Calpis Sour? No, no, it's sake

Tsuchida Craft 12 Kimoto-zukuri (Tsuchida Sake Brewery) [Gunma Prefecture]
<Drunk in July 2020>

This is a recently trendy "low-alcohol" sake. And it's "white koji & kimoto" style.
Even saying that, to those who aren't interested in sake, it doesn't really matter, right?

No, no, don't say that; even if you haven't been interested in the new trends in sake, please try drinking this once!
By using "white koji," which is characterized by its acidity, and fermenting it with a technically difficult "low-alcohol" process, it achieves a drinkability similar to a sour.

**

A long, long time ago, across from the "Hilton Nagoya," in the basement of a building across the main street, there was a specialty shop for Ginjo sake known to those in the know called "Ginjo Taka." Back in the 90s, there were few liquor stores that kept Ginjo sake in refrigerators. In such a situation, it was one of the very few shops (a kappo restaurant? an izakaya?) where you could taste rare Ginjo sake and carefully selected appetizers.

The reason I started telling this story is that I remembered a past failure.

One day, I forcibly took out a junior colleague who said they weren't good with sake, thinking, "Try this wonderful Ginjo sake!" I took them out with "parental affection," hoping to wake them up to the world of sake.

However! "I really can't..." "Can I order something other than sake?" said the junior colleague. Knowing that there were small bottles of beer besides sake, I timidly asked the master, "Beer..." and then...

I remember the master's bald head turning beet-red with rage, and we retreated early. It seems that for us, who only went once or twice a year, ordering a small bottle of beer was too soon.

**

What I learned at that time was that forcing your own values on others doesn't resonate with them, especially with luxury items, no matter how delicious you think they are...
And I was full of reflection, wondering if I had really been thinking about the other person.

So, about this sake

I hesitate to recommend it to those who are not good with sake (perhaps it's just that I haven't grown...), but let me introduce it!

First, the aroma

It has a lactic acid-rich, or rather, a Calpis-like aroma.

Take a sip

The sweetness and acidity are restrained, and for those accustomed to sake, a reaction like "Huh?" or "It's thin!" might come back. The umami of the rice that you feel gradually gives it its identity as sake.

On the back label, it listed "potato salad," "vinegared dishes," and "chicken nanban" as suitable pairings. I felt a bit "??" about the "vinegared dishes," but I don't think it would go well with rich dishes...

Rather than a meal-time sake, I felt it went well with light-flavored snacks like "salted potato chips" or "shrimp crackers." In that sense, it's a new-sensation sour sake...

Brand: Tsuchida Craft 12 Kimoto-zukuri
Alcohol content 12% (no water added)
Uses white koji
Rating: ★★★☆
Sweetness 2, Acidity 2, Bitterness 2, Umami 4, Aroma 3
Price: 1,620 yen, Value for money: ◯