Rice wine and pizza? How KANPAI brews Japanese sake for British tables

You’re being served a slice of pepperoni pizza, heaving with hot browned cheese and crisp sausage slices. With it comes a glass of… Japanese rice wine? 

Tom Wilson at KANPAI’s London Bridge brewery

‘It’s a killer pairing,’ says Tom Wilson, co-founder and head brewer of KANPAI, a sake brewery in London Bridge. ‘It blows people’s minds.’

Sake, also known as Japanese rice wine, is mired in misconceptions. In the West, Wilson explains, he’s seen people assume that sake’s a very strong beverage, is drunk in shots like vodka, or must be served hot (a myth that even alcohol aficionado James Bond repeats, snootily—and incorrectly—claiming the ‘correct’ temperature for sake is 98.4°F).

‘There’s more categories of sake than there are of wine.’

In reality, sake is brewed like beer but sipped like wine. ‘People ask me, “What does sake taste like?”. That’s like asking “What does wine taste like?”,’ Wilson shrugs. ‘There’s more categories of sake than there are of wine.’

These versatile flavours make sake an under-appreciated complement for dishes well outside traditional Japanese cuisine. The sake that Wilson advises pairing with pepperoni pizza is their flagship nigori (‘cloudy’) sake, which took home medals at the International Wine Challenge and Great Taste Award. Its mild sweetness, acidity, and savoury umami notes cut through the richness of a cheesy slice. ‘In one mouthful, you can change someone’s perception,’ says Wilson.

Despite being ambitious to evolve the UK’s understanding of sake, this brewery has humble origins. ‘KANPAI started as a bit of fun,’ Wilson says. He and his wife Lucy were both home-brewing enthusiasts who fell in love with sake during a trip to Japan, and realised the techniques involved were fundamentally similar to beer-making.

‘We use good old London Thames water—that’s our British ingredient.’

Sake-brewing went from a hobby to an obsession that took over their flat—‘It got to the point where Lucy told me, “It’s me or the sake”,’ Wilson recalls—and from this KANPAI was born. The couple secured the UK’s first ever sake-brewing license in 2017, and have been ramping up production over the years from an East Dulwich microbrewery to their current site, in walking distance of London Bridge station.

That isn’t the only local connection KANPAI’s sake can boast. ‘We use good old London Thames water—that’s our British ingredient,’ says Wilson. London’s hard water, which KANPAI puts through three-stage reverse osmosis filtration, may not be good for making tea (as my Northern friends often point out), but its rich mineral content is ideal for brewing alcohol.

‘What produces our unique style is that we’re using high-mineral-content water, but colder fermentation and longer tank time, which makes for really flavoursome sake that can pair with really flavoursome cuisine,’ says Wilson. Whereas traditional sake’s delicate flavours match Japanese dishes, KANPAI’s drinks can be served with a robust range of international flavours, from spicy curry to a Sunday roast.

‘It’s about the people, not the place.’

He explains that while wine-making is 90% reliant on raw ingredients and terroir, and perhaps 10% on the wine-maker’s craft, sake is the opposite. Each brewery’s techniques will create distinctive results. Wilson’s proud to point out that every batch of sake uses koji (rice inoculated with edible mould spores, used across Japanese fermentation and brewing) made by the KANPAI team, calling it ‘our most unique IP’. Beaming, he adds, ‘It’s about the people, not the place.’

Beyond developing the skills of KANPAI’s staff, the company is also dedicated to educating its customers. ‘When we started going commercial, sake was ultra-niche,’ Wilson says. ‘Our challenge was to make this drink more accessible.’

Their London Bridge brewery also doubles as a bar and event space, and the stairwell is decorated with posters for events featuring other importers and breweries. Tours and tastings at the brewery are offered every Saturday. It’s all part of their effort to familiarise customers with how sake’s made and the possibilities of this drink.

‘For sake to reach escape velocity, it needs to be harnessed by other cuisines,’ says Wilson. Much as Japanese ingredients like seaweed are now commonplace in high-end restaurants, KANPAI hopes that sommeliers outside of Japanese eateries will start putting more sake on wine lists.

‘When we started going commercial, sake was ultra-niche. Our challenge was to make this drink more accessible.’

‘We’re still experimental at heart,’ Wilson says. Now that KANPAI’s settled into their new venue, they’ve got more freedom to manufacture limited-edition beverages, including a sake inspired by ancient brewing techniques that he’s particularly excited about. He’s also looking forward to events and collaborations with other beverage companies: ‘We want to make the industry more collaborative,’ he says.

London’s justly famous for its craft beer and microbrewery scene, celebrated by events like the Bermondsey Beer Mile, which takes place a stone’s throw from KANPAI. This hub for breweries is a no-brainer location for brands looking to capture the attention of adventurous Londoners, discover craft bevvies.

So if you’ve never tried sake before, ‘First of all, don’t be scared, give it a go,’ Wilson says. And who knows: maybe that first taste will have you reaching for a chilled nigori to pair with your next takeaway pizza. After all, this city is known for it’s glorious meshing of cultures.

All images courtesy of Chris Coulson Photography