Thursday, February 5, 2015

Back in Japan (January 2015)...Visit to Kiminoi Shuzo

Sake Tasting at Kiminoi Shuzo

After the amazing sushi lunch with Kanzuri's Tojo-sans, we had an appointment with Kiminoi Shuzo, an artisan sake brewery, run by the same family since 1842.

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Kiminoi Shuzo is also located in Arai district of Myoko, Niigata. Tanaka-san, the current generation of the brewery family, came to welcome us there. In fact, Kanzuri's Tojo-san and Kiminoi's Tanaka-san are very good friends.

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We had a tour of the very historic brewery. It was like, we time-travelled to Edo Period.

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The polish rate of the rice for their Daiginjo sake is 35%. The remaining 65% of the rice is sold to rice cracker companies and bakeries. Nice idea!

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We got to see almost the entire process of their sake making. It was really nice.

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After the tour, we tasted their sake line-up with Tanaka-san. Kiminoi Shuzo makes truly artisan sake, and I loved them so much. Thank you so much for the generous hospitality, Tanaka-san!

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In the late afternoon, we left the snowy country. I can't wait to come back!