In the serene and pastoral north of Japan's Niigata Prefecture lies the Fukushimagata lagoon. It's a beautiful and peaceful, incredibly expansive, natural landscape that combines grasslands, vast water bodies, cusped by the glorious  Gozu mountain ranges. The majestic scenery is famed for its ability to vividly express Japan's four seasons, and a particular feature that finds its home here is that of the migratory Great Bean Geese, whose habitat is this very lagoon. It's even honoured as part of the "100 Natural Wonders of Japan", and as such remains a popular destination for locals and tourists alike to find their retreat here amidst the relaxing swan-watching activities.

And it's right here that we find one Lagoon Brewery (ラグーン ブリュワリー). It's one of Japan's smallest Sake breweries, and is also in a rare instance one of a small handful that holds the licenses needed to brew both traditional Sake (nihonshu) and also the fast growing category that is craft Sake - but there are caveats.

The beautiful Fukushimagata lagoon.

For the past 50 plus years, Japan has refused to issue even one traditional Sake brewing license - if an aspiring brewer would like to start their own brewery, they'd simply have to find an existing Sake brewery willing to shutter and forgo their license, passing it on to the newly initiated brewer. That's no small ask. 

This comes as a result of a multi-decade decline in Sake consumption locally, which has thus prompted the Japanese government to restrict new entrants, and by extension an increase in Sake supply, so as to protect existing breweries. This reduces the risk of an oversupply of Sake which is seen as possibly collapsing Sake prices, thereby hurting existing brewers (and the many workers they currently employ). Yet at the same time, aspiring brewers have long argued that fresh people, minds and ideas are needed in this age old industry, which will bring about innovation and rejuvenation that is exactly what will reverse this decline - new people, new Sake, renewed interest. One side argues for the protection of heritage and tradition, whilst the other fights for what they see as much needed change that will better cater to the new preferences of the time.

Lagoon Brewery's founder Yosuke Tanaka.

Somewhere in that tussle is Yosuke Tanaka (田中 洋介). Tanaka, now in his mid-40's, is a Chiba Prefecture native who had eventually left for college to study Geography, it was then that he began to love traditional Sakes, having often visited a liquor shop that was run by a family friend. Tanaka would eventually find himself working at an advertising company in Tokyo, where in his free time he would organise Sake events. His love for Sake was palpable and at a friend's suggestion, Tanaka would take a leap of faith and join a long-established Niigata-based Sake brewery by the name of Imayo Tsukasa. He would spend ten years learning the ropes as a Sake brewer at Imayo Tsukasa, before a 2021 announcement from the Japanese government would change everything for Tanaka. (Fun Fact: During an overseas work stint in Singapore, Tanaka would serve as the marketing manager for a local football club, Albirex Niigata FC!)

After years of persuasion, it seemed that the boom in Japanese Sakes worldwide (as they say, the grass is always greener on the other side!) was finally enough to convince the Japanese government to grant a conditional Sake brewing license - new Sake breweries could now produce traditional nihonshu Sakes, however, it must only be for export sales. This allowed the Japanese government to ensure that domestic Sake supply remained controlled where local demand remained weak, whilst aspiring Sake brewers could instead target the rest of the world which was now big on Sake.

Pressed Kyoho grape juice (and skins) are added into the fermenting rice mash.

Yet that was not all. In a spur of grassroots level ingenuity, aspiring Sake brewers had for a couple of years now found a clever way around the inability to gain a traditional Sake brewing license - they would simply brew not-Sake, or as they call it craft Sake. Unlike traditional nihonshu Sake, which is typically clear, filtered, and fitted within the rice polishing ratio based classifications of Junmai Ginjo's and Junmai Daiginjo's (or if additional alcohol is added, then simply Honjozo, Ginjo and Daiginjo), craft Sake required brewers to make Sakes that did not abide by traditional Sake-making practices. 

If traditional Sake-making is well-defined and emphasised tradition and precision, then the realm of deviating from that is basically limitless. As such, under the vague and therefore highly open "Other Brewed Alcoholic Beverages" license (a catch-all for alcohol categories that falls outside the standard categories of beers, whisky and Sake, amongst others), craft brewers have exercised much creativity in producing alt-Sake's in the unfiltered Doburoku style (that resembles a porridge, essentially Sake whose rice mash is not filtered and removed), with other popular practices being the addition of hops (the ones used for beer), herbs, fruits and other produce to the rice mash (moromi) during the fermentation stage to create flavours never before seen in Sakes. This has birthed a whole universe of fruity, herbaceous, confectionary and savoury flavours that's wrapped around the rice alcohol - pretty much anything you can think of can be made into a craft Sake, and to stellar results!

Craft Sake is opening up a whole new universe of flavours and bringing excitement back to Japan's tough crowd.

Whilst it's unsurprising that traditionalists haven't always taken well to this emergent category of craft Sakes, it's worth pointing out that for the first time in decades, Japan is finally seeing a resurgence of local interest in Sakes - craft Sakes, that is.

"Although conditional, this is a big step. The door has been opened for new entrants. I was thrilled that the country had finally made up its mind." says Tanaka.

And so with the 2021 partial lifting of Sake brewing restrictions, Tanaka was thus convinced that this was the best time if ever to finally fulfill his long held dream of starting his own Sake brewery. Having often visited Niigata's Fukushimagata nature reserves where he had loved to relax at, Tanaka had found that along the waterfront sat an empty house that had once served as a restaurant. Tanaka would thus turn the small estate into what would become Lagoon Brewery, so named after the Fukushimagata lagoon it sat by, with the hope that symbolically much like the diversity of the nature reserve, the brewery too would be inspired to produce a wide variety of Sakes. Tanaka would also give his Sakes the brand name of Shoku (

The migratory geese of Fukushimagata.

“I didn’t believe it was possible to build a successful sake brewery solely by producing export-only nihonshu,... I felt that if a sake brewery couldn’t earn recognition in Japan, it would be difficult to succeed abroad, too.” elaborates Tanaka.

Tanaka had found that a fellow Sake brewer in the Kita Ward had shuttered and would thus invite the staff to join his newly established brewery. With his licenses in check - to sell craft Sakes locally, and traditional Sakes for export - Tanaka would thus commence brewing, making use of locally grown Kame-no-O rice, as well as producing koji in-house. Since then, Lagoon Brewery has produced the craft Sake starter pack of hopped Sakes and doburoku's, with a notable creation being the Sake Margherita, which incorporated locally produced tomatoes and basil to the rice mash, producing an aroma that was said to be similar to that of a Margherita pizza.

Lagoon Brewery's hopped Sake.

Whilst the brewery remains fairly young and is still in its early innings, Lagoon Brewery has quickly established itself as a pioneer in the realm of craft Sakes, having served as one of six founding members of the new Japan Craft Sake Breweries Association.

“Since many craft sakemakers are young — they are at least 10 years younger than me — it makes sense that a similar generation of drinkers are the ones gravitating toward them. This is why the sake industry must relax its regulations, to allow more young people to become sake producers and fans, which will help foster innovation. If we continue to regulate in a way that protects the existing breweries, we will only continue on the same trend of decline from the past half-century.” explains Tanaka.

Into the near future, Lagoon Brewery is looking to also operate a cafe, which will serve its Sakes as well as confectionaries and food made with Sake lees, a highly nutritious leftover from Sake-making.

Nevertheless, Tanaka is clear on his ultimate end goal: to have the government completely lift the ban on issuing new licenses for Sake breweries aspiring to serve the local Japanese market.

And with all that said, today we'll be trying Lagoon Brewery's Alcoholic Grapes Doburoku!

PS. Big cheers to Omu Nomu Craft Sake Bar for getting this over to Singapore - Alex is bar none the most passionate (and nicest!) craft Sake lover you'll ever meet. If you're into Sakes, and particularly craft Sakes, which will really flip the script on everything you know about Sakes, definitely check out Omu Nomu Craft Sake Bar - it's got a weekly seasonal menu of new craft Sakes that are available by the glass and bottle. Also shout out to Sake Matsuri, the must-go Sake festival in Singapore, where you'll get to meet a heap of Sake brewers and distributors, and get to try hundreds of Sakes.

Sake Review: Lagoon Brewery Alcoholic Grapes Shoku Doburoku Craft Sake | ラグーン ブリュワリー 翔空 酔いどれブドウどぶろく

This expression is made with local Niigata Kyoho grapes (making up 35% the weight of the rice used for the Sake!) from the Yamayo Orchards, an eco-farmer in the famous Shirane fruit-producing district, along with Niigata G9 yeast (having previously tested out using wine yeast) and Niigata Gohyakumangoku rice, coming in both a raw tank version and a doburoku version. The Kyoho grapes were pressed with the skins on, which were all added to the rice mash to allow for some natural fruit acidity to infuse into the Sake. The Gohyakumangoku rice has been polished to 70% as well.

Tasting Notes

Colour: Light Purple, Cloudy and Textured. 

Aroma: Sharply tart with a fruity-dry character and fizzy, carbonated lift, dominated by Kyoho grape gummies with the feeling of opening a can of grape soda. Underneath that bright fruit fizz, there's a mild funk of something a little savoury, meaty and cured that reminds me of Italian salami, adding to the contrast and complexity nicely.

Taste: Opens with an intense, brief wave of dryness that quickly gives way to a more familiar grape soda notes-sweet, candied, and juicy. It's of course got a pulpy, porridge-like body that gives it weight, with the rice grains a little firmer than most doburokus. It's something you'll initially expect to be really sweet, but the carbonation and dryness dials it down to a medium-sweetness that doesn't coat the palate so much as peppery dryness crackles across your tongue. As the fizz and acidity mellows out slightly, the rice earthiness comes through more clearly, both in flavour and texture. 

Finish: Long and dry. Lemon peel-like acidity and bitterness linger at the back, along with a mild lactic note and a final flash of clean, subtle, slightly chalky indistinct grain flavours.

My Thoughts

This tastes much more cohesive and well-composed than the thought of combining grape juice and rice mash might sound! It's fizzy and filled with big Kyoho grape gummies, yet unapologetically dry in a way that balances out the sweetness. 

The fruitiness and dryness leads as the dominant quality, with the rustic funkiness following behind. Unlike other Doburoku's, this comes off less funky, and incredibly complex, where you get a sense of both the fruit and the Sake. Not very traditional by any means, but super fun and very appealing to those looking for something that leans closer to craft beer culture.

@CharsiuCharlie