Isn't craft salmon "sake"?

Like craft beer and craft gin, craft salmon has the impression of being a unique alcoholic beverage made at a small-scale brewery. So, is craft salmon a type of sake? Actually, it is not.

The name "Craft Sake" has several meanings, but the one we will discuss here is based on the definition of the Craft Sake Brewery Association. A new genre of alcohol that incorporates processes that cannot be legally adopted in the field of sake. Craft salmon is often fermented with fruits and other ingredients, and products that use secondary ingredients other than rice are not legally recognized as sake.

The Craft Sake Brewery Association is an organization launched in 7 by seven breweries, including Ina to Agave in Akita Prefecture, which was the driving force behind the boom. Currently, the number of members has increased, mainly young people in their 2022s and 20s, who are creating delicious salmon with free ideas that are not bound by the rules of sake.

Characterized by new flavors based on free ideas

The joy of craft salmon is that each producer puts effort into creating new flavors one after another. It is fermented with agave syrup, the raw material for tequila, and a wide variety of fruits and herbs. It has edible flowers added to it and the bitterness of hops, similar to beer. Doburoku has also evolved as a craft salmon and is once again in the spotlight. Another feature is that there are many breweries that collaborate with local farmers and take the perspective of coexistence with nature.

The taste, especially those made with fruit, has a refreshing sweetness and sourness that makes them easy to drink. Coupled with the stylish label design, it seems like it will be an opportunity for people who have never had any connection to sake to discover sake.

Keep your eyes peeled for new possibilities for sake!

In fact, the birth of craft salmon is related to the fact that it is difficult to obtain a new sake manufacturing license, and in principle, it is not allowed. In 2021, regulations have been relaxed for sake exported overseas, but even if you want to make sake for domestic consumption, you will not be able to obtain a license. Craft Sake was started with a license to manufacture "other brewed alcoholic beverages".

Craft salmon was born as a desperate measure, but it has now become a new genre that is invigorating the sake market. We can't seem to take our eyes off Craft Sake, which is opening up new possibilities for sake.

Writer Eriko Fujita
Sake master. Expand your world to a sake specialty store in Osaka and encounter a variety of sake and sake breweries. His favorite sakes are Akishika, Wangji, and others.
Other than drinking, my hobbies include collecting minerals and raising swallowtail butterflies.

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