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Second Sake Tasting Meeting: Junmai!

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"Born" Muroka Nama Genshu Junmai Daiginjo:

50% Semaibui, 17.5% ABV, +4 SMV, 1.8 Acidity, Yamada Nishiki & Tama Sakae Rice, KAT09 Yeast

Tasting Notes:

It is MUROKA (uncharcoal filtered), NAMA (unpasteurized), GENSHU (undiluted) sake. Aged in a regulated-10 degrees Celcius environment, this sake conjures a rich aroma of ripe pears and fresh full-bodied flavor that is smooth, round and pleasantly sweet.

Katoukichibee Shouten: Located in the historic city of Sabae in Fukui Prefecture, the city flourished as a temple town during the 13th century, and became a castle town during the 18th century.  It is now known as a city of craftmanship, full of artisans who produce traditional crafts such as laquers, pottery, and cutlery. 

The Katoukichibee Shouten was founded 150 years ago and is now in their 11th generation.  The brewery is known in the states as the BORN brewery.  In Sanskrit, born means "pure" and “striking truth,” as well as stands for “birth to the future” and “creativity.” This word represents the brewery’s strong belief that “a bright future awaits those who put in the effort and as long as one is alive, one can always reset their life no matter how many mistakes he/she makes.”  With this sense of craftsmanship, they only produce Junmai grade sake.  They use water that comes from an underground water source from the local Hakusan Mountain range pumped from a well about 604 feet (184 Meters) deep.  They also employ the best sake rice, Yamadanishiki and Gohyakumangoku, as well as their original house kobo yeast. The average milling rate of the sake rice is less than 40%, which means that their sake is extremely high quality, and it goes through a long-term fermentation stage at freezing point to receive a sophisticated flavor.

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Shichi Hon Yari Shizuku Junmai Daiginjo:

45% Semaibui, 15.5% ABV, +4 SMV, 1.8 Acidity, Tamazakae Rice, Association #1401 Yeast

Tasting Notes:

Elegant on the palate due to the SHIZUKU method of filtration, where the bags of lees are hung by the neck, and let drip by gravity only.  It has earthy aromas with a nutty character. Crisp, clean, subtle and deliciously dry.

Tomita Brewery: Shichi Hon Yari is named after the seven spearsmen who became legends at the battle of Shizugatake fought just outside the town of Kinomoto in 1583. In this battle, these seven warriors crushed their enemy and brought victory to their leader, the warlord, Hideyoshi. One battle later, Hideyoshi defeated the Nobunaga clan and secured his dominance over Japan. When the Tomita’s started shipping their saké to the new capital of Tokyo, in the Edo Period, they named their sake after these great warriors and created the “saké of victory.”

Founded in the 1540’s in the small town of Kinomoto, with its production limited to just over 5,000 cases per year, the Tomita Shuzou is one of the oldest and smallest breweries in Japan. With one toji and three brewers producing every bottle, this saké is truly te-zukuri, or “handmade.” It is also a saké that is steeped in history, its name coming from seven brave spearsmen who are legends in Japanese history, and the Japanese characters for the saké being made by one of Japan’s greatest artists. Today, the Tomita Brewery is filled with the energy of a new generation, as it lays a new foundation for many more years to come.

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Watari Bune Junmai Daiginjo:

35% Semaibui, +3 SMV, 1.4 Acidity, Watari Bune Rice, Association #9 Yeast, Fune pressed by hand, MUROKA (Non-Charcoal Filtered), NAMAZUME (Once Pasturized in Bottle)

Tasting Notes:

Lively, Aromatic, and complex.  Deep and luscious, with layered big fruit flavors characterized by honeydew melon, peaches, and pineapple.

Huchu Homare Brewery: Watari Bune, the rice varietal used to make this sake, is an "heirloom" or "pure" rice strain that was once used about 100 years ago due to its ability to create beautiful sake, but was halted, due to its unstable and inconsistent yield at the end of harvest.  This particular rice strain, grows tall, usually falling over at every gust of wind.  Eventually, sake brewers gave up, and switched their sake rice to other strains, usually hybrids designed to withstand faulty weather and still thrive.  Sixty years later, Takaaki Yamauchi, the 7th generation president and brewer, sought out to find the legendary Watari Bune rice strain.  In 1988, he finally tracked down some freeze dried Watari Bune samples that were preserved by the Japanese government at their Agricultural Research Center.  Iw as given 14 grams of the seedlings and planted them right away.  Waiting patiently, 3 seasons later, in 1990, he was able to brew his first batch of sake with his crops.

Yamauchi is convinced that Watari Bune is the father of the prized Yamada NIshiki rice strain, although some argue against it.

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Flower Yeasts are sake brewing yeasts that were isolated from various Japanese flowers and adapted to sake brewing.  They impart enticing floral and fruity notes to the sake.  The Chokaisan brewery was intrumental in the research and development of these new yeasts, and remains one of the leading producers of flower yeast sake.  This aromatic sake is best used in a wine glass, despite the tradition of small sake cups and was voted best sake to drink out of a wine glass.

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Chokaisan Junmai Daiginjo:

50% Semaibui, 15-16% ABV, +1 SMV, 1.4 Acidity, Miyamanishiki Rice, Red Flower Yeast ND-4, Soft Water

Tasting Notes:

This sake was brewed using a flower yeast, which most certainly lends to the floral bouquet you initially get as soon as you bring the glass to your lips.  Unique, and elegant, with a super smooth mouthfeel, herbaceous characteristics of anise, and fresh herbs are prevalent, finishing with a crispness of Asian pear.

Chokaisan Brewery (Tenju Shuzo):  Located in the town of Yashima which lays in the foothills of Mt. Chokai, it was founded in 1874 by Eikichi Ohi.  Tenju Shuzo is a tightly knit, family-owned brewery enjoying its sixth generation of sake production. To ensure the quality of their product, the brew masters at Tenju use only naturally filtered, soft water from nearby Mt. Chokai and rice grown by exclusively commissioned local farmers.

The brewery is currently run by the Ohi brothers, Takeshi and Hitoshi, who are always updated on the latest technology, and have also researched a new sake yeast strain derived from flowers.  This unique ingredient provides a beautiful floral bouquet, for which their sake is known.

The master Toji, Shunji Sato, not only attends to the brewery in the winter during production, but spends his summers on premise farming the rice.  Having such an intimate connection to all stages of sake making, it allows him to create a sake just as he wants them.  His ultimate goal is "to brew a sake that gives the drinker the same sensation they feel while looking at the gorgeous Mt. Chokai on a clear winter's day."

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Kamoizumi Shuzo "Autumn Elixir":

50% Semaibui, 16% ABV, 0.5 SMV, 1.4 Acidity, Yamada Nishiki Rice, Setouchi21 Yeast, Soft Water

Tasting Notes:

Full bodied, this sake is rich and smooth in the mouthfeel, it has a mild sweetness with a range of robust flavors varying from persimmon, caramel, shiitake and autumn leaves.  Tartness, sweetness, and SHIBUMI (astringency) all converge in harmonious balance.

Kamoizumi Shuzo Brewery: Located just west of Hiroshima in Saijo, Kamoizumi Shuzo was founded by the Maekake family, who were first rice farmers soon to become a small family owned brewery, with their first batch of sake in 1910.  In 1965 the Maekake family was one of a pioneering group of ten breweries to only make JUNMAI (Pure) grade sake, which at the time, was not the popular choice, as many other breweries were adding brewer's alcohol to yield more profit.  In 1971, they came out with their first Junmai lable.  And again, with innovation, disregarding the norms of what their counterparts were doing, Kamoizumi refused to use the charcoal filtration system that gives sake its clarity.  They believed that these "impurities" that everyone was filtering out, were essential characteristics of the sake and that filtering them out was compromising the essential nature of its identity.

If ever there was a sake brewery that set itself apart from the others, it's Kamoizumi.  No brewery in Japan has taken a stronger stand for individuality than Kamoizumi. Their sake has an attitude: robust, tawny, full-flavored, yet with the smooth finish and easy drinkability that are the hallmarks of technical mastery.

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Ichishima Junmai Daiginjo:

50% Semaibui, 15.3% ABV, +4 SMV, 1.9 Acidity, Gohyakumangoku Rice, Proprietary Yeast, Soft Water.

Tasting Notes: Complex floral and fruity nose with cherry and pear in the background, and a sweetness up front.  Rich and creamy on the palate with hints of soft fruit like banana and peach.

Ichishima Brewery: Founded by a rich farmer who owned lots of land, this has been family owned and operated since 1790, and still remains one of the most prominent breweries in the Niigata Prefecture. 

Despite history and tradition, Ichishima brewery didn't turn its head on innovation and change.  One of the first breweries to hire female KURUBITO (Brewery Workers), and is also known to have one of the very first female TOJI (Master Brewer).  This is a pretty big deal since it was believed long ago, that a female presence in the brewery would anger the Gods and disrupt the fermentation process.  Not to mention, the amount of physical labor that went into the job description.  It wasn't until Kenji, the current President's, father died unexpectedly, that his mother took over the business and hired several female kurobito, until one of the women rose up through the ranks and passed her Toji exam.  It is thought that since the current KURO (brewery) is comprised of a significant amount of women, there is a soft, feminine quality to the sake.

The current Toji is Takeshi Tanaka, who began working at Ichishima Shuzo in 1986 at the age of 19, and soon afterwards began his training under the previous toji as a manager of the yeast starter. Since then he has graduated from the Niigata Seishu Gakkou and received his First Class Brew Master Degree. In 2003, he finally became the head toji at Ichishima. Takeshi is extremely dedicated to his job and the brewery; he is even married to a co-worker! Although his sake has won several prestigious gold medals, Takeshi says his goal is merely to "brew sake with umami, and make people smile."

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Junmai Daiginjo Sake Line up From Left to Right: Ichishima Junmai Daiginjo, Kamoizumi Junmai Daiginjo, Chokaisan Junmai Daiginjo, Watari Bune Junmai Daiginjo, Shichi Hon Yari Junmai Daiginjo, Born: Muroka Namagenshu Junmai Daiginjo

[Junmai] DAIGINJO: A grade of sake that is determined by the SEMAIBUI (rice polishing ratio) of at least 50% milling rate.  The semaibui is always the amount of rice that has been left, not what has been polished away. 

The breweries polish the outsides of the rice away to get rid of unnecessary fats and proteins.  The goal is to get closer to the SHINPAKU (heart) of the rice where all of the starch is stored.  The smaller the semaibui the cleaner, more pure, and more refined the sake will be. 

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The Beginning

Sake, the traditional drink of Japan that is slowly becoming more popular on our side of the world.  Now, considered a drink for the elderly to enjoy in Japan, is considered a luxury to drink here in the States.  Exposure of this wonderful drink has led many of my friends and I, to love and dedicate our time to learning more about this highly complex and unique beverage.

The small, but growing group we have accumulated through networking within our overlapping industries (Restaurant, Distribution, Consumer) has all led us together, to meet twice a month and explore in depth, into the wide world of Sake.

Within this blog, you will find photos of our tasting line up, detailed tasting notes, technical specs, and a brief history of the brewery.  We hope to lessen the gap between cultures and timelines, and to enlighten the world that has been left in the dark; only to know sake as HOT and BOMBS.

Please enjoy our blog and learn along side us on our sake journey.

Kanpai! (Translation: Cheers!)

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It is the man who drinks the first bottle of saké; then the second bottle drinks the first, and finally it is the saké that drinks the man. -Japanese Proverb