Manuscript Monday: Exploring the World of Japanese Craft Saké

On this weeks Manuscript Monday Lindsay recommends Exploring the World of Japanese Craft Saké by Nancy Masumoto & Michael Tremblay

I can't believe I haven't recommended this book yet, written by my sake mentor, Michael Tremblay, and super saké woman Nancy Masumoto. If you've been wanting to learn more about sake, you need to read this book. They won a James Beard Award for it! Sake is such a great beverage, with so much more complexity than the draft sake you have at your local sushi shop (not that there is anything wrong with that - I often get a carafe of warm saké to go with my nigiri). This book teaches you about how saké is made, the importance of water, saké rice, yeasts, grades, styles, temperatures. It dives into how to taste sake, looking at acidity, alcohol, sweetness, texture, umami, body, aromas, flavours. And all of this is in easy-to-understand infographics. 

Then it goes into stories, both personal from Michael and Nancy, and stories about the people who work in the sake industry in Japan - growers, brewers, presidents of sake associations, "yeast hunters", "the merchants of mold" (when you learn more about saké, you'll understand the importance of mold!). At the end there are some excellent recipes, and a chapter on saké internationally. This is a brilliant book and I'm so honoured that I get to learn from both Michael and Nancy. You can learn from them too, through this book!