Vintage Numano's Sake Co Japanese Barrel California PIRMI Pacific Int'l - Empty
Measures approximately 8" high. Barrel is empty.
Overall in very good, pre-owned condition. See images for details.
Ships next day.
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...It wouldn't be until the end of the 1970s that the next crop of new Sake breweries started opening, primarily in California. It seems only fitting that the first of these new breweries was established in Berkeley, California, the same city where the first ever U.S. Sake brewery was located. With a growing cost of Japanese Sake imports, it was believed that Sake, of similar quality, could be produced in the U.S. but at a significant decrease in cost. A partnership developed between Curtis M. Rocca Sr., president and founder of Pacific International Rice Mills Inc. and Taketsugu Numamo, Japanese born importer and owner of Numano International, Inc.
In 1978, they converted a dairy on Addison street into a Sake brewery, establishing the Numano Sake Co. Their brewmaster was Seizaburo Numano, a 40 year old Japanese native, who worked with two assistants, also native to Japan. They used rice from near Sacramento and went into commercial production in 1979, producing about 150,000 gallons of Sake, with plans to make about 250,000 gallons in 1980. They made two labels: Koshu Masamune, aimed at the Japanese palate, intended to be drunk warm, and made mainly for restaurants; and Numano’s Sake, aimed at the American palate, made to be more wine-like, and intended to be drunk cold. They understood though that “The American market for the cold sake has yet to be created.”
Back in 1975, Japan exported about 333,000 gallons of Sake to the U.S. which increased to 487,000 gallons in 1978. However, in 1979, the amount decreased to 410,000 gallons, which could be due, at least in part, to consumers buying Sake from the new Numano Sake Co. In addition, in 1979, Numano shipped about 5-10% of their own Sake to Japan and hoped to send even more in 1980.
Other Sake breweries would soon open, following the lead of Numano Sake Co, but that is a tale for another time.