In this issue:

• Sake Day 2005 – Recapping an Incredible Event
• Interview with Philip Harper – The Sake Brewing Pioneer
• Room Temperature – The Forgotten Sake Temperature
• New Store Arrivals – The Naughty Sake!
• Sake Spotlight – Narutotai Yamahai Ginjo Genshu
• Special Events
• "Ask Beau"
• The SECRET WORD

To all of those poor souls who didn't buy tickets quick enough, what follows is a brief review of the sold out first annual October 1st Sake Day Celebration known as Nihonshu no Hi that took place at Ft. Mason Hall in San Francisco last week. I billed the event as one part Octoberfest, one part Carnival, two parts food orgy, and three parts sake extravaganza. From sumo wrestling and traditional flute (shakuhachi) playing to martial arts displays and Okinawa musical outburst the evening featured a seven-course Kaizeki menu paired with six super sakes. There also were 6 sake stations of note, where the boundaries – past and present – of sake were pushed to the limit.

We received roughly 25 emails of those who could not attend, but were interested in reading about the sake to food pairings and the specifics about the sake stations themselves. As this was the first annual Sake Day I thought that it would be appropriate to relate to those who could not make it the specifics of the evening to make certain that next year you book in advance to make history the second time around.

Here are the details:

• Welcoming Sake
  Ginban Banshu Junmai Dai Ginjo from Toyama.
• 1st Course
  Gingered Shrimp & Kani no sunomono (crab in sweet vinegar) paired with __________ Junmai from Niigata. (In honoring my distributors wishes I cannot reveal this outstanding brewery's name.)
• 2nd Course
  Tsukune – skewered chicken meatballs in Teriyaki sauce & Unatama – eel omelet with Sansho paired with Hakkaisan Honjozo from Niigata.
• 3rd Course
  Curried Scallops with Masago Aioli paired with Shutendouji Junmai Ginjo from Kyoto.
• 4th Course
  Assorted sushi paired with Mineno Hakubai Junmai Ginjo from Niigata.
• 5th Course
  Grilled Salmon with Mango Salsa paired with Umenishiki Junmai Ginjo Genshu from Ihime.
• 6th Course
  Beef Tataki paired with Kikuhime Yamahai Tokubetsu Junmai from Ishikawa.

Next came the real fun. The event was enhanced by six interactive sake stations with unique twists on sake appreciation. Each station was meant to explore the boundaries of sake, and we have received amazing feed back as per how enlightening these sake presentations proved to be.

STATION #1 – The Ohyama Guessing Game

This station featured three forms of Junmai Sake from the Yamagata brewery. Each participant was handed three glasses of different sake, and they had to distinguish the three. There was a Junmai, Nama Junmai (unpasteurized), and a Junmai Nigori (unfiltered) Oh and did I forget to mention that they had to wear a blindfold? Well they did and only roughly 30% of the tasters identified all three correctly. By the way the Nigori is so dry that it is very hard to distinguish without seeing it!

• Ohyama Junmai – SMV: +6 Acidity: 1.3
• Ohyama Nama Junmai – SMV: +3.5 Acidity: 1.5
• Ohyama Junmai Nigori – SMV: +4 Acidity: 1.3

STATION #2 – The Extinct Sake Tasting

This station is a sad one indeed! In the last year 3 different breweries that True Sake represents went Chapter 11. In most cases this was a result of the very difficult times that these ancient breweries are facing in Japan. As such the participants got to taste the last batches of sake from three dying breweries.

• Koshino Hoden – Organic Junmai Ginjo from Niigata Prefecture.
• Tamon – Junmai Ginjo Kinpaku (gold flake sake) from Hyogo Prefecture
• Koten Shariku – Junmai Dai Ginjo from Fukushima Prefecture

Yes. It is quite true; we paid $9 for a 1.8L bottle of sake. But why? Well it's imported of course! Imported from Australia. So by all means, you do the math. How and why would a Japanese brewery make a bottle of sake in Australia and sell it in the US for $9? Especially when the industry is so hurting in Japan? Bottom line is that Japanese breweries tried to open facilities in the US, Australia and South America to make a more cost effective sake to undercut the already cutthroat pricing wars in Japan. Hey it's "imported" so it's got to be good right? The participants were the judges and there were some mixed reviews.

• Shirayuki Junmai Ginjo from Penrith NSW Australia SMV: +5 Acidity: 1.4

Participants came face to face with a fantastic sake that was mishandled and treated like a redheaded step-child. This station featured the same sake in four different stages of life. We purchased these sakes from a store (we don't name names) in Japan Town, SF two weeks ago. The sake is imported by a company called Sake Services Institute or SSI who place a sticker on each bottle that says "JIZAKE" and represents their promise that their sakes were stored cold, transported cold, and sold cold. We found these particular sakes out on the open-air shelf. Please note the age of these sakes. They were so old that the brewery has since changed their labels. The reason for this station is to show that sake is a strange beast in that it may keep very well when it gets old or it may go sideways. The participants truly enjoyed the life and life of Daishichi's Kimoto Honjozo from Miyagi Prefecture. Most preferred the 1999 version as well as the 2005. (I personally was amazed by the 1998 in that the flavor of the sake was thinned out in the fluid. You could actually taste the jet stream of flavor within the flow of the fluid where flavor used to be. A ghost of a flavor!)

• Daishichi Kimoto Honjozo 1998
• Daishichi Kimoto Honjozo 1999
• Daishichi Kimoto Honjozo 2000
• Daishichi Kimoto Honjozo 2005

Each participant was able to taste 6 sakes with the bottles covered so as to not reveal their identities. They were also given two stickers representing their 1st and 2nd choices of the six. They then placed their picks on a chart on the wall. And here were the results of the blind tasting:

1. Nihonjyo – Junmai Ginjo (1st Choice = 8 2nd Choice = 6)
2. Kaori – Junmai Ginjo (1st Choice = 9 2nd Choice = 9)
3. Hoyo – Junmai (1st Choice = 15 2nd Choice = 10)
4. Oni Karakuchi – Tokubetsu Junmai (1st Choice = 2 2nd Choice = 4)
5. Shirataki Jozen – Junmai Ginjo (1st Choice = 9 2nd Choice =10)
6. Kubota Manju – Junmai Dai Ginjo (1st Choice = 8 2nd Choice = 10)

STATION #6 – The Sake "Survivor" Tasting

Upon entering the Sake Day event each participant reached into a box and pulled out a necklace that was one of four random colors. This separated the participants into four equal groups. At the end of the event, we reached into another box and pulled out each of the four colors, and those guests wearing that colored necklace got to taste one of the four following sakes:

1. Dassai – Junmai Dai Ginjo – Yamaguchi Prefecture Rice polished to 23% - Price per bottle $70
2. Kakunko – Junmai Dai Ginjo – Ibaraki Prefecture Rice polished to 27% - Price per bottle $150
3. Gekkeikan – Junmai – Folsom California Price per bottle $5
4. Kamenokou 17 – Junmai Dai Ginjo – Hyogo Prefecture Rice polished to 17% - Price per bottle $850

This truly was the highlight of the evening as people were cheering as if they were at a racetrack. "Come on red necklace" "Come on Green!" The intensity was amazing!

Thus the moral of the story is to highlight your 2006 calendar now! Sake Day is October 1st!

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I met Philip Harper in person for the first time three years ago in Osaka. He was working in a brewery that I was visiting. I spent the day speaking with him about brewing, watching him apply his trade, and then went drinking with him that night. It was a great day for me on two counts, one more vain than the other. On the one hand I got to spend time with "THE Philip Harper – author, first western brewer of note, and all around sake pioneer," and secondly I got to meet a fellow sake soul, who has devoted their life to the pursuit of all things sake.

A month ago, Philip Harper became a toji or "head brewer" of Daimon Shuzo in Osaka. This is a monumental occasion in the sake universe and represents the first time that a Westerner has become a toji in the brewing industry. In the roughly 1000 year-old documented history of sake this represents the first time that a "non Japanese" person has elevated to such heights within such a nationality protected industry. What follows is a brief interview that I conducted with Philip, who made time between milling batches of this season's Gohyakumangoku brewing rice.

Beau - Will you please list a brief dated timeline of your sake endeavors to date including your personal greatest accomplishment and largest snafu (mistake).

Philip –

• 1988 arrives in Japan as participant in JET Programme
• 1988 first encounter with sake
• Sometime early 1989 – dragged off by Japanese friend to drink "real sake"
• Three hours later: hooked on sake
• 1989 Joins sake appreciation group. Brewery visits, rice planting, copious sake appreciation...
• New Year 1990 Spends five days "working" (read: "getting in the way") in Shiga brewery
• 1990 – 1991 Spends days working in language school for visa purposes: evenings spent working in sake bar. Most winter holidays spent "working" (read: "still getting in the way") in Nara brewery. Articles on sake published in Kansai Time Out magazine.
• Autumn 1991: enters Ume no Yado brewery (Nara) as full time kurabito, working a full decade. Subsequently works one season at Sudo Honke (Ibaragi Prefecture) and four at Daimon Shuzo (Osaka) to date.
• 1998 – Publishes The Insider's Guide to Sake (Kodansha International)
• 2001 – Passes test for toji qualification of Nanbu Brewers' Union
• Greatest accomplishment: not dying of overwork
• Greatest mistake: falling asleep while riding to work and cycling into a river

Beau - How does a toji make his mark? (Meaning - I know the goal is to be true to the past, whilst maintaining the "flavor" of the sake that a kura is known for, but how does a new toji go about leaving a thumb print on the history of a kura?

Philip - I think whether or not a new toji starts out to "leave a thumb print" on the style of a particular brewery depends on the personality of the toji, the owner, and on how settled the style of the brewery in question is. The best things happen when the kuramoto and toji (and team) reach a good mutual understanding of what they're aiming for, and can express it consistently.

Beau - How important is the relationship between an owner and his kurabito (brewery workers)? As kurabito have always historically been "temporary employees" and as kurabito come and go in the lifespan of a brewery, how important is it for an owner to be involved with the kurabito rather than keeping them at arm's length? (I personally have met three kuramotos who are making their sons work with the kurabito to foster a better relationship between owners and workers!)

Philip - Traditionally, the "kurabito" were hired by the toji, not by the owner directly, so the relationship between them was the big one. In the past, it was rare for kuramoto to be involved actively in the hands on business of brewing. Some kuramoto liked to keep a close eye on things: others left everything entirely to the toji. There are ups and downs to both approaches.

Beau - In your storied time in the sake industry, what changes have you witnessed first hand, and what are some changes to come? (I would love a technical production reply as well as a "market view")

Philip - I learned the ropes amongst veteran brewers from Tajima and Nanbu, living and working in the brewery in the way their fathers and grandfathers had done. There are now far fewer active teams comprised entirely of veterans from the traditional guilds, and there will be still more changing of the guard as currently active veterans retire. There has been a lot of experimentation and diversification, partly because of the market pressure on sake.

Beau - How does the industry look at Daimon-san (owner of the brewery where PH works) now that he has entrusted his family's biz to a whitey! What do you think his great great grandfather would say if he were told that his great great grandson would put a Westerner at the helm?

Philip - Not sure. These issues vanish with the people I work with directly, and I long since gave up worrying about what the others think. I don't think Great-great Grandad would be able to imagine the idea at all, since he was presumably active before the Meiji restoration, and would probably never have seen a westerner.

Beau - Have you paved the way for more westerners to become a part of this amazing industry?

Philip - I know of four westerners who have worked in breweries apart from me. One is an American woman who manages a brewery in Nagano. Of the three who actually worked on the brewing side, only one is still in Japan. I don't think he plans to do it full time. So far, there doesn't seem to be a rush to join in, but with sake's international profile becoming so much more prominent, who knows?

Final Word

Philip is as humble in virtual communication as he is in person. From what I observed, he has a calmness that is spearheaded by a concern for his product. He is somewhat pensive, and tries his best to be "one of the guys" in a world where the "guys" are quite different. Nevertheless, the code of sake makers is to work as hard as possible to make THE BEST product, and it doesn't matter if you are male or female, white or even green as long as you can do the job that honors the essence of sake.

I highly recommend reading Philip's "The Insider's Guide to Sake" (Kodansha International 1998), which I sell at True Sake. And in case you are wondering, as I was, Philip is producing a second book, which will be released sometime next year. And for future review of the fruits of Philip's new toji efforts please try the following four sakes available in the US: Mukune – Junmai Ginjo, Mukune "Shadows of Katano"- Nigori, Tozai "Voices in the Mist" - Nigori, and Tozai "Well of Wisdom" – Honjozo.

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Chilled Sake! Cold Sake! Cool Sake! Seems like all that all I am hearing these days is drinking sake chilled. (And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that!) But I have been reminding people that there are other flavorful temperature zones within a bottle of sake.

The temperature of the sake dictates how the acidity and aroma present themselves. The colder the sake the less the nose is present and the acidity is more muted. The warmer the sake things tend to open up. When judges taste sake professionally they are looking for a temperature just below room temperature. Of course there are plenty of other temperatures including freezing, cold, chilled, slightly chilled, room temperature, lightly warmed, warmed, hot and lava "killed my taste buds for a week" hot.

This is just a gentle reminder to try your favorite sakes at several temperatures. Focus on room temperature for a while. Try a Junmai, Ginjo, and Dai Ginjo experiment. Most brewers would say that they would want the Ginjo and Dai Ginjo chilled, and if you were to try one room temperature it would be the Junmai. I say give them all a bash. I find it fascinating how different textures and feelings emerge at varied temperatures. But more importantly I am amazed how different flavors present themselves.

The best test is to "know" a chilled sake. Try the same sake chilled at least three times. Then on your next bottle, let the baby stay at room temperature. And behold the sake that you thought that you knew is completely different (or not).

I will include a review that I wrote about Urakasumi Junmai three years ago. In it you will see my two-temperature assessment:

Urakasumi – "Misty Bay" From Miyagi Prefecture 1724. Junmai. SMV: +2 Acidity: 1.3 This junmai fits perfectly into the category of medium- dry. It has soft nose of rice and dried leaves, and has a pale yellow sheen. There are two sakes within this brew as it plays different roles at different temperatures. Served room temperature this junmai has a very nice entrance of chocolate wisps and a savory aftertaste. The middle mouth is smooth and round with a slight tingle on the upper gums. Served chilled this junmai brings forth a fruitier feel of soft pear and mellow mango. It is disguised very well for a junmai, subtle yet elusive, and all the while it sits remarkably well on the palate. Clever and well built from start to finish. A light and smooth type. Word: Clever – Wine: Merlot/ Sauvignon Blanc – Beer: Soft Ales – Foods: Salty and savory fair, shrimp dumplings, soba noodles, sautéed filet of sole.

In this day and age of power outages and fuel shortages drinking your sake room temperature may be the environmentally sound thing to do. So do your part in saving the planet and drink your sake room temperature today!

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• Sara Wind
  For a limited time True Sake is the only place outside of Japan that you can buy an extremely unique sake from Niigata called Sara Wind. This sake from the makers of Shirataki Jozen Junmai Ginjo and Shirataki Junmai is packaged in a bandana-like white cloth that conceals a glass drinking cup. It is really beautiful packaging, but you know our store rule: we will never sell anything that looks cool but tastes like Sh#t! This Junmai is clean and very subtle. SMV: +3 Acidity: 1.5. There is nice hint of rice flavors wrapped in a silky and very soft/dry fluid. It is extremely drinkable, and makes a "cannot miss" gift! The 500ml cloth-wrapped bottle sells for $25.
• Shutendouji
  True Sake has an exclusive on a really brilliant Junmai Ginjo from Kyoto called Shutendouji or as we call it "Vulnerable Virgin." This sake uses a brewing rice that is almost twice as expensive as the most expensive brewing rice called Yamadanishiki. The result is a rich and devilish sake that speaks volumes in flavor and feel. Here is my review of the sake and please note that it sells for $42/720ml bottle with nice box!
• Shutendouji "Vulnerable Virgin"
  Kyoto Prefecture. Junmai Ginjo. SMV: +2 Acidity: 1.5 As people have "presence" this Ginjo has ubber "presence." The unique nose is filled with ripe fruits, cane sugar, blueberries, and a hint of cedar. This sake, which is full of sexual connotations, is quite sexy indeed. The long neck not only looks ummmm phallic, it also makes an amazing sound when pouring! Talk about a voluptuous sake filled with deep rich and fruity flavors. It has a playground sweetness and an arena-sized complexity loaded with a full- bodied goodness that yells "take me!" WORD: Naughty WINE: Chewy pinot noirs/hefty chardonnay BEERS: Sweet ales FOODS: Complex dishes looking for love!

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For this month's "Sake Spotlight" I wanted to go to the source for one of my sakes. I wanted to ask a brewer the what and why's about his sake to get a professional opinion from the other side if you will.

Kazuo Matsuura is not only the owner of Matsuura Shuzo Brewery in Naruto Japan, but he knows more about sake than anybody that I have ever met. He holds a PHD in the science of brewing, and is an all around sake guru. But he is incredibly shy so getting him to do this is like pulling teeth.

I picked this sake as it is a good representative of an "elegant" sake, one that borders on the movements and functions of an elegant wine. It is extremely layered and I find that it performs best in a large red wine glass with a huge bowl. Perhaps this is on account that it has a robust acidity level and is a genshu or undiluted sake. (Most sakes have water added at the end of their brewing life to bring the alcohol percentage down to an average of about 15%, but Genshus are left in their natural undiluted state.)

I have been to this brewery and have seen the exact tanks used to ferment this wizard of a sake, and I will say that every time that I open a case of Narutotai I can smell the kura (brewery). Naruto is famous for Tai or Sea Bream or as we say Red Snapper and they use this fish as their logo for this sake as well as others from their kura. It is said that their sakes are made to go with Tai!

Now back to Maatsuura-san. When I first approached him by email to respond to my request to write down some of his thoughts about his Yamahai Ginjo Genshu he responded with the following:

"By the way, your introduce to your Newsletter is fantastic trial for me. Of course it is very glad for me. Our Junmahai Ginjyo Yamahai is the best sake in our Kura. The sake produced for 25 days for main fermentation. After filtration, the fresh sake are aged for 6 months until the taste coordinate mellow harmony. Our policy to make sake is simple. That is ‘Fusion between tradition spirit and New trials'".

(I took the liberty to change "flesh" sake to "fresh" sake so as not to confuse anybody.) For me this review is awesome on several levels, but one must read between the lines. When a brewer says that a sake is the "best" sake in the brewery it is like saying that one of your children is your favorite! I am surprised to read that he said best, and it makes me all the more aware of the fact that this sake represents their benchmark. You can also deduce that it takes 25 days to ferment and then they lay it down to mellow for about 6 months. Then they bottle it when they feel that the sake has reconfigured into a perfect feeling and flow, and when the flavor peaks. I like when he added his "simple" brewery policy as well, which means that they use traditional techniques but will also use modern methods to produce a perfect sake. Making sake is anything but simple. It is a white-nuckle roller coaster process where so many things can wrong at so many points. Thus integrating new processes and methods is all part of the "new trials" that makes their sake so damn good.

Herewith is my review of this wonderful sake:

Narutotai Genshu "Red Snapper" Tokushima prefecture. Yamahai Junmai Ginjo Genshu. SMV: +4 Acidity: 1.5 This genshu (undiluted sake with 17% alcohol) has a subtle aroma profile that hints of damp wood, whipping cream and a tingle of licorice. It is a deep and rich sake that drinks thin even though it feels robust. With a layered acidity, it's a perfect genshu for pairing with largely flavored Western-style cuisines. Look for the red snapper on the label as this sake was constructed to pair perfectly with this fish. WORD: Deep WINE: Merlots/Soft Reds BEER: Pale Ales FOODS: Cooked fish, juicy game dishes, vegetable tempura, holiday turkey and ham.

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FREE SAKE - Medicine Restaurant In SF (Offer Expires Oct. 30th)

Well, sort of free! If you have not yet been to Medicine (why not?) this offer should surely make you want to visit this killer "Monk- Food" inspired restaurant that specializes in clean, vegetarian, vegan cuisine that the monks munch in Japan (Shojin Ryori). They have a superb sake menu, that yours truly designed, and they have made a special offer to readers of this Newsletter and visitors of True Sake. Stop by the store and get a postcard or go directly to Medicine and mention the True Sake Newsletter and they will offer you a "complimentary tasting of three premium sakes at dinner, Mon- Fri from 5:30-8:30pm." This is a great deal for sake fans and foodies looking for a brilliant meal. Medicine 161 Sutter Street @ The Crocker Galleria San Francisco. 415.677.4405 Offer Expires October 30th!

Nov 16th – The Crab Sake Tasting Crab Sake?

Yes you heard us right! This dinner will pair crab (November is peak crab season) with sake on all levels. From crab sashimi to crab balls to crab soup and drinking hot sake out of crab shells (Kani- sake), this event will pair at least 6 sakes with all things crab! Because this is such an exotic tasting the chef of a local Japanese restaurant (in Japan Town) has asked me to keep the event to a maximum of 10 guests. Tickets are $150 per person and for this price you get to take the crab shell home! No parties larger than two people please! Please call True Sake to order your tickets. 415.355.9555

December ?th

Sake Singles Tasting Event Keep your eyes peeled for the Sake Singles Event, where we will pair sakes for Bay Area singles!

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Kyle R. from Orange County writes: "You mentioned that you wrote a book on sake, where is it?

Well Kyle your guess is as good as mine! No just kidding. The book has been done for ages, but publishing houses work at a snail's pace as I am finding out. I have seen the printed version and it looks really great. We thought that it could be ready for Fall 2005 – meaning now! – but that deadline came and went. No fault of mine. Thus, we are looking at a Spring 2006 release. I will be honest. When I penned the first draft they thought that it was so appealing that they urged me to make it more "Western" in scope and less American-centric as they will be selling it in Europe and Australia. The name is official at least: Sake – The Modern Guide by Chronicle Books. And for you Kyle a free copy!

Please send your sake specific questions to askbeau2 @ truesake.com. (This address is not for general questions and I only review the questions once per month. All correspondence should use info @ truesake.com.)

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The SECRET WORD Ah, at last we have reached the end of this Newsletter and that of course means that we have come to the now-famous SECRET WORD. For those that are new the SECRET WORD is a chance for you to try a sake of note for half of that sake's original price. Just for reading this Newsletter. It is our way of saying thank you for trying to understand the wonders of sake. And in this regard we typically select a sake with a story, and this month's story is Hiroshima. We have selected a very popular Junmai called Suishin or Drunken Heart that reminds one that sakes can indeed drink rich. This is a rich tasting sake with a firm acidity play. Please remember the rules: only one bottle per reader, and don't tell your buddy at the moment if he/she isn't a Newsletter subscriber, always use a hushed or secret agent voice when saying the SECRET WORD, and lastly for those who have their sakes shipped I can only include the SECRET WORD sake in a four-pack purchase – meaning you must buy three other sakes. Suishin usually sells for $24 but for you glorious sake-jockeys your cost is $12. And the SECRET WORD is Drunken Heart.

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Thank you for reading!

True Sake

TRUE SAKE: America's First Sake Store.