Dassai's New Hudson Valley Sake Brewery Open For Tours, Tastings

HYDE PARK, NY — There’s a new place to visit in the Hudson Valley, especially if one is interested in food and beverages, with an emphasis on sake.

The Dassai Blue Sake Brewery recently opened in Hyde Park, close to the Culinary Institute of America and the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.

It will be open at its 5 St. Andrew Road location from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays for small group tours and tastings.

Tours can be arranged through Dassai’s website. Just click on the “Book now” button.

Visitors will be able to experience the craft Junmai Daiginjo sake brewing process in the new 55,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art building designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects and their Japanese partner Jun Mitsui.

The product — Dassai Blue Type 50, with a suggested retail price of $34.99 — will be available for tasting at the brewery. The sake, according to a spokesperson, is considered the highest level of premium sake. It is made from 100 percent Yamada Nishiki rice and uses craft sake methods, making the beverage batch-by-batch, using handmade koji and fermenting in each small tank.

Patch reached out to Dassai Blue’s Naoya Matsufuji about the process of creating sake in the Hudson Valley.

The head brewmaster — or toji — said the basic way of making sake in New York is the same as in Japan.

“In other words, it is an uncompromising method for producing the best Daiginjo sake,” Matsufuji said. “However, the taste is intentionally a little different from the Japanese Dassai.”

The desired result is for the consumer to feel the unique characteristics of Dassai Blue, he said.

Matsufuji said that the taste of alcoholic beverages inevitably changes as the raw materials change — such as water, rice and the climate.

“The difficult part is how to control it,” he said. “Rather than ending up with a taste that differs from Japan’s Dassai, it is important to have a clear intention and bring out the characteristics that you are aiming for.”

The rice being used to make the sake now is being brought in from Japan, Matsufuji said, but beginning in 2024 the plan is to use rice grown in Arkansas.

“I’m a little worried because I heard that this year’s rice has been affected by the summer weather,” he said, “but I’m still really looking forward to sake made with American rice.”

Matsufuji explained that, when the brewery begins using Arkansas rice, it will be necessary to assess factors such as the ease with which the rice breaks during milling, water absorption and solubility of the rice and then choose a method that is suitable for the grain.

“It’s not always easy,” he said, “but we believe that American rice and American water can make the best sake.”