Batch #21 is now in day 8 of its brewing cycle and will likely be pressed around May 23-25, while Batch #22 is now in day 4 with a forecasted pressing date of May 27-29. That means that Kampai participants will very likely be able to enjoy at least 2 just-pressed sakes!

While it is difficult to get very precise in these matters, it is possible that Batch #23 will actually be undergoing pressing during Kampai, which would certainly be a fun part of the brewing process for participants to be able to see, and of course to taste! Batch #23 is also somewhat of a historical batch for us, as it marks the first time we have used the aromatic #9 yeast (all of our batches to date have used, and we will continue to use, yeast #7, which was first isolated by our consulting brewery Masumi in 1947). Stay tuned as we update the progress of this newest brew.

During Kampai, our brewery, tasting bar and retail store will be open before, during and after the festival. We will offer a special tasting tour schedule for May 31, adding to our regular 5pm tasting tour on that day.

Thanks to the support of our customers and the dedication of our team members, our first year has seen thousands of guests enjoy IZUMI sake at our brewery, and many more at our client restaurant locations which now number above 50 and at home through purchases of our sake at the growing number of LCBO outlets that carry IZUMI. We have also taken part in many gourmet events around Toronto thanks to the interest of our hosts, and look forward to remaining engaged in the vibrant local food and beverage community here in Ontario.

We hope to see you Sunday!

Kampai Toronto is being put on by the Sake Institute of Ontario, a non-profit organization of which we are a founding member whose mission is to promote the safe and enjoyable consumption of sake. The event will also feature appetizer-style food from 6 excellent restaurants. Many breweries will send representatives including toji (master brewers) and owners to pour and discuss their sakes, so it should be a truly memorable event. Our brewery tasting bar and store will run extended hours on that day before,during and after the event, so that those who want to combine a visit to Kampai Toronto with a visit to a sake brewery can do so.

The Kampai Toronto press release is as follows:

Press Release

April 2, 2012

Sake Institute of Ontario announces inaugural Kampai Toronto Festival of Sake

ATTENTION WINE, FOOD, BUSINESS EDITORS: The Sake Institute of Ontario proudly

announces the launch of Kampai Toronto, the largest sake festival ever organized in Canada.

This inaugural tasting event will take place on Thursday, May 31st at The Distillery – Historic

District in downtown Toronto.

Full details of Kampai Toronto and ticket purchase facilities are available at

www.kampaitoronto.com.

Principal details of Kampai Toronto are as follows:

Event Summary: Walk-Around format. Participants will have the opportunity to

taste more than 100 sakes, sourced from dozens of breweries

from Japan, Canada and the U.S. Appetizer-style food will be

made available to guests courtesy of six restaurant partners.

Event Date: Thursday, May 31st, 2012

Event Hours: 6:30pm – 9:00pm

Event Location: Fermenting Cellar Event Space

Distillery District

55 Mill Street

Toronto, ON M5A 3C4

Event Pricing: Online Advance Purchase $65 (until May 24); Regular $75

Members of the Trade & Press will be invited to a dedicated Trade Portion sponsored by Japan

External Trade Organization (JETRO) starting at 4:00pm on the Event Date, which will feature a

one-hour Educational Seminar and Structured Tasting conducted by sake expert Michael

Tremblay of Ki Restaurant, in addition to a Walk-Around Tasting with many sake brewery

owners/representatives present.

Further Inquiries can be made via info@kampaitoronto.com.

About the Sake Institute of Ontario (“SIO”)

SIO is a not-for-profit trade organization of Ontario-based sake distributors and manufacturers

with the principal objective of educating and promoting the responsible consumption and

enjoyment of sake.

For those who can’t wait for the regular bottled version we are pouring the just-pressed arabashiri now at the tasting bar, and will have bottled #19 Arabashiri soon as well.

Kampai!

The theme of the event is A Local Food Movement Cocktail Party.   Ontario Spring Water Sake Company’s Izumi-branded sakes will be sharing the spotlight with Still Waters Vodkas from a distillery in Concord, and Gilead Vodka from Prince Edward County.  This event is certain to be delicious, entertaining and educational!

The tasting tours consist of an overview of the sake brewing process, raw materials and equipment, followed by a guided tasting of several of our freshly-brewed unpasteurized and pasteurized sakes.  The tasting tour takes about 1 hour, and is available at a cost of $15 (plus HST), which includes a souvenir IZUMI competitive sake tasting cup.

Spots on any tour can be pre-booked at 416-365-SAKE (7253), or may be arranged at the brewery prior to the scheduled tour time, subject to availability. 

Groups of 5 or more can also book a private tour at their convenience.

Hope to see you soon!

We will bottle a very limited amount of the first-pressed Arabashiri version of Batch #17 for the growing number of customers that have become fans of this light but flavourful treat, which will be available only at our retail outlet in the Distillery District.

Kampai!

After making the sakekasu delivery we used our refrigerated sake delivery van to transport some delicious Knox Wagyu to The Healthy Butcher, a premium meat purveyor in Toronto.  Mr. Knox started feeding his current herd sakekasu over the weekend, so sakekasu-fed Wagyu beef will finally be available to Ontario consumers later this year. 

We are looking forward to trying the sakekasu-fed meat when it becomes available, and will keep you posted about its availability.

This is our first batch led by Greg Newton.  Our founding/consulting master brewer Yoshiko Takahashi recently returned to Japan, having fulfilled her mission of getting us started on the road to brewing delicious sake, and will continue to be our technical consultant on issues as they arise along our brewing journey.  The brewing routines started by Takahashi-toji are being continued by Greg-san, who worked in our brewery together with Takahashi-toji as her disciple for the last several months and who used to work at the same brewery in Nagano (Tomono Shuzo) where Takahashi-san was formerly master brewer.  Greg is a microbioligist by training (graduate of University of Guelph, post-graduate researcher at University of Tokyo) who is passionate about sake, which he began seriously studying in 2008 through a training internship at Daimon Shuzo, an international-minded brewery in Osaka whose 6th-generation owner Yasutaka Daimon has embraced the potential of sake markets and production outside of Japan.

We look forward to tasting this batch next month.  In the meantime, we have started to blend sakes using the excellent cold weather-brewed 14th, 15th and 16th batches which were pressed in December.  These are all full-flavoured, and in the cases of #14 and #15, high-alcohol sakes, which are delicious both on their own as well as in blends such as the current rendition of Genshu in which #14 is prominent.  Please drop by the brewery for a visit, or sign up for a Brewery Tasting Tour if you have an hour to spend learning a bit about the methods and flavours of the sake world!