Nova Brewing Company

How Master Brewer James Jin Brought Premium Sake Back to California | Eater

"Co-founded by brewer James Jin as the city’s first sake brewery and tasting room, this operation centers obsessively on water quality—Jin double-filters California water and argues that pairing Californian water with Californian rice produces the best results. The shop emphasizes traditional, hands-on methods and local ingredients, using Calrose rice (the founding variety of California rice) and minimizing machinery while carefully steaming, fermenting, and straining the rice to craft premium sake. The process is deliberate and tactile, intended to build an intimate understanding of the raw ingredient." - Terri Ciccone