IN CASE YOU DIDN’T KNOW THIS…
Okay, if you’ve been following along with these newsletters and our social media this last year, or let’s be honest, if you’ve even passed by the brewery once on a whim and had a chat with any one of us for 5 minutes, we’ve definitely told you how excited we are to be moving to our new brewery location. From the brewer’s standpoint, we can’t wait to make even more sake for the people of NY in our new gorgeous fermenters (which shipped yesterday), using our shiny floor drains (yes, I will never stop sharing my excitement for those), and our brand new koji room (more than one person can fit in there at a time!)… but outside of the production side of things, the #1 most exciting part of all of this is that we’ll finally get to welcome you into our space to have a seat at our bar and drink sake with us.
So I’ll apologize in advance if you hear us continuing to shout it from the Bushwick rooftops, but we can’t contain our excitement as we reach the final stages of construction and begin our first trials over the coming month. Stay tuned as we lock in our official opening date, but as soon as we know, we’ll let you know! In the meantime- HEY EVERYBODY! WE’RE MOVING!!
WE HAD TWO REALLY COOL FEATURES THIS MONTH
Kato Sake Works, Production Team Credit: DIRT New York City: Meet the Cast
First of all, we were so thrilled to be included in the newest episode of DIRT, a travel and culinary show presented by Huckberry. James said it best on our social media:
It was an honor to be featured alongside so many charming and fascinating members of the New York food scene (meet the cast here!). As much as we loved seeing ourselves on screen, we also enjoyed watching host Josh Rosen (@rosen43) explore the boroughs to prepare the ultimate locally sourced meal paired alongside a cocktail made with our sake. If you like food, adventure, or Kato Sake Works, you should give Dirt NYC a watch.
And on the very same day of that release, the New York Times featured us in an article called, “Sake is Booming in America”, alongside so many of our good friends in the Sake Industry. The article follows Shinobu’s story of why he began brewing sake and how that eventually became KSW, then dives into the exciting growth of the sake industry blossoming in NYC and throughout America. Here’s how it begins:
“When Shinobu Kato first tried sake as a young man in Tokyo, it tasted harsh and sharp to him. He hated it. But, he recalls, an older colleague told him that he was drinking cheap, poorly made sake. As he was introduced to better styles, Mr. Kato grew to love it.” - New York Times
Kato Sake Works is one of two sake breweries now operating in Brooklyn. Credit: Nico Schinco for The New York Times
Read the rest of the article here, and special thanks to Eric Asimov for visiting us and writing so enthusiastically about the subject we’re most proud of and passionate about. Also, thank you for all of the kind messages we’ve received about this article, we’re so overwhelmed by the support. Kanpai!
SAY HELLO TO ANTON!
Anton Marek, Assistant Brewer
Holding some Kimoto Nigori while getting photo-bombed by Shinobu!
A note from Anton:
Hi! I’m Anton, I am so excited to be the new assistant brewer at Kato Sake Works!
I have had an undying need to brew sake for a long time, and the options in this niche field were slim to none. Home brewing was my only savior for quite some time. When I heard about the KSW expansion, I knew my chance had finally come! They have taken me under their wing to become a true master of the craft, and I couldn’t be more thrilled! Being surrounded by like minded individuals who share the same values is a dream come true for me, and I hope to have a long career doing what I love.
Between home brewing and work brewing I can usually be found locked in a room with many synthesizers for hours on end.
PS: Remember that special bottle we told you was coming soon… we’ve decided to release it for something that happens every year around this time…