日本酒の仕込み、蓬莱

Feb.26 2017.

Reported by the Grill-Teru Restaurant Owner.

Healthy New Zealand Restaurant "Grill-Teru" will serve drinks with Japanese "SAKE" as named "HOURAI," and "HAKAISAN."

Today I will report "HORAI" and its production process.

From Nagoya Japan Railway's station to Hida Furukawa station by JR Takayama Line, I and my team visited the Watanabe Japanese SAKE Brewing Plant, and toured a process of the Cold Season Brewing.  25 years passed from my first visit, I looks at a same view, as under early spring sunshine, a surface of the Hida river are sparkling, and thin Clouds floating on the Shiramine Hida (Hodaka) mountain Line are telling us a visit of the Spring. 

Our aims are to ask for the result of SAKE brewed with rice grains extremely polished to rest 18% of each rice grain as the first challenge using a popular high quality rice "Yamada Nishiki." made in Hyougo prefecture and to taste it. Provably, polished a brown part of a rice grain and it's only keeping a white core. There are a lot of interstices in a white core and it's easy for an aspergillus oryzae to invade into a white core and to mix with Amino acid, so due to this, creating high quality SAKE. Provably, a farmer who dove into the work will upset, however, it's a challenge to the Japanese traditional technology practice. Let's taste !

The Watanabe Shuzouten Co., Ltd. has been specified as the Registered Tangible Cultural Property by the Japanese Government and also their house and brewing plant have been specified.

For your note:

IWC Great Value Award in 2016.

Wine cord 14204 Komachizakura

by Watanabe Shuzouten Co., Ltd.

There is a clear water brook behind a brewing plant, big sized carps will be stocked in the spring and around here, with a storehouse with white mortar walls it's to be one of points of Sightseeing. 

Our tour started with a guide of Mr.Watanabe Senior Director, and into the brewing plant. we could smell well passing under the rope made with straws. We felt the Japanese traditional atmosphere.

"The Rope made with Straws" is a sign of a sacred place consecrated by Lightning Strike and Rain. White paper under it is a shape of Lightning, and straws from it to a downside are rain. Actually, a backyard had been struck by lightning long time ago.

Keep out your shoes from here, for preventing miscellaneous bacteria to invade into an aspergillus oryzae, you should keep your shoes out of the room. Oh, I'm BAIKINMAN,(my nick name as same as a famous character in TV ANPANMAN comic for kids. Baikin means germ, but I'm not with germ, it came only by my hoarse sound of my voice as same as BAIKINMAN in TV). How can I do?

Until a resent year, women didn't permit to enter, provably due to their cosmetic powder.

Please be modesty.

First of all, he told us Rice which are suitable for brewing.

Rice grains polished through night, will put into water to wash along with a stop watch indication. Too much cold water from a well in the morning it is. Brown rice is polished to be 18% as of a core by a rice diamond cutting and polishing machine. That is a result of technology, they spent 5 days for polishing.

AM:06:30, steam rises from an inside of plant with sweet smell, according to work of putting fire to steaming kettles. Whole plant has been hot with fog. Steamed rice grains are brought to an aspergillus oryzae room at upstairs through a vacuum delivery pipe. Rice grains polished to be less than 50% of an original grain are separated and send to a brewing aspergillus oryzae. There are several rooms for each purpose onto each difference of an aspergillus oryzae.

Steamed rice grains put on the flat board and Malt Master sprinkles aspergilli on those rices quickly and expands them, kneads them by hands as a clay. Those are still too hot.

A temperature of the aspergillus room is always under control for accelerating an invasion of an aspergillus into a rice core. Sometimes, a chief brewer decides to turn upside down or make a ridge to promote a homogenization of aspergilli invading.

Rice grains invaded by aspergilli are moved to a next small tank and mixed with yeast and water.

Yeast is a core asset of the plant because each kind of yeast will make each taste sake.Special selected yeast has been held in a security refrigerator.

Then a lactic acid bacterium or a malic acid starts a fermentation, meaning to birth a base of sake.  Then those are moved to a bigger tank and added with water steamed rices. New fermentation of rices starts to be a main fermenting mash. White liquid include rice grains fermenting with babble is spicy in a mouse with its acid but it's actually a base of sake.

We taste a sake made by rices of AIYAMA or KAMENOO, and the SAKE brewed with YAMADANISHIKI rice grains extremely polished to rest 18% of each rice grain. 

We taste it with a grace smell and mild without miscellaneous flavors. This is the SAKE brewed with a pure YAMADANISHIKI rice. I feel it young but it will be rich and full flavored after this summer. Mr Okada chief brewer said,"It has been too difficult as our first experience." We feel it was a great challenge. 

"The opposite of Love is Ignorance," (source: Elie Wiesel or Mother Teresa?)

The brewery make the tank to be heard "Comedy Talk Show " according to above the proverb. Water crystals move to change by hearing good and fun words due to some research. 

There are a lot of compliments of visitors on the surface of Thermal Tank using for more polish over 50% of rice grain.

President Mr. Hisanori Watanabe who is drawing fresh SAKE polished to 18% of rice grain seems happy and gained some weight.

Thank you and appreciate your attendance of our tour. You are my asset with your positivity, intelligence,and devotion.