Head brewer honored with Japanese invitation
Andrew Centofante, head brewer of North American Sake Brewery (NAS), Virginia’s first and only sake brewery, was recently invited to brew sake at Daimon Shuzo, a famous 200-year-old Japanese sake brewery. Centofante worked alongside the brewery’s sixth-generation sake master, or toji, Yasutaka Daimon.
Centofante spent a week in April at the Japanese brewery, living on site and working on all aspects of sake brewing from preparing and steaming the rice, making koji, and fermentation. “Sitting in a 300-year-old Japanese garden, learning the intricacies and different styles of sake brewing was the opportunity of a lifetime,” said Centofante. “Seeing the process in an historic Japanese brewery has helped refine some of our techniques and will push the sake brewing at NAS to the next level.”
Centofante brought along samples of sake from North American Sake Brewery to share with his Japanese counterparts. “I was incredibly nervous to present my sake to this team of accomplished brewers, but they really enjoyed it! They praised its subtle qualities, its acidity and balance. They were excited to experience high-quality sake brewed in the U.S.”
Daimon Shuzo’s CEO Marcus Consolini said, “American sake breweries are new to the industry, but bring incredible passion and new ideas. We were excited to host someone with as much passion and skill as Andrew and NAS.”
The Daimon brewery, located in central Japan, invites sake brewers from all over the world to apply for an internship and gain hands-on experience with the Japanese sake brewing tradition. Notables in the sake world who have a history with Daimon include Philip Harper, who used to work at the brewery and who was the first non-Japanese person named toji in Japan, and John Gaunter, a writer and teacher, who began his Sake Professional Course at Daimon Shuzo. Daimon Shuzo creates umami-rich sakes that focus on pairing with the cuisine of the Kansai region of Japan.
NAS has extended an invitation to Daimon’s toji and team to visit its brewery and tasting room in Charlottesville, Virginia, in the fall of 2019.
North American Sake Brewery (NAS) is Virginia’s first and only sake producer and one of a handful of sake breweries in the United States. Offering a variety of filtered and unfiltered sake brews all made in its Charlottesville headquarters, NAS serves tasting flights, full pours, and bottles to go, as well as a full menu from the onsite Asian Smokehouse. For more information, visit NAS at http://www.pourmeone.com/, and follow on Instagram (@NorthAmericanSake) and Facebook atFacebook.com/NorthAmericanSake, or call (434) 767-8105. #pourmeone
