For Those Looking to Start a Sake Brewery: The Reality of Acquiring a Liquor Production License and the Option of Craft Brewed Sake

Over the past few years, there has been a gradual increase in the number of people who dream of "owning their own brewery someday" or "starting a new brewery in their hometown."

Behind this trend, I believe, are factors such as the establishment of craft beer, the diversification of food culture, and a growing interest in local craftsmanship.

However, starting a brewery involves far more complex procedures and diligent daily tasks than one might imagine.

It's not as simple as "once you get the license, you can make whatever sake you like."

This document aims to organize the realities of acquiring a liquor manufacturing license and "craft sake," which is gaining attention as a realistic entry route, incorporating on-site insights, for those considering entering the alcoholic beverage manufacturing industry.

Chapter 1: Acquiring a Liquor Manufacturing License is More Difficult Than Imagined

1-1 Two-Stage Review by the Tax Office and Regional Taxation Bureau

To obtain a liquor manufacturing license, you apply to your local tax office, and the final decision is made by the Regional Taxation Bureau.

In other words, the review process is two-tiered.

Even with perfectly prepared documents, it takes at least four months. If there are any deficiencies in the documents, corrections will take time, extending the review period.

The general idea is that matters related to taxes (liquor tax) are handled by the tax office, while matters related to sake brewing are handled by the Regional Taxation Bureau.

1-2 The Business Plan: The Greatest Hurdle

Among the application documents, the most challenging are those related to the business plan.

You need to meticulously detail sales prices, cost calculations, raw material costs, suppliers, production volumes, sales volumes, and projected income and expenses for each product item.

Moreover, there's no fixed format; you have to create it yourself.

Naturally, "approximately this much" won't be accepted.

How will you build up the cost per liter, at what price will you sell it, and what profit do you anticipate?

If you cannot provide evidence for your figures, the license will not be granted.

For the manufacturing cost table, sales plan, and projected profit and loss, you need to transform vague ideas in your head into something coherent enough for a third party to understand and accept.

1-3 "Letters of Consent" from Buyers are Required

For the sales plan, the existence of business partners who will actually purchase your sake is essential.

In most cases, you need to collect "letters of consent" from liquor stores and restaurants stating that they will carry your brewery's sake.

I've heard stories of people who gathered seals from over twenty izakayas.

Realistically, it's difficult for one izakaya to purchase 6000L annually, and a certain level of consistency is needed, so that's likely how they arrived at such numbers.

If you operate a liquor store, you could ask wholesalers or acquaintances in the liquor business to increase the volume per store.

You need to explain the concept of sake that hasn't even been brewed yet, convey its flavor image, gain their understanding, and secure a written agreement.

This is one of the biggest hurdles in obtaining a license.

It's a peculiar structure where "I'll do sales once the sake is made" doesn't work.

1-4 Minimum Production Quantity Standard of 6,000L Annually

For "other brewed alcoholic beverages" like those made at our brewery, a minimum annual production of 6,000L is generally mandated after the license is issued.

This translates to approximately 3,300 1.8L bottles or about 8,300 720ml bottles.

You must produce and sell this quantity every year.

The idea of "starting small and growing gradually" needs to be reconsidered here.

You need to establish a system capable of continuously operating at a considerable scale from the outset.

Since the standard quantity varies depending on the type of license, choosing the license category that matches your business scale is itself a crucial initial decision.

1-5 Equipment Must Be Acquired "Beforehand"

The tax office will not issue a license based solely on documents.

The license is granted only after confirming that the facilities and equipment necessary to actually produce sake are in place.

This means that even before obtaining the license, you need to acquire all the necessary brewing equipment, such as rice washers, steaming equipment, koji rooms, fermentation tanks, presses, storage tanks, and bottling lines.

Capital investment can range from several million yen to hundreds of millions, depending on the scale.

You face the risk that "if the license is not granted, everything will become a liability," so it's also necessary to implement measures to minimize costs as much as possible.

In addition to selecting a property, zoning, water and sewage, and wastewater treatment, you must also meet facility requirements such as permits from the public health center and fire department.

1-6 Reasons Why it's Difficult to Ask an Administrative Scrivener for Delegation

As those who have read this far may have vaguely realized, while it is common to entrust administrative scriveners with official permits and licenses, the situation is different for liquor manufacturing licenses.

Details such as the business plan, manufacturing process, hygiene management, cost structure, and sake quality design cannot be written unless the applicant themselves has a thorough understanding.

The applicant must also be able to answer questions from the tax office staff on the spot.

It is realistically impossible to get approval for manufacturing equipment, the process from shubo (sake mother) to pressing, and the assumed yeast and koji mold by leaving it to someone else.

If you cannot answer during the final review by the Regional Taxation Bureau, the application will ultimately not pass.

Furthermore, suppliers for raw materials are also necessary, and contracts and estimates are essential for these as well.

This is why you rarely hear stories of someone getting a license by "leaving everything to an administrative scrivener."

As a result, the applicant themselves must prepare a vast amount of documents.

You often see advertisements on social media saying, "You can brew craft beer in a 6-tatami mat space" or "We support license acquisition." While these places can indeed assist with obtaining a license, it comes at a considerable cost.

Although they provide support and can arrange the purchase of necessary equipment and raw materials, it becomes more expensive.

That is their profit, after all.

Without thinking, one might consider that relying on such services could quickly resolve troublesome negotiations, but in turn, the profit margin would significantly decrease, and there's no guarantee of sales.

Ultimately, you have to do the sales and marketing yourself.

1-7 Continuous Monthly Reporting and Daily Record-Keeping Even After Obtaining the License

Even after the license is finally granted and manufacturing begins, the paperwork doesn't end.

Every month, you must report manufacturing volume, shipment volume, and inventory volume to the tax office.

Furthermore, in the manufacturing process, you need to measure and record components such as mash temperature, Baumé, alcohol content, acidity, and amino acid content daily.

Any changes to equipment, additions of new products, or changes in company name or address require reports or applications to the tax office each time.

The more you stand on the production floor, the more you realize that the phrase "making sake" encompasses all these administrative tasks.

Sake brewing is mostly about creating documents and cleaning equipment.

1-8 The Determination to Have a Long-Term Relationship with the Tax Office

The alcoholic beverage manufacturing industry has an inseparable relationship with the tax office.

Understand the system, prepare documents, and make necessary reports when required.

Frankly, this path is not suitable for those who find this daily routine burdensome.

Conversely, if you don't mind steadily proceeding according to the rules, this series of procedures can be seen as "something to overcome."

Perhaps obtaining a liquor manufacturing license is the first hurdle to test your aptitude.

Chapter 2: Craft - A Trend That Large Companies Cannot Imitate

2-1 The Horizon Opened by Craft Beer

Over the past decade or so, craft beer has firmly taken root in Japanese households.

The individuality of each brewery, local ingredients, and the experimental nature of small-batch production.

Consumers have embraced a different kind of value than what major manufacturers offer.

This trend has spread to all types of alcoholic beverages.

Gin, whisky, cider, and traditional Japanese brewed sake are no exception. A segment of consumers who choose alcoholic beverages based on criteria different from "mass production, stability, and uniformity" has certainly grown.

2-2 Little Point for New Entrants to Do What Large Companies Can

Mass production, stable supply, and nationwide distribution are areas where major manufacturers excel overwhelmingly.

Small new breweries have no chance if they compete on the same playing field.

Conversely, there's a clear void in areas that large companies deem unprofitable, too small in batch size, or too labor-intensive.

New entrants should target precisely these areas.

Ordinary sake can be made by both large and medium-sized breweries.

The biggest question for new entrants is whether they can produce and deliver "extraordinary sake" with acceptable economic viability.

Recently, it seems that large companies are using massive advertising budgets to sell products that are only "craft beer" in name, seemingly riding the trend by making slight modifications to their regular products.

In reality, I think craft beer will face a tough battle.

But why craft beer faces tough challenges

Craft beer costs about 1,000 yen per bottle, doesn't it?

When a regular beer can be bought at a convenience store for about 230 yen, people wonder, "Why is this so expensive?"

You might think, "Our beer is delicious, so we'll get repeat customers, so it'll be fine," but if you do a cost calculation, the reason becomes clear.

Bottle cost: 100 yen

Label cost: 50 yen

Liquor tax: approximately 50 yen

That alone is 200 yen. If you add raw material costs, utility costs, rent, and personnel costs, it would easily exceed 300 yen, even with the cheapest estimates.

This is the cost without any profit; this is the prime cost.

And if the retail price is 1,000 yen, considering the wholesale discount to liquor stores and further distributor fees, selling one bottle for 1,000 yen might result in a deficit rather than a profit.

In addition, for wholesale or online sales, shipping boxes and packing materials are needed. Also, equipment depreciation must be considered, as well as accountant fees and other hidden costs.

One bottle at 1,000 yen incurs this much cost.

If it sells incredibly well without advertising, there might be a possibility, but it's almost impossible.

By the way, there is a craft beer maker in our brewery's area, but its main company is a fairly large ironworks, and it seems to be doing it as an advertising expense for its own products. Without such a reason, it would probably be tough.

If you want to start a craft beer business, having an attached restaurant is a must.

There, bottle and label costs are eliminated, and wholesale fees disappear, so a stylish restaurant selling craft beer for 800 yen a glass might be able to turn a profit.

However, it probably wouldn't generate enough profit to hire employees....

2-3 New Sake Licenses Are Virtually Not Granted

Here, let's address a realistic constraint.

As of 2026, new manufacturing licenses for refined sake (nihonshu) are almost never issued due to supply and demand considerations.

The idea of "starting a sake brewery from scratch" hits a wall at the very beginning.

The options are limited to inheriting an existing brewery or acquiring a dormant license, both of which require substantial capital and connections.

The fact that the path to a new license is virtually closed is a reality that should be calmly accepted from the outset.

2-4 "Craft Brewed Alcoholic Beverages" as a Realistic Option

Therefore, in recent years, what has emerged as a realistic option for new entrants is what is known as craft sake.

Craft sake refers to brewed alcoholic beverages made primarily from rice and koji, with the addition of secondary ingredients such as fruits, herbs, tea, and hops.

Under the Liquor Tax Act, it is classified as "other brewed alcoholic beverages," falling outside the category of refined sake, thus leaving room for obtaining new licenses.

While retaining a flavor profile similar to nihonshu, it allows for combinations of ingredients and brewing methods that are not permitted for refined sake.

"Like nihonshu, yet not nihonshu"—this positioning is the greatest strength of craft sake.

The design philosophy of "respecting the tradition of nihonshu while brewing freely outside its framework" naturally aligns with the thinking of new entrants like myself.

2-5 Choosing Production Methods That Large Companies Find Difficult to Emulate | An Example: Fukurozuri

Not limited to craft sake, a crucial aspect for new entrants to differentiate themselves is to choose production methods that large companies cannot justify from an economic rationality perspective.

A prime example of this is "fukurozuri" (bag hanging).

Fukurozuri refers to a pressing method where moromi (fermenting mash) is placed in cloth bags and hung, collecting only the drops that naturally fall. Since no pressure is applied, it results in a clear sake without impurities, but it also means a lower yield (about half becomes sake lees) and takes a tremendous amount of time.

It is not realistic for major manufacturers or existing breweries to adopt this method for their main products. The cost structure simply doesn't align.

In reality, fukurozuri is mostly used for very small quantities destined for competitions, and very few breweries use it as their primary method.

On the other hand, for a small brewery like ours, positioning fukurozuri as "a special bottle of a few hundred per year" is entirely feasible.

Even if the price is high, there are definitely customers who understand its value.

"It can be imitated, but there's no economic rationale to do so"—this is the battleground for new entrants.

2-6 An Era Where Stories Hold Value

In the world of craft, the background—who made it, where, why, and how—is valued as much as the taste itself.

Local rice, local water, local people.

The brewer's philosophy, design concept, and process of trial and error.

These are assets that large companies cannot replicate with their advertising budgets, assets possessed only by new entrants.

Beyond the heavy door of acquiring a license lies a long road of continuously refining this asset.

Chapter 3: For those who still want to start a sake brewery

Having read this far, some of you may feel that it's "a heavy undertaking."

On the other hand, some of you must have reaffirmed, "I still want to brew."

That was me.

However, the choice to start a sake brewery cannot be sustained by romance alone.

The daily accumulation of calmly handling documents, numbers, tax office correspondence, daily analyses, monthly declarations, and the minimum annual production quota defines the outline of the brewing profession.

If you still choose this path, I recommend solidifying the following three points first to avoid stumbling at the entrance.

1. First, an exit strategy of who you will sell to, what you will sell, and at what price. The first test is whether you can concretely envision a business partner who will write a letter of consent.
2. Second, the license design, whether you will go with sake, or a different category such as craft sake or liqueurs. Given the reality that new sake licenses are virtually impossible to obtain, you need to choose a license category that fits your vision.
3. Third, a financial plan including equipment investment and working capital. Equipment must be prepared before the license is granted, and working capital until 6,000L is sold must also be estimated.

If you start without clarity on these three points, you will almost certainly get stuck at the application stage.

First, I recommend consulting with the alcohol officer at your nearest tax office.

Basically, the tax office will take the stance of trying to dissuade you, so you need to go in with concrete thoughts and passion, such as how much you want to make sake and what your vision is.

Simply saying "I want to make craft beer" will likely lead to rejection at the gate.

You won't be accepted without a solid business plan and enthusiasm.

For the tax office, reviewing brewing licenses is said to be quite a challenging task, so their stance is to turn away anyone who isn't serious.

Conclusion

The path to starting a sake brewery is by no means a glamorous entry.

However, the difficulty of entry also serves as a mechanism to guarantee the reliability of the work that lies beyond.

If it were an industry that could be started easily, so many unique brewers would not have remained.

Regarding specific questions

Please feel free to ask questions in the comment section or via the inquiry form.

I will answer based on my on-site experience, to the extent possible.

Finally, I hope this article is helpful for your decision-making.