{"id":59383,"date":"2025-01-31T06:25:16","date_gmt":"2025-01-31T06:25:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/alcohol\/sake-industry-news-issue-121\/"},"modified":"2025-01-31T06:25:16","modified_gmt":"2025-01-31T06:25:16","slug":"sake-industry-news-issue-121","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=59383","title":{"rendered":"Sake Industry News. Issue #121."},"content":{"rendered":"


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Let\u2019s begin with a warm and hearty Happy World Sake Day to one and all!<\/p>\n

For some of us, everyday is \u201cSake Day\u201d, but still, October 1st is that extra special day marking when many breweries officially begin the new brewing season.<\/p>\n

As always though, we also like to think of it as the day to honor, respect and thank all the people behind the sake we enjoy so much.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also a day of sake events all around the world, which celebrate the wonderful, ever-growing community of sake lovers.<\/p>\n

So while we raise a glass to the brewers who make the sake, let\u2019s also raise a glass to ourselves. The sake world is a pretty great place!<\/p>\n

And now for the news\u2026<\/p>\n

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Hokkaido- <\/strong>In <\/span>SIN#113<\/a> we reported on the upcoming sake\/fermentation theme park set to open in Niigata in 2025, however it looks like popular Hokkaido brewery Otokoyama has beaten them to the punch.<\/span><\/p>\n

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On September 13 the brewery opened its \u201c<\/span>Otokoyama Sake Park<\/a>\u201d to the public. The mini-amusement park offers a retail store to try and buy Otokoyama sake and other products, but the real fun lies in the featured 12-meter <\/span>issh\u014dbin<\/em> slide which visitors can ride by entering the opening of the bottle.<\/span><\/p>\n

The park, which is designed to appear in the shape of an <\/span>ochoko<\/em> when viewed from above features other playground equipment for children to enjoy while parents can enjoy the more grownup activities (although all ages are permitted on the slide!).<\/span><\/p>\n

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The brewery aims to widen the appeal of sake tourism by creating a space where\u00a0 families and even those not so interested in sake can enjoy.<\/p>\n

Source – <\/span>Nikkei<\/a><\/h6>\n
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JG: A little known fact is that the airport closest to the brewery, Asahikawa Airport, has direct connections to China that bring in a lot of tourism from overseas. Certainly this will instantly become one tourist destination, but it should also help boost the already-great image of their sake. Looking forward to walking into the mouth of a giant sake bottle, too.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u7537\u5c71<\/p>\n

Hong Kong-<\/strong> The third annual Oriental Sake Awards (OSA) results were announced in Hong Kong on September 5. The competition is growing to become one of the largest on the international sake calendar, judging 356 sake from 147 breweries.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Unsurprisingly given the success of aromatic styles and high end sake in the region, the focus of the competition falls largely on such varieties over nine categories.<\/p>\n

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The\u00a0 division winner of each category was as listed below:<\/p>\n

Junmai Daiginj\u014d\/Junmai Ginj\u014d and Tanrei Light Division <\/strong>(13 gold medals):<\/span>
Niizawa 2022<\/em>, Niizawa J\u014dz\u014dten (Miyagi)<\/span><\/p>\n

Junmai Daiginj\u014d\/Junmai Ginj\u014d, H\u014djun Aromatic and Rich Division<\/strong> (7 gold medals): <\/span>Zaku Honotomo Nakadori<\/em>, Shimizu Seizabur\u014d Shoten (Mie)<\/span><\/p>\n

Daiginjo\/Ginjo Tanrei Light Division<\/strong> (1 gold medal):<\/span>
Sawanoi Daiginj\u014d K\u014d<\/em>, \u014czawa Shuz\u014d (Tokyo)<\/span><\/p>\n

Daiginjo\/Ginjo Houjun Aromatic and Rich Division<\/strong> (2 gold medals):<\/span>
Gazan Daiginj\u014d<\/em>, Tsurumi Shuz\u014d (Aichi)<\/span><\/p>\n

Honj\u014dz\u014d DIvision<\/strong> (2 gold medals):<\/span>
Sakata Nishiki<\/em>, Seto Shuz\u014d (Kanagawa)<\/span><\/p>\n

Junmai Umami N\u014djun Rich Division<\/strong> (2 gold medals):<\/span>
Gunma Izumi Chotokusen Junmai<\/em>, Shimaoka Shuz\u014d (Gunma)<\/span><\/p>\n

Junmai Tanrei Light Division<\/strong> (1 gold medal):<\/span>
Deny\u01d4 Tokubetsu Junmai Shu<\/em>, Takanoi Shuz\u014d (Niigata)<\/span><\/p>\n

Sparkling<\/strong> (2 gold medals):<\/span>
Atago no Matsu Sparkling 2nd fermentation in bottle<\/em>: Niizawa J\u014dz\u014dten (Miyagi)<\/span><\/p>\n

Namazake Division (<\/strong>3 gold medals):<\/span>
KID Shibata\u2019s Junmai Daiginjo be fresh! <\/em>Heiwa Shuz\u014d (Wakayama)<\/span><\/p>\n

MVP <\/strong>(Most Valuable Producer)<\/span>
Niizawa Jozoten (Miyagi)<\/span><\/p>\n

Full listing of winners (in Japanese) <\/span>is available here<\/a><\/p>\n

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JG: Congratulations to all winners, and to the promoters of the OSA. There are a lot of sake competitions around now, but this one seems to have gravitas.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Aichi- <\/strong>A new software program has been developed by the Nagoya Tax Agency which can calculate fermentation levels which are collated into visual data.<\/span><\/p>\n

The program, amusingly named <\/span>Moromi Yell,<\/em> is currently being used by a number of the breweries in the region as a useful tool to not only monitor data, but also keep records for future use.<\/span><\/p>\n

Upon entering data such as moromi alcohol content and volume of added water, the program immediately displays the chemical progression of the fermentation process in graph form.<\/p>\n

The tool visualizes the optimum timing for pressing and allows sake brewers to make sake without relying solely on intuition or experience. The system also displays the fermentation level of sake that has won gold medals at the National New Sake Competition, making it possible to compare the results and use them as a reference.<\/p>\n

One brewery which has adopted the program is Mizutani Shuz\u014d, a brewery which lost much of its brewing data in a fire in May this year <\/span>(see SIN #112)<\/a>. This season, the brewery will be renting space at a nearby brewery, where they will use Moromi Yell to input the remaining data they have in hopes to accurately recreate their sake.<\/span><\/p>\n

Moromi Yell was actually first released in January 2023 and is being used by at least 40 breweries in the Tokai region and some more breweries in Tohoku region have shown interest.<\/p>\n

Fukui Shuz\u014d in Aichi has reported they were able to reduce staff working hours by introducing the system. The toji\u00a0, Kousei Ou, welcomes the system as a method to brew by calculated timing as opposed to relying purely on his experience.<\/p>\n

*In Japanese <\/span>Yell<\/em> written as \u30a8\u30fc\u30eb is an adopted English word used as more as a cheer of encouragement.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source – <\/span>Yomiuri<\/a><\/h6>\n
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JG: Seems like an awesome tool that will remove much of the guesswork in sake brewing. I am interested to see how many brewers adopt this tool. Who knows; maybe the industry will be collectively shoutin\u2019 about Yell. I hope, though, that it does not completely remove the need for intuition and experience.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Yamagata-<\/strong> In news that we never like to report here at SIN, Kikuisami, known for <\/span>Kikuisami<\/em> and <\/span>Sanjuro Kuninshu <\/em>has declared bankruptcy due to difficulty in operating in the post COVID environment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In 1973 a three brewery merger established Hounan Shuz\u014d. The brewery\u2019s flagship sake, Kikuisami sake became popular and by 1980, had brought in JPY400 million (USD2.7mil) in yearly sales. In 1992, the brewery changed the company name to Kikuisami and enjoyed continued success winning several golds at the Japan Sake Awards<\/p>\n

Unfortunately sales gradually declined due to the popularity of shochu and by the time COVID hit annual sales had declined to JPY71 million (USD489K).<\/p>\n

The brewery filed for bankruptcy with total debts of JPY97million (USD670K).<\/p>\n

Source – <\/span>NTV<\/a> | <\/span>NHK<\/a><\/h6>\n
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JG: I was surprised to see this as their sake has always been fairly easy to find, at least in my opinion. Then again, Tohoku is a somewhat crowded sake market, so perhaps competition was just too much to navigate.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u83ca\u52c7\u3000\uff08\u83ca\u52c7\u3001\u4e09\u5341\u516d\u4eba\u8846\uff09\u9cf3\u5357\u9152\u9020<\/p>\n

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Iwate-<\/strong> Many talk of the need to widen the appeal of sake among younger drinkers, but Nanbu Bijin has really gone straight to the source in a recent endeavor to attract younger drinkers.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a collaborative effort with CGO Dot Com, a planning and promotions agency, the brewery recently held an event for some of its \u201c<\/span>gyaru<\/em> performers\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

Firstly, for the uninitiated the explanation of <\/span>gyaru <\/em>might be necessary. Beginning in the seventies and eighties, gyaru was a term used to describe young girls (gals) who wore particularly heavy makeup, wild colored hair, exotic fingernails and promoted extreme fashions. The subculture still exists today, although not as common as its peak in the nineties.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Nanbu Bijin recently hosted a number of gyarus at the brewery to show them how sake is made and how to enjoy sake, and also to gain some insight from the gyarus as to how to appeal to younger audiences.<\/p>\n

Moving forward, Nanbu Bijin\u2019s CEO Kosuke Kuji plans on creating some new labels in collaboration with the gyarus which he hopes will help improve the image of the young folks of Shibuya as well as foreign visitors to Japan.<\/p>\n

A video of the visit is available on YouTube, which, even without subtitles, is an entertaining documentation of the experience.<\/p>\n

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