Arkansas Rice Series: Interview w. Justin Potts of Origami Sake Brewery

Before meeting Justin Potts, Director of Brewing Relations at Origami Sake Brewery, I heard him on the podcast Sake on Air. I learned a lot about the discussions he participated in. He had lived in Japan for nearly 20 years, working at breweries during many of those year. If you have not listened to the podcast, I urge you to! It is a treasure trove for sake friends and lovers.

When I heard that Justin moved to Arkansas to start brewing I was intrigued. And when I was invited to a lunch last December to join sake folks and Justin for an Origami sake pairing, I was there. Super humble, funny, and full of knowledge, Justin is now knee deep in Arkansas sake life. This month, I am featuring Origami's flagship junmai sake Thousand Cranes. And Justin was patient enough to partake in an interview about his journey and craft.

Yoko: It was so nice to meet you last December, and thank you for sharing your sakes! Can you tell me a little bit about what your role is at Origami?

Justin: Yes! As the Director of Brewing Relations, I make sure sake happens, keeps happening, and that it is both maintaining (and improving!) our standards of quality. I more-or-less “oversee” production. My incredibly vague title is intentional, as I’m either directly or peripherally involved in pretty much everything that touches the actual “making” of sake and the communications around it, whether it be within Origami, or working with external partners, suppliers, contractors, etc. I’m generally hunkered down in the brewery these days, but I’m working on getting us to a place that will allow me to get out more to directly meet and work with all the incredible people giving our sake a life out in the world.

Yeah, it'd be great if you could get away for a bit and have an event at our bar.

How did you get your start in sake brewing? How did you end up in Hot Springs?

I worked with not only sake producers, but makers and producers of all kinds of brewed and agricultural products throughout Japan prior to going all-in on sake. I’ve lived in Japan since 2004 and have worked with dozens of sake makers – from the smallest, most hyper-local and esoteric makers, to some of the largest producers in the industry - on a wide range of projects. I ended up first getting into the actual commercial production of sake as a brewer with Kidoizumi Shuzo (located in Ohara, Chiba) starting back in 2015 and have done a handful of stints with several other breweries of very different sizes and styles as an extension of other projects with those breweries.

In June of 2022, it turned out Ben Bell (co-founder and VP of Origami) were looking for someone with a reasonable understanding of, and experience with, sake making that could also work directly with our Japanese technical advisor. The goal was to facilitate the development of Origami and Arkansas as a home of knowledge, skill, resources, and experiences rooted in sake and rice agriculture. Within 48 hours of speaking with Ben, my wife and daughters (ages 9 and 4 at the time) were on board with putting our life of nearly 20 years in Japan on hold and relocating to Hot Springs. I made the move in October of 2022.

Wow! That's quite a move and that's great that everyone in the family was game.

In a few words, can you describe the concept of Origami Sake?

As the rice-growing capital of the US and an incredible landscape of natural resources, Origami is working to turn Arkansas into a true destination for sake outside of Japan. We also want for Origami to be a meaningful contributor to the livelihood of the rice-growers of Arkansas. At Origami, the goal is to make honest-to-goodness great sake that sake lovers and connoisseurs, as well as sake-curious individuals, can appreciate irrespective of where they’re from, their personal dietary preferences, or their budget. For sake to be truly appreciated and incorporated into people’s lives, it needs to be available. I want for Origami Sake to be the bottle (or can!) that people make sure to keep on-hand, but also encourages people to seek out, discover, and fall in love with the depth and breadth of incredible sake from all throughout Japan, and now, North America.

I was sorry to hear about Satoshi Tamakawa of Nanbu Bijin's passing last year. Our customers love Nanbu Bijin sakes and I am glad that his spirit lives on on our shelves. I remember you mentioning that he had advised you at Origami. How did he advise you and what are some suggestions of his that you have incorporated?

Tamakawa-san has touched everything as it relates to the process of bringing Origami Sake to life. He’s been consulting with us since shortly before I started and has helped us to formulate and fine-tune our sake recipes, select equipment suitable for our space, goals, and limitations, educate myself and the brewers, develop production processes that maximize both quality and efficiency, etc. He’s a bit on the super-genius level when it comes to sake-making and Origami certainly wouldn’t be what it is without his experience and insight.

That's nice to know there's a little bit of him in every bottle of Origami.

For those of us unfamiliar with the landscape and community in Hot Springs, AR, can you describe it for us? How does it inspire you when you are making sake?

Before starting at Origami, I had never been to Arkansas and had zero connection to Hot Springs, which is fantastic, because I feel like I learn more about the people and the place every time someone visits the brewery. It’s a beautiful part of the country that has its own very unique history and culture and is a destination for all different kinds of people choosing to visit or live here for all different reasons. I’ve honestly never been anywhere like it in the U.S. It’s hard to explain in words – I think you have to visit to really understand what makes it special. 

It's now officially on my list of places to visit!

Almost everyone who visits the brewery (we conduct regular tours by appointment) has little-to-no past experience with sake, which is the best, because every day we get to meet the people that we need to reach in order to make sure we fulfill our mission of making sake a great choice that’s available to everyone. I feel like if we can demonstrate that sake can become a meaningful contribution to the people of Arkansas, then with enough time, dedication, and energy there’s no reason why we can’t find a means of resonating with people all across the U.S. irrespective of their past experiences with sake.

Let's continue on the Arkansas train. Why did they start growing sake rice in Arkansas?

The only ones growing sake rice in Arkansas is Isbell Farms. Without them it’s hard to imagine the Origami dream ever coming to fruition.

The Isbell family gained notoriety for growing quality Koshihikari back in the 90's – something that no one in Arkansas was doing, or even considering – which led to them being approached by Takara Sake U.S.A. about the possibility of growing Yamada Nishiki for their premium Sho Chiku Bai product. That opportunity served as the catalyst for further expansion in growing and supplying breweries across North America with Yamada Nishiki, as well as growing other sake-specific varieties, such as Omachi, Gohyakumangoku, and Wataribune.

I used to worked at the tasting counter at Takara Sake in 2010 and I vividly remember when my supervisor told me about the Arkansas rice they were using and thought it was so unexpected!

How does the Yamada Nishiki in Arkansas compare to the Yamada Nishiki you've brewed with in Japan?

We’ve just started working with our third harvest of Yamada Nishiki, which we use for all of our koji rice. It’s interesting because, while clearly having the properties of a sake-specific rice variety, we get new insight into the nature of the rice every year.

It’s difficult to attribute differences solely to the “rice”, because when we wash and soak it, it’s in our well water. When we turn it into koji, it’s with processes that align with our facilities and skill sets. It’s indeed “different” (i.e. feel, moisture retention, etc.), but many of the “differences” I attribute as much to our own processes, equipment, and resources as much as I do the rice. 

A while back we actually did some analysis of our koji made with Arkansas-grown Yamada Nishiki alongside Japan-grown Yamada Nishiki (from a couple different regions) together with the support of a koji manufacturer/supplier in Japan. Strictly in terms of numbers that are relevant to koji and rice quality, Arkansas rice was more-or-less on par with its Japanese counterpart. However, having worked with both, they’re certainly “different”. Not necessarily “better” or “worse”, but unquestionably different. 

How would you describe your relationship with the farmers at Isbell Farms? Is the supply there when you need it? Do you give feedback on the rice quality? How far away is it from the brewery?

We’re in touch with the Isbells on at least a weekly basis for one reason or another and we get rice shipments about every other week. Whenever we notice something different in a batch of rice, we’re on the phone right away for the sake of developing our mutual understanding as to how the work done in the field directly contributes to the work being done in the brewery. The farm is only 70 miles (about 90 minutes) from Origami, so we bring our visitors to Origami – both domestic, as well as from Japan – out to visit the Isbell family and farm constantly, and vice-versa. They’re always incredibly gracious in sharing their time and knowledge and it feels like our futures are intrinsically tied to one another. It’s really special and it was one of the primary reasons I was initially compelled to join the Origami project in the first place.

How has the community in Hot Springs, and AR in general, reacted to the sake?

I can’t begin to tell you how supportive the AR community has been and the degree to which they’ve contributed to us being where we are today. We stand out a bit, as what we’re doing catches people off-guard and raises eyebrows, initially. But once they visit us, learn about us, or get to know us, I think the whole concept just makes too much sense to ignore. Everyone from local and regional industries, government, and hospitality has gone out of their way to create opportunities for us to succeed, which I think is a testament to how much the rice industry touches the lives of so many people in the region, as well as to how much people appreciated home-grown industry with real roots. It’s now on us to prove that we can give back and make good on our ambitions and promises.

That is so cool. Community is also what keeps us going here at Umami Mart. It's great when people can connect and get excited about something unexpected.

What techniques and projects are you most excited about now in sake making?

I’m very curious to see how people respond to our ZERO (non-alcohol sake) product, because I think that sake breweries traditionally have a responsibility to serve everyone in the community, and not everyone can, will, or should drink alcohol. I hope it introduces people to the flavor and culture of koji and can replace, not only alcohol, but other beverages that someone may be looking to minimize their consumption of. We’ve got some ideas for evolving this particular product, so I’m really hoping that people will come along for the ride. 

I think the ZERO is a great idea, I've actually had a handful of people requesting non-alcoholic sake in the past, so I'd been waiting for the right one to come along. In addition to having it on our shelves, we've been serving it at our bar. I, too, love the idea of serving everyone in the community, not just people who drink. It's also so interesting, very lactic and tart! There's a lot of texture to it, which I like.

Any other new ideas you are working on?

With respect to “techniques” or “projects”, despite all the talk of “innovation” and “new” types of sake popping up these days, personally, I’m of the view that there isn’t really anything truly “new” in sake. If you look back on sake brewing history, there are all kinds of incredible, unusual, and exciting brewing practices (and ingredients) that were integrated by some people at some point in time for some reason, they just didn’t all funnel down to the sake market as we experience it today. I feel like by introducing something new and unique, we’re offering a glimpse into one of the hundreds or thousands of paths that, for one reason or another, just wasn’t chosen.

In the experience of both brewing and drinking something “new” as it relates to sake, I think both the makers and the lovers of sake are experiencing not only the “newness”, but also a taste of possibility in sake that has always been there. In a way, I think that’s something integral to what will (hopefully) make sake a truly unique category internationally with it’s own identity and trajectory. 

That's a great note to end on. Justin, thank you so much for your time and sake! I can't wait to visit Origami and AR, the new sake destination of America.