Fun Sake brewery that offers a tour and tasting experience! The staff on hand were super friendly, and our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and was very patient with all our questions and walked us from beginning to end of the Sake brewing process. The walking tour lasted for ~45 minutes or so, with the guide ending with a tasting of three different Sakes and pieces of Sushi to pair with. The building itself was quite modern looking (they just built it recently) and very well-kept. You get to see the entire brewery and the equipment they operate with, and there's also a good amount of seating at the front for after the tour. There's also an area where you can look at Sake for sale and buy to take home. Overall, it was a very fun and educational experience, and I would definitely recommend if you're into learning more about Sake! read more

The opportunity to have an accomplished chef prepare snacks while you experience small batch, onsite fermented saki. It was with tremendous surprise and appreciation that they are using water from the Hudson run through reverse osmosis for the Saki. Our trip was unplanned, but I would recommend making a reservation and scheduling a tour ahead of time as I am sure our ability to get an easy table was mostly based on luck. They have a limited, but nice snack menu and an extremely attentive staff to make sure you are both informed and well taken care of. read more

Dassai Blue - Tour and tasting info - Breweries Near Me - Hyde Park, New York

Nestled in New York's beautiful Hudson Valley, Dassai Blue is much more than a sake brewery--it's a unique destination for food and drink lovers. As the first U.S. brewery from Japan's renowned Dassai brand, it's just minutes from the Culinary Institute of America, and the two collaborate to promote sake education and unforgettable culinary experiences. We chose the sake tasting with the food pairing, and it was outstanding. Every sake was smooth and beautifully crafted, the pairings elevated each pour, and the staff made the experience both fun and educational. Whether you're a sake enthusiast or simply looking for something different in the Hudson Valley, this place is absolutely worth the visit. read more

Dassai Blue - Breweries Near Me - Hyde Park, New York

7/9/25: Stopped in Dassai Blue for some Sake sampling in Hyde Park, NY. It was our very first time at a sake distillery. Dassai Blue is in a very modernist looking building. There is indoor and outdoor seating. Our server was the lovely Cora. Cora explained to us the polishing percentages of the rice, along with how each one would taste. The sake types were: 23, 35 and 50. The lower the percentage number, the smoother the sake taste. You can definitely taste the difference. We ordered a tasting flight of 4, which included one sparkling sake. While sampling the sake, we watched an interesting video of the actual distilling process. There's food on the menu, but only a meat and cheese platter were available. So that's what we ordered. : ) We did see the "Lady M" Dassai Blue Cake on the menu. (Oh well, maybe next time they'll have it). LOL... Overall, it was a lot of fun sampling sake. We hope to come back in the future to tour the distillery. read more

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This weekend July 5th & 6th, was a folkloric festival - Tanabata, the story goes that a couple are separated by the Milky Way and only see each other once a year. There's more to the Matsuri festival, but that is another story. This review is for the distillery. The building is reminiscent of Sensoji in Tokyo. From the beams that extend over a patio with outdoor seating. Surrounding that are medium sized smooth river rocks evoking a Zen garden. There are guided tours and tasting tours available of the brewery. Staff is not only very knowledgeable, helpful, and very courteous. They were discreetly collecting the sake glasses and trash left by some people. They encourage you to go upstairs and observe this distillery, the pressing room, and bottling areas. It's very interesting. The main room on the ground floor is rather serene; with scenes of Japan depicted on the wall. The windows look out to area of trees. Today was different; there were traditional Japanese crafts on display, demonstrations and sake tastings. Many of the items on display were also for sale. You won't find available anywhere else. There was a sushi bar, with a Chef that knew how to make sushi the right way. A Chinese menu, and another station that said it had wagyu beef burgers, the great grandson of the founder of - Otafuku Okonomiyaki mix. There were small samples of the pancake like delights; as well as the products for sale. It's a must see experience at least once. read more

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Visited for their sake tour and tasting. We had a wonderful experience. The grounds, building and surroundings were picture perfect. The service was top notch! read more

Dassai Blue - Breweries Near Me - Hyde Park, New York

Saka tasting. So fun! Changed my mind on Sake for sure. Celerina was an awesome tour / tasting guide / server. Even got to meet to founder of the company. The tour was awesome and you will learn a lot about Saki making. Also the store of Dassai is really cool. We had the sushi with our tasting and it was amazing. So fresh and delicious. Loved the whole story and experience. Venue and atmosphere was open and welcoming. Immaculately kept as well. Definitely a must do if you are in the area. read more

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"Dassai" literally means "otter festival". This is a word that was used long ago in our region, Yamaguchi Prefecture, as there were many otters frolicking in the nearby rivers. - from Dassai.com Dassai Blue is a sake brewery located in Hyde Park, NY. It is the first sake brewery opened in the U.S. by the Asahi Shuzo Corporation. I don't know the intricacies of a collaboration with the Culinary Institute of America but some desserts are available at the brewery. The main building is massive. It used to be a Stop & Shop so that gives you an indication of how large it is. It has been modified to mimic a bit of Japanese architecture. They offer tours of the sake brewery so it functions both as its namesake as well as a sort of museum. I'll have to take a tour in the future. I was there for a pop-up sushi omakase lunch + a glass of their Dassai Blue Type 23 sake. All in - about $125 (this was in November 2025) for one. For me, that's a splurge but I convinced myself I needed a treat. Omakase means the meal, the ingredients and preparation, is selected and created by the chef. OK - so here's the take away. Yeah, it was the best I've ever had. The preparation must have been a chore. If you look closely at the cherry tomato in the salmon appetizer, you'll notice it has been peeled. Who peels a cherry tomato? Apparently, this sushi chef does. The white sauce was made with "leftover" from the sake brewing process. It was good but my palette couldn't discern the sake taste in it. Don't worry, it didn't go to waste. The rest of the meal follows this meticulousness; really good ingredients, simply presented...or presented in a minimalist and subtle way. An example is the sushi rice, usually a mix of the rice, water, vinegar, sugar, and salt. The grains of rice didn't clump together like glue, it adhered together but broke away into individual grains in your mouth. It was also more saline than any other sushi rice I've had. Surprising and nearly sublime stuff. I love the Japanese aesthetic and taste. Not my forte but a description of the Type 23 sake - clean, more heavily bodied, sweet aftertaste, and a slight effervescence at the end. How's that? Oui, oui...poo poo on you. I'll definitely have to go back for a tour, a taste of the sakes, and maybe another omakase meal. read more

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While dining in the CIA this past weekend, we decided to visit a sake brewery. Having been to countless wineries, distilleries, and beer breweries, sake was a first for us. Tasting was $51/person via online booking, which came with 3 glasses of tasting (generous pour), and a choice of food selection including a cheese plate, trout, and duck. We opted to upgrade 2 portions to the sushi (extra $15/person) and shared that amongst the five of us, which worked out perfectly. I'd suggest dropping the $1 booking fee or build that into the total as it seemed a bit petty to ask for that. Our tour guide, Francesca was very knowledgeable and encouraged us to ask questions. For someone that has traveled to 95 countries, I definitely learned something new about the sake making process. The tasting itself was well organized - the three sake choices were very tasty and the five of us all found a "grade" that suited our needs. A very nice bonus for the management team for recognizing that we were there during their "festival/open house" weekend, so each of us received a bottle of the 50 for free. Overall, we had a pleasant experience and even got to take part in the "festival" by making origami. But I could see this place being overwhelmed if the weather becomes nicer. read more

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Had a phenomenal time while visiting the brewery and doing the tour. This place is MASSIVE! A lot bigger than our little brewery back home. The tour was awesome. Our guide Josh was extremely knowledgeable and seemed super excited about sake brewing. After the tour had commenced, we did a tasting of (3) different Dassai Sake & paired it with some Sushi. Highly recommend if you're a huge sake nerd and want to see a facility that's built out with all the latest equipment and technology. read more

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We had a great experience at our sake tasting. The young man that helped us was beyond knowledgeable and very professional. We left with some sake and will definitely be back when we visit from Long Island. Hidden gem. read more

Dassai Blue - Breweries Near Me - Hyde Park, New York

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They are very nice! First time there was for an omakase lunch...I was underwhelmed. I've had omakase before at sushi Makio, ans although the fish was delicious, it was very small portioned compared to the other omakase I went to and we ended up leaving with a bigger appetite. For the price I was expecting better. I only tried one of their sake's and it had a strange flavor so I wasn't a fan. I think next time I will book a regular tasting and tour with their sushi add on. Besides that. This place is extremely clean and beautiful! Def picture worthy. read more

The tour was abundantly interesting. The saki tasting was nice. The quality of small plates offered are comparable to those of a good Manhattan sushi joint. I had the 8 piece sushi & I am very pleased. read more

Dassai Blue - Breweries Near Me - Hyde Park, New York

What a great place! Get recently opened in May of 2023 and started bottling in November. We wanted to come for a tour and saw that they were doing a special Koji Tuesday where you get to watch them make the koji used in the sake. They have only ever done this once before so we felt lucky! The tour was great- Phaedra led the way and explained about the process and the person who started the company. Since this was a koji day we were also joined by brewer Edwin. It was a really cool experience. The decor is beautiful and our tasting was also a beautiful setup, served with a little box of cheeses with crackers, nuts, cornichons, and speck. I'd highly recommend this place if you're interested in sake! It's also right next to the Culinary Institute and FDR estate so you could make a whole day out of it! read more

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This place is fabulous. Had no idea all that goes into making sake. Evan lead us on a tour, he is great. After learning about the process it was time to sample. The best sake I have ever had. Crisp tasting and clean. We had three kinds we tasted from sweet to a little less sweet. I'm not doing the sake justice with my description but let me say it was absolutely fantastic and yes we bought some to take home. The entire experience was great. read more

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What a great addition to the Hudson Valley. It's a really nice place to come with friends and do some sake tasting. You can reserve ahead for the full tour with sake and small bites tasting ($50 for 4 sake + small bites from CIA or $60 for 4 sake + sushi) or do a drop in to skip the tour and purchase the pairing separately. I wasn't sure if this place was kid-friendly so we came without kids. Glad to see that there is plenty of seating inside and out to be kid-friendly. However, I would say that if you plan to do a full guided tour, it's best to come without kids. We really enjoyed our time here and the tour was very informative. We even got to meet CEO Sakurai during our visit. The sake was tasty and the sushi was good too. It is pretty pricey but the quality is great. A must visit if you enjoy sake! read more

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We were not impressed by the nonchalant greeting we received when we walked in. We were just visiting Hyde Park and we thought it might be fun to check it out. We weren't ready for the $80 per person tour right off the bat, but we were more interested in sampling some sake and perhaps buying a bottle or two. Before anything, we were told there is a limit of one taste per group which is ridiculous because there was at least 5 or 6 varieties of sake available. We were so turned off, we promptly left with a bad taste in our mind. read more

@foodie_starry Now!Call your sake lover friends for a day trip to enjoy some AWESOME Dassai sake in upstate New York‼ About 2h drive from the city Dassai Blue Type 23 Nama Sake Dassai Blue Type 50 20 minute guided tour of brewery 30 minute tasting of Dassai Blue sake Japanese small bites or a cheese & meat plate(a non-meat option is also available) Freshly-prepared sushi offered on Sundays 50 usd pp. Rvsp from the website. read more

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The perfect stop for a relaxing sit-down tasting as a couple's activity. It is not every day one could visit a real sake brewery, we came here on a Sunday early afternoon and the service was friendly & accommodating. Overall, we enjoyed the sake, the food and the overall experience. There are a few outdoor seatings but the indoor seatings are ideal. read more

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first time there, we have a good time and got a couple bottle of sake pretty good will be back....

As a somewhat seasoned Dassai drinker (I've had the 45, 39, 23 many times), I was very disappointed with my experience here. For the flight, you get 3 sakes. A 50, a 50 Nama (unpasteurized), and a 23. In the beginning, it's very clear the 23 is the strongest sake. Beautiful floral bouquet, underlined with honeydew melon, and maybe some slight light citrus. The 50 Nama had a sort of unpolished rice smell, but was weaker than the 23 and did not have as much floral smell, and the 50 was a bit more floral but you smelled more rice as well. Overall first impressions, not bad. Then, you wait around 20 minutes...and the sake goes through a rapid degradation. I'm not sure what happened, but the Dassai Blue 23 and the 50 Nama all of a sudden had extremely strong tap water smells. It was stinky, metallic...and all the beautiful sake smells just disappeared. And it was honestly undrinkable. I was very excited about Dassai having a facility in America, but if the sake doesn't survive oxygen for a short period of time, I refuse to buy any American Dassai for now... Service: I know they are new, but it was very bad. We asked many times for the wifi password (just leave it on the table...), wasn't sure if our orders were even in progress, and we asked for a water refill 3 times and never got it read more

It's a trek but if you really like sake then.. may be worth it? You learn about some of the sake brewing process but nothing was really happening when I was there, felt unused still. It was cool learning about what this brewery is doing with local partnerships and such but if you already have a fair understanding of sake, you don't come out with much new knowledge. Afterwards youll have some snacks (absolutely not a meal replacement so just eat something beforehand) and taste 3 sake. They usually do 2 of their standards (mine was 23, 50) and then one nama/unpasteurized (23 for me). I already knew I like Dassai sake so I enjoyed the experience. The Nama 23 was really a treat and they don't always have that for tasting. I took a bottle home, it's too bad they don't have it available ok the west coast. So, generally it's more interesting if youre a newer sake drinker. May get more interesting with time and they settle into the space. Don't go expecting a lot of food and drinks. read more

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To learn about and appreciate the art or Sake from the US, this is the place. Not only they showcase their unique sake brewing process, they also host special events on the premise at Hyde Park as well as in the heart in Manhattan which we had been to. Beautiful classy atmosphere with warm welcome by the host and teams, and we even got the opportunity to meet Dassai's chairman from Japan twice! Our favorite Dassai Sake is the Nama Nama (raw, fresh) which you could only drink and buy it on the premise. The location is a bit far from NYC but the site is vastly beautiful. It is a great day trip to get a way from the city for a refreshing sake break and maybe cherry blossom viewing in the spring read more

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We had a lovely sake tasting on a random weekday. The server was fantastic - a CIA graduate who educated us on sake production. We did flights which were delicious. The 35 was our overall favorite. Lovely space, full of light. Once the work is completed, it will be even better. Will definitely go back when I'm in the area.. read more

The tour is a brief overview of their sake brewing process. It elicits a deeper appreciation for the sake. It is more for educational purposes as opposed to entertainment, so you won't be seeing workers demonstrating each step of the process like a documentary. Dassai Blue is the Love Child of Dassai Asahi Shuzo. Rice isn't the only thing being polished. They have a devout team focused on refining their process so that they may one day rival their Japan location. A tour group consists of a maximum of 12 people and your experience may vary based on factors such as the questions asked by your group. The facility is clean and spacious. Our guide was amicable and possessed knowledge beyond sake. At the time of this review they are offering tastings of the following: Dassai Blue Type 50 Dassai Blue Type 50 NAMA (Unpasteurized) - This means that the sake is raw or fresh. It needs to be refrigerated and enjoyed relatively quickly. It has a brighter and more vibrant profile. Dassai Blue Type 23 read more

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Delicious sushi. Haven't had that quality of fish in a long time. Paired nicely with sake flight. Especially enjoyed the sparkling sake. Very calming place... can't wait to try it in the Spring read more

Great experience! we walked in and were surprised they had food (small plates) and tasting on the weekends without any reservation. Amazing service by a passionate member of their team (Evan). The tours are also great but require a reservation. Highly recommend. read more

Dassai Blue - Sake tasting. - Breweries Near Me - Hyde Park, New York

Took the tour followed buy delicious lunch and purchased sake to go. I love that you don't have to drink to enjoy this tour...it's an amazing process to learn about, lunch is delicious and you can buy sake for home. I wasn't drinking because I drove and it was a rainy day. I did buy the unpasteurized sake for home because it's so rare. The lunch was worth the total cost so lunch and a tour is a steal. read more

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My boyfriend and his family came here and did a tasting. I felt like it was a bit steeply priced for what it was. I understand this place is new so taking that into consideration. It would have been nice for a description of the notes of the sake to be written below the titles. The way the snacks were presented in the basket reminded me of being on an airplane (I'm sorry!). I think it would also be smart to have a couple of physical menus as there are many elderly in the area. The wine glasses also threw us off as we were expecting a more traditional sake experience. Lastly if they could offer both hot and cold sake think that would elevate things. The staff was nice and the sake was good so I would still recommend! read more