Archive for month: November, 2008

Tomita Brewery

Tomita Brewery is an exceptionally small brewery that has attained global reach when they began exporting their sake to the United States. From Kyoto I had to take 2 local trains to get deep into Shiga countryside and was met by Shichihonyari Executive Director, Mr. Yasunobu Tomita. Tomita-san is a young guy whose enthusiasm for sake is impressive. There is certainly no shortage of hard work for anyone running a sake brewery, but Tomita-san has taken on these challenges with self assurance and confidence.

The “Seven Spearsmen” Brand
Tomita-san’s The flagship sake is Shichihonyari, which translates as the “seven spearsmen”. This name honors 7 samurai warriors who helped secure victory for the famous Japanese War Lord Hideyoshi in 1583. In the US today, we have access to two delicious Shichihonyari sakes. First is their most famous export the Shichihonyari Junmai. This sake uses locally grown Tamazakae sake rice. It’s fantastic both chilled and heated and offers a robust, truly artisan hand crafted sake experience. Not to be missed. Oh, and you can’t beat the cool Samurai design on the label.

Another sake we can get from Tomita-san is the Shichihonyari Shizuku Junmai Daiginjo. An exquisite Shizuku or “drip” sake, it’s an elegant treat of light fruits on the palate a wisp of crispness that gives it a grounded backbone and good balance.

Tomita-san with His Vintage Fune

After a tour of his brewery facility Tomita-san took me out to lunch and for a visit to a nearby rice field. The day was spectacular and I got stunning views of beautiful Lake Biwa, circling hawks, and the low rolling hills of Shiga. Fantastic!

I can’t thank Tomita-san enough for hosting me on this wonderful day in Shiga. I won’t soon forget all his kindness. Also thank you to the entire Tomita family for such outstanding hospitality. I hope I can return someday, but until then, I’ll keep giving my pop quizzes about Shiga to help spread the word of the “Seven Spearsmen”. Kanpai!

Beautiful Marumoto Brewery

Brewery President, Mr. Marumoto explained that the brewery was founded in 1867 at the end of Edo period and has been producing sake since then. However, this brewery isn’t just famous for it’s sake. The wooden framed brewery complex is registered as an “Important Cultural Property” by Japanese goverment, similar to the National Register of Historic Places here in the US.

Growing Your Own Rice

Marumoto-san Explains Sake Rice

We visited several of his rice paddies around and toured some fields that had different levels of fertilzer, and some that were certified organic. The more I saw, the more I realized how dedicated Marumoto-san was to creating the perfect rice for his sake.

Sake Rice Steaming

Just Steamed Sake Rice

Rice Goes Into the Tank

That is what was happening on the day I was at Marumoto Brewery. Once collected after this brief cooling, the rice is transported to the main mash vat. How do that do that? Like many other breweries, they use a flexible tube to blow the rice along. This tube gets stuck through the floor and right into the top of the vat on the floor below. After the rice addition, the mash gets stirred into the vat using a long pole. Maruomoto-san and his staff demonstrated how this mixing was done and I tried it myself, but I was a sorry excuse for a kurabito. Maybe after a few months of practice could I get it down pat.

In addition to the steaming and adding rice to the main mash, I also got to see the Koji room, the mash pressing area, the milling room and also the bottling and storage facility. It was especially interesting to see the large refrigerated room where the Chikurin Hou Hou Shu Sparkling Junmai sake undergoes its second fermentation in the bottle. A lot of New Year’s Eve toasting starts right here!

Dinner with a Surprise
A report on my visit to Chikurin wouldn’t be complete without a mention of the very special dinner Maruomoto-san invited us to. At the start of our meal, a rice paper screen opened at one end of the banquet room, and we were treated to a demonstration of “Shiki Hocho”, or the centries old and elaborate fish carving ritual that allows the chef to use a knife and chopsticks but not touch the fish directly.

Viewing the Rare Art of Shiki Hocho

Chikurin Sakes

With Mr. Marumoto

From the once pasteurized, light and lovely Chikurin Karoyaka Junmai Ginjo to the rich and wonderfully silky smooth texture of the Chikurin Taoyaka Junmai Daiginjo, I saw first hand how these sakes are a true labor of love. I can’t thank Maruotomo-san enough for the wonderful hospitality and tremendous learning during my time at Chikurin. I had experiences I will always remember! Thank you!

Reflecting back on this time, I can’t help but think how much more enthusiasm and appreciation I have for sake with each brewery I visit. It’s magic what they do at places like Marumoto Brewery. Thanks for the magic you bring to all of us.

Chikurin at Dusk

Asahi Shuzo Brewery in Nagaoka Niigata

Kubota Facility

Inside, I could see that the Brewery was clean, efficient and beautiful. Not just the facility itself, but also the size was impressive. As Sanjo-san gave me the tour, from start to finish, I got the sense that this place as run like clockwork and had a tremendous scale of operation.

First, I got to take an up close look at the moto (yeast starter) and even got to try my hand at mixing the moto! Yes, please note the hairnet and coat. It’s a really good look for me!

Mixing the Moto

This is the incubation chamber of sake and it is understandably lavished a lot of attention. This yeast starter ends up in the main tank and kicks off the brewing process giving the yeast a fighting chance to survive and create lots of alcohol in the main mash.

Brewing Room Tanks

Speaking of their sake, Kubota makes some heavenly sake that is available for sale both in Restaurants and retail in The USA. After our tour, Sanjo-san took me out to expore Nagaoka and for a wonderful dinner to taste local food with delicious sake.

Enjoying Kubota Sake with Sanjo-san

What a day! As I headed back to my hotel, I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face! I had such a fantastic experience and felt so lucky to have seen Asahi Shuzo. My sincere thanks to Sanjo-san and family for the wonderful day in Nagaoka! The tour and hospitality were simply amazing. I can’t wait to return and see more of beautiful Asahi Shuzo and Nagaoka!

With Mr. Endo of Kikusui

I was met at the train station by Mr. Takeshi Endo, Export Salesman for Kikusui. Mr. Endo would be my guide for a fun filled day at Kikusui! Let me just say that my tour of Kikusui turned out to be more than I expected. As fate would have it, Kikusui Brewery was putting on a yearly Sake Rice Harvest festival for the local community on the day of my visit. Not only was I able to visit this fantastic brewery, but I also got the chance to harvest organic sake rice… by hand!

Beautiful Organic Kikusui Sake Rice Field

Kikusui Rice Harvest in Full Swing

In about two hours, the entire rice paddy was harvested! phew, time for a break. Kikusui arranged for a fantastic concert by the Pataya Beach Boys. They were great and I even found a clip of them playing on YouTube if you want to give a listen! The crowd at Kikusui loved it and even chanted for an encore.

Beautiful Vintage Masu on Display at the Kikusui Sake Museum

Next is was time to eat! Our hosts at Kikusui whipped up a wonderful lunch topped off by something new to me… I got to try hand pounded fresh mochi for the first time!

Pounding Rice Into Delicious Mochi

So there I was, in the middle of the Niigata countryside, eating fresh sake-rice mochi, drinking fantastic kikusui Sake – I was in 7th heaven! I am so grateful to Mr. Takasawa-san for hosting me and certainly also to Mr. Endo who took such good care of me and showed me around all day long. Without a doubt, this is a day I will remember for the rest of my life. Now, please pass the mochi.