Welcome to our the second part of our first Sips and Snacks episode! This is our last episode recorded during the pandemic shut down. We go over a few more sake and dream of visiting an izakaya.
Welcome to our first Sips and Snacks episode! I’m sitting down with friend of the show Greg Beck to sip on sake and umeshu, snack on some potential pairings, and learn a thing a two.
Peter Kim joins us on behalf of Kizakura USA. Peter shares the unique beer and sake offerings from Kizakura Brewery in Kyoto with retailers across the United States. He joined us to share the history of this unusual dual brewery, along with their line of flavored sake, and the Kyoto and Lucky craft beer series.
Frank Rodgers chats with Billy Melnyk, co-founder, CEO, and visionary behind Soto Sake. They talk about Billy's lifelong love of beverages starting at an early age in Ottawa, Canada. Billy also shares his love for music, travel, fine dining, and what led him to leaving a dream career at Bacardi to launch a global saké brand.
Frank brings back Greg Beck, the accidental sake expert (and shochu advisor) to provide some fun pairings with Paul Nakayama's Nankai Shochu, a few different types of sake, and our first snack offering: Rayu Senbei. How will our chili oil rice cracker pair with Greg's recommendations?
In this info-packed episode, "accidental" sake expert Greg Beck takes us through the fascinating history and varieties of sake. We'll get into how sake is brewed, the regions of Japan that produce it, and why you shouldn't be so quick to dismiss Nihonshu because of a poor prior experience.
Our founder Frank Rodgers talks with Long Beach-based sake sommelier and shochu advisor Greg Beck about how he went from a high school student in Arizona taking German classes, to an "accidental" expert on the Japanese craft of sake making.
