The Sake Wire

Japan's sake news, now in Europe. Sake, shochu, whisky, wine & beer — and where to taste them. 日本のお酒の今を世界へ。By MADE IN AKITA, Amsterdam. 18+

[The Sake Wire @TheSakeWire]

ORYZAE BREWING in Wakayama has brewed a beer from a novel set in 1850s Japan, using rice, koji and house yeast but no barley malt. Only 300 bottles were made.
https://t.co/VMopzsbPkZ
#CraftBeer #Koji
Drink responsibly. 18+

[The Sake Wire @TheSakeWire]

Amanosato Brewery in Fukuoka has taken over the sake licence of 134-year-old Mannengame Shuzo, which had no successor. Its first sake is due in late November.
https://t.co/245fJz7H9Y
#Sake #Fukuoka
Drink responsibly. 18+

[The Sake Wire @TheSakeWire]

Nihon Sakari has released a limited daiginjo genshu that won a fourth straight gold at Japan's national new sake awards. It is 720ml, polished to 38%, sold in Japan from 1 October.
https://t.co/usxhFY7phK
#Sake #Daiginjo
Drink responsibly. 18+

[The Sake Wire @TheSakeWire]

Hachiku Shuzo in Kokonoe, Oita held its kurairi ritual on 1 October to open the new brewing season. The ceremony prays for safe work and good sake.
https://t.co/oxu7NDbSo5
#Sake #Oita
Drink responsibly. 18+

[The Sake Wire @TheSakeWire]

MUGEN Brewing, a new brewery inside the Nara Royal Hotel, makes a pale ale and an IPA with groundwater from about 200m down. For now they are served only at group sites in Nara.
https://t.co/hTWJBK5lPV
#CraftBeer #Nara
Drink responsibly. 18+

[The Sake Wire @TheSakeWire]

An Akita Bank fund has invested in Inter Holdings of Tokyo, maker of a vacuum sake server that keeps opened sake fresh. The amount was not disclosed.
https://t.co/eVGkDbRHW9
#Sake #Akita
Drink responsibly. 18+

[The Sake Wire @TheSakeWire]

Students at Kanagawa University in Yokohama grew hops on campus and made two beers with a local brewery: a pale ale and a saison. They are on sale in Yokohama in limited numbers.
https://t.co/GO8zY1efq9
#CraftBeer #JapaneseCraftBeer
Drink responsibly. 18+

[The Sake Wire @TheSakeWire]

AFURI Brewing and Barbaric WORKS of Chigasaki have released NEO CLASSIC, a 5.5% American IPA. It uses whole hops loosened by hand, not pellets.
https://t.co/eyFswAwdpY
#CraftBeer #JapaneseCraftBeer
Drink responsibly. 18+

[The Sake Wire @TheSakeWire]

Hakutsuru has distilled a gin with Darjeeling tea and lavender at its Kobe distillery. Only 273 bottles went on sale on 3 October, in Japan.
https://t.co/4Kfg7NRuSa
#Gin #JapaneseGin
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[The Sake Wire @TheSakeWire]

Echigo Beer launches Fruit Beer Laboratory, a new fruit beer series made without flavourings, on 16 October. The first can uses Niigata Le Lectier pear juice.
https://t.co/Wfmg265m0U
#CraftBeer #FruitBeer
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[The Sake Wire @TheSakeWire]

Suisen Shuzo, rebuilt in Ofunato after the 2011 earthquake, shipped its first new sake of the season on 1 October, Sake Day. It expects to ship 100,000 litres by March.
https://t.co/pzQfRJ93eV
#Sake #Shinshu
Drink responsibly. 18+

[The Sake Wire @TheSakeWire]

A Nagano golf club has launched Out of Bounds Stout, a 6% craft stout brewed by 8Peaks Brewing. It is sold at the club and online in Japan only.
https://t.co/K9pFZO5Cgf
#CraftBeer #Stout
Drink responsibly. 18+

[The Sake Wire @TheSakeWire]

Monde Shuzo in Yamanashi has developed a sparkling wine that undergoes its second fermentation inside the can. A full launch is planned for January 2027.
https://t.co/YMg8Fs97sx
#JapaneseWine #SparklingWine
Drink responsibly. 18+

[The Sake Wire @TheSakeWire]

Japan's beer tax cut took effect on 1 October, and major brewers are reworking their lagers. Kirin has revised the hops in Ichiban Shibori for a crisper finish.
https://t.co/BtheCCS3T0
#JapaneseBeer #Kirin
Drink responsibly. 18+

[The Sake Wire @TheSakeWire]

Kyoto firm Mirabliss has launched a success-fee FDA registration service for Japanese sake and food exporters to the US, aimed at small breweries unfamiliar with English paperwork.
https://t.co/SX8Xr6WCcq
#Sake #SakeExport
Drink responsibly. 18+

[The Sake Wire @TheSakeWire]

Minakuchi Shuzo, the only sake brewery in Dogo Onsen since 1895, moved to a new management team on 1 October. It plans to expand overseas with its flagship brand NIKITATSU.
https://t.co/Af4pFJgadh
#Sake #Ehime
Drink responsibly. 18+

[The Sake Wire @TheSakeWire]

Eighteen Tohoku breweries will release beers in November made with the same IBUKI hops from Tono, Iwate. Akita Akura Beer began brewing its version on 25 September.
https://t.co/uULoIsjpsf
#CraftBeer #JapaneseBeer
Drink responsibly. 18+

[The Sake Wire @TheSakeWire]

Hombo Shuzo's Akanekaze 43 imo shochu won the top Magnifica prize in its category and Best Design at Milano Sake Challenge 2026. It uses grated raw sweet potato, a patented method.
https://t.co/q7gcsYoGwN
#Shochu #ImoShochu
Drink responsibly. 18+

[The Sake Wire @TheSakeWire]

Two kimoto sake have been developed in Wakayama to pair with tuna sushi, using taste data from Mikaku Kaori Senryaku Kenkyusho. Release in Japan is planned for mid-November.
https://t.co/cQtQsWR9uS
#Sake #Kimoto
Drink responsibly. 18+

[The Sake Wire @TheSakeWire]

Fukumitsuya's Kagatobi Kezayaka junmai was designed from a taste-sensor analysis of the sake that TV personality Rui Yoshida imagined. It launched across Japan on 6 October.
https://t.co/ynPIkHHAPG
#Sake #Junmai
Drink responsibly. 18+