Photo/Illutration Matt Bell, right, and Ben Bell from the Origami Sake brewery, who are expected to market two types of sake this summer at the earliest, strike poses on May 20 in Hot Springs, Arkansas. (Takao Shinkai)

HOT SPRINGS, Arkansas--Like many Americans, Matt Bell underestimated and underappreciated sake the first time he encountered the tipple in his early 20s.

Bell was having a lively get-together with friends at a Japanese-style grill restaurant.

He quickly emptied a shot glass of rice wine and found himself badly intoxicated.

“Honestly speaking, many Americans believe sake is bitter, reeks of alcohol and is not good,” Bell said. “There are also many individuals who think sake cups are substitutes for shot glasses.”

Hailing from Arkansas in the southern United States, Bell, now 50, said his impression of the beverage changed when he became acquainted with Ben Bell, 41, through a friend five years ago.

Their surnames happened to be the same. Matt and Ben came from the same state, too.

Ben was then enchanted with rice wine so much that he invited Matt to “brew sake together.”

In 2004, Ben was working at a wine shop in Arkansas and came across a bottle of sake there. The offering carried a higher price tag than all other products.

Ben sampled it and was “surprised at its high quality marked by a clear, smooth flavor.”

He was absorbed in sake and spent two years learning the tipple’s production from scratch at the Nanbu Bijin brewery in Japan’s Iwate Prefecture.

Ben invited Matt because he was certain that sake would prove as popular even in the United States, if Japan’s original culture of sipping the drink slowly to fully savor its flavor like wine was broadly accepted.

To Matt's eyes, the proposed sake business plan appeared to be “out of the question.”

But Matt tested a glass of sake again at Ben’s request and realized his previous image of the beverage was wrong.

“Sake was easy to drink and diverse in aroma like wine just as he told me,” Matt said.

Matt felt that sake made in Hot Springs could be in high demand, given that Arkansas is home to nearly half of the rice produced in the United States and Hot Springs is particularly rich in water resources, as its name suggests.

“High quality sake can be completed with locally procured rice and water,” Matt recalled thinking.

Matt decided to sell a solar power company he was running at the time, to secure the funds to invest in a sake-brewing project with Ben.

Rice for sake is expected to be purchased from a regional farmer. Groundwater from a 200-meter pit dug on the construction site of their brewery will be utilized for brewing.

An agreement was signed likewise for a brewer from Nanbu Bijin to regularly visit and stay at the establishment of Matt and Ben to provide them technical advice and guidance.

Funds poured into the endeavor have reached almost $7 million (1 billion yen).

The new brewery, Origami Sake, was founded in late May.

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Origami Sake stands on a small hill in Hot Springs, Arkansas, on May 20. (Takao Shinkai)

The company name was determined in the hopes of reminding consumers of sake brewers’ craftsmanship via the refined form of paper art that is alike well known in the United States.

The brewery’s label showing such illustrations as a lotus and a thousand origami cranes was developed, so customers would easily be able to tell Origami Sake’s products from those of other makers.

Under the corporation’s plan, 50,000 to 60,000 750-milliliter bottles will be produced this year.

Japanese sake is currently available at few eateries or retail stores in the United States. Even at sushi restaurants, only a limited number of Americans consume luxury rice wine.

“We will be making this area the center of sake brewing in the United States,” said Matt.

Their future goal is making 1 million bottles a year, as an increasing number of breweries have recently been put in place in the nation for sake production.

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