Work to build £9m UK sake brewery gets underway

By Jo Gilbert

Published: 25 October, 2016

Building is now underway at what is believed to be the UK's first sake brewery having appointed a local contractor to carry out construction work.

Patrick Doyle Contractors will be responsible for building The Dojima Sake Brewery, which will be based at Fordham Abbey Estate, East Cambridgeshire, and will see £9m invested over a period of five years.

With sake qualifications now offered in the UK by the Wine & Spirit Education Trust and the London Wine Fair hosting its first Sake Pavilion earlier this year, the category is making significant gains in the UK.

Not long ago, sake was served predominantly in Japanese restaurants, often low quality, cheap and served hot.

But premium sake is providing a point of difference in the UK on-trade, and is now often found in wine bars and on degustation menus in modern European restaurants.

It is believed the Sake Brewery will be the first in the U, with the company aiming to produce 10,000 bottles in their first trading year.

The project, approved by East Cambridgeshire District Council, is set to create up to ten local jobs initially, both on the build and once the brewery and visitor centre is finished.

Yoshihide Hashimoto, owner of the Dojima Sake Brewery UK & Co, said: "It was always our intention to use a local contractor for the build so we are very happy to be working with Patrick Doyle Contractors. We are very excited to see the work commence."

Cllr Steve Cheetham, service delivery champion for East Cambridgeshire District Council, said: "The Dojima Company were directed to the Fordham Abbey site by UK Trade & Investment (now the Department for International Trade) and then worked very closely with the district council's planning and economic development teams to secure the investment.

"This is a significant FDI investment into East Cambridgeshire and the UK and we look forward to seeing sake being brewed on site next year."

A "Jichinsai" ceremony, with Japanese ambassador Koji Tsuruoka and Lucy Frazer MP in attendance, will take place at Fordham Abbey on October 28.

The build is expected to take nine months to complete, with the first production of sake available in October 2017.

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