Proud to be the UK’s first sake brewery: crafting British-style sakes using traditional Japanese techniques, from london bridge…

WE arE kanpai…

Welcome to the sake revolution! Brewed like a beer, enjoyed like a wine. KANPAI means “cheers” in Japanese. At KANPAI all of our sake is purely fermented from rice. No added alcohol, sulphites or preservatives. Our sake is made lovingly by hand, using low interventionist brewing methods; allowing the natural characteristics of each ingredient to shine through.

Founded in 2016 by husband and wife, Tom & Lucy Wilson. KANPAI is experimental at heart and ongoing exploration forms a huge part of our motivation to brew sake - this is why we launch one-off limited edition styles alongside our core range sakes. Our sake is crafted by us, for you. Using the very best ingredients, custom equipment and love. All KANPAI sake is made from start to finish on site in London Bridge. We even hand fill and label every bottle ourselves to ensure the highest quality.

Above all, good sake deserves to be enjoyed amongst old friends and new! For this exact reason we were inspired to create the first sake taproom in Europe. Situated within our brewery, sake lovers and newcomers alike can enjoy a slice of Japan in our very own home of sake in London.

IT ALL STARTED WITH A trip to Japan...

Tucked into a small bar in Kyoto, a bowtie wearing barman taught us the simplest way to toast your drink in Japanese is "kanpai!" It literally means "dry your cup". So we did. A lot. And now we're passionate to spread that sake buzz back home in the UK and beyond.

And so our love for sake began...

Far from the memories of a harsh warm liquid served at the end of a big noodle meal, Japan opened our eyes to real, quality sake. It's such a versatile, clean, and unique drink. It's perfect to sip smoothly at the end of a working day or to enjoy over dinner with friends. Or even mix up into a cocktail.

Ever since, we have spent years sampling, experimenting, and producing many different varieties of sake. It started out as home-brew hobby that went turbo! We’re self-taught firstly and then honed our skills at brew-school in Japan. Every year we go back to learn more (and drink more…)

japanese traditions, BRITISH style...

Sake is best fresh - so the closer to home it's made, the better. Our sake is made from just four ingredients: rice, water, yeast and koji (a magic mould also used to make things such as soy sauce). But it's very tricky to make!

We enjoy the delicate intricacies of traditional Japanese sakes - the art of hundreds of years brewing, which are the perfect light friend to sushi or ramen. But we're putting a twist on things - exploring more full-bodied and boundary-pushing flavours to suit the palates of those that love craft beers, high-botanical gins and rich red wines. The type of sakes that can stand up to a Sunday roast or enhance your curry.

Brewed like a beer, enjoyed like a wine, we're driven to produce the best small batch craft sake possible so our fellow curious Londoners can fall in love with this intriguing drink too.

A sake style for everyone

As huge advocates of the craft beer and craft spirit approach, we've been inspired to experiment with our sakes. That's why as well as our flagship range, we will always have seasonal batches on the go; where we can have fun with the ingredients and flavours - be it the type of rice we use, the type of koji or the yeast. It's amazing the variety of flavours and notes you can get from making small tweaks and changes. We want you to be able to explore a huge variety of fresh sakes, and we're always keen to hear your favourites so we can go back and repeat. Because, once our seasonal batches are gone, they're gone! We have bold savoury sakes, soft fruity sakes, sparkling sakes and cloudy sakes! Plus a British plum sake called "HANA" which means 'flower' in Japanese, which is perfect in a cocktail.

our journey...

We blindly followed our tastebuds into madness to fully launch our microbrewery in Peckham in early 2017, thanks to amazing people backing us on a crowdfunding campaign. With our bottle launch in Selfridges, we officially became the UK’s first sake brewery! Since then, it’s been a whirlwind and in summer 2018 we moved into a larger space a stone’s throw away in Peckham’s Copeland Park thanks to another crowdfunding boost. 5 years in Peckham were incredible, launching Europe’s first sake taproom and winning many awards. By 2023, we had outgrown our home and ready to take the next step, moving our brewery and taproom to London Bridge. Bring it on!

You can find us across a range of shops, restaurants and bars across London and the UK, or you can order online to get the good stuff to your door.

We can't thank you enough, and are excited to dry many cups with you!

Here's to the #sakerevolution.

Kanpai!

Tom & Lucy

Check out our full story of growing KANPAI, written better than we could ourselves, by our friend Will at Sake Matters: www.sakematters.com/home/london-prefecture