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Photos: Orchid Craftworks, Normat
As sake brewer Yamamoto Yumika sprinkles koji spores onto sheets of rice, her movements methodical and unhurried, the air around her is redolent with the sweet, nutty aroma of the koji. The brewery’s atmosphere is still hazy and rich with microbial activity.
As she looks out the window, the view that greets her isn’t the lush, mountainous region of Niigata, Japan, or the golden rice fields of Hyogo prefecture, but the bustling seaport in Jurong, where Singapore’s first sake brewery, Orchid Craftworks resides.
Co-founded by sake sommelier Oh Reuben Luke, the brewery quietly whirred to life in May, guided by brewers from Tokyo’s Konohanano Brewery. “I used to think brewing sake in Singapore was particularly difficult or even impossible due to the water quality. But after visiting Japan and finding breweries in metropolitan cities like Tokyo, I realised that water can be filtered (to remove fluorides) and fortified with minerals.”
Oh first became acquainted with Hosoi Yosuke, the owner of Konohanano Brewery, in the summer of 2022. He was in the Land of the Rising Sun by invitation of the Embassy of Japan in Singapore after he was named the Young Sake Ambassador by London’s Sake Sommelier Association in 2021.
Conversation blossomed, and soon, “even though it didn’t make financial sense, we wanted to see if it was possible in Singapore, of all places,” Oh admits.
The sake production process at Orchid Craftworks. (Photo: Orchid Craftworks)
They got their answer when the first bottles of uTama sake started rolling off the production line. Named after Sang Nila Utama, the legendary founder of ancient Singapore, with “tama” also meaning “spirit” or “soul” in Japanese, the sake is brewed with Japanese rice, koji, and yeast, at least for the time being.
There is a shortage of sake brewing literature on Southeast Asian rice, so the team have begun experimenting independently. “Jasmine rice didn’t work, but Thai black rice seems promising,” he divulges.
For their inaugural expression, uTama The 1st, the team decided on doburoku, a centuries-old style of unfiltered, cloudy sake. Though it’s still relatively obscure in Singapore, doburoku has been gaining popularity in Japan.
“For us, it’s just cool to offer consumers a chance to experience sake in its mash form — pure and unfiltered.” It’s crafted with Yamadanishiki, a premium sake rice, and Koshi Ibuki, a table rice from Niigata that gives it a more intense rice flavour.
Orchid Craftworks’ uTama line-up. (Photo: Orchid Craftworks)
Veering from the unfamiliar to the unorthodox, the intrepid brewery has also somehow managed to incorporate tropical Southeast Asian flavours like cempedak and durian into its repertoire of craft sakes. The unlikely dessert-like creations might seem strange on paper, but they’re so popular that the durian “cream sake”, made with Mao Shan Wang, has already sold out.
uTama The 2nd, Orchid Craftworks’ second bottling, presents a more familiar clear sake style as a Junmai Shiboritate. This freshly pressed sake stays true to its natural yellow tint, thanks to the absence of charcoal filtration. Instead, the brewery employs the traditional fukuro shibori method, where sake is gravity-drip filtered through bags hung over the tank, producing a refined brew with delicate flavours.
While Orchid Craftworks didn’t set out to create a Singapore-style sake, Thirstypalate sake by master sake sommelier Joshua Kalinan was made with the Singaporean palate in mind.
Thirstypalate sake. (Photo: Thirstypalate)
He wanted to create a sake, which was launched in January this year, that could stand up to more robust flavours. Brewed in collaboration with the historic Kamaya Sake Brewery in the Saitama prefecture, the sparkling sake was designed to pair with spicier local fare, such as Indian or Peranakan cuisine.
A well-respected figure in Singapore’s sake scene, Kalinan, a former Singapore Airlines air sommelier had always dreamed of having his own sake brand. After years of fruitless knocking on the doors of different sake breweries, his luck finally changed when he was introduced to Junichi Komori, owner and president of Kamaya Sake Brewery, during a visit to Chichibu last year.
A particular sparkling sake caught his imagination. “I asked if he was willing to tailor it to my requirements, such as increasing acidity and using natural fermentation without carbon dioxide injection,” he says.
Joshua Kalinan with Kamaya Sake Brewery’s president (right) and Toji (left). (Photo: Joshua Kalinan)
On creating the Singapore-exclusive sake, Kamaya’s toji (head brewer) Hiroaki Matsunuma explains: “This sake is made from 100 per cent Yamadanishiki rice, which is grown in Kazo City, where our brewery is also located. We use only local rice and water for this sake. The brewing process begins with fermenting the moromi (the mash) to develop the maximum umami, sweetness, and acidity. The sake in the bottle then undergoes a secondary fermentation to naturally add carbon dioxide from the yeast.”
Kalinan was blown away by the results when he received the bottles in January. “The sake features higher acidity than other sparkling sakes on the market, with notes of steamed rice, lemon, and cotton candy. It is sweet but not cloying, with very fine bubbles and a light nigori texture,” he shares. Specially crafted to complement the bold, vibrant flavours of Indian dishes, it naturally works a treat with North Indian butter chicken, as Kalinan envisioned.
In August, he also led a sake pairing dinner at Neo Indian fine dining restaurant Ammakase, where his sake found harmony with an almond kulfi served with mango gelato, pistachio and saffron foam.
Larry Peh (right), the brains behind Against The Grain sake from homegrown lifestyle collective Normat. (Photo: Normat)
Kalinan, who was crowned Sake Sommelier of the Year in 2018 by the Sake Sommelier Association, also served as special advisor to Against The Grain sake from homegrown lifestyle collective Normat. The brains behind the sake is Larry Peh, creative director of &Larry, who is also a certified sake sommelier. The sake is brewed by Kubuki Sake Brewery in Niigata.
Like Kalinan, it was an uphill battle for Peh to find a willing collaborator in traditionalist Japan. Speaking to The Peak from Kishida Rice Farm where he was travelling for rice harvest season, Peh recalls: “Despite their rejection, we went ahead with our own Kubiki event and surveyed guests for feedback. This took Kubiki by surprise, and after a heart-to-heart Zoom session, they agreed to come to Singapore on a four-day culinary journey. At Blue Smoke restaurant in Joo Chiat, Kubiki’s Yagi-san (Takahiro Yagi, CEO) said to me ‘I finally know why you want to create this sake.’”
Brewing Against The Grain sake in Niigata. (Photo: Normat)
As the name suggests, the grain is key. “After getting Yagi-san of Kubiki on board, I had to convince Kishida-san (Takeshi Kishida), the rice farmer (Kishida Rice Farm). They have a strong bond from their decades of working together, and honestly, it is rare to find a dynamic like theirs — where the brewery plants the rice with the farmer in the summer, and the farmer helps to brew the sake with the brewery in the winter. I shared with them the notes — ideal harmonies with global and local cuisines — that I sought. We decided to use Kubiki’s proprietary yeast for both our sakes, giving them a fairly unusual, even one-of-a-kind flavour.”
The team also decided to use 75 per cent Tsukiakari (local table rice) over Niigata’s Gohyakumangoku (local sake rice) for the Tokubetsu Junmai, which gives the sake a refreshing flavour profile.
Against The Grain sake. (Photo: Normat)
On the market prospects for these new sakes, the bespectacled creative muses: “I believe it will continue to grow. While some are label- or rice-conscious, many are open to trying new brands and flavours. There’s significant interest from both sake enthusiasts and newcomers. As we become more experimental, the market is responding rapidly.”
2024 has been a bumper year for Singaporean-made sakes. Adrian Goh, the first Singaporean awarded the prestigious title of Sake Samurai, also launched his own sake on October 1, World Sake Day.
Adrian Goh (extreme right) was awarded the prestigious title of Sake Samurai in 2024. Photo: Adrian Goh
The Junmai Daiginjo Kimoto Henpeimai-style sake was made possible through a close friendship with the owner of Gakkogura, a brewery school on Niigata’s Sado Island. Once an elementary school, it now houses Obata’s second sake brewery and often hosts sake brewing students.
For his debut, Goh, who’s also director of sake distributor Inter Rice Asia, wanted to push some boundaries. He crafted his sake with the Niigata-exclusive Koshitanrei rice, a hybrid of the two most popular sake rice strains, Yamadanishiki and Gohyakumangoku.
“Henpei refers to super flat rice polishing, a relatively old style that uses a larger proportion of the opaque starch centre of a sake rice grain, creating a more elegant and clean sake. Created in 1995 to reduce wastage, it’s experiencing a revival due to the market’s focus on sustainability,” he explains.
“Similarly, the Kimoto style of sake brewing, once overshadowed by the quicker and easier Sokujo style brewing, is making a comeback as it creates richer, more acidity and complex sakes.”
