UK's first Sake brewery and visitor centre to open in Cambridgeshire

By Anna Greenhous

Dojima, a Japanese brewery based in Osaka, which was founded over 600 years ago has established a company in the UK and plans to start producing premium sake on U.K soil this year.

Dojima Sake BreweryDojima Sake Brewery new site, Fordham Abbey Estate in New Market, Cambridgeshire

Dojima established a company here in November 2014, having found a suitable site. Fordham Abbey Estate in New Market, Cambridgeshire, is a grade II listed country house set in over 200 acres of parkland. According to UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), a government organisation who has been advising Dojima, the company is investing £8.9 million to develop the U.K's first sake brewery and visitor's centre, which will require a team of over 100 staff to run.

Food and drinks specialists, Campden BRI have advised Dojima on water mineralisation, to ensure the water used in the production of sake is suitable for brewing. In the past concerns have been raised over the suitability of water for brewing sake in the U.K, as it is considerably harder than that found in Japan. Soft water is favoured for sake brewing, with some Japanese breweries chemically altering the water for brewing.

UKTI says Dojima has ambitious plans to start production this year, sell 10,000 bottles within the first year, achieve a turnover of £1million and begin exporting sake to Europe in the next 2 to 5 years.

For more information, visit: http://www.dojimabrewery.com/