Why does sake have added alcohol

Is sake gluten free – how do we know?

Earlier this year I had the fortune (and, frankly, honour) to intern in Hayashi Honten brewery, Gifu Prefecture. My gracious host for this two-week period was Rieko Hayashi, an inspirational lady and the President of Hayashi Honten. Hayashi-san generously opened her home to me and had me to stay with her and her family, whilst […]

“What makes sake, sake?” A good question if I’ve ever heard one, and there are a lot of – some well-defined – answers. However, an interesting aspect is whether, in order to be called sake, it has to be made in Japan or not (for the purposes of this article I’m referring to Japanese sake […]

There are a lot of sake myths and mis-information out there so here are a few facts we hope will clear things up! There are tens of thousands of sakes produced in Japan. They all have very different characteristics so if you’ve tried one and didn’t like it then the chances are you might find another one […]

In our shop we quote a series of ‘Master Specs’ for all our sake. These are not special Tengu Sake Master Specs in so much as we didn’t come up with the system, these are metrics given by most brewers. As the name suggest you kind of have to be an expert to really understand […]

Browse (Junmai) ginjo on our sake shop Junmai Ginjo and ginjo are both made with rice polished rice to remove at least 40% of the outer layer of the grain (reminder of sake classifications). It accounts for only 3% of all sake produced, and is celebrated for its pronounced fruity flavours and fragrance. FRAGRANCE & FLAVOUR The defining characteristic of this class of sake is […]

Browse (junmai) daiginjo in our sake shop Both junmai daiginjo and daiginjo are made with highly polished rice from which at least 50% of the outer layer of the grain has been removed (reminder of sake classifications). It accounts for the top 3% of all sake produced, and represents the pinnacle of the brewers’ craft. FRAGRANCE […]

There are many different methods in which to brew sake, which can result in plenty of other styles of sake, supplementary to the main types. Some of the brewing methods are deeply complicated, and some a secret known only to the toji (Master Brewer) of the brewery; however, the main types can be brewed in a number of […]

Browse futsushu in our sake shop. Futsushu sake is the most popular type of sake in Japan, it accounts for about 75% of all sake produced (reminder of sake classifications), it is the equivalent of an everyday ‘table wine’. Abroad, futsushu is often overlooked in favour of the more polished ‘special designation’ sake. This is a mistake! Whilst there are some pretty rough […]