Poor customer service, the girl behind the counter was disinterested and ignored me when I said "hello!" but she reluctantly responded when we asked about the sake flights. Sake tasting flights: either $15 or $20 depending on which flight you choose. Each flight comes with three tastings of 1.5oz of sake. The girls liked the apple yuzu cooler under B: specialty & bubbly and the boys liked the negaibito yamahai junamai shu under C: premium Japanese sake. We used to enjoy coming here as something to do while on Granville Island, but with the increase in prices and unfriendliness of staff, we won't be returning anytime soon. read more

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This place is cool. A small craft sake made in Vancouver. You can get small tastings of their sake and some from Japan. They were flavorful and the bottles are very reasonably priced. Seating area is small but relaxing read more

Artisan Sake Maker - Tasting - Wineries Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

Lovely sakes with friendly staff! A nice fun stop when visiting Granville island. I opted for two tastings, the signature/traditional flight and the bubbly flight. It was a nice variety of dry and less dry sakes with a little snack bite for pairings. I was worried I excitedly over ordered but the amount was perfect. I would definitely come back again whenever I visit Granville! They also have a cool countertop table made of sake boxes filled with rice :) read more

Artisan Sake Maker - Wineries Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

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Cute little brewery for sake. Comfortable with seating and sake tasting. Hidden gem from the shopping area. read more

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They've done a lot of updating since my last visit a year ago. Last year, it was still undergoing some remodeling or something. They didn't have the full dine-in area open. And they really upgraded how they serve the sake samplers. Love that we now get real glasswares with little snacks to go with it. The sakes were so good and now the experience is even better! read more

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FOOD/DRINKS - Tasting C $16: 6 different sakes. They were all good. I liked the sparkling ones. The serving size was tiny. I like tastings in general because I like trying different things but the cost was steep for what it was. 4/5 - R(ice) cream: this was sooooo good. I recommend trying this. I liked the original and the chocolate but favored the chocolate a little more. 5/5 SERVICE: Fast and friendly. 4/5 FINAL THOUGHTS: I would come back for the ice cream alone! read more

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Very nice little place. We did the b tasting of three sakes- sweet and off dry. We liked them all even the very sweet low alcohol one. We got a tiny food item with each small taste - flavored cashews, a tiny square of Comte cheese and some prosciutto. At 16 dollars for 3 tiny tastes they're at the higher end of what I would pay but it's fun to taste sake and not have to commit to a whole bottle. read more

While wandering around Granville Island, I stopped at Artisan Sake Maker. The service was friendly, and the menu was explained thoroughly and enthusiastically. The amasake was fragrant and refreshing on a warm, sunny day. However, the sake was poured into small, single-use plastic cups, which detracted from the experience. The tables were a bit wobbly. This isn't really a place to enjoy sake at a leisurely pace; it's more suited for a quick drink before heading out. read more

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We picked up the Apple Yuzu Cooler from them. We found the drink very very sweet. On top it tasted like an apple cider with yuzu taste. It is a nice drink but not something we would get again. For the price of $20, I do not think I would want to spend the money and get that again. There are other better drinks at that price point. read more

Artisan Sake Maker - Wineries Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

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Came here for samples as my kid at 19 and it being legal to drink in Canada at this age wanted to try. Luckily the samples were small as we didn't even finish them. We really wanted to love them, but it just wasn't for us but super glad that we experienced this to try. Staff is super friendly and attentive. If you like sake, this is a place to try. read more

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This humble establishment is the pride and joy of a local (to Granville Island) saké brewer whom is a master of his craft. Flight samples of many of the saké varieties are available in small pours for a reasonable price, as well as some Japanese light bites (takoyaki, dumplings, edamame, etc), r-ice cream, amazake and other rice-based beverages (alcoholic or otherwise), and more. Seating is limited, and it can get cramped in a hurry, but this is a great little shop to sample some high-quality saké, and take home a bottle for enjoyment later. Kanpai! read more

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This is a tiny little place that serves a bit of food and features their sake. We did the 6 different sake tasting. They give you about a 0.5 ounce taste of each, but the flavors are easy to compare when you are tasting them side by side. We selected on sake to take as a bottle and a bottle of the Apple Yuzu cooler (think a flavorful cider). A couple of small tables outside. This place is easy to miss and is located on sort of the outskirts of Granville Island. Worth a visit though. Just a bit down the alley from Liberty Distilling read more

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If you're a fan of sake, this is the perfect spot for you to try out! Located in the heart of Granville Island, this little shop offers sake tastings, Japanese snacks, and even sake ice cream! We tried out the matcha flavour of sake ice cream and it had floral undertones and a unique texture from the sake. Definitely recommend! They also do chocolate, raisin and ginger flavours too! read more

Artisan Sake Maker - Wineries Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

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Very nice spot to kind different sake! They make their own sake and you can get it in very inventive drinks as well as purchase bottles. Very friendly here. Only thing, I wish they would let us taste before we buy. Small tasting cups were $6! read more

Artisan Sake Maker - Wineries Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

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Came for the sake tasting. You can choose which set you want. We chose both. Please note that they charge for each plastic cup used (would be more environmentally friendly if they used proper sake cups for the tasting but I understand the convenience). I liked that they place it on the menu so you know which one you are tasting. All of them tasted distinct and unique. My favourite one has to be the Fraser Valley Junmai Renaissance Nigori. Definitely an interesting experience. The price is worth it for the amount you get to try. If you don't know what you like or want to buy, then this is perfect for you. We also had the chicken karage. Wouldn't recommend the chicken karage as it was soggy and dry. Just focus on their sake. We also had the sake sangria which is good for people who like something sweeter with less sake flavour but also want to try something with sake. Would recommend doing the tasting for people who don't know what they want to buy read more

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The sake is OK. I was surprised they charge for such tiny, itty bitty samples of sake, but I suppose this is how they make their money, as the Sake was not worth buying. Alcohol forward and the Nigori was not creamy and like the others, way too alcohol forward. None of their Sake is filtered. I guess if you happen to be walking by, it's worth a stop, but I wouldn't go out of my way. Sorry... read more

Artisan Sake Maker - $5 for 3 tiny, tiny tastings!!!! Crazy - Wineries Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

Stumbled across this place on Yelp looking for distilleries and breweries so we took an Aquabus to Granville Island from Downtown. We found the place across the street from the public market down an alley. There were no customers in at the time but we were greeted by the man behind the register. We told him we wanted to do a tasting and he gave us three suggestions to try and they were all great. We even ended up buying two bottles of Apple-Yuzu Cooler Sake that was made on Granville Island. It was an accident but it still tasted great. Not terribly pricey and the tasters were 3 for $6. Pretty unique to see a sake making facility/tasting room so definitely worth a look. read more

Artisan Sake Maker - Apple-Yuzu Cooler Sake - Wineries Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

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I spent an afternoon on Granville Island with my friend Sheena K. a couple months ago, and we stepped into Artisan Sake Maker on a whim, and because I like to drink while I'm doing my walking around. This was a cute, unassuming place that offered sake tastings and sakekasu ice cream. We took advantage of both and had a nice time. The sake tastings were $5 each, which seemed plenty reasonable. We sidled up to the counter, where we were helped by the tiny, friendly woman who was running the shop. In addition to me and Sheena, she had a couple of groups of seated customers--there was a small area with tables, which we didn't need, as we were in and out in about fifteen minutes. We tried four different sakes and they were all pretty good: the nama, the nama genshu, the sparkling sake, and the sparkling nigori sake. I'd never had sparkling sake before, and I enjoyed it. Sweet and light, definitely good for a few nips in the middle of the day. The price points were reasonable, and I might have taken home a bottle of one of the namas if I were checking a bag on my flight back to L.A. We got some ice cream (they call it rice cream, but I refuse) on our way out, made with sakekasu, or sake lees, the flavorful dregs of sake production, used in some Japanese cooking. I love sakekasu and rarely come across it, so I was very happy to find it in ice cream form here. We tried the raisin and ginger flavors and both were great. The ice cream had a light, airy texture, and the boozy flavor of the sakekasu worked well with both the raisin and the ginger. If you're walking around Granville Island, I'd highly recommend a visit to Artisan Sake Maker. It's a great little place with solid sake and some unique, tasty ice cream, both of which should enhance your day. read more

Off the beaten path in the Granville Market. We stumbled upon it while walking around. The Sake sign out front caught our attention. Who can resist sake? Small tasting bar, but they had a nice selection of house made sake to choose from. We each tried 3. All were clear, bright and crisp in flavor. The quality made it hard to decide which ones we wanted to take home with us. We wanted them all. They also have a line of skin care products made with rice left over from the sake making process. What a great way to reuse the spent rice. I got the rice scrub and enzyme toner. They are light and smell great. If it is open when you are walking around Granville and you like sake, step on in and sample some Canadian made sake. read more

3.5 Star We were lucky as we walked into an empty Artisan Sake Maker on a Sunny Fall afternoon. We were able to do a sampler $5/3 and chat with the staff a little about their sakes. 10 minutes after, the store was packed with a walking tour group of 15! I really like the idea of how Artisan Sake Maker has started some initiative including having locally rice operation and how production are centre upon "sustainability, all natural and locality." We sampled all 4 available that afternoon for $5+$2: Osake Junmai Nama Osake Junmai Nama Nigori Osake Junmai Nama Genshu Osake Junmai Sparkling Sake All the above was fruity and really easy drinking. The price is right as Nama at $15 or so for 375 ml. Just my personal taste as the sake did not really wow me. Conveniently located on Granville Island, so as a tourist, one would probably be in the hood anyway. Worth coming if there is no tour group because this place becomes a mad house with only 1 storefront staff! read more

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3.5 stars We were excited when we saw that there was a sake maker in Granville Market. We got lost a bit trying to find this place but finally saw the sign. It's a small cute storefront with a couple of tables. All the ingredients for the sake is grown in Canada and the sake is made right in the back of this little shop. The menu is straightforward and has 4 types of sake that you could choose from: Junmai Nama Junmai Nama Nigori Junmai Nama Genshu Junmai Sparkling Sake You can choose either a tasting (0.5 oz) or glass (3oz) size. They also have a trio tasting ($5) which included the first 3 above which is what we did. We also added on the sparkling sake for $2. The sake was easy to drink and I liked the sparking sake since it was fruity. The sake was good but wasn't anything amazing. They also have a small food menu if you would like something to nibble on as you drink your sake. You can also buy the sake by the bottle to take home. We stood at the counter since we did the trio. The man who poured our sake didn't explain much about each sake other than telling us what he was pouring. We read most of the information about the sake. He didn't seem friendly. ******** Sake in Granville? Locally made sake here Worth stopping to try read more

Artisan Sake Maker - Wineries Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

Great value for the trio sake tasting! The staff is knowledgeable about the drinks and can give recommendations based on your preference. I stopped by just for the tasting, but you could purchase bottles of sake and snacks too read more

Artisan Sake Maker - Trio tasting for $6CAD - Wineries Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

Fantastic little nugget in Granville Island! If you are a fan of either sake, rice wine, or white wine, I highly recommend you stop by and check them out. The owner wasn't there, but there were two ladies working hard at the store. Both are very knowledge about sake and are both very nice/courteous. Feel free to ask them about anything and they will happily tell you! I always thought their sake tastings would be pricier, but it's only $5 for three sakes! Each tasting sample is enough to fill maybe 1-2 sake cups (hard to tell, they're served in small wine glasses). You can let the ladies know that you want to sit outside by the patio area and they will bring each sake out to you. I ended up getting two trio samplers, so I had a total of 6 sakes. A lot of them are very unique, as they have floral or fruity notes like white wines. If you like crisp white wines with fruity notes, the Osake Junmai Nama is fantastic. If you like something more clean, dry, and having more of a rice wine flavour, you'll love the Osake Junmai Ginjo Nama Nigori Genshu. Artisan Sake also has a number of Sakekasu products (Sakekasu are the lees leftover from sake production), ranging from juice, icecream, and cosmetic products. I had the raisin Sake kasu icecream, and man was that good! You have to like the taste of sake to really like it, but pair it with a sake and it's as good as it gets on a sunny day in Granville Island. read more

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A delightful little shop on the otherwise oppressively touristy Granville Island. Artisan Sake Maker benefits first from the outright novelty of sake made in Canada (!), by Canadians (!!) with Canadian-grown rice (!!!). Compound this with staffers who are both charming and professional to boot, and you have a 'don't miss' spot on this rather frenetic little rock. Oh, did I mention they also make some pretty fine ice cream? Well, yes they do! VERDICT: If you've gone to the trouble to go to Granville Island, and you don't stop by here, you might be a moron. Just sayin'... read more

Great friendly service from the lady who owns this place. She was so kind and explained everything to us. We got a sampler and she gave us the history of each sake. The ones with the melon notes were my favorite! Definitely check out this place if you're in the area! read more

Friendly hole in the wall sake shop with affordable $5 sake tastings. The osake signature sake was my favorite. Very light and crisp, yet fruity. The staff helped explain how each sake was made and how the processes differ from traditional methods. I also appreciate how the shop aims to be sustainable by repurposing the sake mash byproduct for ice cream (the chocolate was delicious and even more tasty than normal ice cream) and eye creams. read more

Super small and random spot in Granville Market, but a nice way to start a buzz before getting into the eats. It's small and intimate inside, which makes it a comforting place to sample and ask questions about sake. Zack, the sake master, helped me find something that I enjoyed and educated me on the differences between cold and warm sake. I definitely recommend this place if it isn't too busy so you can get the whole sake tasting experience! read more

This place is a good place to drink Sake. I like the ambiance of the store, it's very simple and relaxing. I will definitely go back to try the other Sake in the list read more

Artisan Sake Maker - Wineries Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

Great staff. Great product. Great atmosphere. Owner Masa and the assistant who served the drinks were very knowledgable and most friendly. Sure, the $5 trio tasting that many here have mentioned.is a deal, but don't pass up on the ice cream made with sakekasu a byproduct of the rice used in making the sake. Sakekasu is also the key ingredient in their cosmetic line Orizee. For centuries Japanese women have been using this byproduct for skin care. Now it is available in small jars here. Back to the sake, of note is that the sparkling sake they carry was served to the emperor of Japan when he visited Vancouver. read more

I love when you are strolling down a street thinking to yourself, "well there is nothing here, but look a small alley way, let's head down there", only to find a diamond in the rough. Stumbled upon this gem after mozying around Granville market. Two trio tastings with sake bubbly to top it off. Do not miss out on this place if you enjoy sake! read more

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Lovely place in a quiet alley, we happened to chance upon it totally unplanned and found a gem! Zack was very pleasant to talk to - knowledgeable and passionate about his work. We tasted an excellent warm sake , with some edamame on the side - perfect for a cold fall evening. We loved the sake and ended up buying a bottle to take home as well. We are looking forward to go back and try out their other sake offerings read more

Awesome sake made right in Canada at great prices AND super friendly staff. My husband and I had no idea what to get so the staff steered us in the right direction with the different tastes of sake. They explained all of them very well, asked us questions about our preferences, and picked out our sampler. I loved all of them but the sparkling sake was my favorite. There are also some small snack items you can buy to eat while tasting your sake! My only regret is that I didn't get to try the ice cream! Oh well... Guess I gotta go back! read more

Artisan Sake Maker - Super cute bag! - Wineries Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

If you love sake (a Japanese alcoholic drink made from rice) like I love Sake, you'll truly appreciate (and benefit from a visit down to) Granville Island's Artisan Sakemaker. This shop produces hand-pressed, hand-bottled sake all year round in small batches. Be sure to pick up a bottle for a truly unique treat! read more

Artisan Sake Maker - Wineries Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

I didn't try the sake but it's 5 stars for the ginger rice cream! It has a hint of a rice-like flavour and is the perfect treat after a hot day of exploring Granville Island. I'll definitely be returning next time to try the sake. read more

Artisan Sake Maker - Wineries Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

Finally had the chance to check out this sake place after walking by it so many times. I was surprised to hear that they grow their ingredients in Canada, as well as process the sake in the back room on site, which I thought was pretty cool. Wish we could have seen it in action, but I took the opportunity to try one of the sake samplers while there - 3 flavors for $5, or $2 per pour. The sizes themselves were very small - maybe 2 sips at most, but it gave you a good sense of what you'd get for a glass. I wish they would have taken more time to explain the difference between sakes or how they're made - especially as some of the descriptions of the sake were a little hard for me to follow in terms of knowing what to expect and look for in the tasting. For the most part, I thought the sakes I tried were light and crisp... very clean, except for one that was cloudy (and was supposed to be that way though the explaination as to how/why was confusing). I tried to clarify the explanations since I wanted to understand - its advertised as a tasting room afterall - so figured some context was included in it... but the pourer seemed more frustrated in having to explain again, so I dropped it. Not sure I would go back again - just wasn't a particular fan of the flavor profiles I got to try nor the response I got from asking clarifying questions. read more

Artisan Sake Maker - Wineries Near Me - Vancouver, British Columbia

Good sake, disinterested server. My boyfriend and I were really excited about sake tasting at Artisan Sakemaker. We love doing brewery tours, wine tastings and the like. However, this was the first time we felt our server/customer service was lacking knowledge and enthusiasm about the product. We had asked for a sampler, took some sips and tried to spark conversation with our server. What did we get? That he doesn't drink sake and did not have much to say about the brand, Osake. This was very odd. Needless to say, I did not feel compelled to buy a bottle. Of the three sake varieties we tried, I liked the Osake Junmai Nama Genshu the best. It packed a punch and I liked its dry taste. Price: About $5 for a trio sampler and $6 for a glass of sake. read more

After being disappointed by the House of Switzerland grand opening, I stumbled upon this place after walking down Railspur Alley. Their sign "$2 sake tasting" immediately drew me in. I can't say I know much about sake. The few times I tried it at sushi restaurants I've always found the taste to be like ammonia. Anyhow, my friend and I tried three different sakes (all made on-site) and was amazed at the flavour. I never knew there were different kinds of Sake but more importantly taste this good! My favourite is the Osake Junmai Nama Nigori (Unfiltered), so much so I bought a bottle. I'm not good at describing booze, but you'll like it! The girl working there is very knowledgeable and friendly. She said on the weekends (I think) they have an outdoor bar. I will definitely come for a 2nd visit. I think I've found my love for Sake! read more

Aside from the very cheap and bad tasting sake I had from H Mart, which just tasted like water, I have never had a proper sake. We were walking around Granville Island and we just happened to stumble upon this sake place. What drew me in was their $5 trio of sake tasting. The person at the counter was very personable, a bit quiet for a salesperson. So I had to probe him with lots of questions. I never knew there was different kinds of sake. I had the Junmai Ginjo Genshu and it was light, refreshing, and smells amazingly fruity. It was probably my favourite. The other one that I really like was the Junmai Nama Nigori, which was cloudy but more bold and earthier. If you have never tried artisanal sake, this is the place to go! read more

This little spot on Railspur Alley tucked away between various arts and crafts stores is an unlikely place to find a sake producer. But they claim to be the first junmaishu namazake producer in Canada of its kind (although I'm not clear what "of its kind" means exactly - on Granville Island? Producing namazake? Small craft production?). At least everything is hand-pressed and hand-bottled here, and I haven't found that elsewhere in Vancouver. They do shy away from the traditional production methods a bit though. Normally sake is a Winter product. But here they produce it year round. So you won't find a sugidama hanging outside to let you know when the sake is ready. They are focusing heavily on food pairing for their product through relationships with local chefs and special tasting menus. Recently Angus An at Gastropod did a full on sake tasting menu that was paired with the product from here, and it got good reviews. Little tip: This is an excellent source for sakekasu, which has started to pop up at various restaurants around town which mostly source it from here. There have been some creative applications of it as local chefs have started to play with it including a sakekasu sorbet at Gastropod. You can pick some up yourself here and do your own experimenting! When you visit the storefront you can take part in a sake tasting for a nominal charge, and they are very happy to talk about their suggested food pairings for each of their varieties. This certainly rounds out the offerings on Granville Island, and somehow oddly fits in with the various other art shops nearby due to the more artisanal feel of the product. read more

Who knew there's an Artisan Sake Maker in Vancouver? I bookmarked this place before our trip and when we were on Granville Island we stopped in. First things first, this place is quaint and cozy. Yes, I mean small. This is definitely not the type of place that you can roll into with 30 people because there really isn't space for that many people. Anyway. We were able to sample about 4 different sakes and they were all good. None were really sweet (which I loved) and they were all good. The prices to purchase bottles were reasonable and they had different sizes. Since we were traveling we opted for the 375 ml size to be able to fit in our luggage with all the other booze we brought home. The woman that led us through the tasting was great. You could tell she was very accommodating because she was taken aback when we let her completely lead everything. Hey, I'm no sake expert so why not leave it to the expert? Anyway, this place was awesome and I'd buy their stuff here if I could. read more