Every beginning of the year we go through the period of “dry January” which gives rise to heated debates on the place of alcohol in our daily lives. And according to the latest studies, consumers are paying more and more attention to the alcohol level: it is an extremely important purchasing criterion. So what’s the deal in Japan? There is a real alcohol-free market that is also called Nolo (No or Low Alcohol). Free beers (without alcohol) are popular: Kirin Greens Free, Kirin Karada Free, Asahi Dry Zero represent 70% of the alcohol-free market. Almost every major beer brand offers a Nolo solution. It was difficult to reproduce the texture of the sake and its taste: the recipe was reworked several times by Gekkeikan to arrive at the result that we find in stores today. In particular, they added stevia, yuzu aromas, acidifiers, amino acids… In short, a creation from A to Z to reach a rather young audience. Hence the title “Non-alcoholic beverage with sake taste”. Finally, there is an alcohol-free sake that has been known since the dawn of time. It’s the Amazake. Simply mix cooked rice with koji to obtain a sweet drink (koji transforms starch into glucose).
Chloé Cazaux Grandpierre: There are more sakes with low levels like Mio which I mentioned above than with really 0% alcohol. It is a developing market with great potential.
Chloé Cazaux Grandpierre is a “made in Bordeaux” woman! In 2012 she launched the Chloé and Wines blog to talk about her wine and spirits discoveries with a focus on wine tourism. Since 2014, she has been a sake sommelier and is the only female sake educator in France. Otsukimi, Moon Drinkers – Saké Sommelier, Saké Educator and Shochu Advise. Chloé participates in numerous competitions as a jury, rates sakes and wines for an international magazine and is officially recognized by the Japanese government as a “Japanese Food Supporter”. Chloé regularly gives lectures on sake and Japanese spirits. She joined the team of France Bleu Gironde bloggers in 2020, very happy to share her knowledge and her passion for Japan on the airwaves! Kanpa! (Cheers !).
