If you are receiving this email it means that at some point in the last year you signed up at our store TRUE SAKE or sent us an email requesting that we do so.

It is quite sad, darn near pathetic, that we have only sent out one email to date! (This annual email campaign must stop). But as you are all aware, True Sake and the whole sake movement in the Bay Area and the US has been so hot that we have been incredibly busy keeping up with your enthusiastic demand for the best sake coming from the breweries of Japan.

Future communication from us will take the form of two types of emails. First is Beau Timken's Monthly Sake Newsletter that will keep you posted on all things sake-centric as Beau tests the limits with sake in the American context. Second are short True Sake Announcements and Reminders Messages that are sent only in the event something comes up between Newsletters. These messages will alert readers to special events, limited quantity sakes, and potential sales at the store. We believe that less is more (not one email per year less!) and will strive to stay out of your in-box unless we deem something incredibly important.

Basically the crux of this first Newsletter is to inform you about two major events that will help your personal crusade to understand and appreciate sake to its fullest.

• We have re-designed www.truesake.com. The new site went live in August and features 60 images of sakes for sale by phone, and will include the store's complete inventory of over 150 sakes to select from. There will be a brief history of sake, but we will focus more on the future of this exceptional libation. Look for the "Sake-of-the-Month" and "Restaurant of the Month" reviews, as well as selected recipes and tasting tips. There will also be a calendar of major sake events that should not be missed.
  
  
• True Sake turns two. We will be celebrating our one-year anniversary by having a huge sale at the store. All Sakes, glassware, sake sets, and books will be marked down by 15%. And more on certain items. This is our way of giving back to you, and a great way for you to try some of the more pricey sakes. This event will take place August 21st and 22nd from 12:00 – 7:00pm. Mention the Speakeasy Password: KOBE (no not the basketball player!) and receive a special gift!

Most sakes are pasteurized twice – in fact Japanese sake brewers invented pasteurization roughly 200 years before old Louis himself. These pioneers realized that if they heated the sake that it would keep longer and fair better in transportation. To me unpasteurized sakes at times have a 3-dimensional quality that is missing in a "fired" sake. Flavors are bolder and brighter, and as they are living sakes they each vary in how they operate later in their shelf life. Thus there is a sense of mystery as to how they age in the bottle, and one week's flavor could be different from the nexts. That said pasteurization also keeps sake so much more pure than wine that uses sulfites and other preservatives. You really should try a nama sake at some point in your sake career.

Sincerely,

True Sake