Past events
Introduction to Sake workshop
Want to explore sake but don’t know where to start?
This workshop covers the different classes and styles so you can select sake with confidence, either to drink by itself or to pair with food.
Examples of the classes and styles are also served in two tasting sessions – the perfect chance to cement what you’ve just learned through experience and maybe find a new favourite!
Click here to buy a gift voucher for the workshop.
WHEN: Usually Wednesday evenings every second month, 19:00 – around 21:30, or book a private Introduction to Sake workshop
WHERE: MAME 2 Holbeinstrasse, 8008 Zurich, Switzerland. Seefeld area, short walk from Stadelhofen station or stops Opernhaus/Kreuzstrasse on tram lines 2 and 4.
PRICE: CHF 50.00 per person (TBC for private events)
LANGUAGE: English
Attendees:
- Find out what sake is – and what it is not
- Learn how raw materials, brewing, processing and ageing affect flavour profile and price
- Sample a range of sake selected to give an overview of the different classes and types
- Have fun in a small, friendly group guided by an expert
- Leave with an understanding of how to select, store, pair and serve sake!
The workshop covers:
- The legal classifications for sake and what they can tell you about aroma and flavour
- Tasting with four examples of the legal classifications
- Identifying aromas and flavours and writing tasting notes
- How processing and ageing create a range of styles
- Tasting with four different styles
- Storing and serving sake, including what to serve it in and at what temperature
- How to pair sake with food – including which sake go with cheese or chocolate!
- Choosing the best places to buy or order sake
- Plus the chance to ask questions in a relaxed small group setting
BONUSES!
- Take home a list of the sake you tried
- List of where to drink sake in Zürich and where to buy locally and online
- Free Pocket Guide with class and style names in Japanese and English for future reference
A very special event where have a Japanese sake brewer introduced his sake, tasted them with us and answered all your questions!
The tiny but mighty Otone Shuzo is in Numata in Gunma Prefecture, nestled in the mountains in the middle of Japan’s main island. It is one of just four breweries covered by the Tone-Numata Geographical Indication, which recognises the unique geological, climate and human factors that characterise the region’s sake. Tsunenori Abe runs his miniature brewery with just two part-time brewers, producing extremely food-friendly sake that is complex, satisfying and also easy to drink! He’ll be joined by trainee brewer and former Miss Sake Nagasaki, Sayuri Tanaka, who works part-time at the brewery, and they will present some of their main products, such as the Sadaijin label, as well as some very special sake supplied for the event.
Links:
- Otone Shuzo (Japanese)
- Tone-Numata GI specification (English)
- Presentation introducing the Tone-Numata GI (Japanese with English subtitles, 40 minutes)
WHEN: May 2024
WHERE: MAME 2, Seefeldstrasse 19, 8008 Zurich, Switzerland
Together we:
- Learned about the geography, geology, climate and culture of the Tone-Numata region and how these factors affect the sake produced there
- Got an overview of sake production in a very small Japanese brewery
- Learned about the Tone-Numata Geographical Indication (GI)
- Tasted a selection of sake from the brewery
- Had the chance to ask an experienced master brewer anything about sake
- Had fun in a small, friendly group with plenty of time to explore, discover and ask questions!
Meet the brewer! Abe-san from Otone Shuzo
Kimoto workshop
Kimoto is an old sake starter, established around the 1700s, which relies on ambient bacteria to create a safe environment for yeast to multiply and resist contamination by other microorganisms – and gain lots of flavour in the process!
Following on from the starters workshop (which covered bodaimoto/mizumoto “water starter”, kimoto and its derivative yamahai) this workshop will look at further variations within kimoto itself – what happens when you age it? Brew with ambient yeast? Or barely polish the rice? Come and find out!
WHEN: April 2024
WHERE: MAME 2, Seefeldstrasse 19, 8008 Zurich, Switzerland
LANGUAGE: English
Attendees:
- Went back over the starter methods and how they affect the flavour profile of a sake
- Talked about how one variation from the standard modern process – using the kimoto starter – can be further varied by ageing and polishing number
- Learned about how different sake rice varieties interact with kimoto
- Discovered how making sake with a lot of the rice grain affects flavour
- Tasted rare, limited edition sake to expand their understanding of kimoto and ageing
- Had fun in a small, friendly group with plenty of time to explore, discover and ask questions!
Cheese, chocolate… what else could go with sake?
Tea!
Bartender and tea sommelier Nico Colic of Hedonisms has selected four black teas from Taiwan, China and India to pair with four very different sake – simple, complex, sweet, savoury, fruity. We tasted them all and saw how they can complement each other!
WHEN: March 2024, part of the Konomi festival of Japanese flavour in Basel
LANGUAGE: English
Attendees:
- Heard about small-scale producers of sake and tea, the challenges they face and why what they make is different from mass produced products
- Had a brief introduction to the sake and teas from China, Taiwan and India
- Talked about – and tasted! – flavour profiles for four different teas, and for four different processing and brewing methods for sake
- Had fun in a small, friendly group with plenty of time to explore, discover and ask questions.
Tea and sake pairing
Fundraising event for Ishikawa Prefecture
CHF 900 raised for donation! Thank you!!
A magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck the Noto Peninsula on the north-west coast of Japan on 1 January 2024, followed by a huge number of aftershocks. There was widespread and severe damage all over the peninsula, which is part of Ishikawa Prefecture, as well as to the island of Sado which faces the peninsula, and to coastal regions of Ishikawa Prefecture (including the city of Kanazawa), Toyama Prefecture and Niigata Prefecture. Many sake breweries were also affected, and this event raised money for donation to the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association, the national organisation that unites brewers and distillers across Japan.
(Photo from the Japan Ministry of Defense/Japan Air Self-Defense Force, “Air Self-Defense Force drone search operation at Wajima Asaichi” / 防衛省・自衛隊, CC 表示 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=143625135による)
WHEN: February 2024
WHERE: MAME 2, Seefeldstrasse 19, 8008 Zurich, Switzerland
PRICE: CHF 50.00 *** Full ticket price was donated to the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association fund to restore breweries and distilleries damaged by the Noto Peninsula Earthquake. All costs were covered by Discover Sake. ***
LANGUAGE: English
Attendees:
- Learned about the geography, geology, climate and culture of Ishikawa, Niigata and Toyama Prefectures and how these factors affect the sake produced there
- Got an overview of sake production in the prefectures (number and size of breweries, typical styles, food pairing, etc.)
- Learned about the Noto Toji, one of the most famous and influential guilds of master brewers
- Heard about how other sake breweries in Ishikawa Prefecture and across Japan have been supporting affected breweries
- Tasted a selection of sake from several Ishikawa breweries
- Had fun in a small, friendly group with plenty of time to explore, discover and ask questions!
Kyodo News article on damage to the sake breweries on the Noto Peninsula (English).
We went back in time to discover sake as it was long ago! Today, the brewing process is well understood and aspiring sake brewers get degrees in fermentation science from the prestigious Tokyo University of Agriculture. But what about way back when no-one even knew what kōji or yeast were?
WHEN: March 2023
WHERE: MAME 2, Seefeldstrasse 19, 8008 Zurich, Switzerland
LANGUAGE: English
Attendees:
- Learned about ancient and early modern sake starter methods, dating up to the early 1900s
- Saw how microbes play an even greater part in old starter methods
- Tasted a variety of sake made by breweries that have gone back to old brewing methods, including those used in Buddhist temples as early as the 1500s
- Had fun in a small, friendly group with plenty of time to explore, discover and ask questions!
old sake starter workshop
imada shuzo tasting & workshop
WHEN: June 2022
WHERE: MAME 2, Seefeldstrasse 19, 8008 Zurich, Switzerland
LANGUAGE: English
Attendees:
- Heard about the small Imada brewery located on the coast of Japan’s Inland Sea
- Briefly discussed the shape of the sake industry – company size, diversity, brewing operations, etc.
- Talked about – and tasted! – sake made from different rice varieties, including a very rare heirloom variety, and a very special sake brewed in a traditional wooden tank and using a yeast starter method that was largely abandoned in the early 1900s
- Had fun in a small, friendly group with plenty of time to explore, discover and ask questions!
Curious about what ageing does to sake? Or already tried it and know you like it?
This was a relaxed evening comparing and contrasting a range of different aged sake, enjoying their colours, aromas and flavours while learning about how the ageing process works and what influences it, plus talking about possible food pairings and opportunities to serve or gift it.
WHEN: February 2022
WHERE: MAME 2, Seefeldstr. 19, 8008 Zurich, Switzerland
LANGUAGE: English
aged sake tasting & workshop
European sake tasting & workshop
All the Discover Sake sessions to date had focused on sake brewed in Japan, but it’s also brewed all over the world!
There are dozens of breweries in north America, but also a few in Europe: London, Cambridge, Paris, Bourgogne, Catalonia. This session brings you a selection of brews from Kanpai in London, Wakaze in Paris and Yamasake in Switzerland. These newer breweries are not bound by Japanese regulations and brew both classic sake and experimental ones incorporating botanicals and other ingredients.
WHEN: October 2020
WHERE: MAME 2 Holbeinstrasse, 8008 Zurich, Switzerland
LANGUAGE: English
Attendees:
- Learned about the spread of sake brewing around the world
- Saw how non-Japanese breweries are experimenting with ingredients not allowed under Japanese regulations
- Sampled sake from Wakaze in Paris, Kanpai in London and Yamasake in Switzerland
A deep dive into the sake of one brewery!
This time it was the Kosaka brewery, located in the beautiful mountain terrain of Gifu Prefecture. The tasting covered four sake of the same class – all junmai ginjō – brewed with different rice varieties or processed in different ways, but always delicious, slightly effervescent and just fun to drink!
WHEN: August 2020
WHERE: MAME 2 Holbeinstrasse, 8008 Zurich, Switzerland
LANGUAGE: English
Attendees:
- Learned about the Kosaka Brewery in Mino, Gifu Prefecture
- Enjoyed tasting and comparing four different sake from the same brewery
- Discussed different rice varieties and their impact on flavour
- Discussed sake yeast and its impact on aroma
- Discussed processing (e.g. pasteurisation and fining) and its effect on flavour
- Received a list of the sake they tried and where to buy it in Zurich or online
Brewery special: Kosaka Shuzo
Single origin craft chocolate & sake pairing
Like sake? Love chocolate? We saw how well they can go together!
Pairing chocolate and sake can be tricky, especially harder chocolate bars with complex flavours. For this event I invited chocolate specialist Andrea Thurner to bring her extensive knowledge to bear on the problem! After much trial and error, we were proud to present five wonderful sake with five amazing chocolate bars to show you just how good these two great things can be together.
WHEN: February 2020
WHERE: MAME 2, Seefeldstr 19, 8008 Zurich, Switzerland
LANGUAGE: English
Attendees:
- Got a brief introduction to sake and craft chocolate
- Heard about small-scale producers of sake and chocolate and the challenges they face
- Talked about – and tasted! – flavour profiles from different origins for chocolate and different processing and brewing methods for sake
- Had fun in a small, friendly group with plenty of time to explore, discover and ask questions.
WHEN: February 2020
WHERE: MAME 2, Holbeinstrasse 8008 Zurich, Switzerland
LANGUAGE: English
Some people have only ever had sake heated, others will tell you never to heat it, or that any heated sake is poor quality. What’s really going on?
This is a good example of how the complexity of sake makes it difficult to have any hard rules, but if you’re willing to gather some more information then you’ll be able to tell which sake are suited to heating or not.
Using three sake with medium-to-low milling ratios, and rarer traditional yeast starters, we tasted our way through some great candidates for heating and figured out why they work at higher temperatures – and which sake won’t.
The tasting featured:
* Miyake Shinriki kimoto muroka genshu, from the Senpuku brewery in Hiroshima Prefecture, made with the old kimoto starter method and Shinriki rice polished to just 85%. The sake is also undiluted from its original strength and is not charcoal filtered.
* Seikyō junmai ginjō from the Nakao brewery, also in Hiroshima Prefecture. It’s made with Omachi rice polished to a relatively high 55% (ginjō must be milled to at least 60%) but is also suited to heating.
* Denshō Yamahai Junmai from the Suehiro Brewery in Aizu, Fukushima Prefecture. Yamahai is another old starter method, related to but different from kimoto.
This gave us a nice range of polishing ratios and yeast starters to learn about!
serving temperature tasting & workshop
Brewery special: Lady of the Castle
WHEN: November 2019
WHERE: MAME 2, Holbeinstrasse 8008 Zurich, Switzerland
LANGUAGE: English
This social session focused on just one brewery, tasting a range of different sake from the same producer – the Iwamura Brewery, makers of the label Lady of the Castle among others.
We had five sake from Iwamura:
* Lady of the Castle daiginjo
* Lady of the Castle junmai ginjo
* Lady of the Castle extra dry junmai
* Ena no Homare hiya genshu
Find out more about the brewery on their site: Iwamura Brewery Co., Ltd. (English)
WHEN: September 2019
WHERE: MAME 2 Holbeinstrasse, 8008 Zurich, Switzerland
LANGUAGE: English
Sake is wonderful just as it is, but the Japanese also have a tradition of adding fruit to create very fresh drinks bursting with flavour. The most well-known is ume-shu, “plum wine”, but there are many other variations as well.
Some are sweet, others tart, some low in alcohol, some aged – but all great served cold and perfect for a summer evening!
Fresh & fruity sake
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