Sun Masamune Sake Brewery

Sake is Japan's traditional alcoholic beverage made from rice. It has played an honoured role in Japanese tradition for at least 16 centuries. The factory is based in Penrith and visitors can learn about this ancient tradition and view the production from a special observation room, then taste and purchase sake. Sake is one of the few beverages that displays all 5 basic flavour groups that human beings can detect. These flavours are sweetness, sourness, pungency, bitterness and astringency. After 8 years of planning, product development and investment negotiation, the company opened its progressive Penrith brewery, April 1996. The brewery produces sake for the Australian market and for export to South-East Asia and to the US. About 90% of the sake produced at Penrith is shipped to Japan on bulk for bottling for the Japanese Market. The remainder is bottled in Australia for local consumption and for the export markets.