Sake On Air Sake On Air

If you’ve been listening to this show even intermittently over the past several years, you’re probably already aware that starting a sake brewery from scratch in Japan is, and has been for decades, a gargantuan task. However, in recent years, the number of young entrepreneurs navigating regulatory loopholes in order craft sake themselves in a manner that fulfills a dream and mission of cultivating a more inspiring and sustainable culture (and business model) for the next generation are beginning to pop up here-and-there across the country.The latest challenger pushing the envelope is Yuji “Yoshi” Adachi, founder, head brewer, and farmer at Adachi Noujo, a new craft sake brewery scheduled to open in earnest in Osaka before the end of summer 2023. An increasingly popular bit of vocabulary being adopted by a growing number of sake breweries looking to summarize their dedication to agriculture and commitment to brewing, “Noujo” is a made-up word that mashes together the characters of “farming” and “brewing”. With his own single plot of koshihikari that he spent the past couple of years restoring, for the foreseeable future, it’s a one-man operation where Yoshi is handling...everything.But Yoshi’s foray into sake was by no means preordained. Having spent his early 20s in Texas pursuing a lifelong ambition to become an Olympic swimmer, followed by a stint helping his father establish and run a Japanese food restaurant in the longhorn state, his return to Japan and a stint at a popular sake bar in Kobe sent him spiraling down the an unintended sake path. Being so young it seems like this new brewery popped up out of nowhere, but after 3.5 years at Hachinohe Sake Brewery (makers of Mutsu Hassen, not to mention the most awarded sake brewery of 2021) and two years at Nishiyama Shuzojo in Hyogo both brewing and farming, he’s been laying the groundwork for his vision through his first original label, Koyoi, and is now on the cusp of bringing a new sake brewery to his home city of Osaka for the first time in a long, long time.For this episode, Yoshi shares his story, plans, and ambitions (including the establishment of a sake brewery in Switzerland!) with regular host Justin Potts. If you’re looking for a source of inspiration this week, look no further.







At the same time, if you’re looking for updates @sakeonair, you can follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Don’t hesitate to also share any other sake or shochu-related thoughts or questions with the hosts at questions@sakeonair.com and rate us on the podcast service of your choice while you’re at it.We’ll be back very soon with plenty more Sake On Air.Until then, kampai!







Sake On Air is made possible with the generous support of the Japan Sake & Shochu Makers Association and is broadcast from the Japan Sake & Shochu Information Center in Tokyo. The show is brought to you by Potts.K Productions with audio production by Frank Walter. Our theme, “Younger Today Than Tomorrow” was composed by forSomethingNew for Sake On Air.

We’re somewhat at a loss for words.When we first began Sake On Air back in October of 2018 it was by no means a given that we would wind up putting 100 episodes about sake and shochu out into the world.Ambition, intertwined with ongoing effort to make a sake-centric podcast a reality was actually years in the making prior to this thing ever getting started. There was a feeling that something of this nature ought to exist, but with no real sake-specific precedent for reference, we had no idea as to whether or not anyone would actually listen, or if there was enough interest out in the world to justify this sort of production.This week, we just want to say, “Thank you,” to everyone for proving to us and the global sake community at large that we were just the right amount of crazy not only for starting Sake On Air in the first place, but also for keeping this thing going.We’ve always hoped that Sake On Air could be somewhat educational for those with both a new or insatiable interest in sake or shochu, but with so many great educational programs available nowadays, more than anything we’ve wanted the show to be a place where we could expand the dialogue – and in turn, the breadth of possibilities – for how these incredible drinks could live in the lives of both casual drinkers, as well as enthusiasts. We want for anyone and everyone with a spark of interest in the world of sake to feel comfortable and empowered to integrate these into their life in a way that makes sense for them, as well as share that experience with others. We know that one 60-minute episode isn’t enough to capture the depth and breadth of what the worlds of sake and shochu have to offer, but by keeping a large cast of hosts and inviting a wide range of guests to explore a variety of topics every other week, our hope is that the cumulative output of Sake On Air will be something evergreen for both new and old listeners for years to come.We don’t know what the future will bring for the show – or whether or not another 100 episodes are even in our future – but this week, we just wanted to take a moment and express our thanks to all of our listeners for continuing to be our inspiration for keeping this going. So go ahead and grab your favorite koji-powered beverage and tune in.If you like, you can share with us your own thoughts on how Sake On Air can continue to contribute to your life with sake and shochu. We’ll keep doing this as long as we feel we’re in a position to bring something meaningful and useful to the table. What that looks like is as up to you, our listeners, as it is to us. We love hearing from you, so please do reach out to us on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook, or you can always email us directly at questions@sakeonair.com.







Thanks so much for letting us do this 100 times. We’ll be back with round 101 before you know it.  Until then, kampai!







Sake On Air is made possible with the generous support of the Japan Sake & Shochu Makers Association and is broadcast from the Japan Sake & Shochu Information Center in Tokyo. The show is brought to you by Potts.K Productions with audio production by Frank Walter. Our theme, “Younger Today Than Tomorrow” was composed by forSomethingNew for Sake On Air.

Last week we brought you the first session from Sake Future Summit 2022 in a nice, easy-to-digest podcast package. (Videos from across the two weekends are, of course, still available for your viewing pleasure). This week we’re continuing that trend and bringing you another very special session that specifically examined the current and possible future state of the U.S. sake market, titled appropriately, Bringing Sake to the American Mainstream.This particular roundtable was hosted by Weston Konishi, president of the Sake Brewers Association of North America. Joining him was Nina Murphy, owner of Sunflower Sake in Portland, Oregon, Pablo Rivera, founder of WESAKE, and Matt Bell, CEO of Origami Sake in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Each of these three inspiring entrepreneurs comes from a very different professional background and the resulting path that they’re charting for their own sake projects are equally unique, each poised to chart a new and exciting trajectory for the future of sake across the U.S.If after listening to this week’s you’re still in need of some more sake and shochu-related musings, you can head over to the official JSS YouTube channel for all of these sessions and more. If you’re looking for more Sake On Air,  @sakeonair will connect you straight to us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. You’re always welcome to reach out to us at questions@sakeonair.com as well.Believe it or not, next week we’ll be back for our 100th episode of Sake On Air.Until then, kampai!







Sake On Air is made possible with the generous support of the Japan Sake & Shochu Makers Association and is broadcast from the Japan Sake & Shochu Information Center in Tokyo. The show is brought to you by Potts.K Productions with audio production by Frank Walter. Our theme, “Younger Today Than Tomorrow” was composed by forSomethingNew for Sake On Air.

Back in January across two weekends, the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association hosted the second iteration of the Sake Future Summit. (The first was held back in 2020). For those that missed it, now is as good of a time as ever to catch up!There were a handful of sessions conducted in Japanese (with English subtitles) that will require you to set aside a bit of time to read along. These include programs on, “Cutting Edge Sake & Food Pairing” with Marie Chiba (EUREKA!) and Hitoshi Utsunomiya (JSS),  “Challenging Tradition & Innovation”" with Choubei Yamamoto (Kaze no Mori) and Norimasa Yamamoto (KID), “Shochu as a Global Beverage” with Julia Momose (Bar Kumiko), Shuzo Nagumo (Spirits & Sharing), and Marico Kojima (JSS), and plenty more.While the above programs will be infinitely tied to YouTube for most of our listeners, there were also a handful of thoughtful sessions conducted entirely in English. For those that find podcasts to be a more enjoyable way to absorb their sake and shochu info, we’ve decided to compile a handful of these into the good ol’ standard podcast format for your listening pleasure.This week we bring you the session that kicked off this year’s Sake Future Summit, “The Global Transformation of Sake”, featuring Monica Samuels (Vine Connections/Kome Collective), Lorenzo Ferraboschi (Sake Company), and Hugo Chan (Sake Central), mediated by your regular SOA host, Justin Potts.If you finish up this show and are eager to dive into more sake and shochu-related discussion, you can head over to the official JSS YouTube channel for all of these sessions, and more. At the same time, if you’re looking for updates @sakeonair, you can follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Don’t hesitate to also share any other sake or shochu-related thoughts with the hosts at questions@sakeonair.com and rate us on the podcast service of your choice while you’re at it.We’ll be back very soon with plenty more Sake On Air before you know it.Until then, kampai!







Sake On Air is made possible with the generous support of the Japan Sake & Shochu Makers Association and is broadcast from the Japan Sake & Shochu Information Center in Tokyo. The show is brought to you by Potts.K Productions with audio production by Frank Walter. Our theme, “Younger Today Than Tomorrow” was composed by forSomethingNew for Sake On Air.

In last week’s episode I interviewed Elliot Faber of Sake Central in Hong Kong If you missed that conversation, I encourage you to hit pause, go back, and check that out.We had a very lengthy conversation, some of which wound up on the cutting room floor.There was one topic, however, that after cutting it from the initial interview, after going back, I started thinking that maybe we ought to put out into the world.Being a newly minted father himself, our conversation naturally shifted to the topic of parenting while working in the drinks business, and more specifically, the sake business.As a father of two myself, it’s something that I think about regularly, struggle with frequently, and live with daily.The thoughts and experiences that Elliot and I shared are by no means meant to be advice, suggestions, or rules to live by. We fully recognize that peoples’ relationship with sake – and alcoholic drinks in general - are uniquely influenced by many factors, that they’re nuanced, and occasionally sensitive.More than anything, following our discussion, I just felt that it addressed an important topic that touches both people working in the drinks industry, as well as their families, but doesn’t often get discussed as part of the regular conversation around “drinks” all that often. In the case of sake and shochu specifically, we’re on a mission to not only bring these fantastic and inspiring beverages to more people, but to hopefully do it in a way that makes their lives better as a result. As people with children make up a massive part of the global population, maybe taking a moment to have these kinds of conversations – and then think about how we can be a beverage category that supports families of all definitions – might be a meaningful path forward for everyone.If you have your own thoughts and experiences related to how you’ve managed drinks and parenting in your own life that you’re keen to share with us, be those sake-specific or otherwise, please do. We’d love to hear them. You can share stories with us @sakeonair over on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, or send us something directly to questions@sakeonair.com.







Thanks so much for tuning in this week. We’ll be back again very soon with more Sake On Air. Until then, kampai!







Sake On Air is made possible with the generous support of the Japan Sake & Shochu Makers Association and is broadcast from the Japan Sake & Shochu Information Center in Tokyo. The show is brought to you by Potts.K Productions with audio production by Frank Walter. Our theme, “Younger Today Than Tomorrow” was composed by forSomethingNew for Sake On Air.

Summarizing the work of Elliot Faber is a challenge. Often simply introduced as “Sake Samurai”, a title bestowed in 2016, which added him to the ranks of the select and deserving few to carry the title, ever since he catapulted onto the global sake scene as beverage director spearheading an inspiring sake program at Hong Kong’s now renowned Yardbird in 2011, Elliot has gone on to position and re-position himself in every crack and crevice of the sake industry where he found room for meaningful contribution. In doing so, the Canada born-and-raised workhorse has strategically and masterfully woven an ecosystem for the proliferation and education of exceptional sake throughout one of the world’s most competitive and dynamic sake markets – Hong Kong.On this week’s episode, Elliot sits down with regular host Justin Potts to talk about the evolution of Hong Kong’s now sake experience mainstay – Sake Central (where he is now interim CEO) – as well as how his other ventures such as Sunday’s Spirits and Kura Collective have proven integral to bringing exceptional Japanese sake, whiskey, shochu (and awamori!) product and relationships to life in Hong Kong and beyond. We touch upon the rapid succession of new projects and evolving initiatives that he helped bring to life amidst the island’s complex relationship living with COVID-19, and how unexpected opportunities led to knew projects in Singapore and a soon-to-be-opened sake dining establishment in Germany.Last but not least, in 2022 Elliot was finally able to track down and acquire the rights to his 2015 book that first demonstrated to many of the sake-loving public outside of Hong Kong the passion and dedication that had been inspiring his work for years. Sake: The History, Stories and Craft of Japan’s Artisanal Breweries is (finally!) available once again through the serendipitous birth of the currently one-off Tanso Publishing house. Elliot tells us about the challenges with bringing this passion product back to life, as well as plans to further expand the work with extensive travel plans scheduled this summer in Japan.A difficult man to keep in one place, right now Elliot is doing a “Sake a Day” challenge over on his Instagram, which is a great way to interact with the ever-busy Sake Samurai.







As for us here @sakeonair you we’re easy to keep up with on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Don’t hesitate to also share any other sake or shochu-related thoughts or questions with the hosts at questions@sakeonair.com.We’ll be back very soon with plenty more Sake On Air.Until then, kampai!







Sake On Air is made possible with the generous support of the Japan Sake & Shochu Makers Association and is broadcast from the Japan Sake & Shochu Information Center in Tokyo. The show is brought to you by Potts.K Productions with audio production by Frank Walter. Our theme, “Younger Today Than Tomorrow” was composed by forSomethingNew for Sake On Air.