NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A member of a New Orleans restaurant family is canning the Japanese rice wine called sake, brewed from short-grain rice grown at the LSU AgCenter.

An AgCenter news release says Lindsay Beard of the Brennan family and business partner Nan Wallis want people to see sake not as an exotic drink to go with Asian food but as a refresher any time.

They say eight-ounce cans are an easier first-time sell than a whole bottle. Because Louisiana’s mills are for medium- and long-grain rice, the pearl-shaped grains are being processed in Minnesota for Wetlands Sake.

However, Rice Research Center resident coordinator Dustin Harrell says the center’s new mill will eventually be able to handle short-grain rice.