Umami Mart

Since opening in 2015, Sequoia Sake Brewery has been a gem in the heart of the Bay Area. Located just south of Portrero Hill, founders Noriko Kamei and Jake Myrick use their space as a full-scale sake brewery, as well as a venue to host sake tastings. Here they brew all six of their nama (unpasteurized) […]

The first time I tried an Imada Shuzo (brewery) sake was in 2014 when we opened our bottle shop in Oakland. The savory acidity of the Fukucho Forgotton Fortune junmai made my mouth water, and I have been a convert ever since. I love having Forgotton Fortune with oysters and manila clams, both abundant in […]

As we celebrate Scorpios this month in Sake Gumi, our sake club selections are centered around yamahai and kimoto-style sakes. One Sake Gumi offering is by Kitaya Brewery called Souden, an earthy, yogurty brew that is a current staff favorite. Yoko and I (along with Johnny, Anders, and TB) were fortunate to visit Kitaya on […]

Last Sunday, 27 Sake Gumi members took a field trip to the Bay Area’s very own sake brewery – Sequoia Sake in San Francisco. Jake Myrick, his wife Noriko Kamei, and Jake’s friend Warren Pfal started Sequoia Sake together in the lower Dogpatch neighborhood of San Francisco in 2014. What makes Sequoia Sake so special […]

First there was sake, brewed since 1823 at Kiuchi Brewery in Ibaraki prefecture in Japan. Then, Nest beer in 1996 — catapulting the Hitachino brand around the world. We then learned during our visit that the owner, Mr. Toshiyuki Kiuchi has been dabbling in making shochu, sherry and wine. And now, we unveil their copper […]

Photos by Yoko Kumano Yoko and I have the best job. We own our own business, love our staff, have rad customers, and get to travel frequently for Umami Mart. It’s not always glamorous — like when I spent half the day earlier this week schlepping around boxes at our warehouse in the rain, receiving […]

Last month, Kayoko and I visited Portland for the 5th annual SakeFest PDX. It’s always a pleasure to hang out in Portland, and this time, we even took a side trip to the Sake One brewery in the Willamette Valley’s Forest Grove. Nestled between wineries and berry growers is Oregon’s own sake brewery. Operating since […]

Sake is one of those things that really makes you appreciate locality. It’s like the meyer lemons in Berkeley. It’s totally cliche and played out, but local food traditions are a sight to behold. The fact that they are native to their land, makes them thrive and produce in abundance, giving the locals many, many […]

In 2011, we visited Hakkaisan, a sake brewery in Niigata. As one of the most well-known breweries in Japan, it was a wonderful experience to walk through the vast facilities, hosted by the production master, Mr. Nagumo. You can read about our visit here. Yoko and I never thought we would visit this part of Japan again, […]

During our visit to Aoki Brewery in Niigata, we were told that the three most important factors of brewing sake is the rice, the water and the people. The rice that breweries use for sake-making are not the usual grains you find at the grocery store — they use special rice strains like Yamadanishiki, Koshitanrei, Ohmachi, […]