Over the course of these five instalments, I have been writing about the process of making sake from rice intended for consumption.

Technically, it is possible to produce it. Nor is it prohibited by law. However, it has hardly gained any traction. The reason for this lay outside the realm of sake brewing itself. Finally, let us summarise what needs to be done.

The rice we eat and sake breweries operate on different systems

As I wrote in #2, the current structure of the sake industry has taken shape over a period of less than 100 years.

Rice suitable for sake brewing has been developed, rice polishing techniques have advanced, production areas capable of consistently producing this rice have emerged, and contracts have been established between breweries and farmers. It is a well-designed system.

Consequently, the distance between the farmers who grow the rice and the sake breweries has increased. The rice is distributed via agricultural co-operatives and wholesalers, whilst the breweries source their raw materials through the specialised supply chain for sake rice. Even though they are located in the same region, these two groups do not usually interact.

Rice prices are currently fluctuating significantly. Last year, there was said to be a shortage, whilst this year there is a surplus. As rice paddies can only be managed on an annual basis, these fluctuations have a direct impact on farmers.

Looking at sake breweries from an agricultural perspective

At this point, I’d like to try looking at things from a different perspective.

There are still over 1,000 sake breweries in Japan. Whilst they are generally regarded as sake producers, from an agricultural perspective, they have another side to them.

These are businesses that possess the facilities and technology to source, process and turn rice into finished products for distribution. Moreover, the vast majority of them are located in rural areas, close to rice paddies.

If you were to set up a new facility for processing agricultural produce, you would need land, equipment and a licence. Sake breweries already have all of these.

I am not suggesting that every brewery should produce sake using table rice. However, if there are rice farmers in the local area and a sake brewery nearby, surely there could be a way to bring the two together. This is what I have been writing about in this series.

This isn’t about turning all the leftover rice into sake

First of all, I’ll set out what I can’t do.

Compared to the volume of rice produced for food, the amount of rice available to the sake industry is limited. There are also limits to the production capacity of the breweries. Moreover, simply turning rice into sake does not guarantee that it will sell.

This is not the answer to the problem of surplus rice.

Even so, I do believe it is better to have as many outlets as possible. Some years there is a shortfall; other years there is a surplus. Market prices rise and fall. Rather than leaving farmers to bear the brunt of these fluctuations every time, we should ensure that the produce from the rice fields has multiple destinations.

Eat. Process. Turn into sake. Export. One question is whether we can count the local sake breweries amongst these activities.

Who will take on what?

As I wrote in Part 5, simply connecting farmers and sake breweries directly is not enough to create a product. There is work to be done in between.

If we break down the roles, this is what we get.

Farmers grow rice. They do not need to turn all of it into sake; sometimes, a portion of the crop—after setting aside what they will eat and what they will sell—is sufficient. Nor do they need to set up a sake brewery or obtain a licence to sell sake.

Sake breweries brew sake. There is no need to switch their main focus to brewing with table rice. They should consider whether they can incorporate some local table rice into a portion of their annual production. This is not about disrupting the relationship with sake rice.

What we lack most of all are people to take charge of commercialisation. What batch size should we produce? How much should we budget for brewing costs? Who will supply the bottles and labels? What about licences? Stock levels? Pricing? Sales channels? Without someone to plan all these aspects, even if we manage to brew the sake, it will never become a marketable product.

Wine shops, restaurants and rice shops are the ideal places to stock this product. Rather than selling it as a rare sake, displaying the rice and sake from the same farmer side by side conveys the true significance of this sake. In restaurants, they can serve rice cooked using that farmer’s rice alongside the sake brewed from it.

For those who enjoy drinking sake, this gives them one more reason to choose a particular brand. Perhaps it’s because the rice was grown on terraced fields, or because it was cultivated without pesticides, or simply because it’s locally grown rice that they’re used to eating. Even if you’re not an expert on sake, you can still make that choice.

If the government is to do anything, it should not be brewing alcohol.

This is not to say that we want the system to change. We can still brew sake from table rice under the current system.

If I were to make a request of the government, it would be that they should not treat rice policy, food processing and the promotion of sake breweries as separate issues.

The region has rice paddies and sake breweries. Rather than supporting these two as separate industries, might it be possible to rethink the existing local sake breweries as infrastructure for processing agricultural produce?

Specifically, this could involve supporting small-batch trial brewing, product development, matching farmers with breweries, and testing sales channels. Rather than creating a new system, it would be quicker to increase the number of cases where these initiatives are actually being put into practice.

Rice brewing is not an answer, but a path.

I do not believe there is any need for rice-based brewing to spread nationwide.

That said, if there are rice fields in the area and a sake brewery nearby, it might be worth considering an option that links the two.

There are years when the price of rice rises and years when it falls. Consumption of sake also fluctuates. Whenever such changes occur, rather than leaving it to either the farmers or the breweries alone to make the necessary adjustments, we should ensure that there are more uses for the rice itself.

Rice that we eat can also be turned into sake.

I would like to keep that fact in mind as one of the options to consider in relation to agricultural policy, local industries and product development.

It is not necessary to turn all rice into sake. Nor is it necessary for every brewery to brew sake using table rice. However, it is important to have at least one channel through which locally grown rice is turned into sake at a local brewery.

That’s all there is to it.

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This series has been adapted from the book *Rice Brewing*. The book provides a detailed account of the actual brewing process and the people involved.

Excerpt from the book *Rice Brewing*

CEO of FARM8 ATUSHI KABASAWA