With a B-class gourmet boom, Kitakata ramen and Aizu sauce cutlet bowl. Fukushima Prefecture has gained a high reputation as Fukushima dumplings have become widely known.
In fact, the prefecture ranks seventh among the prefectures for sake production in Japan, and ranks high among the 7 prefectures.On top of that, the number of gold medal winners at the National Sake Appraisal has been five consecutive years from 2012 to 2017. It is the sake that has achieved the first prize.
In the “Salmon Competition,” a competition to determine the most delicious commercially available sake, six out of six categories received six GOLD awards in 2017.
Fukushima sake is highly regarded on both the stage competing for the brewery's skills and the stage of commercial sake.
Here are some recommended sakes in Fukushima.
History of Sake in Fukushima
The history of sake making in Fukushima dates back 400 years. The fact that sake brewing reached its peak during the Edo period has been recorded, with more than 300 sake breweries existing within the Aizu domain.
The brewing brewing began when Masayuki Hoshina, who was famous as a master in the early Edo period, brought in a brewer from Omi and began brewing sake.
The sake brewing tradition has been constantly improving the level of sake brewing in Fukushima, despite the fact that it has been culled over time, and even though it has been culled in modern times, 66 breweries remain and high-quality sake brewing remains. The situation is continuing.
One of the main features of Fukushima sake is that it is not possible to combine all kinds of sake in Fukushima.
This is because Fukushima is the Aizu area, also known as the snowy area between the Echigo and Ou mountains.
Nakadori is a relatively warm climate between the Abukuma Highlands and the Ou Mountains. It is divided into three areas, Hamadori, located on the Pacific Ocean side from Abukuma Highland.
It is not just a geographical difference, these three areas have different climates and different cultures, and the sake breweries in each area make sake with a unique concept.
Each area makes sake that makes use of its strengths, and there is no commonality that makes it possible to combine it with Fukushima sake.
That is the history of sake making in Fukushima, and that is why Fukushima sake is rich in variety.
Characteristics of Sake in Fukushima
Fukushima has 66 sake breweries next to Niigata, Nagano and Hyogo, but as mentioned in the history section, it is divided into three large areas, and the culture and climate are different, so it can not be expressed unconditionally.
Some sake has a strong umami that spreads the flavor of the rice, which is the raw material, to the mouth.Some sake has a mature, mellow expression.Some sake has a sharp, sharp nodule. You.
For this reason, the characteristics of Sake in Fukushima must be said to be rich in variety.
What we cannot say in a word and cannot be grouped together is what makes Fukushima sake unique.
That said, the three areas have nothing in common. Each area has the right conditions for sake brewing and is similar to France in the wine world.
In France, there are regional characteristics such as Bordeaux and Burgundy, but Fukushima has similar characteristics in the world of sake and is a world famous brewery, and its quality is high level.
Fukushima is a land that is rich in sake, food and culture.
7 recommended sakes in Fukushima
Hibiki Kijun unfiltered raw sake
Hiroki Sake Brewery, a representative of Fukushima, opened up a new genre of unfiltered raw undiluted sake in the sake industry at the time, when it was all over the place.
The sake brewery was founded in the middle of the Edo era, and has been operating with a close focus on the local area.
It is a very famous story in the sake industry that Hibiki sold well and made Japanese sake fans wake up to a new genre called raw raw sake.
Unfiltered raw sake is sake that is bottled as it is without adding any water to the squeezed raw sake, without any processing such as filtration or heat treatment.
The sensation of spreading the fresh taste in the mouth while maintaining the richness and richness of the rice, which is a rich raw material, while feeling freshly squeezed can be said to be an addictive experience if you like it.
The special junmai stuffing is an annual event that is sold at stores once a month, and it became a famous sight in Fukushima enough to make a line with sake fans every month, and it was also a reason to spread the name of Hibiki became.
| Brand | Hiroki Shuzo Honten |
| Amazon | Click here for Amazon Hiroki Brewery |
Daishichi Sake Brewery (Kimoto) Junmai
Daishichi is a flagship product created by Daishi Brewery, which has a very long history of 2.
A sake brewery in which all products maintain the long-standing tradition of making food. Production is the oldest method of sake brewing, which is the most traditional of existing brewing methods, and requires a great deal of labor.
Because of the time and effort, various methods were born as the times changed, and abandoned brewing and quick brewing were born.
However, as new technologies are developed, good old traditional techniques are reviewed, and although it takes time and effort, they are reviewed as techniques that can fully demonstrate the original charm of rice, and sake breweries that return to production are increasing. You.
The rich taste and richness of rice, which can only be achieved with rice polished using Daishichi Shuzo's unique ultra-flat rice polishing method.
The good balance between creaminess and sourness that exquisitely combines acidity and spiciness is one of Fukushima's representative dignified products.
It has a creamy scent peculiar to production and a finish that gives a pleasant taste and sourness to the finish.
| Brand | Daishichi Brewery Co., Ltd. |
| website | https://www.daishichi.com/ |
| Amazon | Click here for Amazon Dai Nansei |
Naraman Junmai Hanging unfiltered raw sake
The ingredients are made from locally produced XNUMX million stones, which are highly valued as suitable rice for sake brewing, and the yeast uses Utsukushima yeast, which was developed in Fukushima. Naraman is a pure unfiltered raw sake with pure rice.
It has a fragrance like citrus fruits reminiscent of Muscat and a rich yet mellow mouthfeel.
In the mouth, the taste and flavor of the rice spread throughout the mouth, and the bitterness that dares to leave after feeling the mellow throat attacks.
Since the ancestor of the brewery from Nara, Manjiro, was once abbreviated as Naraman, this sake has a unique episode that has been named as a brand of Fukushima sake that seemingly has nothing to do with it.
Kuramoto is located in Kitakata, which is famous for Kitakata ramen, and it is a dream spirit brewery founded in 10 (Meiji 1877).
| Brand | Yumeshin Brewery Co., Ltd. |
| website | http://www.yumegokoro.com/ |
| Amazon | Click here for Amazon Naraman |
Sharaku Pure Love Prep Junmai Ginjo
Miyaizumi Meizou, founded in 30, is a sake brewery that makes sincere sake based on the concept of loving rice, sake and people, and aiming to be loved by everyone.
Originally, it manufactured and sold a flagship product called Miyaizumi, but Higashiyama Sake Brewery, which was located in the same Aizu-Wakamatsu area, took over the intention of the brewery and took over the brand name of Sharaku with the closure of business. there is.
One of the best sake in the Junmai Sake and Junmai Ginjo Sake category at the Salmon Competition 2014, which determines the best sake on the market.
Pure love brewing is not a special brewing but a product naming that is based on the concept of Miyaizumi Sake Brewery, sake that is loved by everyone.
Junmai Ginjo's first squeezed sake has a calm Ginjo scent rising up, and when you put it in your mouth, it has a refreshing and sweet flavor reminiscent of fruit.
It is a Fukushima sake that is rich in fragrance and taste, yet has good sharpness and an exquisite balance.
| Brand | Miyaizumi Meijo Co., Ltd. |
| website | http://www.miyaizumi.co.jp/ |
| Amazon | Click here for Amazon Photography |
Suehiro Junmai Ginjo
Fukushima sake uses standard Fukushima XNUMX million stones as the raw material, making it a fruity, natural scented sake.
It has a well-balanced taste with a subtle sweetness in a mellow acidity, and the passing throat gives a lingering finish that makes you feel comfortable.
Suehiro Sake Brewery is a very long-established brewery founded in 3, and is famous as a highly skilled brewery with more than 1850 gold awards at the National Sake Review Festival.
They also actively visit breweries in social studies, and it has become a hot topic that sake breweries are known for their delicious sweets.
| Brand | Suehiro Sake Brewery Co., Ltd. |
| website | https://www.sake-suehiro.jp/ |
| Amazon | Click here for Amazon Suehiro |
Aizu Musume Junmai
Among the locals of Fukushima, Aizu Musume is a major Japanese sake that is so famous that it returns to Aizu Musume.
Junmai is one of the Aizu Musumes who do not know much about Sake and can feel the potential of Aizu Musume.
Aizu Musume Junmai has polished the Aizu-produced five million stones to about 60% of the requirements for ginjo sake.
Since it is not Ginjo sake, there is no such thing as a unique Ginjo aroma, and Kaori is modest and finished with a smooth mouthfeel.
The expression, such as sake that is simple and undecorated, does not have the feeling of making it, and it is the perfect sake.
Takahashi Shosaku Sake Brewery, which has a motto of sake brewing that obeys the souvenir and souvenir laws, was founded in the early Meiji era, but it can be said to be a sake brewery with the spirit of Jin who inherits the soul of Aizu.
The Takahashi Shosaku Sake Brewery, which has suffered repeated fires since the end of the Tokugawa period and has repeatedly disappeared and regenerated, has never stopped brewing.
| Brand | Takahashi Shosaku Brewery |
| website | http://aizumusume.a.la9.jp/ |
Tank squeezed pure rice fired orange Tenmei
Considering the balance between the three important tastes of sake, sweetness, umami, and sourness, it is Tenmei that can be called the highest peak of food liquor that brews with individuality rather than individual brands.
A bottle with a soft, fresh drink, but with a fragrance that reminds you of southern fruit.
Tank squeezing is a method of using a tank for squeezing, which is considered important in sake making, where it is said that the taste changes depending on the squeezing method.
A method of squeezing a thin and long liquor tank made of wood etc. into a layer of liquor bags containing moromi (moromi) and squeezing it like a lid, called squeezing, It is a tank squeezed Junmai burnt orange Tenmei.
It is a translucent sake mixed with freshly squeezed, pure and moderately sweetness, and youthful acidity.
| Brand | Akebono Shuzo Joint Stock Company |
| website | https://akebono-syuzou.com/ |
| Amazon | Amazon Orange Tenmei |
How to get Fukushima sake
This is how to get Japanese sake in Fukushima. However, it is difficult for general sake wholesalers and liquor stores to get limited items.
Of course, you want to taste before you buy, but if you order one by one, it takes time, effort, and cost.
Therefore, it is convenient to refer to a site called “Fuku no Sake Map” which covers information on restaurants and other places where sake is stored in Fukushima.
Not only can you search for restaurants that store sake in Fukushima, but also comments from sommelier Shinya Tazaki and Mr. Kin Yoshida, who is famous for the bar tavern.
It is also very useful because it introduces how to search for sake breweries where you can taste your favorite brands in a batch and how to purchase them by direct trading.
Try Fukushima sake with high quality and many variations
Fukushima Prefecture has a large number of sake breweries, and the climate and culture are different depending on the three broadly divided areas, so you can taste a wide variety of sake.
In particular, many brands have a high reputation as food liquor, and their quality is at the highest level in Japan, as can be seen in the number of gold prizes and salmon competition awards at the National Sake Appraisal.
Despite the use of unique techniques, the use of locally produced ingredients, and many well-established sake breweries, why not try Sake from Fukushima, a hidden sake nation that actively works on new technological developments.
