Sake Industry News. Issue #102.

Welcome to Issue #102 of SIN.

There's a lot of "recognition" happening in this issue.

Recognition can come in a number of forms: awards, regional protection, cultural asset protection etc.

In an ideal world the mere fact that sake is delicious, affordable and readily available would be enough to entice more drinkers and support the industry. Unfortunately this isn't the case and breweries still need a leg-up anywhere they can get it to gain attention and get into the psyche of the wider general public.

So putting aside the validity and, in some cases, frivolity of such recognition, as long as attention is being drawn to sake and the people that make it, then that's all we can ask for.

And now for the news...

Yamagata University Steps Into Sake

Yamagata- Yamagata University's Department of Agriculture is now offering a sake-focused course to its students. The nihonshugaku (study of sake) course will offer a wide variety of knowledge about sake and its production.

The course is made up of eight sessions. The first lecture, held in November, covered topics such as the current state of the Yamagata sake industry (home to 51 breweries), sake rice, k?ji, yeast, sake and health, and the history of sake. The lecturers conducting the classes include professors from Yamagata University and other prefectural universities, as well as representatives of local breweries and the head of the prefectural industrial research institute.  

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