Welcome to Issue #84 of SIN.
We hope this issue finds you well.
Well, it seems like we blinked and missed it. The brewing season has wound down for many breweries that have already tipped their tanks in celebration of the end of another year. Next is the waiting game for those final sake that are still maturing in tanks (or bottles) ready for shipment over the coming months - or later.
Of course, not all breweries. These days it is getting harder and harder to speak definitively about sake as there are so many variations and exceptions to the traditional template for brewing practices. Although brewing is still considered a winter months’ task, there will be some that will continue well into summer, and then even a few more that basically don't/won't stop as they continue to brew for the whole year.
And now, in coincidental timing, with the encroaching sake festivals and events, the Japanese government has just this week downgraded the threat of COVID and advised citizens that it is no longer necessary to wear masks at all times, but to instead exercise their own judgment according to the situation.
Although mask wearing was never government-mandated throughout the pandemic, the practice was, from the beginning, the country's first line of defense against COVID, and is now the seemingly final barrier to come down as the threat subsides.
Not that we don't take COVID seriously here at SIN. But for anyone who has attended a tasting event where you're pulling down a mask with one hand to take a sip while trying to hold your glass, pen and notes in the other, you'll understand why this can be seen as a positive step in terms of practicality at such events moving forward.
And now for the news...
The Ultimate Hiroshima Sake Database
Hiroshima- Just about every prefecture in Japan has its own association of sake breweries which meets at varying frequencies to discuss sake economy and compare ideas for the further promotion of sake for their region.
Sake brewing is a business after all and the camaraderie of these associations can also vary from region to region. Which is why it's nice (if not occasionally unusual) when a prefecture’s breweries all get on the same page for the greater good.
In this spirit, the Hiroshima Sake Brewers Association has begun compiling a complete database of the sake of Hiroshima Prefecture.
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