Nova Brewing Company

About

Nova Brewing Co. in Covina, California was founded by Emiko Tanabe and James Jin in 2019. The two met while studying for the SSA’s (Sake School of America) sake sommelier certification. They enjoyed visiting sake and beer breweries and wondered why there weren’t any sake brewery & tasting room in LA. They felt a place in LA was needed where people can personally visit and smell, see, and taste how sake is made. Nova’s goal is to have locals experience a style of sake called ‘namasake’ which is fresh and unpasteurized sake that is hard to import due to its high sensitivity to UV, temperature, time and oxygen. Namasake has characteristic of being more vibrant and juicy so small batches of sake are constantly brewed to have the freshest sake available. James, previously a home-brewer, went to Japan to get formal training in brewing while Emiko took over an old winery & brewery and flipped it into a sake and beer brewery. Nova released their first sake at the end of 2020, and Gravity and Eclipse sake won awards consecutively since 2021 at the New York Wine and Spirits Competition.