Welcome to Issue #112 of SIN.
A few days ago on May 12, Japan and many other countries celebrated Mother’s Day. In the lead up to the big day there were plenty of signs and displays in stores offering all sorts of “mother-appropriate” gifts such as cosmetics, jewelry, flowers, sweets - the usual. In a number of department stores it was interesting to see the odd bottle of rosé or sparkling wine being suggested, however it was rather glaringly obvious that sake was not being considered worthy of promotion as a potential gift.
Now, this may just be a case of the stores and breweries knowing their market OR it could be a missed opportunity. There is still a fairly common image in Japan that sake is a man’s drink - even an old man’s drink. However this has changed over the years and it will continue to change. And as a reflection of this change it would have been nice to at least see some effort in suggesting or promoting sake as something that might appeal to the mothers out there.
After all, we’re always saying there is a sake out there for everyone.
And now for the news…
Tragedy Hits Aichi
Aichi- A fire destroyed much of Mizutani Shuzō, maker of Senpyō, this week.
The blaze broke out around 2:00pm on May 9. A brewery employee reported the fire which was attended by ten fire trucks. The fire was under control by 6:00pm the same evening.
The fire department reported the wooden brewing facility had been destroyed and flames had breached the kuramoto’s residence.
The exact cause of the fire has not yet been determined, however it reportedly occurred during the pasteurization process. There have been no reports of injury.
Source - NHK
JG: Our hearts go out to everyone at Mizutani Shuzō. Of course, it is a relief that no one was hurt, and we pray that things work out for the best for the company and its ownership.
水谷酒造
Isotopes: The Key To Battling Sake Fraud
Tokyo- As the popularity of sake continues to soar internationally, beverage fraud has become a real, but seldom discussed issue in the sake world.
It may not seem like an issue for consumers in certain areas of the world, or perhaps it has been executed so well that consumers are completely unaware of its prevalence. In particular beverage fraud has been discovered in relation to cult sake brands such as Juyondai, Jikon and Aramasa among others. Reports of unscrupulous importers or distributors obtaining bottles or labels from these, and other, breweries and substituting the contents with an inferior product are not completely unheard of.
Now, Professor Hiroto Kawashima and Momoka Suto of the Shibaura Institute Of Technology in Tokyo have discovered a method of measuring oxygen and nitrogen stable isotopes in nitrates and bacteria within sake which can help identify the true origin of a sake and potentially help prevent beverage fraud.
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