Issue:

March 2025

FCCJ to host sake seminar and tasting with master brewer Gen-uemon Sudo

When UNESCO recognized Japanese sake brewing techniques as an Intangible Cultural Heritage in December last year, it paved the way for the Year of the Snake to become the Year of Sake.

On March 18, at Masukomi Sushi will host a sit-down course meal and pairing, and on April 10, Master Sake Brewer Gen-uemon Sudo, the 55th generation proprietor of Sudohonke in Kasama, Ibaraki, will personally guide us through a tasting of several sake paired with raw, stewed and sauteed fish appetizers as well as beef and cheese. Participants will also be able to order Sudohonke sake to be delivered after the event. The presentation will be in Japanese, with English translation by Harald deRopp.

Historical documents suggest that Sudohonke may be the oldest sake brewer still in operation - the firm’s business records go back to 1141, and the Sudo family has led the business uninterrupted to the present day. They are extremely particular about the rice used, which comes from within a 5km radius of the brewery. The brewery itself lies within a grove of 500-year-old zelkova trees, whose roots nourish the water used in the brewery. Here they continue kimoto brewing, the oldest brewing method known in Japan, thus preserving the mainstream of Japanese sake brewing.

While preserving this incredible heritage through the ups and downs of sake demand in recent decades, Sudohonke is also known as an innovator, and takes pride in innovating its techniques without straying from tradition. It was the first to sell unpasteurized sake, and has been long-term aging completely unpasteurized sake since 1973, producing an extremely delicate smoothness. Other innovations include unpasteurized vintage sake, sparkling nigori sake, high-polish-rate sake, and hiyaoroshi sake, as well as pairing sake with food and cheese.

In consequence, recognition has come from domestic sources such as the National Institute of Brewing and foreign voices like the International Wine Challenge and wine guru Robert Parker, with whom Mr. Sudo has dined and drunk. Mr. Sudo has also lectured at NHK culture Centers and at European sommelier associations, and collaborated with J. Robuchon at the invitation of the Principality of Monaco.

Please do join us this spring to hear about some of these innovations, the current state of sake brewing in Japan, the key factors to making elegant and refined sake, and taste sake paired with food under Sudo-san’s expert guidance.

  • 6-8:30 pm Tuesday March 18
  • Sake Dinner Kai 4 with Sudohonke at Masukomi Sushi
    Spring Flavors and Unfiltered Sake
  • 6-7:30 pm, Thursday April 10
  • FCCJ Event, Sudohonke Sake Presentation & Tasting

Steve Romaine is a former investment banker, head-hunter and executive coach,. He is now happily retired in Tokyo. He has been an FCCJ Associate Member since 1981 and now served on the Food & Beverage Committee.