Old-Fashioned American Sake

The Bay Area offers several opportunities to sample adult beverages right at the source -- beer at the Anchor Brewery in Potrero Hill and the Speakeasy Brewery near Hunter’s Point, and vodka and other spirits at the Hangar One and St. George Spirits distilleries in Alameda.

By camper english
Published: May, 2006

The Bay Area offers several opportunities to sample adult beverages right at the source -- beer at the Anchor Brewery in Potrero Hill and the Speakeasy Brewery near Hunter’s Point, and vodka and other spirits at the Hangar One and St. George Spirits distilleries in Alameda. Though the Takara Sake USA brewery doesn’t produce the small-batch artisan beverages as do those others, a visit to its tasting room is an even rarer treat.

Takara is one of only five remaining sake breweries in the United States, down from seven just a few years ago. All of them are located in the West, and most of them in California. The location is no accident-- the warm weather allows year-round production of sake, and the air coming off the bay in Berkeley helps to cool the tanks. Additionally, sake’s only two ingredients come from California sources-- rice from the Sacramento Valley and water from the Sierra Nevada Mountain snowmelt. So, that exotic drink you associate with Japan may use techniques developed there centuries ago, but everything in the bottle is made right here.

It’s these homegrown ingredients you’re likely drinking when you order the warm house sake at a Japanese restaurant. Takara is the America’s largest sake producer, and the classic Sho Chiku Bai brand of sake produced in the Berkeley brewery is one of the most common sakes found for sale in U.S. restaurants and liquor and grocery stores.

Other sakes produced at this brewery are the extra dry Cho Kara, lighter Takara Sierra Cold, premium Ginjo, unpasteurized Nama and Organic Nama, and unfiltered Nigori. Takara also produces cooking sake (Mirin) and several plum wines at this location.

Most other popular brands of sake served in the U.S. are brewed in the U.S. as well, due largely to prohibitively expensive import taxes. For that same reason, Europe tends to import more sake from the U.S. rather than from Japan.

American sakes have a reputation of being inferior to those made in Japan. This is true of the very high-end sakes, but there are many fine sakes produced here. Sakes labeled ginjo and daiginjo use highly polished rice to achieve superior sake. Takara sells locally-made ginjo at its in-house store, alongside several premium sakes imported from their Japanese distillery.

Inside Takara’s Berkeley sake museum, oversized vats, a steamer, wooden stirrers, rakes, and other remnants of traditional sake brewing are on display, along with pictures illustrating the modern brewing process equivalents that happen on-site. Visitors may watch a short video expanding on the old-to-new production methods, or skip right to the samples.

In the tasting room adjacent to the sake museum, visitors have a chance to sample the full range of sakes produced, right off the line. Though sake is aged for several months before bottling, it is best consumed as soon as possible after that to avoid deterioration. This is especially true for the unpasteurized nama sakes. So, the sake you taste at the brewery is the best that sake is going to ever taste.

Takara’s tasting room is bright and airy with indoor structures made from reclaimed wood and granite floors inlayed with recycled glass from sake and other bottles. At the tasting counter, the friendly and knowledgeable (and patient) staff helps visitors navigate sampling the various products. They try to both educate the consumer to the proper ways to store and serve sake, and also assist them in finding the right bottle to match their palettes.

Sake can be dry or sweet, earthy or creamy, simple or complex, and pairs differently with various foods, much like wine. For example, the sweet, rich, creaminess of nigori sake pairs well with and soothes the bite of strongly seasoned foods, whereas the flowery aromas in dry ginjos benefit when they don’t have to compete with strong spices.

After tasting, visitors can purchase bottles of their favorite sakes onsite to pair with dinners at home. There they can feel confident they’re drinking the most food-appropriate and freshest American sake available.

TAKARA SAKE USA BREWERY

Open to the public 12-6PM daily. Admission and tasting is free.

708 Addison St., Berkeley