The Great All American Sake.

I enjoy the occasional Sake. On one such occasion I was drinking with a few friends, and I wondered why there were not any Sake Brewers in the United States. What followed was series of unsupported statements about tradition and Sake and how small the market was in the united states for Sake.

I did not think much about it until a couple of weeks later when I actually did some research on the topic. It turns out there are commerical Sake producers in the United States.

First there are the American Sake Brewers own by Japanese Companies.
Ozeki Sake, Inc. started in 1977
Takara Sake USA, Inc. started in 1982
Yaegaki Sake Brewery, Inc. started in 1987
Gekkeikan Sake (USA), Inc started in 1989

Then there is the first wholely owned American Sake Brewery, SakeOne which was founded in 1992. I have had some contact with this company and they have been nothing but help and informative. They are excellent ambassadors of the Japanese art of Sake Brewing and the neighborly spirit of the American Northwest.

Sake brewing has recently moved into Texas, and as usual they have added their own Texas twist to the process.  The Texas Sake Company was founded in Austin in 2011. Their approach to making Sake is different then most in that they only use locally grown organic products in their sake. The rice they use was brought to Texas by a Japanese delegation in 1904. I am looking forward to tasting some of their unique product.

Finally since Sake is a brewed beverage it only makes since that someone would set up a sake brew pub. That the first one in the united states is in Minnesota is amazing. Moto-i will always have the distinction of being America's first sake brew pub. I have spoken to a few people who have gone there, and they universally enjoyed the experience.