insights from frontier Japan

Asahikawa-based Takasago Sake Brewery has dug out two types of snow-stored sake that had been ageing for approximately three months under the snow in the town of Biei in the Kamikawa region. The sake was unaffected by the relatively low levels of snowfall, and the taste is said to be as mild and mellow as in previous years.

On April 2, Hop Kotan Brewing in the town of Kamifurano in the Kamikawa region held an event at the Tap Room BEER KOTAN in Chuo-ku, Sapporo, to unveil low-malt beer made with sake lees from the Kamikawa Taisetsu Sake Brewery in the town of Kamikawa. Participants in the event were able to savor the appeal of both companies at the same time.

Tanaka Sake Brewing Co., Ltd., a long-established sake brewery in Otaru, has been making a new batch of top-quality sake to be entered in a sake contest. Work took place on February 19 and March 5, when a process known as ‘shizuku-dori’ – in which a cotton bag containing the mash is suspended to allow the sake to drip out – was carried out at the Kikkogura brewery.

Usui Katsusaburo Shoten, the maker of ‘Kita no Katsu,’ a local sake of Nemuro in eastern Hokkaido, released ‘Kita no Katsu Shiboritate’ (freshly pressed) on January 20. The brew is being called a ‘phantom sake’ due to the fact that only a limited amount is being produced and it is hard to obtain. At supermarkets and other stores in Nemuro, customers lined up from dawn, and the sake sold out as soon as it went on sale.

On December 13, the Kamikawa Taisetsu Sake Brewery (Kamikawa, northern Hokkaido) began brewing its first batch of local sake, “Goryo-no-kura” for the first time in 54 years, at its newly completed brewery in Kameo-cho in the city of Hakodate. The first batch of the sake will be completed at the beginning of January and be available for sale in late January.

Gin distillery operator "Shakotan Spirit" in Shakotan, Central Hokkaido loaded 12 bottles of its craft gin onto the underwater observation boat "New Shakotan" and conducted a shipboard aging verification experiment for approximately half of a year to test whether or not the swaying of the ship changed the flavor of the alcohol. The alcohol met with the positive feedback that it has, "matured into a mellow flavor," and Shakotan Spirit plans to enlist cooperation from ship operator Shakotan Tourism Promotion Public Corporation and industrial economy organizations in the town to perform a double-pronged test of shipboard aging along with "ocean floor aging", in which alcohol is lowered into the ocean waters of Shakotan.

Kobayashi Shuzo Co., Ltd, a sake brewery in the town of Kuriyama in central Hokkaido, began its online sales ‘Autumn Sake Festival’ on September 10. Two types of sets containing three 720 ml bottles, are available: one ‘dining’ set suitable for drinking with meals and another ‘night drink’ set suitable for post-meal drinking with snacks. Labeling with regard to the difference in the polishing ratio of the sake rice can also be enjoyed. The sales will end when stocks run out.

Since the Coronavirus pandemic took hold last spring, sake companies in Hokkaido have continued to face adversity. In a bid to expand their sales channels, many are looking overseas. The volume of exports in the past five years (including sales at duty-free shops in Hokkaido) has been in the range of 100 to 200 thousand liters. This accounts for just 5% or so of the total shipment of alcohol and, therefore, depending on the Coronavirus being brought under control, there can be said to be sufficient room for growth.

Wine and the like that cannot be made elsewhere; initiatives in pursuit of thorough quality are beginning in regions throughout Hokkaido.