Trademark label ”Gikyo”
”Yamachu Honke Shuzo” is a ”sake” manufacturer with a long history. The current president is the 10th generation, counting from the first president, the founder. They used to undertake ”sake” manufacturing for a large sake company, but later decided to produce local ”sake” on their own, wanting ”to produce good tasting sake”. They produce as little as 81,000 liters of ”sake” per year, and everything they make is so popular that they sell out quickly. The secret to their popularity may lie in the careful work made possible by their small production volume. They use rice of the highest quality called ”Yamada Nishiki”. The belief of ”Yamachu Honke Shuzo” is that their job is not to tamper with the rice, but to bring out the best of the ingredient to express its innate power. They polish the rice themselves, carefully observing the conditions of rice each year. All the rice is divided into units of 10 kilograms, washed by hand, and soaked in water under strict control. The amount of water absorbed by the rice greatly influences the taste, so it is an important process.
A challenge for better rice and better ”sake”
In order to make premium ”sake” of ”ginjo” class or higher, ”futa koji tsukuri” method is used, requiring even more attention. ”Quality over quantity” is made possible because of their small scale of production. ”Sake” made with such care has rich ”umami” and strong taste. They aim to make delicious ”sake” that makes people crave for more.
They are also continuing to experiment with ways to make more delicious ”sake” using herbicide free, chemical free rice. ”Sake” of the highest quality is made possible because they are a small scale brewery.
