Takara Sake USA
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 12:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m. - Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Good for Kids: No
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
20 reviews
Neighborhood: East Oakland
"Don't blink when you come off the 23rd Avenue exit --- or you'll have to pull some fancy drift maneuvers to get back to that "first right"…" read more »
89 Reviews for Takara Sake USA
Sake tasting=free booze=yes please=fun.
Tour of the facilities and insight into the origins of sake and its production.= slightly boring = no thanks. Was bored by the exhibit. Go for the tasting, discover what kind of sake you actually like...they are not created equal. Taste some sake and then head over to the vivarium...sweet saturday afternoon.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Funny (2)
Cool (1)
I have a bottle of Takara Cho Shiku Bai Nigori sake in my refrigerator at all times. Granted, it is not the absolute best sake I have ever had in my life (being raised in Hawaii, which is like a mini-Osaka with all the great food, has spoiled me), but it is decent, and quite inexpensive, AND made locally. Today, my friend and I decided to take advantage of our lack of obligations and head out to Berkeley to go to the free sake tasting room at Takara.
Takara's warehouse is located in a strange area, right next to some railroad tracks. The door is very inconspicuous, and you have to park on the street. Once you walk in, you are hit with the smell of sake in the air. (Don't worry, it's not that horrible stench of 2am bar.) Upstairs, the tasting room is a quiet and pretty, obviously Japanese-themed room with two platforms (stages?), a bar, a movie viewing area, and a few fake rocks. There is an attached room that serves as the "museum", with some artifacts related to sake making.
They let you watch a video that explains the sake making process, which falls somewhere between wine-making and beer-making, then you can head over to the bar and try all the sake on their list as well as two different types of plum wine. I was a soldier and tried everything (thank you, designated driver!), and walked out with two bottles of fruit-flavor infused sake - lychee and plum.
PS The man leading our sake tasting was really friendly, knowledgeable, and didn't make me feel like a lush. Always a good thing.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
Funny (2)
Cool (3)
What's not to like?!?
Low key sake tasting, both hot and cold.
So, so good. I like the drier sakes and love the unfiltered.
Keiko, Berna, etc. are "spot on" in their reviews.
FYI Daily 12-6pm only
Kind of weird that it's in such a huge room, but when you see
that they rent it out, this makes sense!
You may have checked out the musuem already... but I'd
definitely recommend you spend an extra time walking
down to the outlets and spend some time to sober up.
BTW, only street parking and the entrance is, as they say,
not very obvious!
This weekend, Sunday, May 18th they're closed...
check out the website:
http://www.takarasake....
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (3)
Funny (3)
Cool (4)
I've lived in the Bay Area 12 years and I only yesterday made it to the Takara Sake Factory. It was everything I hoped it would be! There's a cool little museum with the hundreds of little tools used to make sake, and some very informative diagrams showing exactly how the process works. It turns out that there is a parallel fermentation process, unlike that in beer or wine, where koji mold turns the rice's starch into glucose at the same time as yeast is turning the glucose into alcohol.
There is a video too, and the ladies at the bar will, in halting Engrish, *urge* you to watch the video. Do not be tempted to watch the video. The lurching edits and accidental rapid in-out pans on extreme closeups of the kind of food Takara thinks would pair well with their sakes will leave you feeling like you had one too many Kampai moments on a fishing boat in a Japanese hurricane. The video is a trap; proceed instead directly to the free, delicious alcohol supply.
And the sake is good! The imported ones are fantastic, as is the Nigori Creme de Sake. And you won't believe the price - I got a case of Creme de Sake for $40! And then they threw in a beautiful book to boot. I brought one of the $7 (~750ml) bottles to a party immediately after and we emptied it in a hurry - *so* tasty.
Four stars for the crappy video and the fact that we had to wait about half an hour to get pours at the sake bar despite the fact that there were no more than 10 other people in the facility and there were two bartenders. But fundamentally, this is a very fun and educational experience and you can buy some amazingly good sake for amazingly cheap.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
Cool (1)
Three words. FREE SAKE TASTING.
This is where I discovered my love for nigori sake.
The staff is incredibly knowledgeable. I left with a nice buzz and a few bottles of delicious sake w/o a retailer markup. Love it.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
Funny (1)
Cool (2)
If you are ever in Berkeley..wandering the streets after a nice stroll down Telegraph, head over to the Takara Sake (brewing?) Company. They offer free Sake tastings in a nice tasting room above where the Sake is made.
The staff was so friendly and (of course) very knowledgeable. Over the course of 20 minutes, we tasted about 8-10 different types of sake. My favorite is still Nigori (unfiltered Sake) but found a few other types that are just as noteworthy. You can also purchase the Sake for practically pennies. I got one bottle for $8 and one for $5. Pretty good deal if you ask me- and while I probably won't be going back soon (just doesn't seem right since it is FREE) I will keep this place in mind as a great place to bring family and friends who are visiting from out of town.
This Berkeley brewery has been in production since 1982 and it's possibly been that long since an update to the building. The earthquake-cracked exterior has seen better days with graffiti scrawling across the dirty white surface. The small Japanese garden is withering and poorly maintained succumbing to overgrowth.
From the moment I stepped into the building, the sweet smell of musky alcohol was detectable in the air. Once upstairs, an older gentleman greeted us and made us feel welcome, instructing us to tour the museum and watch an informative video afterwards.
The small museum does an adequate job of explaining the historical sake-making process through diagrams and timelines. The collection of artifacts help bring that history to 3D life.
The "media room" is directly outside the museum's door, really more of an alcove housing an ancient Mitsubishi bigscreen TV and an equally dated looking group of stackable white chairs. The actual video was very informative, putting everything we'd seen in the museum into a more understandable picture of the art of making sake.
Once the video finished, we were free to receive our sake tasting at the bar. The bar is located in the peaceful and airy tasting room, made largely of Douglas Fir and in a traditional Japanese style. As the video explained, the floor is mostly granite finished tile with blue glass tiles set in long rows to mimic water flowing through the rice paddies. Overhead, large white birds float through the air, confined by their mobile strings.
The sake tasting was also an educational experience and an excellent way to learn about the different types of sake. We were served 11 different sake, some warm and most chilled in little bitty white ceramic Takara cups. My favorites were the slightly nutty Shirakabe Gura Tokubetsu Junmai imported from Japan and the Sho Chiku Bai Nigori Silky Mild with it's smooth and creamy taste.
This is one place I'd recommend stopping to visit if you're anywhere near the Bay area. Sake lovers will especially enjoy the history lesson behind their favorite drink, and even those who don't particularly favor this light tasting alcohol(like me) may be pleasantly surprised to find that there are a few selections worth drinking.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Funny (1)
Cool (1)
I like:
free stuff
booze
Berkeley
japanese people
Takara, has all 4. Go there, partake of their sake, pretend you can taste a difference between the organic and the regular sake. Tour the museum, throw a penny into the bucket, buy a bottle and go drink it at the Marina. Call in sick to work.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (7)
Funny (8)
Cool (7)
Friendly and knowledgeable staffs. A cool sake museum. Nice huge tasting room. and.... most importantly...
FREE SAKE... AUTOMATIC 5 STARS.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Funny (1)
Cool (1)
Bomb diggity damn, this place is the schizzle!
(Me+ alcohol=channeling my inner Snoop Dog)
I don't know why I've lived in the Bay Area almost 7 years and never been here. Okay one reason is that I previously didn't like sake, but they didn't poor the gross stuff, but the good (as it gets stuff).
And it's free. Free-dizzle.
The museum area was cool. Much love to the people who threw BART tickets and an old Visa card in one of the barrels along with the change~I needed the giggles, and that was before we tried the sake.
Beware of the plastic boulders precariously placed near the tasting area! Faux-support isn't great after taking a dozen or so sake shots.
Really, when free booze is involved, how can you not give a place 5 stars? This tasting is worth calling in sick for. Yes, you have to go through the museum (which is small) and watch a movie before you get to taste, but both were interesting and I am a lot more knowledgeable about sake now. Then the tasting occurs and you basically get to try everything that they sell at Takara -- which ended up being about 20 (small) glasses of sake. The tasting room is a really nice setting, and the kind of place I would like to have a small party -- if only my friends would leave San Francisco once and a while. But really, it's totally worth the trip - even if you are one of those people who never leave the city.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Cool (1)
Another reason why we dig Berkeley.
The free sake tasting is offered everyday from 12pm to 6pm. It's a great opportunity to learn, taste and purchase a variety of Takara brands - including junmai, ginjo, nama and nigori sake, as well as shochu and the world's first rice-based vodka.
My two favorites are the Organic Nama and Tokubetsu Junmai. The Creme de Sake, which is drier than the Nigori, is also good...and it goes well with spicy food.
The tasting room is located on the second floor, along with the tatami room (for display only), the sake museum, and the video room where you can watch a 10-minute documentary on the history of sake.
For those looking for a party venue, the tasting room is available for rental, from 6pm to 10pm daily. The space accommodates over 100 people, and rates are $100 to $200 per hour - depending on the day and the size of your group.
The staff is incredibly polite, knowledgeable and approachable. They taught us many things in both English and Japanese.
There's no parking lot at the factory, so be ready to street park.
In sum, this is a wonderful place to visit at least once and to bring visitors from out of town. Frankly, once is enough for me, given the fact that most Takara products, if not all, can be purchased at local markets at lower prices.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (10)
Funny (3)
Cool (9)
This is a good place to learn all about Sake as they make many varieties (plum wine too) on site and have a good exhibit explaining the process. You can sample the different kinds while an employee explains the differences. Then you can purchase bottles of the ones you like to take home!! While in the area check out 4th Street for shopping and dining...there is a lot to do right nearby.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
This is a really good place for dates. If your date is too stiff, you can bring her here to loose her up. After 5 shots of sake I can guarantee that even Hilary Clinton will look pretty darn good cross the dinner table.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Funny (5)
Seven days a week of free sake tasting.
Went today and took a walk around the sake museum. The staff was very friendly and knowledgeable and we got to try about 5 or 6 different sakes from dry to sweet. We do prefer the japanese import, but trying some of the local sakes was quite an experience.
We ended up taking a small selection home, will definetly come back on a regular basis to re-stock.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Cool (1)
***UPDATED 11/18/2007****
Obviously I didn't know what the heck I was saying back early this year. My only excuse is that I only had a month of drinking experience at the time of the initial review.
Sake tastes MUCH better in Japan. From what I heard from the staff at Takara, the California rice, although has improved over years, is still not the optimal, compared to special rice produced in Japan especially for sake. California rice has a smaller and rounder shape, making it hard to shave down to make Ginjo, and the core of rice does not have as much starch, making the sake less flavorful.
Anyhow, if you have a choice between the man and the woman pouring sake, choose the man. He's more knowledgeable and speaks better English.
***ORIGINAL REVIEW 1/9/2007***
How have I been missing this place for so long? This place is a must if you want to get "Sake 101" from an expert while tasting 5 ~ 8 samples of sake with no fee, no commitment to purchase.
Here, you will learn that:
1) the temperature of sake can drastically change the taste. Usually, Junmai-shu is not viewed as "high grade" sake, but its flavor enhances a lot when it is drank warm.
2) sake made and bottled in the U.S. is as good as imports, if not better. Apparently, rice grown here has improved so much over the years that the quality of California sake has also gotten better. So the fact that Japanese grocery stores sometimes sell a 1.5L bottle of Shochikubai for $3.99 on sale only means you are getting a great value!
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (5)
Funny (4)
Cool (5)
If at all possible you should try and follow a group of elderly Japanese women in the tour. There is absolutely nothing cuter than watching their faces turn progressively redder and when they start to giggle you just want to take them home and keep them forever! Ah, the lovely Japanese and their low alcohol tolerance.
That being said, the sake is damn good. I've been buying it for years at Berkeley Bowl and Tokyo Fish Market. I didn't know I could get it for free! I always loved the Nigori unfiltered but I discovered that I like the Organic Raw (Nama) better! Oh yeah, I'm a rebel, I like the power of raw.
Yeah for free sake! Yeah for Organic Nama! Yeah for . . . shit, I'm drunk.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
Funny (3)
Cool (2)
Very cool indeed. Is it just me, or is this place one of the Bay Area's best kept secrets? I mean, I'm review # 72, but we're talking free alcohol here! One of me & my BF's favorite east bay excursions involves brunch at the Thai Buddhist temple followed by sake tasting at the Takara Sake factory! (He introduced me to both of these phenomena, I have to give him credit!)
I actually learned a lot about sake by coming here! They have you watch a little video before the tasting that explains how sake is made, and then they let you sample several different types of sake on the house; our server even quizzed us on some of the info in the video to make sure we were paying attention!
The museum area and the tastings are located above the actual factory, and you can look down below and watch the sake being bottled and such, in true factory-line manner! So rad!
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Funny (1)
Cool (1)
Not very intriguing in the way of the *tour*, but it is still pretty cool that this major distiller is right here in the East Bay. You get to sample some, and pick some up for the holidays.
To me, it is kind of a cool first or second date thing to do. You walk around 4th street and the maybe meander over to Takara (tasting room is open 12-6 most days, but always double check).
Funny, I have never seen the video, but it has been 3 months since I have been there. I have been here and to Hakasan in Napa. I liked the building better in Napa, but I've had more fun at Takara.
This is up in the cuts! Not really but its across the tracks and looks ghetto. Not much to look at or get excited about but once you step into the tasting room you know its going to be a good time!
The Staff are very knowledgeable and know everything there is to know about Sake. They have a large selection.. and all so very cheap.. Maybe ill save up and get their $50 bottle of Antique Extra Ginjo Sake! They take you through close to their whole selection in their free tasting! I get tired of wine sometimes and love a warm bottle of Sake with some Sashimi!
Our visit to Takara Sake was to be a quick stop on our way out of Berkeley. It was noon on Sunday, I'd never been to a Sake plant before and had very little expectation.
First of all, we were charmed by the charisma of the gentleman who welcomed us (the first patrons of the day) into the door as he was opening up. He was still setting up so he set us down in front of the orientation video. I learned quite a bit about how Sake is made and was surprised at how it differed from Beer and Wine making.
Adjacent to the tasting room is a mini museum of old sake making instruments. The collection is quite extensive, and Takara went to great lengths to preserve and caption each and every item.
The highlight of our visit to Takara was the tasting, of course. The same gentleman who welcomed us, took a good twenty five minutes to explain and pour many different types of Sake so that we could taste them side by side. Others arrived to taste too, but since they seemed more interested in just drinking as much free alcohol infused liquid as they possibly could, he spent more time with us and actually allowed us to sample more than I would say is a normal amount. Ironically we were noticibly more tipsy upon walking out than the pack of uncultured freeloaders behind us.
What was my favorite Sake you ask? Sho Chiku Bai Nigori easily beat all the rest.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Cool (2)
Sake is the drink of my people, therefore I love Takara Sake factory.
Not only can you actually see the sake being bottled, you can taste the fruit of their labor...and let me tell you, labor never tasted so sweet.
I absolutely LOVE the nigori and ginjo. Their flavored sakes are also very yummy (fuji apple is my favorite---it's perfect for appletinis).
*Be warned, the tasting is "free" but you have to take a tour and watch a video on sake making before you can taste. I definitely think it's worth it! This would be a perfect way to kill time on someone's 21st birthday--take the tour in the afternoon, do a little tasting, and then hit up bars at night.
I've been to the Takara Sake tasting room twice now, and it's been a delight both times.
The hostesses usually want you to poke around the little sake museum and watch the informational DVD before the tasting, and both can be enjoyable though perhaps a tad dull. Make sure you look inside the giant buckets in the museum though, each of them has about $5 worth of change inside, just out of reach. I guess sake buckets are the new wishing wells.
The tasting itself is very informative for the uninitiated, taking you down a list of about 13 different varieties of sake and allowing you to sample one of each of the different varieties that they offer, while explaining the differences between them and telling you about the optimum serving temperatures for each variety.
And of course at the end of the tasting you can buy any of their many kinds of sake at less-than-retail prices, and get an additional 10% discount if you buy a 12-bottle mix-and-match case.
BONUS: If you ask about their cooking sake they'll give you photocopies of some recipe sheets and let you try a simple and excellent teriyaki sauce you can make with it, that's just 4 parts cooking sake, 3 parts soy sauce, and then grated ginger and garlic to taste.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
Funny (1)
Cool (1)
I used to not get sake. I actually used to think it was gross. Clearly, I was mistaken and misinformed. Luckily, over the years I have come to realize that sake is good stuff and that like most brewed alcoholic beverages, comes in many different varieties, some of which I like better than others. This factory will teach you all about sake through (free!) tastings and exhibits. It's definitely worth the trip.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
Cool (2)
Oh come now people! The "tour" is basically a room full of artifacts and a video tape that should've been retired a long time ago. You ALL know you went there for the free tasting. Poseurs!
We got there at an off time during an off week, so we were served in a rather relaxed manner. We asked questions, chatted a bit. She didn't push a sale or anything, it wouldn't be very Japanese of her after all. She explained this and that, gave us a taste. Then she brought out the stuff they kept around for the *ahem "Americans" she said with a giggle, ie the various fruit flavored sakes.
The price is right, so after getting a little toasty and having gone through the litany, we hunched our heads in shame and walked out with bottles of lychee, apple, and plum sake.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (5)
Funny (4)
Cool (4)
If you don't want to drive the hour to Napa, the Sake factory is a good alternative. The tour isn't as involved as anything you'd see in Napa though - you just you walk around a room with signs explaining things - you don't actually get to walk around the plant itself.
The best part is the tasting. You get to try many different types of sake from filtered to unfiltered, and best of all plum wine. No one else was there when we were so we had all our flights of sake within 15 minutes. I even left slightly buzzed.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Cool (1)
We went here on a Saturday afternoon as I've wanted to come out here for a while and boy was I glad!! Although from the outside, it doesnt look that nice, when you step foot in the tasting room, you feel at ease. When its crowded, you might end up waiting 30 mins b4 you get to the counter. There are only 2 counters w/ 2 servers, so you might end up waiting. Supposedly it gets crowded after 3 in the afternoon. There's a nice little museum and video in the bldg that tells you a history on sake. The tasting experience is what I really enjoyed though. The lady that served us had a lot of knowledge of sake and let us try additional "premium" sake. I love how they're so polite! We ended up buying lots of bottles from them! kampai!!!
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
what a great establishment to have in our own back yard. Lots of towns in California have wineries and great restaurants, but how many can boast having a sake production place?
All this time when I was driven past it on the way to the long-defunct House of Usher I had no idea what lay within those walls, until a spontaneous and rainy afternoon.
This place has some of the late 70's/early 80s still in it's veins, but I didn't come for that. The museum is neat, the video informative, and the tasting room was really quite attractive. We didn't get a tour of their production plant, but I didn't expect to get as much as I did.
The sake we tasted was very enjoyable and we discovered some new favorites like their flavoured ones. They had this plum wine that to me, tasted like marzipan. CRAAAAZY! The folks pouring were quite knowledgeable and that was a big plus.
I look forward to bringing my out of town friends there as part of a 'get to know the East Bay' tour!
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (4)
Funny (1)
Cool (6)
I went here when I was 20 years old because my friend said they had excellent sake and that they didn't ask for I.D. My friend told me that they give you plenty of free samples.
Now I love Japanese things in general. like manga, anime, sushi, karate, fashion and J-Pop music as well as classical Japanese music played on traditional instruments.
I had tried sake before but never really enjoyed it. It was pretty much like vodka or tequilla to me. So I went to Takara Sake in Berkeley right by the University exit of Highway 80. I always saw the building and it was nice to hear that you could go there and taste some of their products.
So I tried a few different kinds and this where I found out that I don't like sake. Was it because takara Sake makes a bad product? I highly doubt it. I think I just don't like sake. So thank you Takara Sake for helping me to discover that.
Cool area for customers to come in and look at their displays. They had a nice selection of old sake tools and a very clean tasting area. The whole place was clean, organized and stylish. As a young person I thought that, yeah, these are the tools they used to make sake in the old day...that's nice, it held my interest for about three minutes then I was ready to go.
I will give them 5 stars because they did nothing wrong, they make a good product. I just don't like sake. I like soju better because when you mix it with some juice you can't really taste it.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Funny (1)
Cool (1)
This is probably my 4th visit to Takara Sake. We rushed here about 15 minutes before it closed for the day. Walking distance from Viks Chaat. The tasting room is open daily from 12p-6pm for FREE Tastings.
We got to try 13 sakes, small amount for tastings:
Tokubetsu Junmai-premium junmai
Ginjo
Nama
Organic nama
Nigori-silky mild sake
Creme de Sake
Nigori that they just added mango juice to-not for sale, u can make it yourself
From the NEW flavored sake we tried:
Raspberry
Fuji apple
Plum
Lychee
Koshu plum sake
Takara plum wine
We ended up getting a bottle of ginjo and Lychee
Separate men/women bathroom available, small museum in the back.
Times visited: 4
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
Cool (2)
This is totally on my list of things to do when you are in Berkeley. This is also where I buy sake since it is tasty and reasonable and biking distance. (Note: If you go for the tasting, you may opt for the bike because they are generous with the samples.) I used to think I didn't like sake until I discovered this cold, fresh tasting stuff.
You get about 10-12 tastes of sake, and that is a lot. The people who work there, especially the gals, especially when it nears closing time, always seem extra happy. Are they doing a little quality assurance, hmm? At any rate, they are friendly and informative.
You can't tour the factory, but you have to watch a film and go through a little "museum"--they are both a little cheesy. So go with fun people. The film reminds of a mini-documentary that would be played at Springfield Elementary School.
Things I learned yesterday at the Takara Sake Plant...
Sake is made from rice
Sake is made from yeast
Sake is made from different sizes of rice.
Sake can be super clear, super strong, super cloudy and even super lycheetastic.
Sake doesn't smell all that great in a really hot tasting room.
Sake at 3 in the afternoon is a great way to kick start a day of drinking.
Oh and don't lean on the rocks, they are made of plastic and they will slip out from under you! :)
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (6)
Funny (13)
Cool (4)
They got a museum here! educational free fun!
Free fun-filled/boring video on how sake is made.
Environmentally friendly recycled materials used to build the presentation/tasting room.
but you come for the
Free samples of sake....dat's why you come here.
My personal favorite is the Takara Plum wine.
TIP: go to Berkeley Bowl to get it cheaper...it's about two bucks more here for the convenience.
FYI: the bathrooms are immaculately clean. you can drink sake from da urinals (not suggested; more of a hyperbole). I like dat.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Funny (4)
Cool (3)
It's truly an eye opening experience for me since I am a total amateur and know nothing about sake. After the video session, I learned that Sho (pine) Chiku (bamboo) Bai (plum) represents health, strength and prosperity. This is a wonderful place to learn and taste FREE sake. I would definitely bring my friends here.
Yugo is right, the flavored lychee sake is very addictive. My hubby and I easily drank half a bottle by using the sake set we bought looonng time ago while the Oracles were rocking last night! GO WARRIORS!!! One more game and they get to advance to the second round of playoff. SWEET!
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (3)
Cool (3)
This should be on your list of "Things to Do in the Bay Area" for locals and visitors alike!
I don't venture out to the East Bay very often, but the few times I do, we always drive by the Takara Sake factory. With the huge signage offering sake tasting, how can you miss it? Well, I always do because we drive past it after they close all the time!
Lucky me, it's 5:30 and with half an hour to spare, we rush up the stairs. There's a nice little museum inside that tells you the whole process of how sake is made from large to smaller factories. But the best part is, the free sake tastings! The girls working there are super sweet and just when you think you're only going to get to try one or two, they are pouring your little cups with quite a few tastes!
As they explain the different kinds and how they should be served, you start to think, "Gosh, I'm so ignorant about sake!" When all is done, you can't help but buy a few if not a lot of bottles! And yeah, the BF and I stocked up! (They even offer 10% discount when you buy six or more bottles! Haha!)
My suggestion...on a nice day date, walk around the Berkeley area. You can go along University Avenue, or the area around the factory where there's higher end stores and nice restaurants. Have lunch there and window shop. But before you leave the area, go by the Takara Sake factory, have a tour and tasting, purchase a bottle or two, and continue the date at home with your new purchase. All will be well!
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (8)
Funny (2)
Cool (7)
FREE SAKE
I'm just wondering why I didn't know about this place sooner!
You come in, do a little self-guided tour of the muesum, watch a short video and off you go to the tasting area. The staff was informative and friendly. They explained which drinks are good warm and cold and what they pair well with. And you can't beat the price on a lot of their products, they even offer small, personal bottles which make great gifts. I visited before Christmas, got my free tasting and bought presents for everyone I know.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (7)
Cool (4)
For those of you who read my Ryoko review from the night before you'll notice that I probably shouldn't drink sake for a long, long time...or maybe I should have refrained from drinking bottles of sake the night before we were scheduled to visit a sake brewery.
Sake was the last thing I wanted to see yesterday, but I do have to say I enjoyed our short visit to Takara Sake. I don't know much about sake as evident by the fact that I didn't even know unfiltered sake existed until this week....but I now feel oh so informed. I somehow managed to stomach trying 5 different types of sake and the unfiltered remains my favorite. I probably would have purchased a few bottles to take home with me if I had not been so hungover from the night before.
This is also a beautiful, serene space...I felt like I was going to a spa when I first walked in. Apparently you can rent their rooms for private events of up to 150 people...definitely a unique idea for a special occasion or corporate event!
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (2)
Funny (1)
Cool (2)
I took a certain yelper here when we had a rare day off together. A bit of a wait, but you can't go wrong with the tastings here. I dare you to leave without a bottle of dry sak or plum wine.
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Funny (1)
Cool (1)
Nice little tour of the brewery.
I wouldn't really call their sake good though...
Bookmark Send to a Friend Link to This Review
People thought this was:
Useful (1)
Funny (1)
An absolute MUST visit whenever you are in the neighborhood, or even when you are not! I go every time I am home and stock up on the MEGA-bottles of Nigori Sake (cold, sweet and unfiltered). And like another reviewer said, there is no better way to start your day!