We’re on the downward slope now of the brewing season. Some smaller breweries will already have their eye on the finish line. Still plenty left to do for most of the others though.
Snow may still be piling up in parts of Japan, but the calendar insists that spring is just around the corner. The first wave of seasonal releases is beginning to trickle out, and before long the frost will be nothing more than a memory.
For the brewers, though, the job is far from over – the season still has plenty left to give. And for those of us on the drinking side? Well, the work never really ends, does it?
And now for the news…
Niigata- Iyasaka Jōzō, led by brewer Kazuhiro Sakamoto, is in the final leg of a crowdfunding drive to help construct its in-house production facility, which was scheduled to begin last month.
Located in the Miyanosita district of Kashiwazaki, Niigata Prefecture, the new brewery will focus on Juwari Koji-shu, a distinctive style made using 100% rice kōji (as opposed to the traditional ratio of around 20%), with aims to create sake in close connection with the local community. The brewery’s products will be sold under its license for “miscellaneous alcoholic beverages.”
The name “Iyasaka,” translates to “ever-increasing prosperity,” reflecting the brewery’s vision of shared growth among brewers, farmers, retailers, and drinkers. As well as producing sake-adjacent products the new facility will serve as a community hub linking agriculture, food, tourism, and regional life.
Founder Kazuhiro Sakamoto previously worked in sake retail in Tokyo before training at Abe Shuzō in Niigata from 2021. He first began producing his own sake under the brand ITTEKI using facilities at Abe Shuzō.
Source – Mainichi
JG: It looks like the market can look forward to another sake-adjacent product. This one is interesting, though, as rather than fruit or hops or lack of filtration, it is using one hundred percent koji. Hmm.
Sake made in that way is rich and intense; they started using only about 20 percent koji upwards of a millennium ago for a reason. I am not sure undoing what has worked for so long counts as innovation. But what do I know; sometimes that is in fact the right direction.
It is hard to quaff sake like that, or to drink more than a sip or two. That could pose a revenue problem. Also sake made with all koji ages really quickly; I think that managing stock and storage will be a formidable challenge as well.
Of course, I wish them the best of luck and all success; and of course, I look forward to tasting it.
弥栄醸造 , ITTEKI（一擲）, 阿部酒造
South Korea- Imports of sake into South Korea continue to rise, with last year’s import value reaching a new record high. According to trade statistics from the Korea International Trade Association, imports totalled USD27.84 million last year, an increase of 21.2% compared to the previous year. Import volume also grew by 11.8%, reaching 5417 tons.
