[Drinking Log] I went to the Yoshinogawa Brewery Opening
On Saturday, April 18th, I went to the brewery opening of Yoshinogawa, a long-established sake brewery in my hometown of Nagaoka.
It had been quite a while since I last attended, so I was really looking forward to this event.
I have been to the sake museum 'Jokura' run by Yoshinogawa several times to buy sake, but it had been a really long time since I last visited for a brewery opening.
Thankfully, it was a clear, sunny day.
For someone like me who is a 'rain man,' this was perfect. It was a perfect day for drinking.
The sake I wanted to drink here was 'Minamo'.
It's a brand you can buy at liquor stores and izakayas within the prefecture, but I hadn't had much of a chance to try it until now.
Once I arrived, I bought a ticket for the paid tasting.
It came in a booklet of 10 (including water to cleanse the palate). You can also buy additional booklets of 5 refill tickets.
First, I took a walk around.
There were many local shops in the food court, which was quite appealing.
When I returned to the tasting booth, the words that caught my eye were'Minamo Junmai Daiginjo 3-Type Tasting Set'!!
5 tickets!?
Oof...
I drank it.
From the left:
・Minamo Nakagumi Junmai Daiginjo Genshu Niigata S-9 Yeast Koshitanrei
・Minamo Agricultural Rice Yamada Nishiki Nakagumi Junmai Daiginjo Genshu
・Minamo Nakagumi Junmai Daiginjo Genshu TR8 Yeast Koshitanrei
The two made with Koshitanrei were both crisp and pleasantly dry.
The undiluted sake made with Yamada Nishiki had a gentle, mellow flavor.
...Delicious!! I definitely want to buy one of these to take home!!
And for now, I took a break from tasting to do one other thing I wanted to do at this brewery opening.
'Miyauchi Settaya Tour'
Settaya has long been known as a town of fermentation and brewing.
There are soy sauce and miso manufacturers in the neighborhood, and there are even suggested walking routes to explore the whole town.
I often drive through the area, but since I don't get many chances like this, I decided to walk around before I got too tipsy.
You can get to the old Mikuni Kaido road from the Yoshinogawa premises.
The road was paved with cobblestones and had a very nice atmosphere.
Participating shops were holding a stamp rally that day, but I didn't have the energy to visit them all...
I could only manage to make it as far as 'Hasegawa Shuzo,' the other sake brewery in Settaya (^^;;;
Hasegawa Shuzo was also very crowded.
I returned and used up my remaining tickets.
・Junmai Ginjo Gokujo Yoshinogawa
・Ginjo Gokujo Yoshinogawa
・Junmai Daiginjo 50 PAIR
All of them were refreshing and easy to drink.
Now, I'll buy the 'Minamo' I'm interested in, and pick up some dumplings from the shop next door for my family before heading home.
I was able to see some familiar faces too.
It was a great event!
(I'll cover the 'Minamo' I bought in the next [Drinking Log]. Will I actually drink it!?)
#Sake #NiigataSake #Yoshinogawa #BreweryOpening #Minamo #GokujoYoshinogawa #Settaya #Miyauchi
*These impressions are based solely on personal opinion.