An interesting and delicious sake made by a combination of a young president in his thirties and Mr. Mori ─ Akita Sake Brewery that brews "Haru Akita"
Arayamachi, Akita City, known as the "birthplace of Akita local sake". Kunibanzai Shuzo, the predecessor of Akita Sake Brewery Co., Ltd., was located in the sand dunes along the coast in 1908 (Meiji 41), and there are still abundant springs and wells throughout the town. It was founded in this scattered area.
In 1969 (Showa 44), Akita Sake Brewery Co., Ltd. was established as a bottling and sales company of Kokumansai Sake Brewery Co., Ltd. The two companies will merge on October 1, 2012 to become the current Akita Sake Brewery Co., Ltd.
At such Akita Sake Brewery, Mr. Mori was replaced in March 2021, and he has begun his career as a new Akita Sake Brewery.
Mr. Iwao Kodate is a young Mori in his 30s who is from the Faculty of Bioresource Sciences, Akita Prefectural University and has experience in developing sake yeast. Sho Nomoto, who took office as president seven years ago, is also in his thirties, so it is the birth of a very fresh duo.
We asked Mr. Nomoto (36 years old), the representative of Akita Sake Brewery, who has made a new start, and Mr. Kodate (38 years old), Mr. Shinmori, about the sake brewing that Akita Sake Brewery is aiming for in the future.
Akita Sake Brewery, the only brewery in the Araya district of Akita City
Araya, Akita City, where the sake brewery is located, has a rich water pattern and has prospered as a brewery for miso, soy sauce, and shottsuru (a fish sauce specially produced in Akita Prefecture) in addition to sake brewing.
By the beginning of Heisei, there were five sake breweries in the town, but now only this Akita Sake Brewery, which owns "Sake Akita Haru", is responsible as the only brewery in Araya, Akita City.
“We aim to continue to preserve the culture and traditions of sake brewing in Araya, Akita City,” says President Nomoto.
The main brands of Akita Sake Brewery are "Suirakuten" and "Akitabare".
Daiginjo and Junmai Ginjo of "Sui Rakuten" are sakes with a fruity aroma and a mellow, mellow taste. It is a representative brand that has been exhibited in numerous reviews and has received many awards.
"Haru Akita" is a regular sake that you won't get tired of drinking every day, and the point is that all the ingredients, including rice, rice jiuqu, yeast, and water, are produced in Akita Prefecture.
Mr. Shinmori is a yeast professional
In March 2021, Iwao Kodate inherited Mitsugu Kato's baton from his predecessor, Mitsugu Kato. It is said that this is the first time that Mr. Mori, who is from the Faculty of Bioresource Sciences, Akita Prefectural University, is born.
Mr. Iwao Kodate of Mr. Mori Akita Sake Brewery
"When I was in college, I was studying basic biology and chemistry, brewing science, food hygiene, etc. Because of my brewing training, I also prepared a tank of sake when I was a student. Graduation thesis The theme is "Analysis of genes aimed at restoring the spore-forming ability of sake yeast".
With the desire to work for a sake brewery, Akita Sake Brewery was a small brewery with a small number of people, so I thought that I would be involved in all departments, which was the reason for joining the company. "
Mr. Kodate said he majored in yeast research when he was a student. After joining Akita Sake Brewery in 2006, he has been involved in yeast development while working as a brewer.
When Mr. Kodate joined the company, he and his teachers at the Akita Brewery Experiment Station held a study session for young engineers called the "Commercial Sake Study Group" and a group of young Akita Brewery Associations called the "Akita Brewery Association". I had the opportunity to study together, and Mr. Kodate was actually involved in the development of "Akita Yeast No. 12" and "Akita Yeast No. 15".
"At the commercial liquor study group, we talked about making new yeast, and under the theme of" What are the best-selling products of sake? ", We decided to develop two types of yeast that produce apple-based and melon-based aromas. rice field.
There are hundreds of yeasts in stock at the test site, but we put them in the culture medium of a container like a 100 ml poly tube and select them like the first preliminary test. It feels like the selected ones are further brewed with about 1 kg of rice, and then further selected to make the final decision. While working as a brewery, when I was free, I went to the test site and helped with such things. "
Of course, at the same time as yeast development, I will gain experience as a brewer.
"The first thing I was assigned to was the liquor room. However, the work of making the jiuqu was done by all the brewers, and after that, I saw the brewer. After joining the company, I was in charge of the liquor mother. I was studying all the analysis methods at university, so I was also in charge of Jiuqu, and finally I got involved in the whole process. "
"There is no upper limit to the deliciousness of sake"
Akita Sake Brewery, where Sho Nomoto took office as president seven years ago, and this year, Mori replaced him. Sake brewing seems to be changing little by little.
Sho Nomoto, President of Akita Sake Brewery
"I think there is no upper limit to the deliciousness of sake. Since I became president, I have changed everything I can do to make delicious sake. In terms of equipment, rice milling and rice washing machines We also changed the immersion tank, "says Nomoto.
"Speaking of brewing, as for the koji, I used to use the seed koji of Akita Konno Shoten called" Hyogami "for the main" Sui Rakuten ", but this is the one that produces more glucose called" Gluco S ". I think that this change has made it possible to win prizes at appraisals, etc. We are also changing the seed koji for other pure rice sake and honjozo-shu. "
Furthermore, Mr. Nomoto continues.
"My predecessor, Mori Kato, was very alcoholic, but he still won the award for sake with an alcohol content of over 18%. However, this is difficult to make, and if you make a mistake, the yeast will be damaged. , Off-flavour will also come out. So, I told Mr. Kodate, "Let's make something about 16 degrees with undiluted sake without producing alcohol as much as possible."
Currently, alcohol with a low alcohol content is popular, but if it is too low, alcohol will become stuffy this time. Morning sickness is an off-flavour caused by diacetyl. Therefore, we are brewing sake while keeping the alcohol content to about 16%, which is the least damaging to sake.
Another change I asked for was to shorten the time to fire. Even if fire-fighting bacteria can be removed by filtration or other processing, aging will occur during low-temperature storage in the tank, creating an unpleasant odor. It's an embarrassing story, but until now I had the feeling that "sake brewing is over in the upper tank", but I would like to change this to the consciousness that "sake is complete after burning." There is still room for improvement, but I want to go as quickly as possible. "
Mr. Nomoto talked about the changes, including the change in awareness of brewing. It seems that the result was made fresher by changing the burning of the case to a single burning of the bottle-burning quencher.
Two new products that symbolize future sake brewing
In addition to updating equipment and changing the method of sake brewing, a new product was born in the "Akita Haru" series.
One is "Akita Haru A (Ace)". It is a sake that brings out a different side of "Akita Haru" named "Akitabare Another Advance". The other is "beard, glasses, shaved". This is the first sake brewed by Mr. Shinmori and Mr. Kodate, and it is filled with enthusiasm for new sake brewing.
"Akita Haru A (Ace)"
"The concept of these products is to make a clear distinction from the standard products up until now. Our old sake was not so popular with young people, or it was a good old sake. I want to get rid of that, "says Mr. Kodate, who puts his thoughts into the new product.
"I think it's easy for people who aren't used to drinking sake to get in. For example, the red label of" A (Ace) "is a sweet and sour dessert liquor, but we make such a sweet liquor. Never before.
Regarding the structure, Red Label uses yeast mixed with No. 77 yeast and Kyokai No. 1801. I've been exposed to yeast since I was in college, and I like yeast, so I'd like to use various yeasts for new sake and pursue treatment techniques. "
There are three types of "A (Ace)" series, "Blue Label" and "Purple Label" in addition to "Red Label". Mr. Kodate's recommendation is to drink three types according to the timing of the meal.
"I recommend the fruity red label for apéritif first. The blue label is refreshing and easy to drink for apéritif. Finally, it's like tightening with a purple label that you won't get tired of drinking with its characteristic acidity and gentle sweetness. That's the image. "
"Beard, glasses, shaved"
The "beard, glasses, and shaved head" that was just released in the spring of 2021 is characterized by the product name and label that was conceived with the image of Mr. Kodate himself.
"This is a commemoration of Mr. Mori's inauguration, or I thought about it after being told for the first time this year that" Kodate can make one bottle of sake that is in charge of everything. "
The rice used is "Gin no Sei", but this rice was born when the president of the previous generation was the chairman of the technical committee of the sake brewing association at that time.
Yeast uses "AK-1 (Akita style flower yeast)". The AK-1 was developed when Professor Kimio Iwao (a brewing scholar and now an emeritus professor at Akita Prefectural University), a professor at the university, was the superior of the brewing laboratory in Akita Prefecture. The rice and yeast produced by my benefactor may be said to be sake with roots to this point. "
Sake that seems to be "delicious and interesting"
Finally, we asked them about their goals as a sake brewery and as an individual.
Mr. Kodate of Mr. Mori says that his first goal is "to acquire the technology to make sake according to the voices of customers that the president and sales staff convey as Mr. Mori." He continued to talk about his personal goals.
"A few years ago, there was an attempt to extract yeast with brewery in Akita Prefecture. However, extraction did not work well at our brewery. Since we have the technology to handle yeast, separation with brewery I want to take yeast independently and have it as my own yeast. "
Mr. Nomoto, the president, said, "I think it is necessary to make more unique sake in the future. It is delicious and unique," he said, citing the image of the product that he should aim for in the future. ..
"Of course, liquor with the best specifications as an exhibition liquor is delicious, but it cannot be differentiated by itself. Compared to drinking at izakaya, you can think that it is delicious and interesting. I'm asking Mr. Mori to make it.
I think that every warehouse is doing its best, but I think that our company is also improving in various aspects compared to before. I don't think there are many chances to drink outside of Akita prefecture, but if you find one, don't be shy because it's a brewery you don't know, and I'd be happy if you could drink it once. "
Mr. Kodate, who is a researcher and honest, and President Nomoto, who has a simple and humorous attitude. Although they are of the same generation, their characters are completely different, but their goal was to "make sake that can be enjoyed while keeping up with trends and trends."
We are paying attention to the future of the young duo who will take on new challenges while preserving the tradition of being the only sake brewery in the region.
(Interview / text: Arika Takahashi / Editing: SAKETIMES)