LONDON PREFECTURE — SAKE MATTERS

I’ve found myself recently having lots of conversations around just how long ago things happened - graduation (1992), the (first) Rolling Stones ‘farewell tour’ I went to see (1995) and the like. So when it comes to what has happened in the six year timeline for Kanpai London, from idea hatching to where there are now, it’s quite remarkable just what has been achieved.

The first trip to Japan for the founders of Kanpai London, Tom and Lucy Wilson, was in 2014. Like many of us, the undeniable charm, sophistication and mystery of Japan enchanted them into a more than healthy interest in Sake. Driven by Tom’s knowledge of beer homebrewing, it wasn’t long until the first front room fermentations were underway and tested at select gatherings of friends in Peckham, South London. By all accounts, the first batch was pretty good.

Peckham lies within the London Borough of Southwark, a stronghold of some of the city’s finest craft breweries and innovative dining concepts. As such the prospect of a Sake craft brewery with potential Japanese bar snacks slotting into place alongside them would surely be a formality you’d think but it’s never that simple with Sake.

And so began the journey that so many brewers end up on, a rollercoaster ride of 12-hour day exhaustion, ‘right place, right time’ highs and licensing woes. But likewise, out came the attributes of dedication, resourcefulness and sheer determination that are common to all those who last the duration. And, in his own words, Tom Wilson (Head Brewer) told me:

We love a challenge

Just as well really. Having inspired and convinced potential crowdfunders that there was demand for a Sake brewery where until now there hadn’t been one, the strain of getting kitted out and sourcing ingredients lay ahead.

Funnily enough, you can’t buy a suitably large rice steamer or rice washer from Amazon so Tom and Lucy became overnight DIY enthusiasts, custom building 90% of their gear, retrofitting something near enough or creating whatever was needed from nothing. Tom confided:

Occasionally importing a piece of kit from a supplier in Japan is an option also, but rarely the case. Brewing experience is key here to know what will and won't work - and fundamentally there is an opportunity at each step to enhance your process and make those all-important steps towards that unattainable perfection each Sake brewer is in pursuit of.

And unattainable perfection cannot even be sniffed at without the right ingredients:

I can only speak for us. At Kanpai our aim is to brew the best possible Sake we can. This means we want to use the best ingredients. Which also by its nature means majority of ingredients come from Japan. This is A) not cheap, and B) not easy to source - we've spent years building relationships with fantastic suppliers in Japan to ensure we source the quality raw ingredients we require to enable us to produce the high calibre product we intend. Also this means lots of import fun and games.

Initially evenings and weekends all became focused on brewing and then the giving up of day jobs. Home rigged alarms would account for lack of sleep as Kojimai got too hot. Tom spent time away from the fledgling operation brewing alongside the Gekkeikan team in Kyoto and more and more brews were tested and tweaked.

Then the big opportunity came - Selfridges, the famed London department store, showed a big interest in June 2017 and the rollercoaster ride began to be more fun than terror.

But in my opinion what the Wilsons have done best of all - and midway through these crazy years Lucy Holmes became Lucy Wilson (nothing like a wedding to ease the pressure) - is stamp a recognisable identity on their Sake. As Tom put it:

This is what it’s all about, Jizake

Sacrilegious as it is, I entitled this article London Prefecture for this very reason, that Tom and Lucy are making craft Sake in their own dry and full-bodied London style, in the same way that we all look to and recognise Niigata Prefecture for the distinctive crisp and dry (tanrei karakuchi | 淡麗辛口) Sakes. It truly is a #SAKEREVOLUTION.

This gives Kanpai London something tangible to run with for their potential customers. So rather than relying on preaching the traditional classifications - Ginjo, Junmai, Honjozo et al - they can lead with taste descriptions to make the Sakes more accessible and familiar.

Rewind (here I go again into the past) to your first Sake experience and recall the confusion of genuinely not knowing what you have just ordered. Maybe you were swayed by a pretty label or a rare few bits of English amongst so much Japanese, perhaps you even pointed to a neighbouring diner’s ochoko. Whichever strategy, it’s likely you didn’t know what was being poured.

Kanpai London doesn’t do this so much, and they often evangelise that:

Sake is brewed like a beer but should be enjoyed like a wine

This gives great context to the average Brit who finds himself/herself at the brewery. Pre-March 2020, Lucy and Tom would as likely as not be at the Taproom, guiding the punters in the right direction and serving up keg fresh Sakes by the glass, Sake cocktails and Sake flights to give the best opportunities for consumer trial and acceptance. Crucially, this also gave them the opportunity for feedback, to refine and tweak the next fermentation (education goes both ways).

Although no longer operating just now, weekly Sake brewery tours will be reinstated to those with a thirst for a more immersive education, along with an option to join the team and brew on site for a whole day.

In a recent chat, Tom told me that broader appreciation is one of the biggest challenges that Kanpai London has, and for the foreseeable future, will face. He recognises his obsession with the brewing craft is a very personal thing:

Providing others with the opportunity to experience the wonder of Sake is something else entirely. Sake is often misunderstood, making it a tricky drink for the vast majority of non-Japanese consumers to easily appreciate. Therefore in our view, reaching new customers with this unknown drink and sharing knowledge on how it's made and enjoyed are key challenges that are essential to the success of Sake outside of Japan.

I can see his point having immersed myself in some of the journals and newspapers that sought to promote what Kanpai was trying to do back in the day:

“Kanpai have two main varieties: a purely distilled version called Sumi and a cloudy nigori, Kumo” wrote one
Another announced “The UK's first Sake distillery opens in Peckham” as its headline
A third very preeminent publication even talked of their “rice wine”

Top journalism.

Tom and Lucy’s success is inspired by Japanese traditions but has its own London influences and personality. A large contribution to the Peckham terroir, or Jizake, is the water. Filtered London water exerts a signature style because it's harder water than in Japan, and yeast loves harder water making a drier Sake, which in turn requires lower brewing temperatures so that the mineral-rich water doesn’t over-activate the yeast.

The Sakes are purposely made bigger and bolder - in the UK, although we’re surrounded by water, many people are put off by fish (unless it’s battered, naturally), which is a terrible shame but also very different to Japan. We’re into our big flavours - Indian food is available in every town and village, whether for breakfast, lunch or dinner. And we’re into beef - like Japan - but thick slices of it, normally overcooked and accompanied by great stacks of roasted vegetables and doused in a thick, rich gravy. This is no playground for koshitanrei karakuchi.

That’s not to say Sake can’t compete with these rich flavours but they are largely the antithesis of much Japanese cuisine. I learned early on that warmed (ideally nurukan) Junmai is a worthy plate mate for our British Sunday roast beef, something which Tom has taken a little further with their Junmai Daiginjo called Kiku.

Kiku should be served warm, its robust character specifically suited to food pairing. Tom may be ahead of his time here, or at least at the cutting edge of a modern Sake trend as I recently read that in Japan too, styles are changing, and warming Daiginjo is becoming more and more acceptable.

Unconventional, non-conformist and experimental are three epithets that come out from the masses of PR coverage that has surrounded the business from launch to the current day. This agenda is working though and came into its own during the 12 weeks of lockdown that has crippled the UK food and beverage market since late March 2020.

The excellent Kanpai London website has been augmented with a comprehensive ecommerce platform allowing delivery and pick up sales to continue, and for consumers to indulge.

An uncharacteristically hot Spring across the UK has enabled the launch success of Session Sake, Kanpai in a can if you will, that is a Japanese yuzu and British cucumber infusion. At just 5.5% ABV it’s perfect for long lazy lockdown afternoons in the garden.

Taru Barrel Aged Sake has undergone extended ageing in Burgundian red wine oak casks and has an SMV of -7 which may make it a good pairing for all the summer ice creams being consumed now. If not, the Hana Umeshu Plum Sake (-24 SMV) will go well with the glut of strawberries and cream left over from the cancelled Wimbledon Tennis Championships. Both great additions to the core Signature Series - Sumi, Fizu, Kumo - of award winning Sakes.

Kanpai’s story has kept Tom and Lucy busy for half their married life and have weathered the sizeable challenges with steely determination. I mentioned ‘highs’ in one of the opening paragraphs and I’m sure there will be many ahead but the biggest of 2020 has to be the birth of daughter Imogen Nara, middle-named after Japan’s deer friendly old capital city. Tom may be obsessed with brewing but he promises me it’s not a typo for Nama.

Kanpai to you, Imogen!

FOOTNOTE:

At the time of writing the takeaway bottle shop is open daily 12-6pm and the full range available including the new canned Sake and summertime plum Sake, with delivery across the UK from the new web shop.

Good luck guys in the upcoming Virtual London Sake Challenge 2020!

QUICK GLOSSARY:

Kojimai: Sake rice that has been inoculated with the Koji-kin mould
Jizake: A vague term for “local Sake”
Tanrei karakuchi 淡麗辛口: Basically “crisp”/”light” (tanrei) and “dry” (karakuchi). A phrase often used when describing a Niigata Sake
Ginjo: Sake made from rice at a polishing ratio below 60%
Junmai: Sakes made with no added alcohol are Junmai, the only ingredients are rice, water and Koji mould
Honjozo 本醸造: Sake made from rice at a polishing ratio below 70%
Ochoko: A small traditional cup, normally ceramic but can be earthenware, plastic, metal or wood, for Sake drinking
Nurukan ぬる燗: A term for (one of the many) Sake serving temperature - around 104°F (40°C)
Daiginjo大吟醸: Sake made from rice at a polishing ratio below 50%
Taru: Taru is a wooden cask, normally cedar, and taruzake (樽酒) is Sake that has been stored or aged in such casks, imparting its woody flavour to the Sake
SMV: The Sake Meter Value (Nihonshu-do in Japanese) is the scale used to measure the specific gravity of Sake. The higher the positive number, the drier the Sake (“higher is drier” - thanks John Gauntner), and low negative numbers are representative (generally) of sweeter Sake
Umeshu 梅酒: Plum Sake. Made by soaking whole plums in Sake, usually sweet