We’re Turning 4!!
We’re ready to party, and this year we finally get to host our birthday at our very own taproom! Please join us all weekend long for music, food, our limited Anniversary Four bottle release, a new t-shirt drop, and a toast or two as we celebrate our first full year as a (somewhat) grown-up brewery, and our fourth year of making sake.
Here’s a rundown of the weekend, come by for any or all of it!
Friday, 4/5 (Open 4-10pm)
From 5-10pm – Anniversary 4 bottle and t-shirt release: this year’s special-edition sake is bright and aromatic, with a playful fruity-floral profile. Bottles will be first-come first-served so pick one up ASAP before they’re all gone! And while you’re here, you may as well pick up a stylish pink-on-black Anniversary 4 t-shirt to go with the bottle!
Saturday, 4/6 (Open 12-10pm)
From 1pm-sold out – Food Pop-Up w/ @yakitori_mama: enjoy fresh grilled chicken and vegetable skewers with your afternoon sake
6-10pm – DJ Set w/ @skymall.future: shake off all the snacks on the dance floor with our very first DJ set to end off the night by our good friend Ben!
Sunday, 4/7 (Open 12-10pm)
From 1pm-sold out – Food Pop-Up w/ @payapaya_bakery: enjoy some delicious treats while they last!
3pm-9pm – Live Music Showcase: an all-star lineup of musical performances from afternoon to evening
3pm: @chrisottmusic
5pm: Uncle Brother
6pm: @jadewormsays
7pm: @theknickerbocker5
8pm: @gavonmitchell
ANNIVERSARY BOTTLE DROP ON FRIDAY!
We’ve really been looking forward to this bottle release. If you tried our Otoso at the beginning of the year, then you got a taste of our first infused sake. Well, we’ve decided to continue exploring that realm- finding unique ingredients to balance and subtly enhance the sake in different ways, without overpowering or detracting from the base complexity. This bottle is infused with Szechuang Peppercorns for a lightly floral and delicately fruity aroma & flavor. Think cherry blossoms and blackberry skins. Our first trials were inspired by the peppercorns leftover from Shinobu’s chili-oil recipe, and we were so pleasantly surprised with the results, that we decided to make a small batch and share it with all of you. The bottles will be available only at the taproom starting Friday, 4/5 @ 5pm to kick off our anniversary weekend. (No early bottle reserves and it’s a limited release, so we’ll just have them while supplies last.) Can’t wait to hear what you all think, cheers!
A MOMENT LOOKING BACK
James wrote a note reminiscing about our last few years, and I’m definitely not tearing up at all over here. Not even remotely.
As we look forward to this year’s Anniversary Celebration, we can’t help but look back at how far we’ve come in just four years. When we first opened our doors on Central Ave in 2020, we were instantly met with confusing and tumultuous times. We begrudgingly accepted the challenge of opening a business during a global pandemic, and thanks to the continued support of all of our incredible neighbors we were able to continue producing sake and finding our place in the lovely community of Bushwick. While our plans of opening a small taproom had been squashed by the threat of COVID-19, we found a way to share our passion for sake through curbside bottle sales - we can only hope that the sake helped all of you get through those times as much as your friendship and patronage helped us. These connections were the base upon which everything we currently have was built.
Steadily, we continued to push forward and expand: new styles of sake, tastings and tours, wholesale to some of our favorite restaurants, bars, and bottle shops. We said goodbye to old friends, and welcomed in new ones. We watched our little sake community grow from a seed to a sprout, until that sprout was a little too big for its first home on Central (some of you may remember constantly chasing out-of-stock sake in the last few months in our old space). With the help of our friends and family, near and far, we raised the funds to start building out a bigger facility on Troutman St. It’s thanks to all of that support that we were able to finally realize our dream of hosting endless parties (and drinking endless sake) in a proper taproom.
Last April, we were still putting the finishing touches on our Troutman taproom, preparing for the thrills and challenges to come in the next phase of Kato Sake Works. It started slow, at first with only one style of sake on draft, then six. We pushed ourselves to find new ways to enjoy our sake, first with sake cocktails, then alongside countless amazing musicians and food pop-ups. We’ve learned a lot since those early days, and we’re certainly still learning, but we think it’s safe to say that our little sprout has finally blossomed into a vibrant flower. It’s thanks to all of the love and support that we have received from each and every one of you in the last four years.
Now that we’ve gotten the sappy part out of the way, let’s party!
-James
PS- Happy spring! We’re slowly starting to open up our garage doors for some fresh air, plus open-streets start back up on the weekends at the end of April!