Sake Industry News. Issue #110

Welcome to Issue#110 of SIN.

Last issue we announced the blooming of this year’s cherry blossoms, and now this issue sees them beginning to fall. Such a brief window of Japan’s nature and culture, yet it garners so much attention every year. 

Now, perhaps, dear reader, you’re not interested in cherry blossoms.
Maybe you’ve come here for the sake!
And you know what? That’s okay.

So much of Japanese culture is tied into the rich history of sake, but is it entirely necessary to appreciate every aspect of Japanese culture in order to appreciate sake? Not at all.

Does an appreciation for the other aspects of Japanese culture improve our understanding and appreciation of sake? Sometimes, sure, perhaps.

But it is not a prerequisite. All we need to do is to savor and appreciate the beverage for what it is and how it makes us feel.

If, by chance, you also happen to enjoy all the cultural peripherals that come with Japanese sake - good for you. Hopefully it enriches your enjoyment.

However for others, fear not. It is not imperative to read manga comics, watch anime, follow sumo, take flower arrangement classes, write haiku, fold origami, wear a kimono and slippers in your house, sleep on a futon or install a heated toilet seat to be a true sake lover.

A love of sake is all that is required (although installing a heated toilet seat is highly recommended regardless of what you drink).

And now for the news…

---

Bringing The Brewing Back Home

Tokyo- Noguchi Shuzōten in Fuchu, Tokyo, has resumed sake production this spring after a 40-year hiatus. The brewery originally ceased brewing as the area became more urbanized affecting the quality of water. The current 7th generation owner revived onsite production with help of a local university.

Noguchi Shuzōten was founded in 1860. The original business model was as a general store offering liquor and food, however in 1869 the company switched to sake production. 

For a number of years the brewery released sake using high quality local Fuchu water under the label, Kōzuru.

Image Credit - Noguchi Shuzōten

However, toward the end of Shōwa Era (mid 1980s), rapid  urbanization around the brewery began to have a negative effect on the quality of the water. As a result, the brewery outsourced production to relatives in Nagano Prefecture who also run a sake brewery.

According to Eiichirō Noguchi, 7th generation owner, it was the Graduate School of Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology headquartered in Fuchu which helped to revive local sake brewing. The School was working on development of a new rice strain and approached Noguchi to use the rice to brew sake.

Assistance then came in the form of Daisuke Kinoshita, who had previously led brewing duties at his own family’s brewery, Amabuki Shuzō in Saga Prefecture. In recent years Kinoshita had mostly been away from Saga, involved in the sales and administration side of his family’s business. However, the brewing itch is a tricky one to scratch, and as luck would have it, Kinoshita had actually been on the lookout for a brewing project in the Tokyo area, where his wife’s family is located, when Noguchi called.

Noguchi Shuzōten began renovations at its Fuchu facility in September last year. The brewery added a new two-story sake brewing plant with thermal tanks and rebuilt the kōji room, which was completed in mid-March this year.

Brewing began in April using the new rice variety, Sakura Fukuhime, and a new underground water source, with the first releases set to be on sale from May. 

The new brewing facility is equipped to brew mostly year-round with the goal to produce fresh sustainable sake for the immediate Tokyo metropolitan area.

Source - Yomiuri

JG: There is so much more to this than meets the eye. Kōzuru has been available as a Tokyo sake, but a little heard of, hard to find, and not so highly regarded sake the whole time, and now I see that it was being outsourced the whole time. And how will this affect Kinoshita’s relationship with his family’s brewery, in Saga? Was it an amicable decision? None of this is really our business, but such questions do arise. In any event, best of luck to Noguchi Shuzōten.

野口酒造店(國府鶴）, 天吹酒造 , さくら福姫

---

More Kurap Coming In May

Niigata- Three well-established breweries in Niigata Prefecture are collaborating again for a 2024 release of Kurap3.

Sharing yeast from Takeda Shuzōten, water from Kubiki Shuzō and the brewing facilities of Chiyono Hikari Shuzō the limited release junmai ginjō set to be labeled, Button will be available in May under the groups’ moniker, Kurap3.

Although the sake will be labeled “button”, according to the group’s press release the actual meaning behind the name is “baton” (the two words sound almost interchangeable in Japanese). The name is inspired by the concept of passing the yeast and water among the breweries like a baton in a sake relay.

Kurap3 was formed with the goal of sharing yeast, water and brewing techniques to create unique kimoto sake.

On March 14, the brewers gathered at Chiyono Hikari Shuzō to create the starter mash with locally grown Yamada Nishiki, along with water from Kubiki Shuzō and yeast from Takeda Shuzōten. The final sake will yield close to 2500 720ml bottles.

All three brewers expressed great anticipation for seeing the end product after sharing a great appreciation for seeing how they each work and approach brewing.

Source - JoetsuTJ

JG: Technically this seems to be a really interesting and fun project. They may want to consider marketing angles related to the naming, though. Just sayin’.

竹田酒造店　（かたふね）, 頚城酒造　（越路乃紅梅）, 千代の光酒造

---

Mio Joins The Big Leagues

New York- In our last issue, we reported on the recent news of products made with beni-kōji being recalled due to health concerns, including Takara Shuzō’s highly popular Mio Sparkling Rosé.

Fortunately, this issue sees better news for the largest sake producer in the world with the announcement that Takara USA and Mio Sparkling Sake (not the recalled version) will be the first sake brewery sponsors of famed baseball team, the New York Mets.