Sake Spotlight - Den Sake Goes Blue
The absolute best part of our twenty two-year history of selling sake is the friends that we have made along this historic journey. There is no better example than Lani and Yoshi Sako, the husband-wife team of Den Sake Brewery, who we have had the honor and pleasure of riding along with for their historic splash in the international craft sake market. These two have been, “Making history one Batch at a time,” and now have set a new course with one of their legendary flagship products.
So we have asked Lani to describe their new product in her words and we look forward to you all tasting this new expression from Den.
Honoring the Past, Crafting the Future: A New Chapter with Den Blue Label
The other night, I found myself enjoying a sunny San Francisco evening with a meal that hit all the right notes—shrimp, leeks, and white beans in a savory broth, brightened up with a squeeze of lemon juice and fresh herbs. Of course, I had to pair it with a glass of our brand new "Den Blue Label" sake. I’ve also been getting into making my own sourdough lately, so naturally, I had a fresh loaf on the side to soak up all the goodness.
This sake just works with the meal. The umami in the shrimp and the acidity from the lemon play really well with the complex flavors of Den Blue Label. It’s got enough depth to handle a rich, flavorful dish without overwhelming it.
As you may have heard, we are no longer brewing our "Den Original" sake made with Calhikari rice, which was a table rice. We were the first (and only) sake brewery to use this varietal, and we used it for 19 batches of Den Original and 9 batches of Den Blanc. This was the rice with which Yoshi honed his brewing skills and technique, finding a way to make delicious sake through much trial and error. It will always be special to us, but we felt it was a good time to try something new.
These days, we’re using Yamada Nishiki from the La Grande farm in Sacramento, continuing our commitment to keeping ingredients as local as possible. By combining traditional brewing methods with the use of shiro-koji (white koji) we avoid adding commercial lactic acid, which helps us brew in a more natural way and creates greater transparency about the ingredients we use.
Den Blue Label is the first batch of this new sake, and while there’s always room to tweak and refine, we’re happy with how it’s turned out. The rice is only polished to 80%, which is a deliberate choice. We wanted to create a sake that’s a bit more complex and interesting. There’s certainly nothing wrong with highly polished daiginjo sakes—they’re fragrant and delicious—but to be honest, when you polish rice down to 50%, it’s relatively straightforward to produce something enjoyable if you have the necessary brewing skills.
Yoshi, our brewer, loves a challenge. He thinks it’s more fun to work with lower polished rice and turn what some might call "off flavors" into something unique. Den Blue Label is full of character. It’s not your typical smooth, floral sake—it’s got more going on, and that’s what makes it special.
So, if you're looking to explore something unique and distinctive, we invite you to experience Den Blue Label.
Den “Blue Label”
From Oakland, California. Junmai Nama. SMV: N/A Acidity: N/A
The nose on this newly crafted sake using Yamadanishiki milled to 80% is a fine collection of sourdough, nutmeg, brioche, celery, croissant, lemon, honeydew, and steamed rice aromas. Say hello to the new “Blue” that drinks like a blueprint for Den sake. Medium-bodied, round, silky, water-like, and plush with an integrated acidity, there is a touch of astringency (shibumi) and some tannin-like dryness on the finish. With a very wine-like movement in the palate, look for dough, unripe cantaloupe, pear, rye bread, toasted rice, and a minty/earthy finish that extols loads of umami goodness. This is prototypical Den sake that awakens the senses with lively feelings and flavors of US grown Yamadanishiki in a heightened acidity flow and a feel good finish. WORD: Blue WINE: Big Reds/Zesty Whites BEER: Crisp Ales FOODS: International spice, American sushi, wine-paired fare, sourdough, lemon-based dishes, crab, shrimp, and oysters.