Back from Vacation

Wow! Like so many previous vacations, I find that I need at least a couple days of down-time following a significant leisure trip out of town. I just returned from a trip to Napa and the bay area. Awesome. Just awesome. Yes, I bought wine.

The hotel was literally next door to the oldest World Market location (according to the cashier who seemed to have been there long enough to know, if you get my drift). My own local World Market has always been a great source of wine. They usually have a small, limited selection of sake but they usually carry good brands - except for ShoChikuBai, which, you will eventually learn, is my least favorite sake EVER. I would rather choke on a chicken bone. Ok, maybe not, but it's pretty foul.

On the first trip to their store I spotted Momokawa Diamond FOR $10. Deal! It's not quite that cheap where I live.

I've had this sake before and loved it, but after recently learning that SakeOne sells their 60% polished rice to homebrewers through F. H. Steinbart I needed a new perspective. This is the same rice that they use to create Diamond. (Tip: Search for product #1195 on F.H. Steinbart's site.) There was even talk about homebrewed sake tasting similar to Diamond on the Northern Brewer forums by using that rice.

So the bottom line after tasting it again armed with my newly acquired knowledge? If I can homebrew a ginjoshu sake using their polished rice and have it come out even in the same ballpark as Momokawa Diamond, I will be EXTREMELY happy.