Sake is sometimes thought of as the strange warm liquid served at the end of a noodle meal but for Tom and Lucy Wilson, Japan opened their eyes to the smooth and exotic elixir. As a home-brew passion-project turned turbo, they launched the UK’s first sake brewery in June 2017, moving it to Copeland Park in September 2018 to expand the brewery and launch a sake taproom.
Using traditional Japanese techniques to craft a London-style, Tom and Lucy’s take on sake is full-bodied and dry with signature notes such as apple, melon and bubblegum. Kanpai – meaning ‘cheers’ or ‘dry your cup’ in Japanese – spent time sampling, experimenting, and producing many different varieties of sake. Best enjoyed fresh – the closer to home it’s made, the better.
Kanpai’s sensuous sake is made from just four ingredients: rice, water, yeast and koji (a magic mould also used to make things such as soy sauce) and the process isn’t the easiest but the results are worth every sip. Be sure to try their sparkling sake ‘Fizu’, made in a Champagne-style secondary fermentation in the bottle, the perfect aperitif.
You can join a brewery tour and tasting on Saturdays at 12:30pm. Or enjoy a fresh sake, Japanese beer or cocktail at the taproom on:
- Wednesday 5-10pm (happy hour 5-7pm)
- Thursday 5-10pm (happy hour 5-7pm)
- Friday 5-11pm
- Saturday 12-11pm
- Sunday 12-7pm
Plus join us for special events and brewing experiences!