Beyond the Queue... [Sake Diary]

Today, I'm bringing you a collaborative version of my sake diary and travel diary!
On weekends in February, there are countless events that make sake fans drool.

To give you an idea of just how many there are, it looks something like this...

Even I, who hate waiting in line, have events I'm willing to queue up for.

That would be brewery open house events.

Sake is brewed in the winter, and by February, many breweries reach 'koshitaoshi' (the end of that year's brewing process). And after finishing a big job, it's time for a celebration! Many breweries hold 'Grand Openings.' Whether it's a pachinko parlor or a sake brewery, 'Grand Openings' are wonderful things!

What is a brewery open house?

It includes brewery tours, tasting events, new sake sales, and some breweries even have food stalls.

Some even utilize nearby parks or community centers. For example, in the Odaka district of Aichi Prefecture, where several breweries are scattered, tents that look like they belong at a sports festival appear in a nearby park. It's fully backed by the local residents.

We bring the sake bottles we've gathered from each brewery, and the outdoor spring-like banquet begins under the cold sky~

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However, yes, self-restraint...

This scene could not be seen in 2020 or 2021.

Ah, not just last year, but this year too~

And! The sake I'm introducing today is from the brewery with the queue in the top image.
It's a brewery I've been visiting for four or five years.

The Chita Peninsula is a sake-producing region. This brewery is in Tokoname City, where Chubu Centrair International Airport is located. On the day of the brewery open house, there's a shuttle bus from Meitetsu Tokoname Station that runs back and forth.

After a 10-minute ride on a shuttle bus with a slightly higher ratio of middle-aged men (though there were young people too!), we arrived at the brewery!

After touring the inside of the sake brewery, you get a small plastic glass. With this, let's head to the tasting venue! From rare, high-end sake you rarely get to drink, to cloudy sake, and sake made from different rice varieties. I pushed through the throng of people to get the sake I wanted, immediately retreated, and tasted it in a corner. "Delicious!"

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Actually...

I introduced Hakuro because there was another disaster. During the peak of the sake brewing season, a fire burned down their 'koji room'.

A koji room is,

a room where 'koji,' the raw material for making sake, is cultivated. Without koji, you cannot make sake. That's right. This season, ...

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However!!

'I'll lend you my koji room!' 'I'll make the koji for you instead!'

'You can use mine too!' 'Me too, me too!'

Go ahead, go ahead! It's not like the Dacho Club, but

Surprisingly, four breweries in Aichi and Mie prefectures stepped in to help. 'Sending salt to an enemy' is said to be the reason why there are so many companies in Japan that have lasted for 100 years; the reason small and medium-sized enterprises don't go under is because there is a spirit of mutual aid during a crisis.

As I wrote before, there is also the anecdote of 'Yagisawa Shoyu,' famous for the 'Miracle Hishio' soy sauce brewery in Rikuzentakata, which received a donation of 'vinegar,' the raw material for ponzu, from a vinegar brewery in Fukui Prefecture when it suffered catastrophic damage from the Great East Japan Earthquake tsunami.

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This was the sake I absolutely, definitely wanted to drink this winter.
I finally got my hands on it.

Hoping that next winter, I'll be able to stand in line and participate in the brewery's grand open house...

Cheers!

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Finally, here are my impressions!

It has a fruity aroma (melon-like) that is rare for Hakuro. The balance of fresh sweetness and acidity when it hits the palate, followed by a lingering bitterness, is wonderful. It is a slightly dry, full-bodied sake. And, you can really taste the umami of the rice.

As a brand consumed almost entirely within Aichi Prefecture, it's perfect for the rich flavors of local cuisine!
How about miso pizza? Actually, miso and cheese go incredibly well together. Of course, the miso should be red miso (mame-miso). For recommended miso, try the one from Kakuto Jozo in Taketoyo Town, also on the Chita Peninsula—give it a taste!

Brand: Hakuro (Sawada Shuzo Co., Ltd.) Junmai Ginjo, Unfiltered
Alcohol content: 16%
Sake Meter Value: +2, Acidity: 1.5
Made with Aichi-grown rice (Wakamizu), rice polishing ratio: 55%
Rating: ★★★★
Sweetness 4, Acidity 4, Bitterness 3, Umami 4, Aroma 4
Price: 1,650 yen, Value for money: Good

(The End)