A brief history

Sake is a traditional Japanese brew made by fermenting rice. It is Japan’s national beverage and is used during formal ceremonies, weddings, special events, and holidays. Sake is deeply tied to the seasons and the rice harvest with the brewing season starting in the winter to allow the tanks to become cold enough to make sake.

While the exact origins of sake are unclear with records reaching back at least 2500 years, it is believed to begin in China with the start or rice cultivation. Japan is really where the brewing of sake became an art and koji methods were refined during the Nara Period (710-794).Through the next 500 years, sake was being brewed in Shinto Shrines and Buddhist temples originally to appease the gods, but by the sixteenth century, breweries began to be established for sake to be drank by the masses. In the Edo Period (1603-1868) the techniques for sake began to change toward less sweet and lighter flavors. New methods surrounding filtration brought about clear sake. In the Meiji period (1858-1912) sake hit the international scene and there were said to be over 27,000 breweries in Japan with large producers established in Kobe and Kyoto. Sake continued to evolve as time progressed and was heavily influenced by the coming world wars. With rice being rationed the sake industry collapsed and many sake breweries were forced to blend with cheaply distilled alcohol and much richer sake became popular. This brings us to the modern period in which new classifications based on rice polish ratios gave birth to the ginjo boom of the 1970s. These new styles refined flavor and aroma as well as pushed toward more artisan sake.

Today sake is experiencing an international resurgence with America being the highest importer of sake. New craft sake breweries in the US are popping up around the country while the general population is embracing this ancient and beautiful drink.