sake – Page 11 – Japan-travel-foods-sake-sushi-mania

Stable and delicious sake that every Japanese likes

Asia/Tokyo3

This time, I went with the intention of buying a bottle of Sharaku, which is sure to appear in the sake rankings in 2021.
In fact, I’ve seen this Sharaku in many places.

About Sharaku
Water is important for sake
Taste evaluation
Today’s snack

Sharaku Jummai shu

About Sharaku

The kanji and washi labels are very austere.
The only thing is that it is written in old characters that you can’t read without reading kana.

Speaking of Sharaku, he was a mysterious Ukiyo-e artist named Toshusai Sharaku, who was famous in the Edo period. He lasted only 10 months. This is a painting that every Japanese person has seen at least once. The sake of the same name, Sharaku.

Water is important for sake

The content is 16% alcohol by volume, which is quite high.

It is a sake from Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima Prefecture. When I looked at the website, I found that there are various water veins flowing through the area, and the environment seems to be conducive to growing enough rice.
The homepage is one of the simplest I’ve ever seen.

Water is very important for sake. Most of Japan has soft water, while most of the rest of the world has hard water. Depending on the degree of soft water in Japan, the taste of the sake will change. In the Edo period, Yamamura Tae Zai Mon, the head of Sakura Masamune, realized that even if the same process was used to make the same sake, the quality of the sake would vary depending on the water quality. This led to the creation of new businesses such as “Water-shop,” which sold only the water used to make sake, and “water carriers,” which specialized in transporting high-quality water.

What’s more, what’s amazing about Miyaizumi Sake Brewery is that they run their business with only three brands: Genbu Shochu, Sharaku Sake, and Miyaizumi. Of course, they change the specific brands such as Junmai-shu and Daiginjo, but the fact that they can survive by dressing up these three idols is proof of their popularity.

It’s an old-fashioned cap.

Opening the package.

I put it in the sake cup I got for the year-end gathering.

Gulp!

9th in Japanese ranking
Fukushima ranking #1

comment A:
Long time no see.
Sharaku! Back to the roots!
It’s sweet on the palate, but the pleasant bitterness spreads and disappears quickly! Ahhhh, delicious. Really delicious!

comment B:
Love the rice, love the sake, love the people” ✨The gold-lettered label is simple and the kanji and name are cool. I heard it was fruity but it’s not that fruity or sweet, but the rice flavor and sweetness is nice and spreads on the palate and disappears quickly, the lingering taste is short and clean‼️and there’s a little bitterness but it’s a nice accent. The balance is great. Personally, I think it’s THE sake 🍶.

This brewery sells only three brands.

Official Website→Here

Taste evaluation

It’s delicious. It has a mellow mouthfeel, and at the same time, the acidity peculiar to sake is almost imperceptible, yet the aroma is fruity and easy to drink. This is a fragrant sake. At the end of the drink, the lingering sweetness of the melon, as it is commonly called, remains, and the taste is very well balanced. I can understand why it is so popular. It is easy to drink and can be enjoyed by beginners and sake lovers alike. It is not too overpowering and will go well with any kind of food. An all-around type. If you like sake, you should try it at least once.

Today’s snack

Today’s entree was Baby Star Ramen.
I guess I should have prepared something better for this sake.

Thank you for reading to the end. Please don’t forget to bookmark this page.

For more sake from Tohoku, click here.→Here

Click here to see where you can buy it.→Here

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A beautiful woman is a flute-playing. What’s Honjozo Sake?

Asia/Tokyo3

It’s the end of the year. We had a lot of year-end parties. I served Rice wine (sake) at each one.
In the midst of it all. I often encounter this.

History of the brewery
Opening the package
Taste evaluation
What is Honjozo-shu?
Today’s food of choice

Gakki Masamune Honjozo-shu

I love that it is a flute even though she is a kimono beauty.

Japan Ranking: 33rd
Fukushima ranking 3rd

Comment:A
This is Honjozo.
Some brands smell like brewing alcohol and are difficult to drink, but this GAKKI MASAMUNE has a fresh aroma, a good balance of sharpness and acidity, and a moderate spiciness.It is a masterpiece that is easy to drink.It’s also available at a reasonable price, and it’s a great brand to choose for honjozo sake.I enjoyed it very much.

Comment:B
The aroma is faintly fruity.
The first sip of melon? The first sip has a melon like taste.
It has the freshness of a medium-strength sake, but without the Honshu brewing feel.
The flavor of the sake lingers in the mouth.
It seems to go well with white fish and refreshing dishes!

In a liquor store, there was a bottle of “Gakki Masamune”.
I pick it up every time, but I’m not sure whether to buy it or not. There are other famous sake as well.
And so I bought it today.

History of the brewery

The name “Gakki Masamune” comes from the fact that during the Taisho era (1912-1926), when Daikichi II was in charge of the brewery, Prince Asakamiya visited the area and asked for some sake from the Daikichi branch.
From the official page of Instrument Masamune

In the old days, big people would often visit sake breweries.
The last time I wrote about Shichiken, it was also visited by an important person.

Opening the package

Gakki_Masamune_Rice_wine (sake)_cap — Gakki_Masamune_Rice_wine (sake)

It’s old style.
Opening the package

The aroma is of melon, or perhaps sweet melon, with a hint of sourness characteristic of sake.

Gulp!

Gakki_Masamune_Rice_wine (sake)　

Taste evaluation

The taste is slightly different at the beginning and end.
The mouthfeel is thin and easy to drink. In the middle, there is a sweetness and a slight spiciness that comes through the nose.
It’s not like a traditional Ginjo-shu, but it feels as if there are two flavors mixed together.
It’s curious. I didn’t look carefully, but the specific name is “Honjo-shu”.

What is Honjozo-shu?

Honjozo-shu

In short, it can be divided into two groups: Jummai-shu and Ginjo/Honjozo, with the latter being more rice-rich because the rice polishing ratio is less than 70%. Kake rice: 70%.

What is Honjozo-shu?

First, the difference between the Jummai-shu” and Honjozo-shu groups.
In the Jummai-shu group, the only ingredients are rice and rice malt. In contrast, the Honjozo-shu group has other ingredients such as alcohol added to the rice and rice malt.
In addition, the name changes depending on the rice polishing ratio.
In the Honjozo-shu group, the rice polishing ratio of 50% or less is called “Daiginjo-shu”.
The Honjozo-shu group is divided into three categories: Daiginjo-shu, Ginjo-shu and Special Honjozo-shu.
Below 70% is called Honjozo-shu.
Jummai-shu is classified at the same level as Honjozo-shu. The percentage of rice polished is the same, but is it just the rice and rice malt, or are there additional ingredients? That’s the difference.

It is not necessarily the same in terms of taste, but the tendency is for the Jummai-shu group to have a sweetness from the rice, and the Honjozo-shu group to have a sweetness from the rice. The Honjozo-shu group has a more pronounced aroma and is more fruity when compared.
This is one of several important factors that make it easy to visualize the taste when buying sake.

What is Kake Rice?
In simple terms, it is rice that is used to add additional steamed sake rice like a quilt to the fermentation liquid that is used to make alcohol. This will be explained later.

Today’s food of choice

Today’s snack is Baby Star Ramen. It’s a famous snack in Japan, and in other countries, it’s a snack you eat when you get hungry, just like almonds and walnuts. It is made by kneading chicken flavor into a noodle similar to ramen and then frying it in oil. It is very savory and salty, and is one of my favorite things to drink.

Instrument Masamune is well balanced. The price is reasonable, so that’s another point.

Thank you again for reading to the end of this article. Don’t forget to bookmark this page!

Click here for more sake from Tohoku→Here

Click here to see the store where I bought it this time, Hasegawa Shuzo.→Here

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Kimono girls and fresh sake make for a delicious meal.

Asia/Tokyo2

What is “Namazume-shu (raw filling)”?
Namazume-shu (raw filling)
Taste
Taste evaluation

I remember seeing something about it on You Tube or something recently.
It features this Japanese pattern, and I picked it up. There were other great sakes that I wanted to get, but I couldn’t take many home, so I bought this one because of the phrase “super dry after careful examination. Purchased Hikariya in Kamata.
I have a weakness for limited edition products.

Here’s where you can buy it→Here

Kudoki-jozu_Super_Spicy_Ginjo-shu

Japan Ranking: 131st
Yamagata Prefecture Ranking No.8

Comment:A
It is said to be super dry, but it has a good flavor and is not too dry, making it easy to drink and delicious.

Comment:B
It’s spicy, but has a nice sweetness and flavor.
It’s easy to eat!

What is “生詰 Namazume-shu (raw filling)”?

The label is nice, isn’t it? I think it’s more like a jacket purchase. I was also attracted by the design. I read the item carefully.

Namazume-shu (raw filling)

”生詰酒” Namazume-shu

In order to understand this, you need to know how to “Hiire(火入れ)” (fire it).
This is the process of pasteurization by applying heat.
The purpose of this process is to stop the enzymes from working in the sake, and to kill off malignant lactic acid bacteria, called fire-retardant bacteria, which can cause problems with the flavor of the sake.

On the other hand, there is also the option of not purchasing sake in order to preserve its fresh flavor.

The term “生詰酒” Namazume-shu” means that the sake has been heated only once.
It means that heat has been applied to the sake at the stage before it is heated and bottled from the “original” sake.

This means that the process retains more of the original flavor of the sake.

If the sake is not heated at all, it is called “生酒Nama-shu”.

Old style bottle caps from the past.

Turtle mark

The aroma is not very strong, but the gentle fruity scent of Ginjo can be smelled faintly.

Gulp!

Taste

Oh, it’s not spicy at all. On the contrary, the sweetness is more restrained and crisp than the Ginjo type. I think I can have it with chocolate as an appetizer.

Taste evaluation

It is sharp without any miscellaneous taste.
It seems to go well with sashimi, and also with soup such as nabe. It has a good mouthfeel like water and leaves a gentle fruity aroma in your throat.
However, if the food is too dense, such as Chinese food, the goodness of the sake may not be fully expressed.
With lightly flavored dishes, the sake seems to have a coolness to it that doesn’t bring out its individuality. It seems to be a good match for Japanese food in general.　

Yamadaho is 55% Yamada Nishiki before breeding. It feels like a flavored sake. It seems to be good at room temperature, but if you want to enjoy its crispy texture, it is best served chilled. It can be enjoyed by people who are not good at drinking sake and people who are used to drinking sake.

Thank you again for reading to the end of this article. Don’t forget to bookmark this page!

Click here for more sake from Tohoku→Here

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Beautiful women and sake. Warming makes it taste better.

Asia/Tokyo2

I did some research on the Internet and made my first pit stop at Oboro Sake store, a liquor store in Shimbashi.

Yamagata Masamune Okan Jummai Sake
How do you heat it up?
Taste evaluation
Hot sake is called differently depending on the temperature
Mitobe Brewery

新橋駅前ビル2号館

at Oboro Sake store

The store has a wide selection of well-known sake that you won’t find at mass merchandisers. I’m thrilled.

I’ve been trying to get into dry, jummai, and heated sake. I’m a sucker for any of these. Here it is, a brand I happened to see on youtube.

Yamagata Masamune Jummai Sake

I love the colorful design. My favorite set of sake cups I bought recently.

Japan ranking 130th
Yamagata Prefecture Ranking: 7th

comment A :
Since it is winter, this sake is for heating. This is said to undergo malolactic fermentation, which is also used for red wine, to remove the corners and make it mellower. It is marked by a cute picture of Venus.We had it lukewarm. The taste was quite mellow, just like its reputation. It had an apple-like flavor with a slight sourness. It’s sweet, but the acidity doesn’t leave much sweetness in the mouth. It’s not bitter either, which I especially like in a heated sake.This is one that I would recommend to people who don’t normally drink hot sake to try.

comment B :
It’s so good lukewarm! I’ve had Yamagata Masamune before and enjoyed the Omachi, so this time I bought the heated version.
This time I bought the warmed version. It’s great when paired with richly flavored meat dishes!

Old Bottle Cap Style

Gulp

Delicious. I was expecting it to be dry, but it’s been rearranged in a more modern way, with less of the freshness and sweetness of Showa-era sake. This is fine in its own way. Even at room temperature, it has the sweetness of jummai rice that is typical of jummai sake, and a nice crispness that makes it easy to drink. There is no sense of residual alcohol after drinking. It’s delicious.

When I bought it, I read that it was recommended to be heated.

How do you heat it up?

I tried heating it up. I’m excited.

I recently bought a thermometer for this purpose. I’m going to use it more than I should.

Now, the raccoon soaked in the hot spring.

Now to the boiling water. I like the tail.

Take a gulp.

Taste evaluation

Ooooh. I see. Easy to drink. If you gave it to a beginner or someone who doesn’t like to drink hot sake without telling them it’s sake, you’d probably get a high rating. It has a sweetness that is very appealing to everyone, from children to adults (the minimum age for drinking sake is 20). The sweetness comes purely from chewing the white rice well without any miscellaneous flavors. The sourness is also a moderate lactic acid with a thin sourness that we are used to eating from dairy yogurt. The taste is so pure that it refreshes your mouth like a warm mouthwash from mirin or fish fat, such as grilled fish, sashimi, or stewed fish.

Hot sake is called differently depending on the temperature

Many people use “hot” and “lukewarm”, although no one uses these terms strictly. Here is an image of the approximate temperature.

30℃(86℉) degrees is “Hinata Kan ( like sunny place temperature)”	Imagine the temperature in a sunny place.　 You don’t even feel the high temperature, and the subtle aroma and flavor are enhanced.
35℃(95℉) degrees is “Hitohada Kan (like human skin temperature )”	Image of human body temperature. It is soft and smooth on the palate, with a nice aroma of rice and malt.
40℃(104℉) degrees is “Nuru Kan (lukewarm temperature )”	Imagine the temperature that you feel when you soak in a bathtub. At a temperature that is not too hot, the aroma is gentle and the flavor softly expands.
45℃(113℉) degrees is “Joyo Kan (warmed sake temperature )”	Image with temperature above lukewarm water. It has a tight aroma, volume on the palate, and good balance.
50℃(122℉) degrees is “Atsu Kan (hot sake temperature)”	This temperature is the standard temperature for hot sake. The aroma becomes sharper and the taste becomes crisp and dry.
55-60℃(131-140℉) degrees is “Tobikkiri Kan (hot sake Warmed temperature)”	The image of a temperature that transcends hot heating. The aroma becomes even sharper and the taste becomes punchy and dry.

List of hot sake names

Mitobe Brewery

I did some research and the official web site is too beautiful. Mitobe Sake Brewery

Mitobe Shuzo, a sake brewery in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan, has been in business for more than 120 years, and has a long history of growing its own brewing rice in recent years. All of their sake is branded “Yamagata Masamune”.

Click here for more sake from Tohoku→Here

Thank you for reading to the end. I will continue to post them, so please bookmark this page.

A super dry Akita sake that almost went bankrupt and …

Asia/Tokyo2

I wandered into a liquor store looking for Jummai-shu hot and dry.

What a Taste!　

Oh, my God. I found everything I wanted.

Super Dry-Jummai Sake Spec.
About Yeast
Taste evaluation
General evaluation
Hot sake
Yamamoto Brewery

I’ve often seen “Yamamoto” which is a famous brand of Akita, Japan. but never bought it at the right time, but I fell in love with the design and got this one this time.

Super Dry-Jummai Sake Spec.

It’s 15 degrees alcohol, so it’s got a good fighting chance. It’s dry with sexy yeast, which means it’s sadistic. I found out that it’s a unique yeast that was discovered in Yamamoto’s brewery.

About Yeast

To know the yeast is to know your own taste preferences.

Yeast converts sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide, making it an indispensable microorganism for sake. Recently, a number of yeasts have been developed that produce gorgeous aromatic components.
Some are natural and some are found in breweries, and are classified by the Japan Brewers Association, which collects and cultivates yeast from breweries that place high in the National New Sake Competition and distributes them to sake breweries throughout Japan.
New flavors are being created one after the next. This is what determines the aroma of sake called “Daiginjo” or “Ginjo”. Therefore, if you remember the number of the yeast, it is easy to imagine the aroma of the sake.

65% polished rice, full of rice, Jummai-shu!

Taste evaluation

spicy, but there’s a strong stimulation in the throat! Oh, this is a dry sake. I’ve been drinking a lot of fruity ginjo-shu lately, so it’s dry for a man.

General Evaluation

Japan Ranking: 246th
Akita Prefecture Ranking 16th

Comment : A
Today it’s Yamamoto’s Doshin!
The aroma is very mild, with a faint malted ramune like scent.
On the palate, at first you can taste the flavor of the rice and the freshness of the ramune. Huh…? I thought it might be sweet… but it was short-lived.
I immediately felt bitterness and alcohol, and the sweetness quickly faded away…
This is definitely a dry sake!
I had imagined dry sake to have a clear, watery taste, but this sake has a strong umami taste!
I don’t get tired of drinking it because I don’t feel the slightest hint of sweetness!
This could be a good everyday sake! The price is reasonable, too…
Thank you for the treat!

Comment : B
Impressive name, label.
I’d say it’s spicy .
A little sweetness comes later.
I’m sure you’ll like it too

The cap is old-fashioned, and the aroma is that of pure rice wine with a hint of rice.

Let’s have a quick sip!

I wasn’t drinking alone today. I’m back at my parents’ house, and we’re having sushi to go, like an early New Year’s present. If there’s sashimi, it has to be heated. So I heated it up.

Hot sake

Oh, it’s so much more powerful when it’s heated. It’s fragrant, and the spiciness lingers on the palate until the end of the drink. When I gave it to my father, he said, “This is so spicy!

This is a crispy and dry sake. There is almost no sweetness, making it a refreshing sake. I recommend serving it hot. I failed to take a picture of it when it was hot. We finished the whole bottle. We continued talking and laughing until late this evening.

Yamamoto Brewer

Akita Prefecture is one of the most fiercely competitive areas in Japan, with many breweries making very famous sake. The sake brewery we will be visiting this time is the Yamamoto Brewery, a historic brewery that once almost went bankrupt but was revived.

delivery's Sushi in Japan — delivery’s Sushi in Japan

Click here for more sake from Tohoku→Here

No.1 in Yamanashi Pref Historic Sake Brewery Yamanashi Meijo

Asia/Tokyo2

Number of sake taste categories
What is Kun-shu?
Comments by others
Taste evaluation
Tonkatsu (pork cutlet)

It’s cold, cold, cold, and there are only a few days left. It’s nice to have hot sake. I’ll be doing a hot sake series soon, but again, it’ll be cold for the time lag until I post it.

白州町台ヶ原

“Shichiken Official saite→here“

Number of sake taste categories

The variations of sake are based on the time of year (four seasons), the specific name (eight types), and the brand name (many), which means 4x8xmany=many, so you have to get the major ones first. If I have trouble with a specific name, I’ll give priority to the limited ones. This time, I was troubled.　I wandered over to the Azabu Juban Hasegawa Liquor Store again. There were many famous ones, and after much deliberation, I decided on this one.

It’s a sake brewery in Yamanashi Prefecture with a history of nearly 300 years, and the Meiji Emperor even used it as his official residence. It seems that they have also developed Koji Sugar here and have a cafeteria. It is said that the natural sugar syrup is made from rice, water, and wheat. It’s a great use of rice to get sweet sugar from rice.

This sake brewery also sells cosmetics. I remember when I was in China, I bought a couple of sake lees packs for my friends when I went back to Japan. Thank you for the rice.

What is Kun-shu?

Aromatic sake is one of the four taste categories, and is often applied to “Jummai-shu” and “Tokubetsu (special) Jummai-shu”.The taste classification is based on the person’s perception, so it varies from person to person.
“Ginjo-shu” and “Special Daiginjo”, which have a higher ratio of polished rice, tend to fall into this category. “Ginjo-shu”and “Special Daiginjo” are often classified as such because they are made in a process that retains the full flavor of the rice, rather than being perfumed.

The difference between “Ginjo” and “Jummai” is that Ginjo requires the addition of ingredients other than rice and malt to complete the production process.
Jummai, on the other hand, uses only rice and malt in the production process, so there is no mixture and it is the most authentic way to make sake.
In general, the taste is not as sweet as that of white wine, but rather the sweetness of the rice and the sourness and aroma of the malt used are combined to create a traditional flavor that is full-bodied and crisp. It can be described as “rich”, “full-bodied” or “ample”.

Comments by others

Japan ranking 65th
Yamanashi Prefecture Ranking No.1

Comment A;
It smells like melon botanicals, and it smells gorgeous 😊 My husband chose this one to go with the yellowtail, kiss, and medallion sashimi we bought at a local fish shop I’m having a cold glass of Shichiken Daiginjo 🥂! I’m off work tomorrow, so I’ll still be enjoying my evening drink❗️

Comment B
It is gorgeous on the nose, with a light sweetness on the palate and a touch of rice as it passes down the throat. The water used for brewing the sake must be good, because it has a beautiful taste and can be drunk forever. It is an all-round sake that goes well with both meat and fish. Thank you very much.

It’s an old-fashioned cap bottle.

Open the bottle!

Gulp

Taste evaluation

The mouthfeel is light and has a strong aroma, and the moment you drink it, you get the sourness characteristic of sake. It’s a father’s sake. Rather than being fruity, it tastes like “silk,” as it has been described, and rather than being a white wine-type scented sake for women, it is a refined version of the sake of the past. If you are not a regular sake drinker, your brain may react to the smell at first. It has a crisp and sharp royal taste.

By the second sip, you will get used to the taste and be able to drink it. It is a sake that has the potential to be consumed in a matter of seconds if it is paired with fatty tuna sashimi, boiled fish, or other rich flavors. This is a sake that will refresh your mouth when it is full of fat.

Tonkatsu (pork cutlet)

Tonkatsu (pork cutlet) with sauce is the main dish this time.

This is a snack that you can easily get at a convenience store in Japan. It can also be used as a snack.

It’s saucy and doesn’t contain meat, but it’s reasonably priced and delicious if you miss the taste of pork cutlets.