A Once Illegal Beverage Some Say Tastes Like Cheddar Cheese is Gaining Popularity in Japan

A formerly illegal beverage that is considered an ancestor to sake is experiencing a resurgence in Japan. (Photo: Heiwa Doburoku Kabutocho Sake Brewery/Instagram)

CNN reported on Sunday about the rise of doburoku, a formerly illegal beverage in Japan that is experiencing a resurgence in popularity. Doburoku is considered an ancestral form of sake, and as of 1899, it was illegal to make. Fast forward several centuries later, and breweries like Heiwa Shuzo Brewery and Heiwa Doburoku Kabutocho Sake Brewery are producing this historic, rice-based beverage.

Heiwa Shuzo Brewery boasts a reputation for sake production that dates back to 1928, and the sake brewery recently opened a doburoku bar in a trendy neighborhood.

“We often receive questions about the difference between sake and doburoku, how many days it takes to make it and how it’s produced,” Heiwa Shuzo Brewery President Norimasa Yamamoto said, according to CNN.

Like sake, doburoku is made from steamed rice, kouji — a rice mold — and water. Yet the differences end there. Sake production involves a complicated, multi-step process that takes place over several days. For doburoku, the ingredients are all integrated at once with a yeast starter. The sugars break down the yeast, and fermentation ends at an earlier point, resulting in a beverage significantly higher in residual sugar with lower alcohol content.

Throughout the ages, doburoku was enjoyed by Shinto priests and doburoku was often home-brewed. When the Edo period ended in 1868, feudal lords faced mandates from the Meiji government to give their properties to the state. A once fragmented government became centralized, and the Meiji government began collecting taxes.

As soon as the state saw that local unlicensed distilleries generated revenue, they began to pass sanctions limiting production. Eventually, prohibition passed in 1899, relegating doburoku to the status of moonshine or “mitsuzoushu.”

Despite its illegal nature, the Japanese government made certain exceptions and allowed deregulated zones to sell doburoku starting in 2003.

Things changed in 2015 when Sake Hotaru became the first legal brewery to offer doburoku to the public in 2015. In 2021, 193 venues in Japan were allowed to sell doburoku.

CNN reported that doburoku boasts “intense” flavors. Some individuals report the beverage contains a thick, almost porridge-like texture. As far as a flavor profile — it varies. CNN shares that those who have tasted doburoku claim it tastes like “cheddar cheese” and a Polynesian fruit called noni.