2017.03.18

We are a small sake brewery, and we make the best use of Akita Prefecture’s rice, water, and nature.

▲“Jinguujitake”: The most northern mountain of the “goddess” cluster of volcanoes in Daisen City in Akita Prefecture. Locally, it is affectionately known by the nickname “Dakeyama.”

The Fukunotomo sake brewery was established in 1913 and christened as such by taking kanji letters from the names of the founder and the first brewer. The storehouse is in the southern territory of Akita Prefecture, in an area called Senboku Fields renowned for its prosperous rice cultivation. Using the rice of high vitality that can be gathered and cultivated in such an area, and harnessing the nearby power of the largest river in the entire prefecture, the brewers have been producing sake of the utmost quality ever since the days of the brewery’s founding.

The raw materials necessary for producing sake are of course predominantly rice and water. Needless to say, Akita Prefecture overall, and—as noted above—Senboku Fields in particular, is well known as a producer of very high quality rice. Further, the soft but plentiful underground water drawn up for the preparation of the ingredients is used for every stage of the entire sake brewing process.

■ The sake brewing of Akita, the Snow Country
In these snow-covered lands of Akita, the Fukunotomo sake brewery’s techniques of production remain unchanged from the days of its founding. From January to February every year, the storehouse gets snugly enveloped in the snow accumulation. This allows the brewery to effectively maintain an ideal room temperature for its sake production. Due to this climate, long-term low temperatures can be preserved throughout the fermentation process, leading to a truly refined and smooth sake.

■The brewers inculcate their spirit into the taste of their sake
It is the “people” who determine the flavor and significance of sake brewing. In order to produce the most subtle flavors possible, the brewers every day pay incredibly close attention to such parameters as moisture levels and temperature control. At our warehouse, we conduct the sake brewing with a small number of people. Our president and our factory manager both personally step foot in our brewery and with diligence and devotion strive for the sake of their ideal, that being the sake that induces every single person who drinks it to say, “This sake is superb.”

The finished sake boasts direct access to the appealing flavor of the rice involved, and our representative line, 「冬樹」“Fuyuki,” is full of exquisite rice flavor that even the best sake-brewing rice is usually incapable of producing. Edible rice is used, and it is left unadjusted and unfiltered, in its purest form. The resulting sake is bottled without any kind of intrusion. Another line, 「蔵内原酒」“Kurauchi Genshu,” is an undiluted sake with a strong, heavy impact. “Kurauchi” refers to pure, untreated sake, to which only sake brewers have previously had access. For a long time, we only ever shared this sake with sake aficionados in the know about our behind-the-scenes work. However, the sake’s favorable reputation became impossible to contain, and due to its very high demand it is at present officially available for purchase.