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“Michizakura” & “Hanatomoe” In-store tasting event @ Ikebukuro

You can taste Michizakura, Michizakura Shuzo. from Gifu prefecture, and Hanatomoe, Miyoshino Brewery. from Nara prefecture.

Michizakura (Michizakura Shuzo.)

Michizakura Shuzo is located in the northern part of Nakatsugawa city Gifu. It is near the border of Nagano prefectures. Nakatsugawa was a post town on the Nakasendo Highway and the city authorities have done much to preserve this Edo period heritage on the original road leading through town, which now has a number of Japanese sake shops, confectionery stores and restaurants housed in restored, wooden buildings and warehouses (kura).

A severe winter climate is a very good environment for sake brewing. Water draws spring water from their own forest mountain. Sake rice is from their own rice field and local contracted farmer. The total production is just 200 Koku. It is a micro brewery size.

(A Koku is a unit of measure of the production output of a sake brewery. One Koku is equal to 180 liters of sake or one hundred isshobin sake bottles.)

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Michizakura Junmai 三千櫻　純米酒　1800ｍｌ　15～16度

Michizakura Shuzo. Home page

Hanatomoe (Miyoshino Brewery.)

Miyoshino Brewery is a small family-run brewery established in 1912.
Nara prefecture, where Miyoshino Brewery is situated, was the ancient capital of Japan during the Nara period (710-794 A.D.) and it is also considered the historical heartland of sake.

The brew master at Miyosino Brewery, Hashimoto stepped up to take the reins of his family business after studying at the famed Tokyo Agricultural University and at Kenbishi sake brewery. He changed the course of the brewery after developing a passion for the old fashioned ways of brewing, espcially the yamahai method of slow fermentation and the use of in-house, naturally occurring yeasts. They also brought back the rare, original method of sake production called “bodai or mizumoto”––this method starts with raw rice and water which produces its own lactic acid due to naturally occurring bacteria and yeasts.

Hashimoto says “I want to make sake that brings out the umami of the rice and at the same time is high in acidity––these features make it core compatible with food. The rice is local, and the yeast and lacto bacillus are native to his kura (brewery). So what you taste is a reflection of the local landscape and climate: Hanatomoe’s own. It cannot be made anywhere else!”

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Hanatomoe Mizumoto Junmai Genshu 花巴　水もと純米　無濾過生原酒　酵母無添加　７２０ｍｌ　２０１８年３月醸造　２９ＢＹ

 

Hanatomoe revives the “mizumoto” or “water brewing” method of produc- tion, using no added lactic acids or yeasts. Instead, the uncooked rice is steeped in water producing naturally occurring lactic acid. The resulting sake is high in acidity like tart green apples, yet is well-balanced and complex. Full-bodied, rich koji-rice driven aromatics, broad sweetness with an earthy base. High acidity is perfect for pairing will all foods!

Miyoshino Brewery. Home page

 

DATE AND TIME

2018/09/19 (Wed)～2018/09/25 (Tue) 10:00～20:00

You cannot go? Check out ichibansake Event Calendar

LOCATION

Seibu Ikebukuro B1F

〒171-0022 Tokyo, Toshima, Minamiikebukuro, 1 Chome−28−1

Google map

Access

Directly connect
Ikebukuro Station South Exit, Exit 38, Exit 36

Web site

For more information visit, 今週の酒と肴

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“Kikusakari” & “Hiraizumi” In-store tasting event @ Ikebukuro

You can taste Kikusakari, Kiuchi Brewery Inc. from Ibaraki prefecture, and Hiraizumi, Hiraizumi Honpo from Akita prefecture.

Kikusakari (Kiuchi Brewery Inc.)

Kiuchi Sake brewery was established in 1823 by Gihei Kiuchi who was the village headman of Kounosu village, Naka County.

The water that gives life to KIKUSAKARI, is natural spring water from the well in our sake brewery. This water is soft water (close to medium hardness) which does not contain iron, organic matter etc. – the inhibitors of fermentation. There is a place named SAKAIDE about 1 kilometre east from our sake brewery, where there is an old legend that sake gushed out of a well there.

The plateau of Naka where Kiuchi Brewery is located is land rich in water and greenery between Kuji River – famous for its sweetfish – in the east and Naka River – famous for its salmon – in the west. Delicious sake was almost certainly brewed with this good quality water from long ago.

In recent years, their sake has been brewed with the young sensibility and original techniques of our master brewer while also continuing to use their inherited traditional techniques of Nanbu-Toji. By fusing the spirit of tradition and enterprise, they also challenge the new and the unconventional. They work every day by trial and error to brew a Japanese Sake that will be loved worldwide. The sake brewers of Kiuchi Brewery are also following their dreams.

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Kikusakari Junmai Ginjo【菊盛】 純米吟醸 720ml

Kiuchi Brewery Inc. Home page

Buying proxy service (Goods from Japanese online shops and auctions). Buy from Japan with Zenmarket.Jp!

  • Check your country’s customs duties and postal method’s size/weight restrictions in advance.
  • Choose EMS.
  • ATTENTION – Due to recent updates to the Japan Post terms they can no longer ship bottles with an alcohol content of higher than 24%. They can also no longer ship to countries where import is restricted, such as USA and Canada, regardless of the alcohol content. Please check the International Mail conditions for your intended destination. (2018/09)

 

Hiraizumi (Hiraizumi Honpo)

Brewery History and Background:
They are Akita’s oldest and even in Japan 3rd oldest brewery, having been founded in 1487 in the middle of the Muromachi era. Originally, the company was a wholesaler of goods sent by ship, with sake brewing just a side business. But in the early Meiji period, sake brewing became the main business. We have since then been staunchly brewing sake in the old yamahai-shikomi method. Our current brewery dates from 1883.

Origins of the name:
The name is a combination of the name of the business when we were a wholesaler, Izumiya, and the name of the immediate region, Hirasawa, and was shortened from “Hirasawa Izumi no Sake.” Also, there is the theory that a local painter sent our sake to Monk Ryokan of the Echigo region, calling it “jumping, good, white water,” and the name and characters are a play on that expression.

Hiraizumi is Gold Prize winning sake in the Annual Japan Sake Awards 2015.

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Hiraizumi Junmai Ginjo 飛良泉　純米吟醸酒 720ml

Hiraizumi Honpo Home page

Buying proxy service (Goods from Japanese online shops and auctions). Buy from Japan with Zenmarket.Jp!

  • Check your country’s customs duties and postal method’s size/weight restrictions in advance.
  • Choose EMS.
  • ATTENTION – Due to recent updates to the Japan Post terms they can no longer ship bottles with an alcohol content of higher than 24%. They can also no longer ship to countries where import is restricted, such as USA and Canada, regardless of the alcohol content. Please check the International Mail conditions for your intended destination. (2018/09)

DATE AND TIME

2018/09/12 (Wed)～2018/09/18 (Tue) 10:00～20:00

You cannot go? Check out ichibansake Event Calendar

LOCATION

Seibu Ikebukuro B1F

〒171-0022 Tokyo, Toshima, Minamiikebukuro, 1 Chome−28−1

Google map

Access

Directly connect
Ikebukuro Station South Exit, Exit 38, Exit 36

Web site

For more information visit, 今週の酒と肴

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“Amanoto” & “Aizuhomare” In-store tasting event @ Ikebukuro

You can taste Amanoto, Asamai Shuzo from Akita prefecture, and Aizuhomare, Homare Sake Brewery Co.,Ltd. from Fukushima prefecture.

Amanoto (Asamai Shuzo)

Founded in 1917. Asamai Shuzo is located in center of the Yokote Basin in southern Akita Prefecture. Yokote Basin is known in Japan as an area of heavy snowfall, and for agricultural products, mainly rice, but also for apples and asparagus, etc. In Yokote city itself has got 5 sake breweries.

The major ingredient of sake, rice, differs from region to region, but breweries tended to use both local rice and rice from other regions, the difference between various regions’ rice varieties has not been given much thought. Recently, however, the sake industry has been increasingly favoring local rice and therefore creating regional differences in sake. This requires an increased interest in the way that growing conditions affect the rice and, therefore, the regional expression of each sake.

Asamai Shuzo takes their sake rice seriously. They brew sake from only by local rice within 5 km from their brewery site. Since 2011 they produce only Junmai sake, which is sake made from only rice, water, yeast, and koji. Sake brewing process is more complicated than wine’s one and 80% of sake is water, because of that it is not very significant characteristic of terroir as much as wine. But Asamai Shuzo’s sake is a kind of sake “terroir”.

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Amanoto Junmai Daiginjo45 天の戸 純米大吟醸45 720ml 1本 【秋田県】

Asamai Shuzo Home page

 

Aizuhomare (Homare Sake Brewery Co.,Ltd.)

Founded in 1918. Homare Sake Brewery marked the 100th anniversary in September 2018. It is located in Kitakata.

Kitakata is a small town, surrounded by mountains and rice fields in the Aizu region of Fukushima prefecture. Renowned for its traditional storehouses, kura, and ramen, it also boasts eleven sake breweries. Strolling around town, these are easily identifiable from large balls of cedar hanging outside, known as sugidama or sakabayashi, which mark the production of a new sake. When the green needles turn brown, it’s said that the sake has aged enough to be ready for drinking.

The natural geography of Kitakata, and indeed the entire Aizu region, lends itself to the production of high quality sake. The cold climate allows a slower fermentation process and rice has plenty of growing space. Crucially, though, there’s an abundance of water from nearby Mount Iide. This is soft water, which also slows the fermentation process, yielding a sweeter taste.

Fukushima prefecture has become one of the most acclaimed sake-producing regions in Japan. FUKUSHIMA – Fukushima Prefecture was home to the largest number of award-winning sake brands for the sixth year in a row, marking a record in an annual competition, the National Research Institute of Brewing in 2018.

Tasting at home by amazon

Aizuhomare Junmai Daiginjo Kiwami 会津ほまれ純米大吟醸 極 720ml [福島県/中辛口]

 

Homare Sake Brewery Co.,Ltd. Home page

DATE AND TIME

2018/09/13 (Thu)～2018/09/19 (Wed) 10:00～20:00

You cannot go? Check out ichibansake Event Calendar

LOCATION

Ikebukuro Tobu Department Store B1F

1 Chome-1-25 Nishiikebukuro, Toshima, Tokyo 171-0021

Google map

Access

Directly connected to “Ikebukuro station”

Web site

For more information visit, 東武百貨店 池袋店 日本酒催事スケジュール