MEET THE MAKER NOGUCHI NAOHIKO

Master brewer Noguchi Naohiko has been making sake since 1949. In 2017, he founded the Noguchi Naohiko Sake Institute, where he shares his wisdom and philosophies with a new generation of brewers.

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What was your childhood like? 

I was born in 1932 and experienced the Pacific War when I was in elementary school. There, we practised evacuation drills in case of air raids, dug air-raid shelters, and grew potatoes. I started working at a sake brewery at the age of 16. Since food was in short supply and I was working with rice, I thought it meant I would not have to worry about eating.

What is your earliest memory of sake?