Akishika Shuzo Omachi Yamahai Nama Genshu

70% Polish, Omachi, 17% ABV, SMV +9. Akshika Brewery, Osaka Prefecture.

 This is brewed in the exact same method with the same water, koji, yeast and rice polish level as the Yama above, just instead using heirloom rice Omachi. So cool to try these side by side. Pours yellow, Deep nose of Worcestershire, tamarind, curry leaf. Palate is a forest of cotton balls, showing koji hazelnut butter notes but also a savory bisque of parsnip and porcini. Finish is rich and warming with notes of cocoa, warm car door and hazelnut. Acidity here feels lower than it is because of the richness of the Omachi heirloom rice. Lasts for months after opening.

 Most sake brewers buy their rice – some from contracted farmers, most from unknown sources. “From our own fields to bottle” is the motto of Akishika Shuzō, where 6th-generation kuramoto Oku Hiroaki made a decision to take the brewery as close as it gets to being self-sustained for rice production.

At present, the brewery farms 25 hectares of biodynamically grown rice, sacrificing high yields for superior quality and taste. Breaking with the production methods of postwar Japan and going against the trend of the time, Oku-san was one of the initial pioneers of junmaishu, sake made without any additives; and in 2009, he achieved the goal of the brewery’s entire production being made that way. Akishika ages a big part of their production until it reaches perfect drinking condition, allowing them to offer an unrivaled variety of matured sake.

 Using their unique fermentation method of dissolving a very high portion of the fermentation rice into the brew while maintaining low amino acid levels, Akishika’s sake is medium-bodied yet very flavorful, complex, and layered.