The Ancient Art of Sake Making

At Takara Sake in Berkeley, a museum demonstrating the tools of the 1900's and earlier contains many fascinating relics of past, small-scale sake production. Takara Sake now has large stainless steel tanks and modern methods, but respect their past. A wonderful place to visit and taste sake!

These tanks are large, a co-sketcher stood nearby to show the scale, but I didn't sketch fast enough to get her in there! The one on the left is about 6' or so high. The pot on far right is actually the firepot, which is positioned below the tank. 

Sake Museum Visit

Takara Sake USA Inc. in Berkeley has been acquiring and preserving a wide array of sake-making artifacts and tools from Japan over the years. You can see  the tools used by Toji (brew masters) and brewery workers from the early 20th century.Wonderful subjects to sketch and a tasting room right next door! – Cathy McAuliffe

Takara Sake Museum, Berkeley

Tools of the trade.

Sake-making tools, 19th century   ~Susan Ford