MORPHING TO THE MASSES
They have a saying in Texas, apparently, which goes: He’s so busy you’d think he was twins. And that aptly describes Adam Blumenshein’s existence these past months along with his team at Texas Sake.
“Inspired by tradition, but not bound by it”
That’s the first thing you read when you log onto the Texas Sake website and it rapidly becomes clear to me as Adam and I talk that this isn’t just an idle corporate mantra.
Texas Sake feels very much a product of the city of Austin. Amongst the city’s diverse mix of citizens, Austinites, is a large population of students, musicians and techies, all enjoying a celebrated food, wine and beer scene. It’s a beatnik, relatively liberal, place to live and work, remarkable really being located at pretty much the heart of historically Republican Texas. It even lives by a slogan coined almost 20 years ago: Keep Austin Weird. Make of that what you will but this vibe paved the way for the largest (and only) independent Sake facility in the US.
Wine heritage - 750ml bottles (nice!)
Expansion has opened the floodgates to innovation, or perhaps the other way round in a kind of chicken and egg scenario. That “largest” claim is the result of the opening of a new and beautiful 5,000 square foot space which is dedicated half to the Texas Sake tap room and half to production.
And what a space! The production capabilities got serious, with a canning and bottling line and a chiller large enough to store the barrels of Sake. But the Dollars haven’t just gone into the brewing side, customers too benefit from an authentic environment that pays homage to Japanese culture, with Sake and Japanese artworks that are hand-painted and umbrellas hanging from the ceiling. Texas Sake even consulted with Japanese residents in the local community to check that their plans and ideas were “on brand Japan”.
“We like to reinvent, we like innovation to give a contemporary experience”, says Adam
Brad Saliga in his natural environment
Toji Brad Saliga takes it even further than that, his quote screams from the website:
“We are pioneering a new palette in America”
Now if you’re thinking this is all sounding like a rather too rock and roll existence, reminiscent of some dark cult of bohemian Sake worshippers, keeping Austin a little too weird, well you might be right. But, Austinites are big supporters of Texas Sake and meeting their drinking needs and idiosyncrasies is a plan Adam is keen to maintain.
“Japanese bottles mean nothing to the kids. We need to ensure our vibe is suited to them”
And here we go with a much reported fact that outside of Japan, education is one of the biggest barriers to Sake trial and acceptance. But in Texas, the strategy is a little different. Where many breweries tirelessly try and convert one Sake sceptic at a time, Adam’s solution is to portray Sake in its local context, to essentially Austin-ise it.
So in a young person’s drinking culture where it’s all shots or on the rocks, Texas Sake has morphed the offer to include more relevant cues such as using old tequila and bourbon barrels for storing some of the Sakes, Merlot barrels too (a grape varietal familiar to the US and made popular by Napa wine makers).
In support of the cocktail culture, and to take advantage of it, the team has created a series of Sake inspired classic and experimental cocktails. So the legendary Mimosa gets the Texas treatment to become the Sake-mosa, with the addition of sparkling Sake in place of Champagne, alongside the usual suspects of orange juice, aromatics and orange bitters. Likewise the popular Jun & Tonic is crafted using a ‘botanical’ Junmai infused with juniper berry, cardamom, black peppers and candied ginger, served with tonic or on the rocks. Just what you need when it’s 97°F outside in Summer.
Lastly, the Sake is available in cans and 4-packs, a more familiar format (and soon to be available in 15 States for purchase) to many would be purchasers.
Cans of joy
I’m generalising here of course but you can see the methodologies at play, which are paying off. And there’s exceptions too, naturally. The first two guests in on the day I spoke to Adam were over 70 years old.
Yet there are still plenty of traditional Sake enthusiasts and new customers that want to try the more authentic ferments.
“There’s a clear division within our customer base. The youngsters come in for the cocktails and session cans whereas for those that are passionate about Sake, we pour our Ginjo and Junmai”
In fact there’s a pretty extensive range available to try courtesy of Brad’s brewing mastery, not least the Toji Reserve Series which are aged in 53 and 63 gallon barrels and limited edition - when it’s gone it’s gone.
For those hovering in between these two schools of thought, the solution is simple: Nama.
“People are in love with our keg Nama. We serve it on the side in a shot glass and pretty much everyone will take a tentative sip and then ask “What’s in that”? It’s a way in and has broad appeal”
Having been “Nama’d”, it’s about further education and customers get interested. The good news is the Texas Sake team can confidently move folk into Junmai, Nigori and Ginjo from there, the recent upgrades and strict stipulations introduced by Toji-san have ensured consistent quality at every level.
“Brad is so rigid, he drives me nuts he’s so rigid, calling us to do better, but it’s a good thing”, confesses Adam
Using the Minnesota grown Aimoto rice and yeast from Japan’s yeast bank a whole range of Sakes are created: still and sparkling, filtered and Nigori (yes, technically filtered I know), pasteurised and unpasteurised, as well as the Alchemy Series of innovative (there’s that word again) infusions, using dried fruits and other natural aromats.
The Yard is home to Texas Sake’s newly expanded operation in South Austin, a gentrified area with coffee shops, a winery and other must have artisanal purveyors. As such, Adam has teamed up with Inari, a mobile food trailer offering traditional and non-traditional Japanese izakaya favourites, incorporating into dishes wherever possible the Kasu from the brewery, to ferment pickles, to marinate and add an umami hit to the miso soup.
Stomach-lining goodness from Inari
Yakitori, bento boxes and okonomiyaki, Osaka’s comfort food, are also prepared to order but the signature dish - Rice Balls Stuffed With Gulf Shrimp & Cream Cheese Topped With Spicy Mayo - is hard to miss.
“We’re also working on a barbecue concept, this being Texas and all, that uses the Kasu as an ingredient in the sauce or rub”, explains Adam
To call Texas Sake a taproom would be a huge undersell. It’s more like a Sake experience, or perhaps even a Japanese social experiment. Under normal circumstances, tours are conducted each night to complete the education of the über-curious Austinites and guests can enjoy the house band (starring Adam, of course), a Japanese lo-fi hip hop group, “The Giant Bansai”. All that back soon, we hope.
Keep on Keeping It Weird, Adam. Nice work.
FOOTNOTE:
Adam is the Co-Founder of Texas Sake, and an experienced brewer and fermenter.
Adam told me that the Taproom closed initially around 13 March with takeaway an option only at the end April. By early June Texas Sake was back but with very limited seating.
When I caught up with Adam in the Summer, he said Austin TX was “quite badly hit by the virus”. I hope Adam and his Team continue to remain safe and that Texas Sake can open to full operating capacity very soon. Remember, Texas Sake is available to buy online: https://vinoshipper.com/shop/texas_sake_company
As they say in Austin: “Don’t mess with Texas”.
Also, anyone interested in having a taste of Inari, please check the website for delivery and online ordering information: www.inariaustin.com
QUICK GLOSSARY:
Toji: Master Brewer with ultimate responsibility for brewing and the leadership of the brewing team
Junmai 純米: Sake made using only rice, water, yeast and koji – no added alcohol (純: pure; 米: rice)
Ginjo 吟醸: Sake made from rice at a polishing ratio below 60%
Nama/Namazake: 生酒 (生:raw, fresh, or living; 酒:sake) – in short, unpasteurized Sake
Nigori 濁り: “Cloudy” or “milky” Sake that has some of the original rice solids from fermentation remaining in the liquid. Body can vary from simple opaque through to quite thick and porridge-like. Brewers achieve this by running the Sake through a coarser filter or by adding the rice back in after filtration. Note that Japanese law stipulates that all true Sake must be filtered
Kasu/Sake-kasu: The residual rice solids (like “lees” in wine) from when the Sake is separated from the main fermentation through pressing
LINKS:
Texas Sake Co.
www.txsake.com
@txsakeco
The Yard
440 E. St. Elmo Rd., Ste B-2
Austin, TX 78745
Inari mobile food trailer
www.inariaustin.com
