The Fine Art of Sake Brewing

We caught a 40-minute train to the little town of Saijo, the sake brewing capital of Japan, thanks in no small part to its access to pristine spring water. This place is steeped in tradition, and it was lovely to explore the quiet streets.

We were lucky to meet a fluent English-speaking brewery owner. Their multi-award-winning brewery is one of the oldest in the region, dating back to 1904. Their original head brewer was so renowned that a brewing school was established to ensure more brewers could learn from him.

Did you know that due to the complexity of its brewing, Sake was only served to those in aristocracy 400 years ago?

The whole sake brewing process is more complex than wine. We were lucky that the owner offered to take us through to have a look, as tours don't run for the public, and especially not to walk-ins on a Sunday afternoon. I get the sense the owner picked up on my enthusiasm for learning about the process, firing off lots of questions. I couldn't get many photos, but I was thrilled to see the behind-the-scenes of an original sake brewery. I guess the good vibes in no small part due to the consumption of said sake 🥴 🍶 again for science, keeping up the good work.

More coffee and ice cream were had. The non-melting biscuit cones were delicious and milk-flavoured ice cream is now my new favourite. I know it sounds obvious as ice cream is made of milk, but it was next level!

We wandered back to the train station, pointing out the red brewery stacks as we went. We were keen to get back on time for the cooking class tonight. as Alan impressed upon us the importance of not being tardy. Here goes nothing!Read more