Japan PUB WG, SAKE SAKE, Suimon Adventure for Knowledge Evolution Progress and Planning
f sake CIAL ARRANGEMENT California,
1
CM YK A CH-CH If you have heard of Folsom — the 78,000 strong town in California’s Sacramento County — chances are it’s because of singer-songwriter Johnny Cash’s live album, At Folsom Prison, recorded, well, at Folsom Prison. We’re on the six-mile Johnny Cash trail (a work-in-progress homage to the singer, with upcoming art installations), and our guide, Rob, shows us the distant landscape of the prison. “It has the best view in the area,” he tells us ruefully. But if you are a connoisseur of spirits (the kind you drink), you might also know that Folsom is home to the Gekkeikan Sake brewery. It is the first and only offshoot of the 400-year-old Fushimi- based outfit with its accolade-winning junmai (pure rice sake), made using the legendary water of the Japanese region. Brewing over When the nine-acre facility came to town in 1989 (after testing the water samples in 30 locations across the US), it was one of the few sake-producing outfits in the country, joining the ranks of the Japanese- owned Takara Sake in Berkeley. California’s water, according to Gekkeikan brewmaster Kawase Yousuke, is comparable to Japan’s. The five versions of the beverage made in Folsom — including the award-winning ‘Haiku’ junmai and the nama (unpasteurised) sake — use water from the American River (most of it snowmelt from the Sierra Nevada mountains) and premium rice from the Sacramento Valley. After production, they make their way to destinations in the US, Europe, South America and even South Korea. Today though, it’s not just legacy Japanese brewers making their mark in the US. It is evident that the microbrewing treatment given to beer and cider has been extended to the rice-based drink. In the US, there are around 20 sake brewers, most of them dotting the Western and North- Eastern coasts. Earlier this year, the rising number of commercial brewers led to the creation of The Sake Brewers Association of North America, the beverage’s first trade association formed outside of Japan. Juniper joy The past few years saw gin — a drink derisively referred to as ‘Mother’s Ruin’ in the past — get a fashionable makeover, with sleek microdistilleries popping up across the world. The trend made its way to India, with Nao Spirits launching its London and Himalayan Dry gins in the country. In a world that is continuing to look for alternatives to gluten-laden options, is sake primed to become the next big thing? Bernie Baskin, Executive Director of the Sake Brewers Association of North America, believes so. He cites the global renaissance of Japanese cuisine as one reason. Then there is the fact that the Japanese sake industry has marketed itself to an overseas audience after facing declining local demand (from around 4,000 breweries a few decades ago, there are only around 1,200 in the country today). “I think that work is paying off in some ways,” he says. In the US, where Baskin thinks there is a saturation of beer breweries, sake brings novelty. “It’s a rather complex beverage to brew, and some of the more experienced brewers are fascinated by the challenge,” he says. Adding some spark If sake conjures up images of solemn brewing rituals and centuries-old recipes, these brewers can convince you otherwise. At the Gekkeikan brewery, we are treated to fruit-avoured sparkling brews, with tips on using them to make the best cocktails (‘a bit of junmai, a bit of the sparkling kind, some lime and tonic’) and advice on how to use it for cooking (similar to white wine, and to naturally tenderise meat and remove fishy smells). I find out later that Virginia-based North American Sake Brewery has an option called ‘Spicy Vacay’ — infused with mango, lime leaf and jalapeno. Experimenting, then, is part of the game for these new wave of brewers. “We have a lot of different styles to work on, whether that means more traditional approaches like yamahai or ki-moto (using different kinds of yeast starters), or playing with more yeast and rice-milling rates, and finding new ingredients and avour profiles that will infuse well with our sake,” shares co-founder Andrew Centofante. Given that sake is the country’s fastest- growing beverage, there is demand to match. Jeremy Goldstein, co-founder of North American Sake Brewery adds, “Sake truly is the cleanest, most curious drink on the planet. Japanese brewers bring so much experience, history and tradition to the table, while American brewers are making fresh, local sake with an experimental craft twist.” The writer was in Folsom at the invitation of Visit California The sake wave, while most prominent in the US, has takers across the world (like the Nøgne Ø brewery in Norway). But what about at home, in India? Production, it appears, is yet to kick off. Imports make for at least 99% of the sake consumed in the country (in 2017, India imported around 69 lakh litres, up from 67 lakh litres in 2016). Rohit Arora, Manager at Tulleeho, an outfit providing beverage education, training and consultancy services, shares that there is a edgling home brewing community — a number he places at approximately 50 across the country. Meanwhile, the country’s alcohol retailers — like the soon-to-be-opened Tonique in Bengaluru, which promises the country’s largest retail collection of sake — are trying to push consumption. But experts cite high import taxation, price point (it is more expensive than wine of comparable quality) and lack of awareness as barriers. “It is a massive trend around the world, but not as much in India. Though people who travel do know their sakes from their shochus (also a rice-based Japanese beverage, it is distilled and not fermented), the trend in India has not grown as much, very likely due to pricing and other matters of red tape,” says wine expert and journalist Ruma Singh. One more restriction, she adds, is the lack of knowledge when it comes to pairing it with options besides Japanese food, even though it has the potential to lend umami to signature local dishes. As Yangdup Lama (pictured), partner and mixologist at the Speakeasy bar, says, “Sake does well with Indian barbeque items. Baked or tandoor should be perfect.” Sommelier Magandeep Singh would concur. He pairs a scallop ‘sixty five’ dish (with rice hollandaise and podi) with Enter, a Black Dot honjozo (where distilled alcohol is added during the fermenting proces) at the recently-opened Rooh restaurant in Delhi. The challenge, he says, is that sake, being more oral than fruity, becomes tougher to pair as it become more refined. “The more expensive the sake, the more you want to highlight it on its own own,” he says. John Leese, beverage development and bar manager at the Olive group of restaurants, believes that India is still on the ‘tip of the sake iceberg’. “Many expressions of high-grade rice polishings and sparkling sake are still to arrive,” he says. But restaurants are trying to demystify the beverage and make it more accessible. At The Fatty Bao (an Olive restaurant), the informal Izakaya setting is meant to encourage diners to experiment with their sake, sans any rigid pairing rules, says the restaurant’s executive chef Prashanth. The robatayaki skewers and the chargrilled, confit duck wings, he says, pair particularly well with options like Gekkeikan’s own daiginjo (a premium brew, where the rice is polished to at least 50%). Meanwhile, Ajit Bangera, senior executive chef at the ITC Grand Chola, experiments with Indian food pairings and believes that the drink’s rice base blends well with our cuisine, especially in its chilled form. “A chicken Chettinad and a ginjo sake for instance, would add value to each other,” he says. Thinking back to the ultra-premium Horin daiginjo sake that I tasted in Folsom, I can’t help but wish for it with a side of tandoori chicken! Move over ‘ginaissance’. If the growing community of American brewers have anything to say, it’s sake’s time in the sun :: Sindhuri Nandhakumar Sake in my cup Move over boxed wine. Culinary celebrity and former Iron Chef, Masaharu Morimoto recently introduced Easy Cup Sake, across various retail locations in the US. The 210 ml glass bottles with plastic lids feature Gekkeikan’s Japan- made junmai, made using premium-grade Yamadi Nishiki rice, polished to 70%. Sipping on rice India is no stranger to rice-based alcoholic brews, including the Northeastern chhaang (which also includes barley and millet grains) or the apung rice beer from Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. “The difference is that they are not made for commercial sale, but for mostly home consumption,” says mixologist Yangdup Lama. Rohit Arora of Tulleeho also points out that there are key differences between these brews and sake. “They are totally distinct,” he says. “Sake has a more refined or cultured style of brewing, while rice brews in India have a more raw style.” Playing catch up The Japanese beverage, now a global phenomenon, is yet to make a splash in India Gekkeikan took water samples from 30 locations in the US before choosing Folsom, and we get our rice from the Sacramento Valley Kawase Yousuke, brewmaster at Gekkeikan Kanpai (Clockwise from top left) Cycling on the Johnny Cash trail in Folsom, rice-brewed alcohol, the North American Sake Brewery, Easy Cup sake, Gekkeikan’s award-winning Haiku, brewmaster Kawase Yousuke * MAX WHITTAKER, JOHN ROBINSON, ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES, SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC CHENNAI THE HINDU WEEKEND SATURDAY, JUNE 29, 2019 8 CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC DISCOVER * SANJAY RAMCHANDRAN C alifornia, for your sake
Transcript of f sake CIAL ARRANGEMENT California,
CMYK
A CH-CH
If you have heard of Folsom — the 78,000strong town in California’s SacramentoCounty — chances are it’s because ofsinger-songwriter Johnny Cash’s livealbum, At Folsom Prison, recorded, well,at Folsom Prison. We’re on the six-mileJohnny Cash trail (a work-in-progresshomage to the singer, with upcoming artinstallations), and our guide, Rob, showsus the distant landscape of the prison. “Ithas the best view in the area,” he tells usruefully.
But if you are a connoisseur of spirits(the kind you drink), you might also knowthat Folsom is home to the GekkeikanSake brewery. It is the fi��rst and onlyoff��shoot of the 400-year-old Fushimi-based outfi��t with its accolade-winningjunmai (pure rice sake), made using thelegendary water of the Japanese region.
Brewing overWhen the nine-acre facility came to townin 1989 (after testing the water samples in30 locations across the US), it was one ofthe few sake-producing outfi��ts in thecountry, joining the ranks of the Japanese-owned Takara Sake in Berkeley.California’s water, according to Gekkeikanbrewmaster Kawase Yousuke, iscomparable to Japan’s. The fi��ve versionsof the beverage made in Folsom —including the award-winning ‘Haiku’junmai and the nama (unpasteurised)sake — use water from the American River(most of it snowmelt from the SierraNevada mountains) and premium ricefrom the Sacramento Valley. Afterproduction, they make their way todestinations in the US, Europe, SouthAmerica and even South Korea.
Today though, it’s not just legacyJapanese brewers making their markin the US. It is evident that themicrobrewing treatment given tobeer and cider has beenextended to the rice-based drink.In the US, there are around 20sake brewers, most of themdotting the Western and North-Eastern coasts. Earlier this year, therising number of commercial brewersled to the creation of The Sake Brewers
Association of North America, thebeverage’s fi��rst trade association formedoutside of Japan.
Juniper joyThe past few years saw gin — a drinkderisively referred to as ‘Mother’s Ruin’ inthe past — get a fashionable makeover,with sleek microdistilleries popping upacross the world. The trend made its wayto India, with Nao Spirits launching itsLondon and Himalayan Dry gins in thecountry. In a world that is continuing tolook for alternatives to gluten-ladenoptions, is sake primed to become thenext big thing? Bernie Baskin, ExecutiveDirector of the Sake Brewers Associationof North America, believes so. He cites theglobal renaissance of Japanese cuisine asone reason. Then there is the fact that theJapanese sake industry has marketed itselfto an overseas audience after facingdeclining local demand (from around4,000 breweries a few decades ago, thereare only around 1,200 in the countrytoday). “I think that work is paying off�� insome ways,” he says.
In the US, where Baskin thinks there is asaturation of beer breweries, sake bringsnovelty. “It’s a rather complex beverage to
brew, and some of the more experiencedbrewers are fascinated by the challenge,” hesays.
Adding some sparkIf sake conjures up images of solemnbrewing rituals and centuries-old recipes,these brewers can convince you otherwise.At the Gekkeikan brewery, we are treated tofruit-fl��avoured sparkling brews, with tips onusing them to make the best cocktails (‘a bit
of junmai, a bit of the sparkling kind,some lime and tonic’) and advice on howto use it for cooking (similar to whitewine, and to naturally tenderise meat andremove fi��shy smells).
I fi��nd out later that Virginia-basedNorth American Sake Brewery has anoption called ‘Spicy Vacay’ — infused withmango, lime leaf and jalapeno.Experimenting, then, is part of the gamefor these new wave of brewers. “We havea lot of diff��erent styles to work on,whether that means more traditionalapproaches like yamahai or ki-moto(using diff��erent kinds of yeast starters), orplaying with more yeast and rice-millingrates, and fi��nding new ingredients andfl��avour profi��les that will infuse well withour sake,” shares co-founder AndrewCentofante.
Given that sake is the country’s fastest-growing beverage, there is demand tomatch. Jeremy Goldstein, co-founder ofNorth American Sake Brewery adds,“Sake truly is the cleanest, most curiousdrink on the planet. Japanese brewersbring so much experience, history andtradition to the table, while Americanbrewers are making fresh, local sake withan experimental craft twist.”
The writer was in Folsom at theinvitation of Visit California
The sake wave, while most prominent inthe US, has takers across the world (likethe Nøgne Ø brewery in Norway). Butwhat about at home, in India? Production,it appears, is yet to kick off��. Imports makefor at least 99% of the sake consumed inthe country (in 2017, India importedaround 69 lakh litres, up from 67 lakhlitres in 2016). Rohit Arora, Manager atTulleeho, an outfi��t providing beverageeducation, training and consultancyservices, shares that there is a fl��edglinghome brewing community — a number heplaces at approximately 50 across thecountry.
Meanwhile, the country’s alcoholretailers — like the soon-to-be-openedTonique in Bengaluru, which promisesthe country’s largest retail collection ofsake — are trying to push consumption.But experts cite high import taxation,price point (it is more expensive thanwine of comparable quality) and lack ofawareness as barriers. “It is a massive
trend around the world, but not as muchin India. Though people who travel doknow their sakes from their shochus (alsoa rice-based Japanese beverage, it is
distilled and not fermented), the trend inIndia has not grown as much, very likely dueto pricing and other matters of red tape,”says wine expert and journalist Ruma Singh.
One more restriction, she adds, is the lackof knowledge when it comes to pairing itwith options besides Japanese food, eventhough it has the potential to lend umami tosignature local dishes. As Yangdup Lama(pictured), partner and mixologist at theSpeakeasy bar, says, “Sake does well withIndian barbeque items. Baked or tandoorshould be perfect.”
Sommelier Magandeep Singh wouldconcur. He pairs a scallop ‘sixty fi��ve’ dish(with rice hollandaise and podi) with Enter,a Black Dot honjozo (where distilled alcoholis added during the fermenting proces) atthe recently-opened Rooh restaurant inDelhi. The challenge, he says, is that sake,being more fl��oral than fruity, becomestougher to pair as it become more refi��ned.“The more expensive the sake, the more youwant to highlight it on its own own,” he says.
John Leese, beverage development andbar manager at the Olive group ofrestaurants, believes that India is still on the‘tip of the sake iceberg’. “Many expressionsof high-grade rice polishings and sparklingsake are still to arrive,” he says. Butrestaurants are trying to demystify thebeverage and make it more accessible. At
The Fatty Bao (an Oliverestaurant), the informalIzakaya setting is meantto encourage diners toexperiment with theirsake, sans any rigid pairingrules, says therestaurant’sexecutive chefPrashanth.Therobatayakiskewers and thechargrilled,confi��t duck wings,he says, pairparticularly well withoptions like Gekkeikan’sown daiginjo (a premiumbrew, where the rice is polished toat least 50%). Meanwhile, Ajit Bangera,senior executive chef at the ITC GrandChola, experiments with Indian foodpairings and believes that the drink’s ricebase blends well with our cuisine, especiallyin its chilled form. “A chicken Chettinad anda ginjo sake for instance, would add value toeach other,” he says.
Thinking back to the ultra-premiumHorin daiginjo sake that I tasted in Folsom, Ican’t help but wish for it with a side oftandoori chicken!
Move over ‘ginaissance’. If the growingcommunity of American brewers have anythingto say, it’s sake’s time in the sun
:: Sindhuri Nandhakumar
Sake in my cupMove over boxed wine. Culinary celebrity and former IronChef, Masaharu Morimoto recently introduced Easy CupSake, across various retail locations in the US. The 210 mlglass bottles with plastic lids feature Gekkeikan’s Japan-made junmai, made using premium-grade Yamadi Nishikirice, polished to 70%.
Sipping on riceIndia is no stranger to rice-based alcoholic brews,including the Northeastern chhaang (which alsoincludes barley and millet grains) or the apung ricebeer from Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. “Thediff��erence is that they are not made for commercialsale, but for mostly home consumption,” saysmixologist Yangdup Lama. Rohit Arora of Tulleehoalso points out that there are key diff��erencesbetween these brews and sake. “They are totallydistinct,” he says. “Sake has a more refi��ned orcultured style of brewing, while rice brews in Indiahave a more raw style.”
Playing catch upThe Japanese beverage, now a global phenomenon,is yet to make a splash in India
Gekkeikan tookwater samples from30 locations in theUS before choosingFolsom, and we getour rice from theSacramentoValley
KawaseYousuke, brewmaster atGekkeikan
Kanpai (Clockwise from top left) Cycling on theJohnny Cash trail in Folsom, rice-brewed alcohol,the North American Sake Brewery, Easy Cup sake,Gekkeikan’s award-winning Haiku, brewmasterKawase Yousuke * MAX WHITTAKER, JOHN ROBINSON,ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES, SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
CHENNAI THE HINDU WEEKENDSATURDAY, JUNE 29, 20198
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
DISCOVER
* SANJAY RAMCHANDRAN
C a l i f o r n i a ,for your sake
