With "traditional sake brewing" registered as an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO, we are increasingly hearing about the growing popularity of sake overseas. However, even in the United States, a top export destination, sake only accounts for 1% of the alcohol market. Nova Brewing Co., founded by James from Los Angeles and Emiko from Niigata Prefecture, is taking on this challenge. We interviewed them about the story behind the sake they brew using locally available equipment, and the future they are aiming for.

I spoke to this person

Nova Brewing Co. Head Brewer/James Jin (left) Owner/Tanabe Emiko (right)

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James Jin
Born in Los Angeles, California, after working in sake sales at a trading company, he co-founded Nova Brewing Co. in 2019 and became its head brewer.

Emiko Tanabe
Originally from Naoetsu, Niigata Prefecture, he moved to Los Angeles in 2015 and is currently co-founder and manager of Nova Brewing Co.

I want to change the image of "Sake Bombs"

About 30 minutes by car from the center of Los Angeles, in an area with a thriving manufacturing industry, you will find Nova Brewing Co., which has a spacious taproom. Currently, James is in charge of sake brewing, while Emiko is in charge of management, working with two staff members.

James used to work as a sake sommelier for a major trading company, selling imported sake to local restaurants. "I was intrigued by how rice could be turned into such a delicious drink, so I started making it at home," he recalls.

Meanwhile, Emiko felt uncomfortable with the image of sake in America: "There was a game called Sake Bomb that was popular in America, where you drop a sake cup into a glass of beer and drink it all in one go. At the time, a lot of sake had lost its quality during transportation, and it had the image of being unpalatable and giving you a hangover, so I wanted to change that."

The two met at SSA (Sake School of America) (※1) and hit it off by wanting to create a place where people could drink freshly brewed delicious sake in Los Angeles, where there were no sake breweries at the time. James headed to Japan to "learn how to properly brew sake," and trained at Inaba Sake Brewery and Kiuchi Sake Brewery in Ibaraki Prefecture. Emiko purchased a site that was originally a beer and wine brewery, and learned how to run a sake brewery. After James returned to Japan, the two founded Nova Brewing Co. in 2019 and began brewing beer using existing facilities, as well as sake.

(*1) SSA (Sake School of America): An educational institution based in Los Angeles that specializes in Japanese alcoholic beverages such as sake and shochu.

If it doesn't exist, make it! Equipment innovation

"The hardest part was getting the equipment we needed to make sake," says James. There are no companies in the U.S. that make sake brewing equipment, and importing it from Japan would be very expensive. "We wanted to start with our own funds, without investors, so we used existing beer and wine equipment." For example, the cooling machine that cools the steamed rice uses a container used to crush grapes for winemaking. The bottle washer is also handmade.

"James has a strong commitment to sake brewing, so if an investor who is only interested in profits comes in, that commitment won't be realized," Emiko says with a laugh.

"The most difficult part was the vessel used to press the mash. We designed it in-house so that pressure would be applied evenly. I thought we could make it if we understood the principle behind it," he says, surprisingly revealing that he designed it after searching for materials online.

Fermenting mash. A sweet aroma fills the brewing room.

Three brands that have been thoroughly researched

All of Nova Brewing Co.'s alcoholic beverages are masterpieces that have been created through extensive R&D in pursuit of the ideal flavor. We will introduce three of their most representative brands, along with comments from James.

①Eclipse

(Photo courtesy of Nova Brewing Co.)

Eclipse means "solar eclipse." It is made using half each of two types of koji, and was named based on the concept that the yellow koji, which represents the "sun," is eaten up by the black koji, which represents the "moon."
"I wanted to create an acidity like white wine, so I used black koji, which produces a lot of citric acid. I loved the black koji sake I handled when I was at a trading company, and I wanted to make it myself someday. At the time, more and more breweries were using white koji, which also produces a lot of citric acid, so I wanted to do something different."

2) Gravity

(Photo courtesy of Nova Brewing Co.)

As the name suggests, which means "gravity," this sake is squeezed using only the weight of the mash itself, without any pressure, making it a very labor-intensive "bag-hanging" method.
"This sake is full of the craft spirit, prioritizing flavor even at the expense of the amount that can be produced. Compared to Eclipse, which has a strong sour taste, this sake is closer to the taste of traditional Japanese sake, but we also kept in mind the California style by using Calrose rice (※2)."

③ Doburoku

(Photo courtesy of Nova Brewing Co.)

It took four years of research to complete the product. Last year, he visited Japan to study doburoku, and bought and tried all the doburoku he saw.
"There is a huge range of doburoku. I tried 50 different kinds to find out what style I liked, but by then I was bored of them all (laughs). Calrose rice is hard, so at first I had trouble getting the rice to dissolve."

(※2) Calrose rice: A type of rice developed in California for eating. It is somewhere between the short-grain rice commonly used in Japan and long-grain rice such as Thai rice.

Story Strategy for Selling Sake

The label design was done by James, who deliberately included kanji characters to make it clear that the product is Japanese sake.

When asked what he keeps in mind when making sake, James said, "I used to work selling sake, so I know what to say to get customers interested. To be chosen among so many other sakes, you need a unique story."

For example, it's easier to get people interested when you explain that Eclipse uses black koji, which gives it a wine-like sourness, that Gravity is made using a labor-intensive bag-hanging method, and that doburoku is a drink that farmers used to make in their own homes. "We first think about how to sell it, and then create a flavor that fits that story."

Emiko also said, "I'm aiming for an exquisite positioning that doesn't stray too far from the framework of Japanese sake, but also wants to bring out the flavor that is unique to California." To achieve this, all the rice used is Calrose rice, which is 50% polished and produced in California.

Nova Brewing Co.'s vision for the future

Nova Brewing Co.'s sake has been highly praised for its quality, having consistently won awards at the New York Wine and Spirits Competition and being the first to be featured on the sake menu of a famous chain restaurant across California. We asked the two, who are on a smooth road, about their outlook for the future.

(Photo courtesy of Nova Brewing Co.)

Emiko says, "The first step was to start making sake, and we were able to achieve that at this location." However, she also has some complaints, such as poor access from the city center and the fact that the facilities and layout are not optimized. Since many customers come from far away, she is planning to move to a location closer to the city. "In the new location, I would like to open a restaurant and pursue sake pairings," she says with hope.

James is enthusiastic about "increasing the number of sake recipes I can make." He continues, "I'm trying all sorts of things, like brewing with Yamada Nishiki rice from California, making koji from glutinous rice, and using beer yeast in doburoku. One day I suddenly thought, 'It would be interesting to make a sake like this,' so I'm currently testing aging it in barrels."

Nova Brewing Co.'s sake is created with unconventional, free-spirited ideas and a thorough commitment to quality. Their challenge to change the image of sake continues today.

*The definition of a geographical indication states that "sake" only refers to sake made using domestically grown rice and produced in Japan, but for the sake of convenience, this article also refers to sake produced overseas as "sake."

Writer: Kanon Urabe

Living in Niigata Prefecture / Sake sommelier, sake sommelier, shochu sommelier
I worked for a government agency supporting the export of food products, including sake, and now I work as a freelance writer. I like craft sake, which has a pronounced sweet and sour flavor, and sake made with additional ingredients.https://www.foriio.com/k-urabe