A Daimon Glittering

How an artisanal sake brewery from Osaka is bringing luxury sake to the rest of the world.

- Keef Wong

Perched on a hand-tied bamboo ladder that has seen better days, he runs his hands across the cracks in the wall and surveys the damage laid down on his 200-year-old brewery by the worst storm and flooding to hit Japan in decades. It’s difficult not to feel emotional, yet there is some sense of respite, as the worst of the storm missed Osaka, and hit neighboring areas like Kyoto and Hyogo much worse. “It’s not that bad,” he yells down to the relief of his staff.

This is nothing new to Marcus Consolini; he’s been renovating industrial and residential projects in Asia for years, and now as the CEO and Managing Director of Daimon Brewery in Osaka, he’s optimizing the brewery and preparing it for the next 200 years. The first foreign kuramoto (brewery owner) in the history of Japan, Consolini brings his vast experience from the fast-paced international finance industry to the most traditional of crafts. In 2017, Daimon was in dire financial crisis and the brewery was on the brink of being sold and demolished when Consolini met with 6th generation president Yasutaka Daimon and decided to help the family continue with their business. The decision was easy; the sake was outstanding, the business side of things was where the work was needed.