Chris’ Corner – Vegan Sake

Greetings Sake Fans and Connoisseurs,

Welcome back to another edition of Chris' Corner! Hisashiburi desu. It's been awhile since my last official column and I'm happy to be back. This time around, I've decided to tackle the topic of vegan sake. I am not vegan, personally. But some of my good friends are, and during the holidays I was given the task of bringing sake to a party, but it had to be vegan. And so my research began!

Wait, isn't all sake vegan? You would think that. Since the advent of modern brewing and filtration techniques, the use of fining agents such as persimmon tannin has become less popular. But some brewers still might use gelatin derived from pork or beef products for clarification reasons. I've been on lots of sake brewery tours, and I must say that this step in the process is rarely, if ever, showcased to the masses, or even industry folks.

Nanbu Bijin was the first sake brewery in Japan to achieve full vegan certification in 2018. While the vegan certification process is quite expensive, Nanbu Bijin president Kosuke Kuji saw value in getting vegan certified, as he approached the marketing of sake on a more global scale, instead of just domestically in Japan.

Dassai also sees value in getting fully vegan certified. However, the entire line isn't fully certified. The Dassai Mirai, Dassai 23 720ml, Dassai Blue 50, Dassai Blue 35, Dassai Blue 23,and Dassai Blue 50 DRY have the official vegan seal of approval. Part of me thinks the Dassai 23 300ml also is, but since it doesn't have the official vegan seal, I won't make any assumption or take any chances.

Sausalito based sake importer Kome Collective has also made an effort to label most of their sake vegan as well. Although not officially certified, you can rest assured that sake with their vegan logo has no animal products involved in the sake making process. Hyogo-based Hakutsuru also prints on their back labels "vegan-friendly." 

But what if the brewery or importer has not included any vegan notation on the back label? How else can I find out if sake is vegan? Great question. Since we talked about gelatin from animal products being used for fining and clarification, your best bet is to look for Muroka Nama Genshu styles. Muroka means no additional filtration. Nama means no pasteurization. Genshu means no water added. So the final product is made as-is without any additional tools or modifications. It's safe to say that these "MNG's" will have no other processes used using animal products. You can also reach out to a brewery directly using your favorite translation app. You won't know unless you ask, right? 

While vegan sake does exist, there are not many expressions that are certified. But, the ones that are certified are tried-and-true best sellers at True Sake. If you are not as strict, you can find vegan friendly sake without the certification, or you can find Muroka Nama Genshu styles.

And there you have it! There's definitely more to this topic, and a deeper dive can be done. This just covers the preliminary basics for now.

Till next time!

Chris

*Identifies as an omnivore, but a vegan ally.