Artisan Sakemaker~
This little spot on Railspur Alley tucked away between various
arts and crafts stores is an unlikely place to find a sake producer.
But they claim to be the first junmaishu namazake producer in
Canada of its kind
(although I'm not clear what "of its kind" means exactly -
on Granville Island? Producing namazake? Small craft production?).
At least everything is hand-pressed and hand-bottled here,
and I haven't found that elsewhere in Vancouver.
They do shy away from the traditional production methods
a bit though.
Normally sake is a Winter product. But here they produce it year round.
So you won't find a sugidama hanging outside to let you know
when the sake is ready.
I was walking around Granville Island and I just
happened to stumble upon this sake place.
What drew me in was their $5 trio of sake tasting.
Price: About $5 for a trio sampler and $6 for a glass of sake.
SakeKasu Bob Bon $7
The person at the counter was very personable,
a bit quiet for a salesperson.
So I had to probe him with lots of questions.
I never knew there was different kinds of sake.
Artisan Sakemaker
Artisan Sakemaker
Of the three sake varieties I tried,
I liked the Osake Junmai Nama Genshu the best.
It packed a punch and I liked its dry taste.
Artisan Sakemaker
Artisan Sakemaker
The store (distillery?) itself is very modest,
however the actual sake is made and bottled inside of it.
For five dollars you can do a sake tasting of three
different kinds of sake they produce
(or you can sample them individually for two dollars each).
As I am far from a sake expert,
I appreciated the fact that the staff explained the difference
between each sake and which foods each would go well with.
You can pick up a 750ml bottle for around thirty dollars
depending on the particular type
(they also produce a carbonated sake which
I really wanted to try, but unfortunately they don't offer that one
as part of the tasting... so I had to buy a bottle).
I really enjoyed the tasting and would highly recommend it
to anyone visiting Granville Island.
I had the Junmai Ginjo Genshu and it was light, refreshing,
and smells amazingly fruity.
It was probably my favourite.
The other one that I really like was the Junmai Nama Nigori,
which was cloudy but more bold and earthier.
Artisan Sakemaker
If you have never tried artisanal sake, this is the place to go!
In addition, they also sell the 'mash' that the sake is created from.
The mash has very high nutritional value (especially protein - apparently
the sake mash has similar quantities to beef)
and is usually discarded after the sake has been made.
Artisan, however, is selling the mash which you can use for cooking.
They had (free) samples of this as well.
It tasted pretty bland (basically tasted like mushy rice)
however I think it could be pretty tasty with a little work.
you can buy a very large container of this for very little.
I love drinking Sake and having Oyster ~
Artisan Sakemaker
They are focusing heavily on food pairing for their product through
relationships
with local chefs and special tasting menus.
Recently Angus An at Gastropod did a full on sake tasting menu
that was paired with the product from here, and it got good reviews.
Artisan Sakemaker
This is an excellent source for sakekasu, which has started
to pop up at various restaurants around town which mostly
source it from here.
There have been some creative applications of it as local
chefs have started to play with it including a sakekasu sorbet
at Gastropod.
You can pick some up yourself here and do your
own experimenting!
When you visit the storefront you can take part in a sake tasting
for a nominal charge, and they are very happy to talk about
their suggested food pairings for each of their varieties.
This certainly rounds out the offerings on Granville Island,
and somehow oddly fits in with the various other art shops
nearby due to the more artisanal feel of the product.
Artisan Sakemaker
Ksua Japanese balls~Artisan Sakemaker
Artisan Sakemaker
Ksua Japanese balls~Artisan Sakemaker
SakeKasu Bob Bon ~Dair -free high quality signature chocolate infused
with Artisan Sakekasu and made by a Japanese artisan chocolaterie
,this combination of Sakekasu and cocoa creates unique
experience of fusion confectionery.
Artisan Sakemaker
Address~1339 Railspur Alley
Granville Island
Vancouver, BC V6H 4G9
Neighbourhood: Granville Island/False Creek~
(604) 685-7253
http://www.artisansakemaker.com
Hours:
Mon-Sun 11:30 am - 6 pm
Good for Groups:Yes
Accepts Credit Cards:Yes
Parking:Street (some are free)
Attire:Casual
Price Range:$$
Good for Kids:No
Takes Reservations:Yes
Delivery:No
Take Away:Yes
Waiter Service:No
Outdoor Seating:No
Alcohol:Beer & Wine Only
Wheelchair Accessible:Yes
2012 06 19
