then collected as shizuku sake.  Obviously, this is a low yield method and is used for only what would be considered the most premium grades of sake.  Who knew that something so delicious could be achieved by simply hanging around?Support the show

Episode 69. Onward in our series all about "shibori" or sake pressing.  This week's episode focuses in on the Assaku-ki (compression machine), known more informally as the "yabuta" sake press.  As Xerox is to photo copies and Kleenex is to facial tissue, so is the Yabuta to the automatic sake press.  It's a sake press brand name that has become synonymous with the process itself.  The yabuta is often compared to an accordion in appearance and uses a series of frames stacked one next to another. The sake mash is pumped into the space between each frame.  Every other frame is sandwiched with a flat balloon that gets inflated and squeezes the mash, forcing the sake out the bottom, while the rice solids are held back.  The genius of the yubuta design is that the frames can then be opened up and the leftover sake lees (kasu) can be extracted.   Compared to the "fune" press, the yabuta cuts the time it takes to press the mash in half and it is the most common sake pressing method in use today.  Join us as we squeeze in another episode on the high pressure work of "shibori."Support the show

Episode 68. Another week, another sake miniseries!  This time around, John and Timothy look at the sake production step known as "shibori" or squeezing the mash in a little more detail.  At the end of fermentation, this step separates the freshly born sake from the left-over rice solids.  There are a few different methods to make this happen, and this week, we look at the classic "fune" method.  One of the most traditional ways to press sake, the fune is a large and long rectangular box into which the brewers stack up fabric bags, known as "fukuro", that are filled with sake mash. Pressing with a board from above, the bags get squeezed and the fresh sake is collected from a spout at the front bottom of the fune box, while the rice solids are held back by the fukuro bags.  This is a hands-on and labor intensive way to press sake. For some breweries, they press all their batches with a fune, while other breweries reserve fune pressing for only their more premium sakes. To finish off the work of fune pressing, listen in to learn all about the "Fukuro Punch", which sounds like a yummy cocktail, but unfortunately, is not.  If you're interested in learning more about squeezing the mash, we hope you'll stay tuned to our complete shibori series over the next few weeks - but of course, no pressure!Support the show

Episode 67.  Diving deep into another sake brand profile, this week Timothy and John look at Domaine Senkin, also known as Senkin Shuzo.  This is a 200 year old boutique brewery located in Tochigi Prefecture, and was brought back from the brink of closing its doors forever with an idea to make more wine-like sakes with a pronounced acidity and sweetness - think German riesling.  Two brothers, the 11th generation brewery President Kazuki Usui and his younger brother, and the brewery's toji, Masato Usui, decided to take the business in a new direction.  Inspired by the wine industry's concept of Domaine, the brewery has a reverence for the most traditional, low intervention brewing methods and source only hand-grown, heirloom rice varieties that all grow within 5 minutes of the brewery.  The water source used to grow the rice is also used to brew the sake.  The Usui brothers combine the avant-garde with the traditional - and end up with a cutting-edge style of sake that is forging a new path in the sake world.Support the show

Episode 66. This week, John and Timothy continue their series of interviews with U.S. Sake Brewers, scoring a fun and interesting sit down chat with Byron Stithem, the owner and toji at Proper Sake Co. out of Nashville, Tennessee.  Byron has been producing excellent sake down south since 2017 and has a soft spot for yamahai style sakes, given their depth of flavor, acidity and ability to pair well with non-Japanese cuisine.  With a true pioneer spirit, Proper Sake Co. is blazing a trail and is the first port of entry to the world of sake for many consumers in Tennessee and beyond.  Bryon crafts a fabulous and flavorful Yamahai Junmai called "the Diplomat" that combines balance, flavor and just the right amount of tart acidity, and is winning fans and followers across the region.  With a new taproom and expanded brewery opening up later this year in East Nashville and new online sales distribution coming soon, be sure to check out Proper Sake Co. any chance you get for a fantastic introduction to what American sake can be.  Kanpai, Byron!Support the show

Episode 65. This week's episode involves absolutely no kidding around. For our first brand deep dive, we look at the interesting and innovative Heiwa Shuzo in Wakayama Prefecture. Heiwa means "peace" and this brewery name was adopted in 1952 as a nod to the hopes of peace and prosperity in the post war period. In 2008, the "Kid" brand was released and as a brand, it speaks to the movement of young and up-and-coming brewers making a new style of sake in a new way.  The president of Heiwa Shuzo, Mr. Norimasa Yamamoto has even written a book on his new and collaborative ideas on brewing and producing sake as a team.  The Kid sakes project a super easy-drinking and fruity flavor profile.  Imagine the sake you'd want to sip from a wine glass on the couch after a long day at work.  Join us as we explore and taste the delicious innovation of the Kid brand from Heiwa Shuzo.Support the show