Hi there!
Welcome to our very first Kato Sake Works newsletter. We thought it would be fun to reach out every once in a while to talk sake and update you on some of the exciting things happening around the brewery. We’ll cover topics anywhere from brief cultural insights to the trouble we get into once our gates are closed.
While we love chatting with you, we totally get it if you’d prefer just drinking sake rather than reading about it. Feel free to unsubscribe anytime using the link at the bottom of this email.
Kanpai!
Kato Sake Works team
What do the full moon and sake have in common?
Have you ever found yourself gazing up at the moon while enjoying a glass of sake? Well, you were on to something. Tsukimizake (月見酒) or “moon viewing sake” is an ancient tradition. In the past, Japanese farmers greeted the autumn harvest moon with sake offerings as their way of thanking the gods for a bountiful rice harvest. These days, the tradition has made its way from that symbolic ritual to more of an aesthetic pleasure for all to experience.
So, why not grab a few friends and a bottle of your favorite sake to enjoy your very own tsukimizake.
Hint: If you like to get a little spooky, the next full moon will be on Halloween night…
A peek inside the brewery
Labeling. All of us craft breweries have to do it and most of us find it to be a mini battle every time. The glue, the machine, the paper… Something is bound to give you trouble and the best you can do is try out small improvements on your process until you feel like you have the upper hand. Here’s a window into the first try with our new labeling machine:
Story time
If you had asked me a month ago whether I would be living in Brooklyn and getting to brew sake by October… my answer would probably have been, “In my dreams”.
As I’m sure many of you can relate, these times have taught a lot of lessons about life's unpredictability. In my case, (after a few failed ventures — thank you covid) the beautifully rare combination of hard work and luck aligned. In a matter of a few weeks I have found a new home, new friends, and I even get to stir the moromi mash regularly. See obnoxiously joyous photo:
If you’re in the area and feel like stopping by to say hello, my name is Joanie and I’m the newest employee of Kato Sake Works. If you’re not in the area, no worries — I’ll be helping to send out these newsletters moving forward, and whether you have any questions you’d like to see answered or just want to talk some sake, feel free to reach out to kanpai@katosakeworks.com.
Oh yeah! One more thing before we go…
Be on the lookout for our jars of warmed sake at the brewery as the temperature drops outside… We’ll announce details on our social media when the time comes.