LINNÉ

The brewery behind 800, LINNÉ, is a new sake company founded in 2024 by Shoya Imai, former co-founder and Toji of WAKAZE, a company well known for its innovative approach in the sake industry.

After training at renowned breweries such as Aramasa Brewery and Abé Shuzō, Mr. Imai has spent many years developing sake with a strong focus on overseas markets, branding, and product development. He is widely recognized as one of the people who has greatly expanded the expressive potential of Japanese sake.

At LINNÉ, building on this experience, he is challenging more flexible and creative brewing under the themes of “fermentation beyond rice” and “redefining SAKE.”

The brand “800 (YAO)”, created by Mr. Imai, gained strong attention even before its official release. A crowdfunding campaign in Japan attracted more than 500 supporters and raised over JPY 11 million, clearly showing the high level of interest and expectation for this project.

800 (YAO) is a SAKE series named after Yaoyorozu no Kami, a concept in Japanese tradition referring to countless divine presences, expressing a wide diversity of ingredients and fermentation possibilities. Based on the idea of “cross-botanical” fermentation, the series combines rice with koji made from multiple plant-based ingredients, creating flavors that go beyond conventional sake and offer an entirely new tasting experience.