Jerry Brady, or “Big Jerry” as he is affectionately known, is “The Sauceror,” a bona fide chef who brings decades of experience to producing an array of sauces and spice rubs. He’s also about to launch a company specializing in such products. The even better news is that he’s got craft beer on his mind.
Pairing is going to be the next step in the evolution of craft beer in Japan, and we think Jerry is going to deliver big on the food side. As a craft beer aficionado himself, Jerry doesn’t design his recipes to suit craft beer, per se, but he can certainly advise which of his products pair well with a given style of beer.
Jerry was forced to develop his skills in 6th grade when his father had a car accident and his mother had to go to work. The responsibility of cooking for a large family was left to Jerry and his two older brothers. He later began working in restaurants. We ask if his cooking skills helped him win the hearts of women and he smiles, replying, “If you can cook a good dinner, it’s on.”
After coming to Japan in the mid 80s, he noticed that Japanese food wasn’t very spicy—not even the curry. He developed some homemade chili paste in 1986 that he says he used for bentos. Jerry explains, “Twenty or so years ago, the Japanese palate just wasn’t developed for spice. There were only two Thai restaurants I knew of and now they are everywhere. Young Japanese travel more. They taste spicier food overseas and have created demand.”
Three years ago, friends offered Jerry funding to open a new restaurant, after he had run one in Shinjuku since 1999. He declined. “I decided I wanted to make BBQ sauce to fill the vacuum that existed. Now’s the time.” Jerry isn’t following a trend; he’s creating one. “I want people to have sauces for their homes. Some people don’t have grills, though, so with some recipes I’ve used special smoked ingredients to compensate.”
Barbecue and beer, especially in warm weather, have been partners since time immemorial. Jerry is building on that in the craft beer segment. “Mildly seasoned foods can’t hang with the deep flavors of IPAs and stouts that are popular today. You need robust flavors for robust beers and that’s what I’m creating.” Already, Jerry has been working with some restaurants in Tokyo that serve craft beer and he hopes to continue that while providing for consumers’ home use.
Jerry plans to launch in June at the latest, and will offer bottles through the internet for consumers and jugs to restaurants. He then hopes to enhance his website, providing videos that demonstrate how to use the spices in dishes at home. He hasn’t named his sauce recipes yet, but hopes to ask readers for clever names as a kind of fun competition.
What about a spiced beer on the horizon? “I’d like to make a spiced beer, but I first want to get my company running.” We’d like that, too. Spiciness always demands good beer.
This article was published in Japan Beer Times # () and is among the limited content available online. Order your copy through our online shop or download the digital version from the iTunes store to access the full contents of this issue.
