Month: November 2011

Our new all-natural sake kasu soap is now in stock at the Ontario Spring Water Sake Company’s brewery store, located in Toronto’s Distillery District. 

Unscented other than with the beautiful natural aroma of sake kasu, the soap also contains  olive oil, palm oil and coconut oil.  Sake Kasu contains high levels of Vitamin B6, which protects skin and relieves muscle and arthritis pain, and folic acid, which promotes cell division and repair, leading to healthy skin.  This wonderful new item has been handcrafted for us by the local skincare experts at  Pura Vida Spa…ahh.

4-ounce bars of Sake Kasu Soap are now available at a special price of $6 per bar, and are great for home use, as part of a sake gift basket or as a stocking stuffer this holiday season!

Batches #11, 12 & 13 have been pressed in the last week, and each one has its own distinct character. For those who would like to experience freshly pressed, unpasteurized sake, we are offering each batch in 300 mL bottles for a limited time (until Nov. 20th). These 3 sakes are also available to sample as a tasting flight, beginning today!

Hope to see you at the brewery.

Today (Nov. 10), we started pressing batch #13, using both the “fune” press and the bag-hanging (“fukuro-tsuri”) method.

Batch #13 is a slightly dry, higher alcohol sake with lots of body and flavour. We are now serving ‘shiboritate” (just-pressed sake) and “fukuro-tsuri” at the brewery- a rare treat, indeed.

We also have lots of space at tonight’s Sip & Learn event (6-7pm), where we will be tasting and comparing Arabashiri, Shiboritate, and Fukuro-tsuri of batch #13, and Fukuro-tsuri of batch #5. If you are interested in joining us for this unique tasting experience, please come down to the brewery for 6pm (no need to reserve).

We just started pressing batch #12 today, and it has turned out great- a soft, delicate sake that is ready to drink now! We are now serving batch #12 at the tasting bar, and it will also be ready for this Thursday’s (Nov. 10) Sip & Learn event (6-7 pm).

We will also start pressing batch #13 on Thursday. This should be a full-bodied sake with a bit higher alcohol- great for tasting fresh out of the press!  

If you would like to experience the freshest sake in Eastern Canada, please come down to the brewery. We also have spaces available for this Thursday’s Sip & Learn, where we will be tasting batchs #12 and #13, and ‘fukuro-tsuri”, sake pressed drop by drop in hanging bags- a very delicate (and rare) type of sake.

If you would like to join this Thursday’s event, please phone us at 416-365-7253.

Please note the topics for upcoming Sake Sip & Learn events scheduled on Thursday evenings 6-7pm: 

November 3     Pressing, Shiboritate and Kasu I

(N.B. Our  Nov. 3 event is now sold out)

November 10     Pressing, Shiboritate and Kasu II (a supplement to I as we continue to press)

November 17     Koji – The Heart of Sake Brewing

November 24     Reading Sake Labels and Understanding Sake Types  

December 1        Basics of Brewing II (not a complete repeat of Oct.27 but some commonality)

December 8        Meet our Toji (i.e. Master Brewer Yoshiko Takahashi, who will discuss her experiences in becoming and functioning as a master brewer in Japan.  In Japanese with translation into English.)

December 15      Principles of Sake Tasting

The cost of each event is $15 (plus HST) per person and will include sake tasting and a souvenir Izumi competitive tasting cup.   Booking spots for all events can be done by calling 416-365-SAKE (7253) or emailing info@ontariosake.com.

This morning we started to press Batch #11, which from initial tasting is another fresh, deep and lively brew!  Shiboritate just-pressed sake now available at the tasting bar.  As this was the first batch to be pressed following Takahashi-sensei’s vacation we chose to refresh the offering for the sake Gods at our brewery’s shrine to mark the changing of the season.  Please drop by for a taste too!