Tag Archives: Sake Breweries

米, 美食, 酒, 観光, 農業, Gastronomy, Japanese Gastronomy, Organic Vegetables, Rice, sake, Tourism

Akihiro Matsushita: Organic Sake Rice Grower in Fujieda City!

August 24, 2011 dragonlife Leave a comment

Akihiro Matsushita/松下明弘, Yuuji Miyata/宮田祐二 and Densaburou Aoshima/青島傳三郎!

Akihiro Matsushita is a true pioneer!
No less than 17 years ago he decided to grow all his rice organically, a revolution at the time that did not please many people in the very closed world of Japanese farming!
Fortunately things have changed since then…

15 years ago Akihiro contacted Densaburou (Sake Brewmaster’s name) Aoshima of Aoshima Sake Brewery in Fujieda City to aks him if he would be interested in creating sake with truly organic rice. Densaburou is also a true pioneer in his own closed Japanese sake world who gladly accepted the challenge.
And it certainly was a challenge!

Aoshima Brewery in Fujieda City! Kikuyoi/喜久酔 is their main brand name!

I’ve known Densaburou for quite some time now, and the fact he speaks fluent English does help when I introduce him to foreign fans of his nectars!

Yuuji Miyata/宮田祐二, Ryohei Miyake/三宅良平 and Densaburou Aoshima/青島傳三郎
Whatever the occasion, this is Japan, and nothing will start before business cards have been exchanged!

The fact I know quite a lot of people in the Japanese sake world in Shizuoka Prefecture even helps with my Japanese friends and colleagues.
Before meeting Akihiro Matsushita in his farm, Yuuji Miyamata, the man in charge of the development of Homare Fuji Sake Rice in Yaizu City and Ryohei Miyake, an official from the Shida Haibara Agriculture and Forestry Bureau joined me to visit Densaburou at his brewery as we were all going together to Akihiro’s place. Densaburou does not use the Homare Fuji Sake Rice in his brews but he entertains warm relations with all people concerned with the sake business in his region.

Akihiro is a shy gentleman who will nonetheless quickly open and talk passionately about his trade.
And you certainly need to be passionate and extremely knowledgeable to convince people in one of the most conservative regions of Japan!

Keeping his own fields separated from non-organic growers is no longer a problem, but it was open conflict when he started his venture. He does not remember how many times he had to clean his own fields of mountains of rubbish thrown into them during the night…
But since then Akihiro has been recognized and accepted as a true grower as amply proved by his JAS Organic Grower Recognition and his Shida EM Organic Agriculture Association Chairmanship!

Not only his fields, but surrounding areas have to be kept clean of any chemicals and unwanted materials.
Even so, rice growing within a few meters of the perimeter of his fields will not be sold or used!

Yamada Nishiki, the most famous sake rice variety in Japan! The grains will appear end of August!
The soil being part of the Ooigawa River bed is sandy. The same sand is river sand formed by the constant rubbing of stones.

A single look at the water and soil will tell you this is organic environment with all these bugs and snails!
Akihiro and Densaburou had once thought of ducks to keep their fields clean of bugs. Unfortunately the local stray cats put an end to the trials!

Although Mr. Miyata’s field is not concerned with Yamada Nishiki Sake Rice, his expertise is always welcome!

Akihiro’s fields of organic sake rice and those or normal edible organic rice occupy a lot of land here and there. I asked him if he would be interested in exporting some. He replied that he wouldn’t have enough land to do so! An unequivocal proof of his peers’ and customers’ recognition!

Everyone soon forgot me so passionate their discussions had become!

For all his extremely busy life, Akihiro still finds enough time for constant research: organic black rice!

This passion and thirst for new solutions just proves that Japan and its people, for all the cataclysms that regularly visit them, might bend now and again but will never break like the stalks of their rice!

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Must-see tasting websites:

-Sake: Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
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-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

美食, 酒, 農業, Gastronomy, Japanese Gastronomy, sake

Homare Fuji Sake Rice Fields Visit with Mr. Yuuji Miyata

August 19, 2011 dragonlife 2 Comments

Mr. Yuuji Miyata!

13 years ago, some enlightened individuals realized that Shizuoka Prefecture would have to produce its own sake rice, at least a part of it, for many reasons even if some of them are pointedly ignored by many…
First, the culture of sake rice (as opposite to that of edible rice) is a risky venture financially and a steady supply is fraught with unseen complications. Moreover, most of brewers outside the main sake rice producing areas have to “import” their rice from Hyogo, Hiroshima, Iwate, Niigata and other faraway Prefectures.
Moreover, whatever some brewers might tell you when questioned in front of witnesses, the quality of such imported rice cannot be fully insured.

Mr. Muramatsu’s Homare Fuji paddies (30 acres) in Naka Shinden, Yaizu City.

The only solution is to try and grow your own sake rice locally!
In 1998, under the auspices of the JA research was initiated on the culture of the Yamada Nishiki Sake Rice strain, considered as the best by many, in the Iwata Agricultural Research Center.
7 years later, 1n 2005, the cultivation was started in earnest in privately-owned fields under the guidance of such specialists such Mr. Miyata.

The rice stalks grow a lot thicker and nearer to each other than normal rice.

The Yaizu Sake Rice Research Association grouping 15 farmers grows more than 60% of this Yamada Nishiki Sake Rice under the name of Homare Fuji Sake Rice. Actually the same Association grows Homare Fuji Rice on 10.3 ha, Yamada Nishiki Rice on 5.6ha and Gohyakumangoku Rice on on 4.7 ha.
Homare Fuji Rice is presently grown by 31 farmers in 7 distinct areas across the whole Prefecture.
Moreover, 20 out 28 breweries presently produce some of their sake with Homare Fuji Sake Rice up to Junmai Ginjyou level.

Mr. Yuuji Miyata with Mr. Hiromi Ikegaya of the JA Ooigawa

It has become serious business as from this year the Yaizu JA Agricultural Association (governmental) will assume the responsibility for the sales of Homare Fuji Sake Rice grown in the Yaizu City area!

The personal help of Mr. Ryohei Miyake of the Shizuoka Prefecture Shida Haibara Agriculture & Forestry Bureau was certainly welcome to deal with all these farmers and JA representatives!
Messrs. Miyake and Miyata were kind enough to pick me up at Fujieda Station and take care of me for the whole day!
They took me to 3 different paddies including that of Mr. Muramatsu mentioned above and introduced me to the JA Ooigawa Representative and other personalities of the business!

In every paddy Mr. Miyata took out a rice stalk to painstakingly open it with his nails to show me the grains already developed inside and to tell me thus exactly when the rice would appear and would be harvested by the day!

The second paddy was that of Mr. Matsumura (20 acres), Higashi Mashizu, Yaizu City, where planting and harvesting events are regularly held!

Homare Fuji Sake Rice has two big qualities:
its stalks are shorter and harder and will not break under heavy winds, even those of typhoons. Moreover, their rice contains a lot less proteins than others, which allows for an exceptional maturing of sake!

Yaizu soil is of two types whether the fields are on the former bed of Ooigawa River with a high concentration of sand like the above-mentioned two paddies or of a clay type if closer to the mountains. Naturally the soil quality has to be taken in account for each paddy!

The Homare Fuji Rice stalks are comparatively short (25 cm shorter that those of Yamada Nishiki) , but the proportion of the leaves and bottom stalks (“saya”) are longer and the very foot (“fushi”) shorter and thicker.

The third paddy I was taken to is the “heart of the Homare Fuji Sake Rice” as Mr. Toshirhiro Umehara has taken charge of growing the rice for the grains only to be re-planted elsewhere for the last 3 years!

This 30-acre paddy is located in Hirajima in Fujieda City!

The grains will appear in about 10 days and the rice will be harvested in October!

This is rural Japan!

The men behind our regional sake, Mr. Yuuji Miyata and Mr. Toshihiro Umehara!

This is what is going to grow into full-fledged rice thanks to these farmers and later become the nectar of Japan (and Shizuoka Prefecture) thanks to our brewers!

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Shizuoka Umeshu Tasting: Fuji-Takasago Brewery-Limited Edition Umeshu with Shizuoka Tea

August 16, 2011 dragonlife 2 Comments

Many Shizuoka Breweries have been creating umeshu of their own as a way to expand their range of already extravagant nectars!

Fuji-Takasago Brewery in Fujinomiya City not only made umeshu with their own sake and local Japanese plums, but they also added it local macha tea to it!
It is furthermore a very limited edition!

Fuji-Takasago Brewery’s “Diamond” mark!

Sake
Ume/Japanese plums
Shizuoka Macha Tea
Alcohol: 11 degrees

Clarity: Green cloudy
Color: Deep tea green
Aroma: fruity and sweet. Ume/Japanese plums and tea
Body: Liquorish
Taste: Very pleasant sweetish attack with typical umeshu taste.
Drier than expected. Turns even drier with second sip.
The macha tea is very distinctive but beautifully blends with the umeshu.
The macha tea will linger with a sweeter back note with further sips.

Overall: Soft liqueur impression.
Very feminine but unusual dryness will appeal to gentlemen too.
Best appreciated chilled as it will warm up quickly inside the palate revealing many facets.
In Europe would make for a beautiful aperitif!
Best drunk on its own as it would be a waste to mix with anything but ice!

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Shizuoka Sake Tasting: Takashima Brewery-Hakuin Masamume Tokubetsu Honjozo Homare Fuji

August 16, 2011 dragonlife Leave a comment

Takashima Brewery in Numazu City has been extending its range of brews made with the Shizuoka-grown Homare Fuji Sake Rice into the Honjozo variety, that is sake which has been blended with pure rice alcohol.

Takashima Brewery-Hakuin Masamume Tokubetsu Honjozo Homare Fuji

Rice: Homare Fuji
Rice milled down to 60%
Alcohol: 15~16 degrees
Bottled in April 2011

Clarity: Very clear.
Color: Transparent.
Aroma: Light, discreet, fleeting.
Dry. Custard, banana.
Body: Fluid.
Taste: Dry attack. Complex. Fruity: custard, pears, almonds.
Disappears quickly with a dry pear note.
More dry pears tend to linger with further sips.
Turns even fleeting with food.
Faint notes of coffee beans and plums appear later.

Overall: A dry sake evidently conceived to balance heavy food such as of an izakaya.
Easy to drink but very dry.
Probably best appreciated with food although quite pleasurable on its own.

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Shizuoka Sake Tasting: Takashima Brewery: Hakuin ZEN Limited Yamahai Junmai Suntoh Yamada Nishiki

August 14, 2011 dragonlife Leave a comment

This is the second limited brew under the same generic name, “Hakuin Zen” that Takashima Brewery has produced this year to encourage local sake rice production.
Once again it was a limited edition, to no more than 300 bottles (720 ml)

Yamada Nishiki Sake Rice is probably the most famous of them all, and although it didn’t originate in Shizuoka Prefecture it can be grown here with very good results as proven by this Yamada Nishiki Sake Rice grown in Suntoh Gun near Numazu City.
The full name of this brew makes for another long staory!
Takashima Brewery-Hakuin “ZEN”, Special limmited Yamahai Junmai. Yamada Nishiki Sake Rice 100% grown in Suntoh!

Rice: Yamada Nishiki (100% Shizuoka Prefecture grown)
Rice milled down to 65%
Dryness: + 1.0
Acidity: 1.7
Alcohol: 15~16 degrees
Yeast: Shizuoka NEW-5
Production: 300 bottles (720 ml)
Bottled in May 2011

Clarity: Very clear
Color: Very faint golden hue
Aroma: Discreet, fleeting. Dry. Fruity: banana, dark cherries
Body: Fluid
Taste: Very dry attack but soft on tongue and palate.
Fruity and complex. Dry oranges, apricots with faint hints of coffee beans, dark chocolate, macadamia nuts and banana.
Disappears fairly quickly with more dry almonds and nuts.
Turns even drier with food.

Overall: An unusual sake but typical of Takashima Brewery.
Although I thoroughly enjoyed it on its own, does exceptionally marry well with food.
Very complex and fleeting.
Turns drier with food but doesn’t interfere with the latter.
The fact it is limited will make a few cry with envy!

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Shizuoka Sake Tasting: Sanwa Brewery: Garyubai Ginjyou Hamare Fuji

August 10, 2011 dragonlife Leave a comment

Although Sanwa Brewery in Shimizu Ku, Shizuoka City, has never used and probably never will use the Shizuoka-made yeasts, they nonetheless use many home-grown varieties of rice, especially Homare Fuji with which they come up with brews as high as junmai ginjyo!

The “Homare Fuji” banner.

This brew being a junmai (no alcohol blended in) genshu (no water added), it gives a fair indication of what to expect!

Rice: Homare Fuji
Rice milled down to 55%
Alcohol: 16~17 degrees
Dryness:+3
Acidity: 1.4
Bottled in July 2011

Clarity: Very clear
Color: Transparent
Aroma: Fruity, very dry: pineapple, banana. Alcohol and junmai characteristics
Body: Fluid
Taste: Strong junmai attack backed with strong and pleasant alcohol.
Complex and fruity. Custard, Macadamia nuts, almonds, oranges, dry plums.
Lingers for a while with very dry lychees and plums.
Apricots appear with the second and third sips.
Junmai petillant coming back strongly with food.
Marries welll with any food.

Overall: Brewers in Shizuoka Prefecture seem to have mastered the still new brand of Homare Fuji sake rice. They easily porduce as high as a level as Junmai Ginjyou with happy results.
This very brew, in spite of its strength, is particularly suited to food.
A sake for lovers of strong sake with a character!

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Shizuoka Sake tasting: Takashima Brewery-Hakuin Zen Junmai

August 8, 2011 dragonlife Leave a comment

I just had the opportunity to obtain a limited edition (only 180 bottles) of a Junmai sake brewed by Takashima Brewery in Numazu City!

At +8 it is certainly very dry and furthermore it was made with sake rice exclusively grown in Shizuoka Prefecture!

To cap it all (not the sake! LOL) it was adorned with those great words of hope!

Takashima Brewery-Hakuin -Zen Junmai

Rice: all grown in Shizuoka Prefecture
Rice milled down to 65%
Yeast: Shizuoka NEW-5
Alcohol: 15~16 degrees
Dryness: +8
Production: 180 Bottles (1.8 l)
Bottled in June 2011

Clarity: Very clear
Color: Very faint golden hue
Aroma: Very discreet, fleeting. Fruity. Pineapple. Hints of coffee beans.
Body: Fluid
Taste: Softer attack than expected. Elegant and fleeting.
Fruity. Very complex. Custard, oranges, pineapple.
Lingers for a while with very dry notes of oranges and coffee beans.
Ends with long dry coffee beans notes backed by Junmai petillant.
Marries perfectly with food with little change.

Overall: A sake for all seasons!
Definitely at its best on its own, but marries so well with food.
I brought it to a BBQ and Japanese and expats kept coming back to it in spite of all the beer and wine available!
Even ladies appreciated it!
Another discovery!

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Shizuoka Sake tasting: Suruga Brewery-Tenko Tokubetsu Junmai Homare Fuji

August 6, 2011 dragonlife Leave a comment

Tenko/天虹 in English means “Heaven Rainbow” and is the name of the main brand produced by Suruga Brewery in Shizuoka City!
Incidentally Suruga Brewery is the “youngest” brewery in Shizuoka City and Prefecture!

They are refreshingly eclectic in their approach as they both promote old brands they acquired when they bought the rights from the defunct Yoshiya Brewery last year, and also Shizuoka-grown sake rice, namely Homare Fuji/誉富士/”Proud Mount Fuji”!

Suruga Brewery-Tenko Tokubetsu Junmai Homare Fuji

Rice: Homare Fuji
Rice milled down to 60%
Dryness: +4
Acidity: 1.7
Alcohol: 15~16 degrees
Bottled in May 2011

Clarity: Very clear
Color: Very faint golden hue
Aroma: Strong and pleasant. Fruity: banana with hints of coffee beans and dark chocolate. Complex
Body: Fluid
Taste: Junmai petillant-dominated attack.
Very fruity and complex.
Starts liquorish in spite of its +4 dry status.
Lots of custard and almonds with notes of coffee beans, white chocolate and dark cherries.
Tends to turn drier with further sips.
Turns slightly drier with almonds and custard with food.
Smooth on the palate and easy to drink.

Overall: Unusual sake that, although dry, almost feels sirupy on the tongue.
Very complex and fruity.
Probably best drunk on its own at room temperature, but marries well with food.
Another sake you could drink as an “ice cram” if properly chilled!

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Shizuoka Shochu tasting: Sugii Brewer-Saisuke Shizuoka Imo

August 6, 2011 dragonlife Leave a comment

Sugii Brewery/Distillery in Fujieda City has been noted for quite some time as producing not only top-class sake but alsoo shochu of a superlative level.
They also have the merit to use local ingredients whenever possible!

The imo, or satsuma imo/薩摩芋/sweet potatoes used in this shochu are exclusively grown in Shizuoka Prefecture!

Sweet potatoes (Shizuoka-grown)
Yeast: Shizuoka NEW-5
Kooji/麹: Yellow kooji
Distillation: Normal pressure type
Alcohol: 25.5 %
Bottled in March 2009

Clarity: very clear
Color: Transparent
Aroma: Strong. Nutty. Complex. Hints of pineapple and dry bananas
Body: fluid
Taste: Strong but smooth attack.
Lingers for a while warming up back of the palate.
More complex than expected.
Sweet but dry on the tongue.
Pineapple, nuts, dry almonds, walnuts.
Marries well with food.
Drunk on its own or on plenty of ice mainly reveals a dry nutty, almost sweetish strong accent to rapidly grow into a very dry invasion of the palate.

Overall: A shochu more elegant than expected!
Its strong nutty taste is very pleasant and marries well with any food.
I personally appreciate it on its own poured over a lot of ice like I do for any higher quality shochu, although great with the addition of lemon or lime juice or mixed with Perrier water!

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Shizuoka Shochu Tasting: Takashima Brewery: “En” Sherry Barrel Matured Rice Shochu

July 31, 2011 dragonlife 4 Comments

Takashima Brewery in Numazu City has been justifiably considered for the past few years as one of the most daring Sake Breweries in Japan.
Not only content with producing nationally recognized sakes, they also make use of the sakekasu/white lees of their premium sakes into some extraordinary rice shochu!

Having distilled the sakekasu into shochu spirits they store the latter in sherry barrels inported from Spain to mature for at least two years.
The result is a unique nectar the color of wood.
Actually, the first time they submitted it for registration with the Japan Bureau of Taxes and Excise, it was refused for the somewhat pernicious reason it was too dark and resembled too much to whisky!

Takashima Brewery: “En” Sherry Barrel Matured Rice Shochu

Rice
Alcohol: 25~26%

Clarity: Very clear
Color: Wooden, light brown orange
Aroma: Strong. Alcohol. Plums, oranges.
Body: Fluid
Taste: Fruity and complex.
Plums, nuts.
Disappears quickly warming up the back of the palate for a long time.
Both elegant and puissant.
Fruits keep reappearing with every sip.
Very reminiscent of whisky and anturally dry sherry.

Overall: Extremely elegant and rare shochu!
Probably a unique taste in the whole of Japan.
Drinks easily.
So complex that it requests many a sip to properly discern it.
Should be drunk poured over a lot of ice.
Mixing it with water, or anything else for that matter, would be tantamount to infanticide!

Takashima Brewery
410-0312 Shizuoka prefecture, Numazu Shi, Hara, 354-1 ( a few minutes walk from Hara JR Station)
Tel: 055-966-0018
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)

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Shizuoka Sake Tasting: Sugii Brewery-Suginishiki Yamahai Junmai Homare Fuji Genshu

July 30, 2011 dragonlife Leave a comment

The name of this brew just made by Sugii Brewery in Fujieda City seems indeed a long story!
Yamahai is the old traditional natural way of making sake shunned by many breweries but not so much here where this brand of sake is increasingly becoming popular!

It has two great nerits: it is made with Homare Fuji sake rice grown in Shizuoka Prefecture and it is a junmai (no alcohol added) genshu (no water added). Practically untouched!

Rice : Homare Fuji
Rice milled down to 70%
Alcohol: 18~19 degrees
Dryness: -1.0 (sweet by Shizuoka standards)
Acidity: 2.2
Yeast: Association No 7
Pasteurised only once
Brewed in 2010
Bottled in July 2011

Clarity: Very clear
Color: Faint golden hue
Aroma: Fruity: banana,, custard, pears.
Body: fluid
Taste: Dryish attack with a lot of pears and junmai petillant.
Complex. Fruity: Pears, oranges, custard.
Pears lingering in the back of the mouth for a while.
Very pleasant and easy to drink.
High alcohol contents affect taste very little.
Turns quickly dry after a sweetish start in spite of its -1.0 status (sweet).
Oranges, pears, black cherries and even almonds keep coming back with further sips.
Changes little with food.

Overall: Very pleasant sake in spite of its Yamahai genshu status which just shows how great skills can help make such a supposedly strong sake easy to drink.
Complex and surprising.
Although obviously designed to accompany food it is best enjoyed on its own slightly chilled. It could reveal other facets if served lukewarm/nurukan.
Certainly one of the best sake made with Homare Fuji rice I’ve ever had the pleasure to taste!

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Shizuoka Sake Tasting: Hana No Mai Brewery-Junmai Chyo Kara Kuchi

July 26, 2011 dragonlife Leave a comment

Hana No Mai Brewery in Hamamatsu City usually make their sake with their own sakamai/sake rice.
They are known to produce comparatively soft sakes in the Prefecture, but they do have a few brews for fans who like their sakes with more character.

This junmai (no pure alcohol added) has the particularity to be very dry/Chyo kara kuchi/超辛口 and is advertized as such!

Hana No Mai Brewery: Junmai Chyo Kara Kuchi/花の舞酒造・従並み超辛口

Rice: Shizuoka Yamada Nishiki
Rice milled down to 60%
Alcohol: 15~16 degrees
Bottled on May 30th, 2011

Clarity: Very clear
Color: Very faint golden hue
Aroma: Fruity: banana, pineapple
Body: Fluid
Taste: Lighter attack than expected. Very dry.
Complex and fruity; Oranges, pineapple, custard.
Lingers for a while with dry almonds and hints of coffee beans.
Junmai petillant coming late.
Turns slightly sweeter with food.
Makes a very dry comeback as soon as away from food with a lot of oranges and coffee beans.
Alcohol seems to be more noticeable in spite of usual content.

Overall: As its name indicates, a very dry sake!
Made headier for it if drunk slightly chilled but could be interesting drunk as nurukan/lukewarm as noticed in many local izakayas. It is no wonder to find it in the same izakaya as it has obviously been designed to marry with heavy food!
For dry sake lovers!

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Shizuoka Sake Tasting: Negami Brewery-Tokubetsu Junmai

July 25, 2011 dragonlife 4 Comments

When I visited Mr. Negami in his brewery in Gotemba City 550 metres up Mount Fuji, I asked him, “Why do you make only Junmai Sake (Sake to which no pure alcohol is added)? After all, you are none among only thirteen in the whole of Japan!”
Before giving me the answer, the brewmaster explained he visited my France, my home country, where he loved the wines so much and then finally replied, “Do you add alcohol to wines? Why should I?”
Although technically incorrect (Port wines for example), I tend to agree with him!

Negami Brewery-Kinmei Tokubetsu Junmai

Rice: Yamada Nishiki
Alcohol: 15%
Water: Mount Fuji Source Water
Bottled in May 2011

Clarity: very clear
Color: Light golden hue
Aroma: Fruity and powerful
Custard, banana.
Body: Fluid
Taste: Fruity attack backed by Junmai petillant
Complex. Oranges, custard, caramel, almonds.
Pleasantly lingers for a while warming up the back of the palate.
Starts liquorish to quickly turn dry.
Dry oranges make a comeback with a faint note of white chocolate, macadamia nuts and coffee beans.
Marries so well with food!

Overall: Very pleasant sake fit for any time of the day or night, chilled or at room temperature!
Drinks so easily.
Personally I prefer to drink it as it is at room temperature on its own for the sheer pleasure of a straightforward sake combining the tastes of old and new!

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Shizuoka Sake tasting: Doi Brewery-Kaiun Hana no Ka Junmai Ginjo Genshu Nama Nigori Homare Fuji

July 20, 2011 dragonlife Leave a comment

When looking for unusual brews you do have to keep your eyes wide open!
To think that Doi Brewery in Kakegawa City put out only 100 bottles of this particular sake by I consider myself lucky to have noticed it in the small supermarket inside the JR Station of the same city!

You do also have to keep your eyes open (that is, if you can read Japanese!) for the comments written on various parts of the bottle:
“霞か雲かにごり酒/kasumi ka kumo ka nigori sake” meaning, “A haze or a cloud? A troubled (like in troubled waters) sake”.
Nothing negative about it as the Japanese call “nigori/impure-troubled” a sake which was not separated from the white lees.
In this case they left just enough of the white lees to create a “haze”!

The name alone of this brew certainly makes for a long sory!

Doi Brewery-Kaiun Hana no Ka Junmai Ginjo Genshu Nama Nigori Homare Fuji
Doi Brewery: name of the Brewery located in Kakegawa City
Hana no Ka: The Flower Perfume, name of a special series of sake
Junmai Ginjo: the level of the sake. Junmai also denotes the fact that no pure alcohol was added
Genshu: unaltered sake to which no pure water has been added
Nama: unpasteurized
Nigori: in this cas more or less unfiltered
Homare Fuji: name of the rice. Homare Fuji rice is exclusively grown inside Shizuoka Prefecture

Doi Brewery-Kaiun Hana no Ka Junmai Ginjo Genshu Nama Nigori Homare Fuji/土井酒造・花の香純米吟醸原酒生にごり誉富士

Rice: Homare Fuji
Rice milled down to 55%
Alcohol: 17 degrees
Yeast: Shizuoka Yeast
Limited to 100 bottles
Bottled in March 2011

Clarity: Very clear if unshaken. Smoky if shaken (white lees)
-Color: Transparent if unshaken, whitish, cloudy if shaken
Aroma: Strong fruity alcohol. Banana, custard
Body: Fluid
Taste: Not as strong as expected. Pleasant and easy to drink.
Fruity, almost liquorish. White lees do not influence taste as much as expected.
Fruity: oranges, banana, hints of coffee beans and dark chocolate.
Varies little with food.
Disappears quickly and pleasantly with oranges, lemon, and notes of almonds.
Great balance between acidity and slight sweetness.

Overall: For all the fact it is a nigori, it revealed itself as softer and more pleasant than expected.
The higher alcohol is barely noticeable.
Marries so well with any food, especially heavy izakaya fare.
If chilled could be drunk as a dessert wine or liqueur!
A discovery!

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美食, 農業, Gastronomy, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, sake

Shizuoka Sake Tasting: Negami Brewery-Tokubetsu Junmai Nama

July 20, 2011 dragonlife Leave a comment

Negami Brewery has the particularity of being the highest located brewery in Shizuoka Prefecture.
Some time ago they had to move from their original place near Gotemba Station to a spot 550 meters high on the slopes of Mount Fuji to dig a well into Mount Fuji to use its Water!

Negami Brewery also has this particularity to produce only junmai style sake, that is, no pure alcohol is ever added!
This brew is a nama, meaning it wasn’t sterilized!

Negami Brewery-Tokubetsu Junmai Nama

Rice: Yamanishiki 100%
Rice milled down to 60%
Alcohol: 15 degrees
Water: Mount Fuji water
Bottled in June 2011

Clarity: very clear
Colour: Very faint golden hue
Aroma: discreet. Sweetish. Fruity: banana
Body: Fluid
Taste: Junmai petillant attack backed by pleasant alcohol
Complex and fleeting. Fruity.
Disappears fairly quickly.
Dry, reminiscent of of a dry white wine.
Pineapple, faint almonds.
Liquorish comeback with second sip. Oranges and pears coming later.
Turns soft with food. Very feminine.

Overall: A very soft approach to sake.
Can be appreciated in many ways but is best at room temperature.
Ladies will love it!

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