Hakutsuru Sake Brewing - Exclusive Interview

We recently spoke to Mr. Kenji Kanou, Representative Director and President of Hakutsuru Sake Brewing. The Hyogo-based company has been around since 1743, producing some of Japan's most well-known brands of nihonshu (japanese sake). In this interview, we discussed the evolution of brewing in Japan, as well as the expanding market for sake overseas.

Now with Hakutsuru Sake of America Inc. and SakeOne Corporation, as well as Hakutsuru Sake of Europe Ltd., your company is in a unique position to develop foreign markets that are already showing huge potential. With the potential for sake growing in overseas markets, to what extent does localization factor into your process???

Undoubtedly, cultivating awareness of Japanese cuisine holds paramount importance for our company. With the Japanese market experiencing a decline, addressing this issue becomes imperative. Beyond Japan's borders, there are countries where the population is expanding, presenting us with the opportunity to tap into a larger market and a broader platform, leveraging the popularity of Japanese food.?

Benefitting from our extensive 20-year export experience, we remain well-equipped to navigate these circumstances, reaching numerous markets. We possess a production base in the United States that initially emerged as a partnership, but has since evolved into a fully-fledged subsidiary. These entities, situated in Oregon and operating under the name 'Oregon Craft', enable us to localize the production of sake to cater to the preferences of the local palate. Their extensive network also facilitates the export of sake to the US market. This dual approach rests on two pillars: localized sake brewing and the export of Japanese sake to the US.?

What is your view of emerging ‘craft sake’ revivals such as doburoku or the use of unusual ingredients in the brewing process??

This trend is quite intricate, especially concerning the diversification of rice-based alcohol. It's fascinating because it involves challenging territories we might not have dared to explore before. The Japanese government has established regulations governing the production of Japanese sake, given that alcohol is subject to strict oversight.

Within the traditional sake industry, many stakeholders, including distributors, retailers, restaurant owners, and brewery proprietors, remain steadfast in adhering to age-old practices, laws, and traditions. They tend to resist new ideas or alterations to the traditional way of enjoying sake.

As I mentioned earlier, we have a facility in the US where we are experimenting with a range of flavors such as Asian pear, apricot plum, coconut, and even cucumber. This approach is quite pioneering for the Japanese market. We are also working on educating consumers, suggesting they try adding lemon or yuzu to their sake. In this sense, I share a sense of empathy and enthusiasm for the pioneers in the sake industry who are breaking new ground and thinking outside the box.

Notably, Hakutsuru Brewing Co., Ltd. innovated its own ‘Hakutsuru Nishiki’ strain of sake rice as a means to eclipse and potentially surpass the dominant ‘Yamada Nishiki’ strain for high-end nihonshu, succeeding in 2003 and even beginning to supply it to other brewing companies in 2012. With a number of research papers and ongoing endeavors to improve the entire brewing process, how does your company approach the complex task of R&D?

We place a strong emphasis on maintaining quality control throughout our sake production process. Given the recent trends favoring aromatic sake, it's imperative that we elevate the quality of the fragrances, as they tend to degrade quickly during logistics.

To provide consumers with the freshest possible sake, we're harnessing AI technology and data collection software. The production of fragrant sakes, as previously mentioned, presents significant challenges, prompting us to leverage our research and development capabilities to advance brewing technology in this domain. Additionally, we're utilizing data to educate AI in analyzing optimal conditions for brewing fragrant sake, factoring in various environmental and sake rice quality variables.