Amazake with an elegant taste born from the climate of Niigata──Imayo Tsukasa Sake Brewery (Niigata Prefecture) | Amazake specialty store Ren MURO Muro [official mail order]

Hello. This is Ren MURO , a store specializing in rice koji amazake.
Today, under the name of "Amazake Craft Story", we will introduce a popular amazake brewer at Ren MURO .

The brewery introduced in the fourth installment is "Koji Fermented Amazake Koji" and "Koji Lactic Acid Fermented Amazake Moto," which are popular products with elegant and beautiful labels and sophisticated flavors. Tsukasa Sake Brewery.

The company was founded in 1767 in Niigata City, Niigata Prefecture, and celebrated its 250th anniversary in 2017. The origin of the name "Imayo Tsukasa" comes from the phrase "controlling the present age." Connecting tradition (old) with the new age (now), connecting the charm of the region with the city, and connecting people with each other. It is said that they continue to follow this tradition as their creed.

▲The origin of the company name is from “ruling over the present age.”

■ Created by Niigata water including melted snow

Originally engaged in the ryokan and restaurant business, it entered the sake brewing business in the middle of the Meiji era. The place where the company was founded is the land of Nuttari, which was convenient for transporting raw materials and products by the Kurinoki River.
Nuttari is also known as a town of fermented foods, although the number of sake breweries, miso and soy sauce breweries has decreased. It is located in a town that is unusual for sake breweries, a 20-minute walk from present-day Niigata Station.

▲ Imayo Tsukasa Sake Brewery

Niigata Port in Niigata City, where the Nuttari district is located, is one of the five major ports in the Meiji period. During the Meiji period, Niigata Prefecture was so developed that it had the largest population in some years.
Currently, Imayo Tsukasa Sake Brewery is the only sake brewery remaining in this area. However, Niigata still has 89 breweries (according to the 2018 National Tax Agency survey), making it one of the best sake breweries in Japan. At the sake festival held every year, exchanges between breweries are born, and it seems that horizontal connections between sake breweries are also important.
The water in Niigata, which is both a rice and sake producer, is soft water containing melted snow, so fermentation progresses more slowly than hard water, which contains a lot of minerals. Therefore, it is easy to make sake with a smooth and elegant taste.

■ Amazake brewing with a focus on rice and water

Since Imayo Tsukasa Brewery opened its brewery, it has traditionally continued to make "sake that you won't get tired of drinking", and this commitment is also reflected in amazake. The company started making amazake in 2012, before the boom in amazake.

Initially, Koshihikari rice was used as the raw material, but now it seems that 100% Koshiibuki from Niigata Prefecture is used.

Previously, we used well water nearby with good water quality. After that, we searched for the best water for sake brewing and carefully selected it, and now we use natural water from Mt.
Twice a week, he goes to draw 3,000 liters of water and uses it to make sake and amazake.

There are two types of Amazake that Imayo Tsukasa Brewery makes with great care: “Koji / Fermented Amazake Koji” and “Koji / Lactic Acid Fermented Amazake Moto”.

▲ Imayo Tsukasa Sake Brewery “Koji / Fermented Amazake “Koji” Large”
"Koji/Fermented Amazake 'Koji' Large" amazake is characterized by its small size and smooth taste. It is made of rice malt carefully prepared by brewers and soft water mainly from Niigata's melted snow. An elegant amazake with a modest sweetness that minimizes the aroma peculiar to koji through fermentation. This amazake is a must-try for those new to amazake.

▲Koji/Lactic Acid Fermentation Amazake Moto

“Koji/Lactic Acid Fermented Amazake Moto” is lactic acid fermentation of nutritious amazake. It reproduces the sweet, sour and fruity flavor of lactic acid bacteria, which is produced from the important elements of sake brewing, "Koji and Motozukuri".
In addition, it uses "Sakasuke", a fermented food made from sake lees, which was developed at the Niigata Prefectural Brewery Experiment Station, and is characterized by its deep flavor accentuated by the taste and aroma of sake lees. It doesn't contain any alcohol, but the scent of sake lees is addictive for those who like sake.

For those who don't like sweet amazake, we recommend chilling it in the summer and splitting it with soda or vegetable or fruit juice. I heard from Imayo Tsukasa Sake Brewery about their commitment to amazake making. Please try Imayo Tsukasa Sake Brewery's specialty amazake.

Click here for a list of Amazake made by Imayo Tsukasa Sake Brewery
https://koujiamasake.jp/collections/Imayo Tsukasa Sake Brewery/

Thank you for reading to the end today.

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Noren MURO Kagurazaka

Address: 1-12-6 Kagurazaka , Shinjuku -ku, Tokyo 162-0825

Phone number: 03-5579-2910

HP/EC site: https://koujiamasake.jp/

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