Do you like sake? Of course you do.
Do you like learning as much about sake as you can? Of course you do, that’s why you read this newsletter!
But guess what? Not everyone feels the same.
Some people just want to drink sake and enjoy it with the minimal amount of product knowledge. They might know a few sake-related terms, maybe have a couple of favorite brands and they may enjoy a few glasses with dinner or with their friends – nary giving a thought to production methods, regionality or yeast strains.
And you know what? Not only is that okay, it’s actually necessary for the growth of the industry.
The sake industry needs consumers. Just plain old consumers. The kind of people that have far more pressing matters going on in their life and other interests that leave them with little time to read books, take courses, or listen to podcasts about sake – but do in fact enjoy the odd glass or bottle here and there.
Not everyone needs to be an expert to enjoy sake. Not everyone needs to be converted, baptised and made to kneel at the sake altar. Just getting them to include sake in their drinking repertoire every now and then can be enough.
Think about the average person who doesn’t work in the liquor or hospitality industry and how little they actually know about beer, wine or spirits, yet they enjoy those beverages all the same because at some point they were made aware of them, discovered that they’re delicious and kept on drinking. Sake needs more of this. Just simple awareness.
Not everyone needs to do a course or read a book. They just need to try it and enjoy it – and be left to enjoy it without being made to feel they have to take that “next step”. So as hard as it might be for some of us to reign in our enthusiasm by spreading as much deep-level knowledge as we’d like, if you see someone enjoying sake, maybe we should ask ourselves if we really need to recommend a “better” sake than the one they’re drinking. Do we really need to lean over and offer to explain in minute detail the process behind what’s in their glass? Not always. Let them be a consumer.
Sometimes a friendly nod and a courteous “kampai” to your fellow drinker might be enough to welcome them to the club.
Sake needn’t always be a lecture. Sometimes it can be a conversation.
And now for the news…
**Note SIN Chief Editor Julian Houseman is stepping in for John Gauntner with comments and recording for this issue.
Japan- Rising instability in the Middle East and the continued disruption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz are beginning to impact Japan’s sake industry, as shortages of petroleum-derived naphtha drive up costs and threaten supplies of key brewing materials.
“Naphtha” (ナフサ in Japanese) is a petroleum-derived chemical raw material produced during crude oil refining. It’s not usually used directly as fuel, but is used to make plastics, synthetic rubber, solvents, packaging materials, and many petrochemical products.
In the sake industry, naphtha is indirectly important as it is used in the production of items such as bottle caps and liners, plastic seals, shrink wrap, labels, adhesives, disposable gloves and packaging materials and crates.
Kinji Hashimoto of Hatsukame Shuzō in Shizuoka Prefecture has warned that shortages and rising prices for petroleum-based products could significantly affect sake production, noting concerns over increasing costs for bottle caps and labels.
The brewery is also experiencing shortages of disposable rubber gloves used during kōji production. Combined with already elevated rice prices, the additional pressure from packaging and supply-chain costs is creating growing uncertainty for producers ahead of future brewing seasons.
初亀酒造
JH- I honestly hadn’t heard of naphtha until these news reports started appearing, but it seems this will be an issue for a number of industries. An unfortunate example of the butterfly effect of such conflicts.
Chiba- Visitors to Japan often marvel at the quality of the convenience stores here compared to their home country, however one particular 7-Eleven has definitely taken things up a few notches to become possibly the ultimate convenience store for folks like us.
