Blissful Sake [Sake Diary]

Yokobue (Ito Sake Brewery) [Nagano Prefecture]
<Drunk in January 2022>

How do you all choose your sake? Internet searches? Magazines? Today, I will introduce a sake I encountered by chance, from Kamisuwa in Nagano Prefecture.

Encounters while traveling. Wonderful scenery, delicious food, and sake.

Of course, I often research places before visiting. But don't you find that the topics you talk about with family and friends years later (in other words, the memories that stick) are often the places you just happened to drop by?

Chance encounters. This is the real thrill of travel.

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For this trip, visiting this sake brewery was (almost) decided.

Almost?

As I wrote in a previous travel diary, this is how my family decides our itinerary (^｡^)
First, we decide on the destination and the number of nights we will stay. Next, we write down all the places we want to visit in that area. Then, while staring at a map, we draw a single continuous line. It's a 3D puzzle of drawing a single line while also considering meal times and such.

Done!

・・・ But!

We take detours, we relax too much and the schedule gets thrown off; it's a constantly changing single line. It's a flexible, spontaneous kind of trip.

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The brand I am introducing today, "Yokobue," was reached on the second day of that winding, roundabout journey, on a warm, sunny afternoon, after stumbling about. It was the second brewery I visited.
Huh? Stumbling about?

Why was it the second one? That is...

A se-cret

◇◇

I'm just being coy

The details of how that happened will be in the next post!
Stay tuned!

Don't you dare search for "Blissful Sake Yokobue"
"Please, never look" (Movie: Suspiria style... do you know it?)

This time, I will only introduce the sake.

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I visited the sake brewery
and did some tastings

but the one I chose was this one (which I hadn't tasted)!

"Something about this catches my eye"

The sake my wife pointed at was this one

Let's trust our intuition and enjoy the chance encounter

"Have you ever had this (active nigori sake) before?" asked the brewer

"There are some precautions"

Yes, I know them very well. ＼(^^)／

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Sake releases gas while it ferments.

While mindful of global warming, it releases fizzy carbon dioxide.

Kassei Nigori Sake (active cloudy sake) is bottled directly during the final stage of its fizzy fermentation without being pasteurized (without stopping the fermentation).

If you open the cap carelessly,

the rice juice will spray everywhere!!

A massive fountain that would even surprise Funassyi.

You are guaranteed to be left stunned, not only by your soaked clothes but also by the dripping ceiling and the now-empty bottle.

To prevent that...

Twist the screw cap just about 2 millimeters. The sediment that had settled at the bottom will dance up. Bubbles will rise up with a fizz. At the same time, the sea level will rise. Before the liquid reaches the very top of the bottle, tighten the cap back up again.
The bubbles will subside with a hiss, and the sea level will drop.

Phew.

Now, twist the cap again. Let's try going up to 5 millimeters this time!
Whoops, turned it too far.
Repeating this process for five minutes, much like the '365 Steps March'—three steps forward, two steps back.

◇◇

Thank you for waiting!!

Pour it into a glass with a splash.
I recommend a wide-mouthed water glass like those found in coffee shops.

Gulp.

The sweetness hits you hard, but then quickly vanishes. It's probably because of the fizz. Just like Coca-Cola, the carbonation coats the sweetness and turns it into something delicious. It's a sake that makes you want to keep gulping it down.

Then, a second wave arrives. Like waves gently lapping against a sandy beach, a subtle bitterness comes in as the second wave. And that bitterness, too, fades away like the tide. This sake is not a Junmai; it has a little added alcohol. Perhaps because of that, you don't feel the rice as much.

I enjoyed it with Osechi (New Year's food), and it pairs perfectly with the many dishes that have a gentle sweetness. Especially with roast pork! (Setting aside the question of whether roast pork is actually Osechi...)
The sweetness and fat of the roast pork match well, and it's also easy to pair with appetizer-like dishes such as Datemaki (sweet rolled omelet) and Namasu (pickled daikon and carrot). I recommend drinking it as an aperitif during the first half of the meal.

Brand: Yokobue Active Nigori Sake
Alcohol content 15-16%
100% Miyamanishiki from Suwa, Nagano yeast
Rice polishing ratio 55%
Sake Meter Value -11
Acidity 1.5, Amino acid content 1.3
Rating: ★★★
Sweetness 5, Acidity 2, Bitterness 3, Umami 3, Aroma 3
Price: 1,210 yen (500ml), Cost performance: Good

Pshhh (Wakako-zake style)

(Oh, do you know Wakako-zake...? (*^_^*) )

Blissful, simply blissful

(The end)