Announcing New Partnership with Brooklyn Kura!!

December2021

Joining Together to Take Sake to the World
We have entered into a long-term partnership with Brooklyn Kura of NY, USA.

Hakkaisan Brewery Co, Ltd. (President Jiro Nagumo, Minamiuonuma, Niigata Pref.) established Hakkaisan Brewery USA Co., Ltd. (New York, NY USA), and Hakkaisan Brewery USA Co., Ltd. has begun a business and capital partnership with Gotham Sake LLC. (New York, NY USA, brand: Brooklyn Kura).

The Hakkaisan Group has been producing and selling “Hakkaisan”, the leading brand of sake, beverages such as shochu, plum sake, craft beer, koji amazake, as well as business related to “rice, koji, fermentation, and Uonuma” which are products rooted in the Uonuma area of Niigata, Japan. Brooklyn Kura in Brooklyn, NY was established as New York State’s first sake brewery and opened their production site and taproom in Industry City, Brooklyn to produce and sell local, craft sake. We have entered a long-term business partnership because we share the same values: a passion for brewing sake, an attitude of business development rooted in the local region, and a goal of expanding sake to a global market.

The Hakkaisan Group has always wished for sake to become a standard choice in the alcohol market globally. And for sake to be an internationally recognized drink, it needs to be locally produced with local water and rice as an everyday drink and enjoyed by locals just as they do with wine, whisky and beer. Maintaining and constantly improving the quality are also important.

For sake to attain global recognition and expand its presence, we would like to leverage our experiences and knowledge along with Brooklyn Kura’s innovative ideas, to accelerate both companies’ growth. First, we would like to start sharing sake brewing skills which are accumulated through our experiences, and exchange ideas. In the future, not only sake, but also craft beer, distilled alcohol, and fermented food products will be developed and produced collaboratively along with opening new sales channels. By sharing our skills in different areas, and combining our strengths, we would like to create new value for U.S. consumers.

About Brooklyn Kura

Name:                 Gotham Sake, LLC.
Brand:                 Brooklyn Kura
Address:             68 34th Street Brooklyn, NY 11232
Founders:           Brian Polen (Co-Founder and President)                                                                                                     Brandon Doughan (Co-Founder and Head brewer)
Business:            Production and sell of Sake
Established:        January 5, 2016
Employees:        7 (including part-time)
Brewing in:        Brooklyn, NY US
Website: https://www.brooklynkura.com/

Main Contents of Collaboration 

  • Enhance educational activities on sake production and fermentation processes
  • Expansion of production and sales of sake, improving of quality of sake, and business expansion in the United States
  • Establishment of sales division and development of sales channels for both brands
  • Collaborative development of sake, craft beer, distilled alcohol, fermented food products, and other products.

Contacts

Hakkaisan Group PR
Hakkaisan Co., PR Department – Kozue Hamasaki
For English – International Marketing Department – Shinsuke Sasagawa / Shoko Baba
4-5-9 Tsukiji, Tsukiji Yasuda Daini Building, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
Email: press@hakkaisan.co.jp Phone: 03-6264- 3366

The season of sake is here!!

When the air gets cold, it is the season of sake drinking. Winter is especially a good season to enjoy sake. It warms your body and melt your heart with its deliciousness. Food pairing with winter foods are superb!!

Introducing our winter season sake “Echigo de Soro – blue label”. This is fresh, not pasturized, and genshu sake. Wonderfuly refreshing and savory. Only in the winter time.

Enjoy with Oden and hot pot!

Kanpai!

 

Grand Opening Annuncement of Niseko Distillery

GRAND OPENING of NISEKO DISTILLERY on OCTOBER 1st, 2021

  • The distillery tour by reservation
  • The tasting bar
  • The select shop carries a wide variety of premium sake, beer and spirits, beautiful Japanese crafts, and more

As of our countermeasure for COVID-19, we ask all visitors to make a reservation (the tour reservation is using the same reservation system) to enter the facility.

Reservation

https://niseko-distillery.com/

  • A reservation can be made from two weeks prior to your visit date. Start to take reservation from September 17th.
  • There is no cancellation fee, but our distillery tour is only by reservation for small number of guests.

Thank you for your understanding and corporation for us to accommodate as many guests as possible.

 

Introducing new Hakkaisan US Website

http://www.hakkaisanusa.comWe are on live with new Hakkaisan website for US consumers!
Not only to get to know about Hakkaisan and its products, there is a map and link to leads to purchase.
Also, there are nice videos about each sake and Hakkaisan by brand ambassador and Sake Samurai, Timothy Sullivan.
We assure that you want to grab a bottle of Hakkaisan to have cool refreshing sake in summer evening after watching couple of videos.

Kanpai!!

Hakkaisan at SXSW 2020! Reviving Japanese Sake, Food, and Farm Traditions Panel

The 2020 South by Southwest Panel “Reviving Japanese Sake, Food, and Farm Traditions” was not held in person due to the Pandemic and cancelling of the SXSW Festival. The Panel, featuring Hakkaisan’s Global Brand Ambassador Timothy Sullivan, was, however, recorded and is now available online for on demand viewing.

About the Panel:
Japan’s population, along with the vitality of its rural areas, are in decline. Farmers and brewers are aging out, often with no one to follow in their footsteps. Against this bleak backdrop, who are the young innovators injecting new life into ancient traditions? In the world of sake, a new generation of young heirs is experimenting with techniques borrowed from French winemaking and reintroducing a lost regionality to the beverage by reviving local heirloom grains. They’re also inspiring a crop of international sake brewers. We’ll also hear about how rural farmers and food producers, by collaborating with experts in agriculture and other fields, have successfully launched a profusion of value-added products, giving their local culture and economies a new lease on life.

Visit the SXSW Panel page:
https://schedule.sxsw.com/2020/events/PP1133386

Visit the Panel On Demand Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ye4Mj0B_RA

FREE Hakkaisan Amasake Webinar

Zoom Hakkaisan Amasake Webinar: Thursday July 23, 2020, 8PM ET

Sign up for free Registration here.
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_fXaYNjuzQGWIh9NkhZgaig

Have you heard of Hakkaisan Amasake before? This nutritious, non-alcoholic rice drink with no added sugar is ubiquitous in Japan, but not yet well known in the States. It is healthy, delicious and a great example of a beneficial fermented food.

It is rich in nutrients including vitamin B1, B2, B6, folic acid, dietary fiber, oligosaccharide, cysteine, arginine and glutamine and it has an all natural sweetness from the use of koji rice with aboslutely no added sugar. Some even go so far as to call Amasake a “drinkable IV!”

Join Hakkaisan Global Brand Ambassador Timothy Sullivan as he introduces you to Hakkasian Amasake in a fun and delicious free webinar. Registration and participation are open to all. Come learn about how Amasake is made and all the health and beauty benefits you’ll enjoy by drinking amasake.

How to Join the Webinar:
1) Sign up for free Registration here.
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_fXaYNjuzQGWIh9NkhZgaig

2) If you live in the NYC area and you’d like to taste along, you can order Hakkaisan Amasake for home delivery.
Use Coupon Code “Amasake20” to get 20% off your amasake order from MTC Kitchen. This coupon is good until July 23, 2020.
https://mtckitchen.com/hakkaisan-fresh-nama-amasake-14-4-oz-410g/

If you’d like to taste along with Timothy During the Seminar and you live in New York City, you can order Hakkaisan Amasake before the seminar.

Historically amasake has been a summer drink to combat fatigue, so this is the perfect time of year to learn about it! You can enjoy Hakkaisan Amasake chilled, warmed and even as a mixer for smoothies, coffee and many other drinks. It brings an all natural sweetness to any beverage or dish.

New Product Announcement: Hakkaisan Daiginjo and Junmai Daiginjo will be released soon.

We will release a new Hakkaisan Daiginjo and Hakkaisan Junmai Daiginjo on August 20th, 2020.
Based on our philosophy “Better Sake for All,” we have been working to improve the quality of everyday sake. However, in recent years, weʼve seen shifts in consumer trends in sake.

Previously, sake was consumed more as a simple, everyday drink, but nowadays, consumers are using sake to celebrate and enjoy the extraordinary times in everyday life. We would like to support those who want to celebrate and enjoy those special moments in everyday life with our sake, so we decided to improve the overall quality of higher classification sake meant for enjoying every day, in addition to our philosophy of “Better Sake for All.”

Hakkaisan Junmai Daiginjo and Hakkaisan Daiginjo are being released with this new focus in mind. We will utilize state of the art equipment and also, use all our brewing skills and craftsmanship to create these sakes that will both enhance any cuisine while still having good umami. Hakkaisan Daiginjo has a mellow, clean taste, and an elegant, gentle sweetness. Hakkaisan Junmai Daiginjo has a pronounced clarity, a clean taste, and an elegant, gentle sweetness as well.

We will continue to strive for excellence by delivering Hakkaisan sakes that are a true expression of our best efforts and craftsmanship.

In addition to the above, we have changed the specification of Hakkaisan Snow Aged Junmai Ginjo 3 years to Hakkaisan Snow Aged Junmai Daiginjo 3 years.

Discontinued Products:

Current Stock Only
■Hakkaisan Junmai Ginjo (Daiginjo level 50% polishing rate)
Expected final sales would be end of July 2020.
■Hakkaisan Ginjo (Daiginjo level 50% polishing rate)
Expected final sales would be end of July 2020.
■Hakkaisan Snow Aged Junmai Ginjo 3 years
Expected final sales would be end of July 2020.

We would like to support those to want to celebrate and enjoy those special moments in everyday life with our sake, so we decided to end the sale of Hakkaisan Ginjo and Hakkaisan Junmai Ginjo and release our new Hakkasisan Daiginjo and Hakkaisan Junmai Daiginjo.
We would like to express our deepest gratitude for over 30 years of patronage and love for these products.

Product Details

Product name: Hakkaisan Daiginjo
Category: Sake
Ingredients: Rice, Koji Rice, Brewer’s Alcohol
Polishing ratio: 45%
Alcohol content: 15.5%
Available sizes: 180ml, 300ml, 720ml, 1800ml
Storage recommendation: Keep it cool in a dark place.
Launch date: August 20th, 2020

Product name: Hakkaisan Junmai Daiginjo
Category: Sake
Ingredients: Rice, Koji Rice
Polishing ratio: 45%
Alcohol content: 15.5%
Available Sizes: 180ml, 300ml, 720ml, 1800ml
Storage recommendation: Keep it cool in a dark place.
Launch date: August 20th, 2020

Product name: Hakkaisan Snow Aged Junmai Daiginjo 3 years
Category: Sake
Ingredients: Rice, Koji Rice
Polishing ratio: 50%
Alcohol content: 17.0%
Available Sizes: 280ml, 720ml
Storage recommendation: Keep it cool in a dark place.
Launch date: August 20th, 2020
*JAN Code and package indication of Hakkaisan Snow Aged Junmai Daiginjo 3 years will be changed; however, polishing rate and other specifications, as well as the price will remain the same.

Package
Art direction & Design: Mr. Kenya Hara from Nippon Design Center, Inc.
Label calligraphy: Mr. Kyuyo Ishikawa

[HAKKAISAN DAIGINJO]

[HAKKAISAN JUNMAI DAIGINJO]

[Hakkaisan Snow Aged Junmai Daiginjo 3 years]

Contact
If you have any questions, please contact a salesperson from the Hakkaisan Brewery International Marketing Department.

View the full Press Release

Hakkaisan LIVE Webinar with the Sake School of America

Hakkaisan VP Masato Nagumo joins Sake School of America educator Timothy Sullivan in a one hour webinar live from the Hakkaisan Yuki Muro or Snow Storage Cellar. The hourlong presentation is part interview with Nagumo-san, part tour and part guided tasting. If you missed the live broadcast, you can watch the replay right here. Please enjoy this video if you want to learn more about Niigata Prefecture and about Hakkaisan general.

Hakkaisan is Joining the Live Broadcast “The New Japan Islands 2020” via YouTube Live

The South by Southwest festival was cancelled this year, but it was decided that the exhibition of “The New Japan Islands 2020” will now be broadcast live from Tokyo this weekend. The New Japan Islands executive committee is a project team which consists of the Ministry of Economy, private entities, scientists, artists, and intellectuals who got together to explore the intersection of Japanese traditional crafts, industries, and culture.

We at Hakkaisan Brewery have cooperated with this project, which was supposed to be delivered at South by Southwest, but we will now support it by joining the live broadcast this weekend. The live interview session will connect our brand ambassador Timothy Sullivan in NYC and our master brewer Shigemitsu Nagumo in Niigata in a live discussion of Hakkaisan’s sake making philosophy, as well as explore the point of view an American Sake Educator’s thoughts of sake’s current situation in the world. Please join us to explore the connection of culture and sake with this special live broadcast.

Broadcast Details:
Title: Invitation to Japan’s Sake Heartland: Uonuma
Live Interview with Hakkaisan’s Master Sake Brewer

Live Streaming URL:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qgn-TnDJGwQ

Event Time:
New York EST: Sat. March 21, 8:45pm – 9:15pm
Tokyo JST: Sun. March 22, 9:45am – 10:15am