Japan and Bhutan to partner for production of Japanese alcoholic beverage 'Sake'

After a conference in Thimphu which was presented by a Japanese Sake manufacturing company called Tsuchida Sake Brewery, the company is keen on setting up a production plant in Bhutan, reported the Bhutan Live.

As reported by Bhutan Live, the Embassy of Japan in India held the "Japan-Bhutan Food Culture Exchange Symposium" in Thimphu. Ms Kyoko HOKUGO, Economic Minister of the Embassy of Japan in India, and the Bhutanese government officials and people from Thimphu's food, beverage, and hotel service industries participated in the symposium.

An official with the Embassy of Japan in India, which also covers Bhutan, stated his vision for Japanese sake to be produced in Bhutan.

"In Bhutan, they drink a kind of distilled liquor called 'ara,' which is made from grains such as wheat or rice. In particular, the drink is indispensable for festivals in the country. In parts of the country, the people brew another drink from rice called 'singchang' for their own consumption. I sensed some overlap in our countries' cultures, with the close connection between alcohol and festivals," said the officials of the Embassy of Japan in India.

The Sake in this brewery is produced with the help of the traditional 'kimito method'.

Using water, Koji mould (a mould used to ferment alcohol) and mostly unpolished rice, the Sake is brewed through the activity of microorganisms that inhabit the brewery.

The company's sixth-generation owner, 46-year-old Yuji Tsuchida, said that he returned the company to using traditional techniques in 2017, because, modern brewing methods using lactic acid bacteria or yeast end up making all sake taste similar, according to the Bhutan Live.

According to Bhutan Live, in 2021, the company used a variety of medium-to-long-grain Indica rice, cultivated in Bhutan, instead of the usual short-grain Japonica, to brew their experimental sake. The embassy further stated that in addition to rice production, Bhutan also has a culture of producing "chang or chhaang", a brewed rice liquor (like Japanese "Doburoku or unrefined sake") for private consumption in some areas, which has a strong affinity with the Japanese culture, where sake is enjoyed throughout each of the four seasons while sake and rituals are closely related. So, there is a substantial similarity and a reason to believe that this collaboration could work out for the best.

According to the embassy, "Japanese brewing techniques could be a hint for Bhutan, which is poor in terms of foreign currency buying power, to make a processed agricultural product aimed at other countries."

( With inputs from ANI )

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