New Perspective on an Old Drink

Kelley Kaminsky of Nishiyama Brewery Shares Fresh Take on Sake

Tayler Skultety (Nara)

For many people, their first exposure to sake occurs at a sushi bar, usually served warm, in a small carafe, or tokuri, and sadly, stops there. An experience that does the drink a great disservice. Sake is far from a one-and-done beverage. Despite its relatively simple ingredient list, it can be brewed into a variety of styles with unique flavor profiles. Sake, more aptly called ‘nihonshu’ (lit. Japanese alcohol) has a long history spanning back almost 2000 years making it an important part of Japanese culture. However, in recent decades drops in domestic sales have encouraged breweries to look overseas for new sales opportunities and in turn, hire on new staff to help them tap these markets. Kelley Kaminsky is one such hire and has been working in sales at Nishiyama Brewery in Hyogo Prefecture since 2017, helping to bring a new passion and understanding to the often overlooked world of sake.

Kelley found her current position at the brewery the way many of our peers find jobs in Japan; at the After JET Career Conference in Osaka. “Of all the participating companies they were the only sake brewery listed which intrigued me . . . I came for a brewery tour, did a couple interviews and the rest was history.” Kelley’s first love was beer, her degree in Japanese Studies was plan B, a step away from the world of fermented adult beverages, or so she thought. After moving to the cultural hub of Kyoto where she worked as an ALT for three years, her love of sake developed through visits to local breweries and sake bars. When it came time to leave JET her new job took her to the pristine rice fields of Tamba City in Hyogo, a region famous for sake production.

Nestled in a quiet valley, in the heart of the prefecture, Nishiyama Brewery has been creating premium sake for 171 years. Rice and water, the main ingredients of sake, are abundant and pure here and Nishiyama even grows a portion of their own rice to supply the brewery. This brand of sake is decidedly different from the futsuushu or ‘standard sake’ you’re likely to be served at a sushi counter. Nishiyama brews award-winning sake including ginjo varieties where the rice is more polished, leaving a starchier grain, resulting in a cleaner, more aromatic product, as well as junmai (lit. pure rice) varieties, made without any added alcohol or sugar resulting in deeper flavors.

“There are a wide array of possible flavors and aromas” explains Kelley. “One example of fruit characteristics you may look for in a ginjo sake are green apple, pear, or banana to name a few.” Although sake has its roots in Shinto ceremonies and is often used to celebrate special occasions, she insists quality sake is something that can be enjoyed regularly. Her recommendation is to drink it slightly chilled, not too cold or the flavors can get lost.

Sake is more closely related to beer and wine than to spirits like whiskey or vodka. It’s brewed, not distilled, and has an alcohol content of around 16%, slightly higher than that of wine. In addition to rice and water, fermented rice called koji, and sake yeast are used in the brewing process. Nishiyama makes their own koji at the brewery and imports their sake yeast from a long-time business partner in nearby Osaka. “I would say the most crucial part of the [sake making] process is koji-making, it’s so important. It’s also important to have a strong shubo (yeast starter)” says Kelley.

In order to better promote the Nishiyama brand to overseas customers, she has gained hands-on experience brewing sake. Kelley was instrumental in the creation of their first new release in 105 years, with the goal of making something completely different from the brewery’s flagship brand of sake. “I chose what yeast I wanted to work with, what variety of rice would pair well with it . . . in one of the sakes I chose to use a lower percentage of overall rice added into soe-shikomi (the first of three additions of water, koji, and rice in the four-day brewing process). The goal of this was for the fermentation to start a little more slowly, resulting in a longer fermentation process at lower temperatures to get a beautiful, clean sake. I also used a rice that doesn’t tend to lend a massive amount of umami, to allow the characteristics of the yeast to shine through.” In order to appreciate this new brand of sake, named Yamato Tamba, Kelley recommends focusing on the balance of acidity with the umami from the rice.

In Japan, there are still negative stereotypes surrounding sake; in particular that it’s a drink only for the over 60 crowd. But forward-thinking breweries like Nishiyama are trying to change these misconceptions, “We’ve made efforts to appeal to a younger crowd as well as women” says Kelley, “So while there are certainly middle-aged men drinking our sake, we have a lot of customers in their 30s.” Abroad, Nishiyama Brewery believes diverse hiring can bring a deeper knowledge of sake to the English speaking world who may not have much exposure to the drink. Kelley cites her boss, Yashima Kourei, Nishiyama’s head brewer or toji, saying “He suggested that we bring a new way of thinking to the industry. One of his examples was tasting expressions, or how I describe flavor profiles compared to my Japanese colleagues.”

Of course, as with any alcohol, the more you drink, the more you learn. Anyone willing to seek out their own bottle from Nishiyama will not only be rewarded with delicious sake but also a work of art. “The back labels of every bottle of Kotsuzumi (the brewery’s flagship brand) have a haiku written on them,” explains Kelley. “As for bottles and labels, we owe them to our incredible designer, Hirosuke Watanuki. After studying abroad in Portugal and traveling all over the world, he returned to Japan in 1969 and met our fifth president shortly after.”

Overall, Kelley hopes that by increasing understanding of sake, a better universal appreciation of the drink can be achieved, as was her own experience. “I think rather than needing to acquire a taste for it, I just needed to be exposed to actual craft sake, my previous experience with sake was limited to nameless hot or cold options at strip mall sushi joints . . . I’m still discovering what’s out there. Now that I have an understanding of what a labor of love it is to make sake, I have an entirely new appreciation for it.”

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Tayler Skultety is the Culture editor at CONNECT. She has been working as an ALT in Nara Prefecture for four years and enjoys drinking sake responsibly while pursuing her writing projects.

Kelley Kaminsky is starting her fourth year in the sake industry. In that time she has co-produced a new brand and helped her team brew consecutive gold award-winning daiginjo at the Japan Sake Awards. She enjoys CrossFit, craft beer, and travelling in her free time.