Berlin is the German capital of Weg-Bier (“beer for the road”) and exciting new international food trends. It is also the birthplace of the first “Weg-Sake” which will be designed in Germany. The company Go-Sake, founded in 2017, started out with the aim of bringing the Japanese national drink to the attention of Germans and clearing up the prejudices surrounding it.
“In Germany, sake is still completely unknown to many people or is associated with strong, warm alcohol. The fact that sake, with its 400 flavours and an average alcohol content of 15-16%, is a highly complex and digestible drink with many positive properties (vegan, gluten-free, sulfate-free) and an outstanding brewing tradition is completely new to many,” says Dr. Bastian Schwithal, Managing Director and co-founder of Go-Sake.
Go-Sake started out with the goal of inspiring younger people to try sake. The idea was born during a joint meeting with sake experts at the Japanese Embassy in Berlin, at which it was discussed how Japanese sake culture could be better introduced to Germans. A handy bottle size of 180 millilitres aims to give sake beginners the chance to try high-quality premium Japanese sake for a relatively low price without having to buy a whole 1-litre bottle.
In Japan, there are about 1,500 sake breweries, and it is crucial to find suitable products which will make it easier for inexperienced sake consumers to get started, says Dr. Bastian Schwithal.
In order to achieve this goal, the Go-Sake team traveled through Japan for weeks and met numerous sake brewers to find the perfect partners for the Go-Sake project. It settled on the Arimitsu Brewery from Kochi, the Kita Brewery in Nara, and the Yamamoto Honke Brewery in Kyoto.
Go-Sake offers a wide range of different types of sake, like Honjozo, Junmai, Junmai Ginjo, Junmai Daiginjo, & Daiginjo – a craft sake for every taste. In addition to selling its convenient sake bottles, the Go-Sake team is keen to share the Japanese culture that goes along with it. For this reason, it is organizing Japanese cultural events, food tastings and pairings, and workshops.
More information can be found at www.go-sake.com.
