The 4th annual Australian Sake Awards were held in Sydney on the weekend of 17th & 18th May, 2025.

This year saw many changes, including a new venue. After holding the Australian Sake Awards at the iconic Customs House for the past 2 years, the event was held this year at Wentworth Park Sporting Complex, in Ultimo, the Sydney suburb known as a major hub for education, technology and media. 

Again, this year saw some changes within the categories and judging system, following the format of last year’s two day competition which saw day 2 focus on the food pairing component. 

The panel of judges for this year once again included many industry professionals and was made up of Australian sommeliers, sake retailers, food and beverage industry professionals, sake qualification holders, and sake importers and wholesalers. The competition saw many return judges from previous years, and also welcomed an influx of first time ASA judges with great industry experience.

We were honoured to have with us again, for the third year running, Mr. Ken Oda, our International Guest Judge, from the National Research Institute of Brewing in Japan. Sadly, this was Mr. Oda’s last year joining the panel of judges at the Australian Sake Awards. Next year, we will be joined by Mr. Kanai, a colleague of Mr. Oda.

Mr. Oda’s expertise has been a wonderful addition to the awards, including his valuable input and guidance during the pre-judging online lectures and presentations, where he provided the panel with a wealth of information. He has certainly played the role of mentor to our head judging committee and we are all very grateful to him for all he has contributed over the past 3 years.

This year, over 180 sakes were entered in the Australian Sake Awards. 

All of the sakes tasted were submitted from breweries throughout Japan, or via their distributors in Australia, who had sent in their application to enter the competition earlier this year. We were thrilled to see the number of entrants this year and the variety of sake was most encouraging. We’d love to see more breweries enter their sake in 2026.

Judges were once again sat in groups of 6 or 7, at round tables, allowing for easy discussion amongst each group, which served well in light of some of the changes made since last year’s awards, as well as welcoming some of our first time judges, and also during the food pairing assessment. This interactive and immersive style of judging, put in place in 2023, has proved popular amongst the judges and continues to help create a strong sense of community amongst the 60+ judging panel. 

This year’s categories were as follows:

• Sparkling
• Light / Dry
• Light / Fragrant
• Rich / Fruity
• Rich / Savoury

This year also saw last year’s “Sessionable” award replaced with a “Judge’s choice” award – where judges voted for sake based on its appeal alone, without the restrictions of category.

On Day 1, each sake was assessed on aroma, flavour, taste and balance, with emphasis placed on these components meeting the criteria of the category each sake was entered under. The scoring system this year was a score from 1-5, with 5 being the highest score. 

Additional feedback / comments on each sake were also welcome, including individual food pairing recommendations and other general feedback from the judges. 

On Day 2, each sake was assessed alongside the food selection it had been entered to pair alongside. The selections were made by the brewery/entrant from the 5 options available, with each entry eligible for up to 2 food pairing options.The scoring scale was 1-5, with 5 being the highest score/best match.

The food component consisted of 5 individual dishes:

• Vietnamese Beef Salad
• Grilled Barramundi with Broccolini and Lemon
• Chicken Karaage
• Spaghetti Napoletana
• Mushroom Pizza

The changes implemented this year were well received and we are looking forward to reflecting on the event as a whole and considering some valuable feedback from our judges and team as we move forward. It was certainly an exciting and encouraging weekend of tasting and judging and we look forward to making some further positive changes for next year’s event, as we continue to evolve and shape these awards into a truly uniquely Australian event.

The primary purpose of the Australian Sake Awards is to recognise the kind of sake that is popular with consumers in Australia. Through this, we hope to strengthen ties with breweries in Japan and allow them to better understand the sake market in Australia, as well as be inspired by the food pairing potential their sake has here in Australia. We are also trying to create a familiar and accessible language for customers/consumers when it comes to selecting/purchasing sake – moving away from the more traditional ‘grading’ system that can sometimes feel very unfamiliar and intimidating for people who are just discovering sake or beginning their sake journey.

After thoughtful deliberation and spirited discussion, the judges have selected the outstanding winners for each category.

You can now view the list of award-winning sake here: https://australiansakeawards.org.au/en/awards/

The awards Gala Dinner is scheduled to take place in Sydney on the 25th September, prior to the Australian Sake Festival.

We extend our heartfelt congratulations to all the breweries whose entries were recognised and thank all our judges, participants, and supporters for making this year’s Australian Sake Awards another success.