In Japan, most breweries make sake on a seasonal schedule. That means production for a given Brewing Year (B.Y.) usually starts in October and runs through the time of rice planting in the late spring or early summer. When the Brewing Year is winding down, there are some ceremonies and gatherings to mark the end of the season and recognize all effort and hard work of the brewers.

As the brewing season is drawing to a close, there is that day when you steam your last batch of rice. This is the day that you finish the additions of rice and koji to your last batch of sake. Of course fermentation will continue for another month on all the tanks you’ve started, but from this point on, no new tanks will be created and no more rice will be steamed. “Koshiki Taoshi” means to knock over the rice steaming vat. The idea behind Koshiki Taoshi is to tip over the rice steaming vat for cleaning as it won’t be used any more this season.

When I arrived at the event, I was surprised to see everyone dressed in a serious dark suit. I was used to seeing all the brewers in their white brewery uniform, but now I was seeing everyone dress up in civilian clothes. The mood was serious at first with everyone sitting quietly waiting for the official start. Once the event began we first had greetings and speeches. Hakkaisan President Jiro Nagumo started by thanking everyone for their hard work this year and talking about the Hakkaisan company spirit. Then Mr. Shigemitsu Nagamo, the Toji or master brewer, also thanked everyone for their hard work and dedication this year. Next was our Kanpai or toast. This was the signal that the party could begin. For this occasion, all the brewers were able to enjoy Hakkaisan’s Special Daiginjo sake. This is an ultra-premium sake not sold to the public, and it was a chance for all the brewers to taste the gold standard sake produced by Hakkaisan. This sake embodies what we try to achieve as a brewery.

Everyone was able to enjoy a great meal and the Special Daiginjo served chilled and warm as well. Hakkaisan beer was also flowing! It is a custom in Japan for the new employees to go around and pour sake for their superiors. This is a great way to foster communication and it really get people talking to one another and in the mood to celebrate. It is also a time to go around and say “thank you” to any co-workers that especially helped you during the year.

Next came a really exciting moment. All of the sake brewers and this year’s new employees gathered at the front of the room to sing a “sakauta” (酒歌) or sake brewing song. Traditionally, these songs were sung in the brewery to keep time while mixing the tank or some other such task. The songs have a driving rhythm to keep brewers mixing the vat at the same pace. At Hakkaisan, this song is not used in the brewery everyday, but is still performed at special events to keep a connection to this piece of sake culture alive. It was fantastic to see!

The Koshiki Taoshi event is not the end of brewing, but more a sign of things winding down for the year. Everyone enjoyed the party, but for most, it was back to work and back to brewing the very next day!

If you think about making sake, where does the process really start? If you want to go to the very beginning, you need to look at growing sake rice. I recently had an opportunity to visit a Niigata rice farm and try my own hand at planting sake rice. I was invited to an event known as Taue (田植え) aka “rice planting”. This is mostly done by mechanized tractor these days, but I was going to try planting rice by hand the old fashioned way at a local Niigata Taue community event. Kids, parents, office workers, veteran farmers and one displaced New Yorker would plant the whole field. If I was going to fall on my behind in the mud, there would be lots of people to see.

Baby Steps
Sake rice does not start as a seed in the rice paddy. Rice is first grown from seed to seedling in trays filled with growth medium inside of a hothouse. This allow farmers to water and feed the seedlings and protects the tiny rice plants until they are big enough to be planted in the paddy.

The Gear

Now that we had the seedlings ready to go, it was time to get suited up. I forgot to bring my rice planting rubber boots from New York, so I borrowed a pair. The boots closest to my size were thigh-high hip waders that tied onto my belt with some string. I was also issued a pointed rice paddy hat, towel for my neck and a plastic bucket to wear like a satchel to hold my rice seedlings.

The local professionals who came to help came dressed and were completely covered from head to toe. I thought this was a little extreme but then I learned the hard way that the water in the paddy acts like a mirror and will reflect the sun to give you a light sunburn from two directions!

Before we started planting, the paddy needed to be prepared. To give us a guideline for planting, the farmers roll a wooden template across the mud to create a grid pattern. this is rolled back and forth down the entire length of the paddy. This grid allows us to plant our seedlings in the corner of each grid square and keep everything aligned and spaced perfectly. Ingenious!

Let’s Get Planting

I was given some instructions on how to plant. First, grab a chunk of rice seedlings in your left hand. Then using your right hand, break off a little bundle of 3 seedlings. Stick the seedlings into the mud at the corner of the grid. Repeat and repeat! I quickly learned that only using your right hand to plant is a good idea is it quickly becomes covered in mud. After a few rows I was feeling confident and I ventured further into the paddy. Then I began to sink.

Soon the mud was up by my knees and it was hard to walk or move forward. Trying to pull one leg out of the mud to step forward threw me off balance and made me wobble, but luckily, I didn’t fall in front of 50 people. I planted all the rice I had in my basket, 3 stalks at a time until it was empty. Then I found myself stranded in the middle of the paddy with a long walk back to the edge. Walking slow and stilted like Frankenstein, I slowly made it back to safety! The first thing I did was squat down to rinse my hands in some running water. The mud on the back of my thigh high boots managed to get on my behind that way, so even though I didn’t fall, I still wound up looking like I did.

With everyone helping, the field was planted in about an hour. I thought it would take three times as long. After the planting was done, the rice field is flooded with water. This keeps the seedlings protected and inhibits the growth of weeds. Looking out at the finished paddy, I couldn’t help feel a sense of accomplishment, even though I only planted a small part. The lines of rice were not as laser straight as a machine could do it, but I think doing things by hand can be its own reward. The next step in my farming career? I’m heading back into the mud this September to harvest!

I’ve attended a lot of sake events over the years, but few have been as fun and creatively organized as Craft Sake Week at the Roppongi Hills Arena (April 7-16). This event, spearheaded by soccer star and sake fan Hideyoshi Nakata, started last year but has come back bigger and better for 2017. Over a 10 day run, the event features a total of 100 brewers pouring their products and interacting directly with consumers.

Each of the 10 days of craft sake week has a unique theme. I was pouring sake on April 12 which was “Sparkling Sake Day”. For fans of Happo-shu (sparking sake), this must have been heaven to have so many bubbles to choose from. Hakkaisan featured three sakes: Awa Junmai Ginjo Sparkling, Nigori Sparkling and the Snow-Aged Junmai Ginjo 3 Years. I think all of these sakes were popular, but it was especially fun to introduce guests to our new clear sparking sake, “Awa”. This new sake is made using an in-bottle secondary fermentation and similar to fine sparkling wines, the sake is also disgorged by hand, creating a clear sake with a fine grained bubble and gentle sweetness.

To participate in Craft Sake Week, guests purchase coins that can be used for sake or for the onsite gourmet food trucks. Sakes cost from 1 to 3 coins and guests are issued a sake glass and can wander and try sake at their own pace. Tables and seats are spread around the open air arena and an expansive live cherry blossom installation designed by architect Sou Fujimoto adds a beautiful backdrop and creates and immersive Hanami (cherry blossom viewing) experience. It’s beautiful in the day and evening.

In addition to being able to talk to a variety of Brewers and to try a wide range of sakes, chatting with other sake fans is also really fun. The crowd was an international group with a lot of non-Japanese in attendance, too. It was great to see so many people enjoying sake together. While the sake and food were amazing, there was also some other attractions such as a carnival style game to win sake flavor Kit Kats as well as sake pottery for sale.

This event was exciting for me because it showed the evolution of what a sake tasting can be. It does not have to be only a restaurant pairing dinner or a formal standing sake reception in a hotel ballroom. Making sake tasting fun, stylish and exciting is a great step towards creating new sake fans and growing our industry. And as for me, I’m already excited to see what the folks at Craft Sake Week will cook up for next year! Kanpai!

One of the perks of living in Niigata Japan has been the food… the glorious food! After 6 months here, almost every single meal I’ve had here outside my own home has been really, really good. Japan values high quality food and gets it right.

One of my favorite styles of food here is Japanese homestyle cooking. This way of cooking is rustic with limited ingredients and is usually very balanced and healthy. The best place I have found to enjoy Japanese homestyle cooking is the Hakkaisan Company Cafeteria. This building is called Minna no Shain Shokudo or “Employee Cafeteria for All”. This cafeteria is “for all” because it is open to employees and guests or visitors from outside the company, too. Anybody can stop by for lunch!

Employees can order breakfast, lunch or dinner any day. For visitors, the cafeteria is open to the public for lunch every day from 11am – 3pm.

Most often, you can find me at Minna no Shain Shokudo for lunch.

I sat down with Cafeteria Manager and Head Chef Mr. Sano to discuss the ins and outs of running a busy company cafeteria. Sano-san is tasked with a big challenge – for hungry brewers, he has to provide 3 meals a day, every day of the year (except New Years). During the brewing season, the sake mash does not take a rest, and neither do the brewers, so meals must be provided on weekends and holidays too. Every day sees as many 90 employees enjoy their breakfast, lunch or dinner at the cafeteria. Employees are served a simple buffet style meal that changes every day. Two constants every day are miso soup (with amazing in-house homemade miso) and delicious koshihikari rice (a prized local specialty). A word about Koshihikari rice – It is some of the best eating rice you’ll find anywhere and it grows all around this region. We are lucky to get to enjoy it every day with our meals. Please try it if you get the chance!

Guests visiting the Hakkaisan Company Cafeteria don’t eat the same lunch as the employees, but rather they enjoy a delicious set menu with a choice of meat or fish. This set for guests also includes the homemade miso soup and koshihikari rice. There are always a few seasonal sides along with salad and delicious homemade pickles, too. It is a fantastic home cooked lunch that draws people from far and wide. I see a lot of locals during the week and visitors from far and wide on the weekends. In the winter, I have also seen guests in their skiing gear grabbing lunch after a morning on the nearby slopes! If you visit us during lunchtime, you can enjoy lunch in the same room with the sake brewers! Please say hello!

So what’s on the menu for the brewers? Sample menus for employees include pork katsu with heaping sides of shredded cabbage and delicious salads on the side. Udon with homemade Tempura. Curry over rice with a side salad. And the employee’s favorite lunch? Sano-san tells me that is without a question karaage fried chicken tenderized with shiokoji, a salt and koji rice mixture. The karaage IS delicious but I’m team pork katsu when it comes to my favorite lunch.

You may be surprised to learn that there are some foods that are strictly off the menu at sake breweries. First is natto. For those who don’t know, natto is fermented soybeans with a slimey texture and strong smell that is much beloved by most Japanese. For sake brewers, eating this is forbidden as the microbes that ferment natto are powerful and could potentially interfere with the microbes of sake fermentation. Because of the strong odors, garlic is also avoided. Finally, Japanese mikan (kind of like a small orange) is also not allowed. The orange oil that is found in the mikan peel can get on your hands when peeling the mikan and it has antimicrobial properties which can inhibit fermentation.

Staying away from natto, garlic and mikan luckily leaves lots of leeway to have a great collection of dishes. If you are in Japan, a visit to the Hakkaisan Cafeteria is a wonderful way to spend a leisurely lunch – You’ll become a fan of Japanese homestyle cooking, too!

Some sakes are at their best when they are fresh and young. Most sakes taste best when they are stored for just a few months. And a rare few sakes really come to life when aged under special care for several years. I recently had the opportunity to taste just such an aged sake… a new product called “Hakkaisan Snow-Aged Junmai Ginjo 3 Years”.

Aging sake can be a tricky business. If not done skillfully, sake can turn stale and bitter tasting with age. If done well, aging sake can concentrate flavors and enrich and deepen the best traits of a sake. Hakkaisan uses two ways to achieve richness and balance in their aged sake.

Snow Aging
First, Hakkaisan makes use of an abundant, local natural resource in aging their sake: snow! Hakkaisan Brewery is located in Minami Uonuma City, an area of Japan famous for heavy, deep snowfall in the winter months. Hakkaisan has harnessed the power of the snow by creating what is known as a “yuki muro” or snow storehouse. The Hakkaisan Yuki Muro is a large insulated room that contains a 1000 ton pile of snow placed next to 20 sake storage tanks. The sake is chilled in tank using the cold from the snow alone. No electricity at all is used for chilling the sake making this a very eco-friendly facility.

This snow storage concept is not a new one and has been used for generations in snowy regions in Japan to refrigerate foods before electricity. The snow in Hakkaisan’s Yuki Muro never melts completely, even after a full year, and it is re-filled with fresh snow every February or March. The temperature is a steady 2-5°C (37-41°F) throughout the year – an important point as too much temperature variation can adversely impact sake as it ages. Being able to chill sake at a steady temperature without electricity has another advantage. In the case of power outage or natural disaster, the sake will continue to age properly with no impact to the temperature.

No Dilution
The other method used to create depth of flavor and richness is aging and bottling this sake as a genshu. Most sake is diluted with water after production to bring the alcohol percentage usually down to about 15.5%. By contrast, genshu is a style of sake that is undiluted with water, similar in concept to “cask strength” products in the world of whiskey. In the case of Hakkaisan Snow-Aged Junmai Ginjo 3 Years, the alcohol percentage is 17%. What are the advantages of genshu? As genshu sakes are higher in alcohol, they offer more body, weight and structure to the sake. This translates into the ability to pair genshu sakes with non traditional foods. The keyword here is Umami! Richer foods with lots of savory characteristics pair beautifully with this genshu sake. Pairing ideas along this vein include beef tenderloin, Mediterranean seafood and even liver paté. This genshu sake also has the heft to stand up to mildly spicy dishes as well, so please try this sake with black pepper chicken or beef curry.

Tasting
Let’s look at the stats for Hakkaisan Snow-Aged Junmai Ginjo 3 Years.

• rice-polishing ratio: 50%
• Alcohol: 17.0%
• sake meter value: -1.0
• acidity: 1.5
• koji rice used: Yamadanishiki
• brewing rice used: Gohyakumangoku , Yukinosei

This sake is sold as a junmai ginjo grade sake, but the milling rate is actually 50% – a super premium level of milling. Milling sake rice to this level gives sake a clean and smooth body with no hint of sharpness or harsh edge. The aroma is restrained and elegant with soft hints of rice – a hallmark of the Hakkaisan brewing style. The palate is full bodied and rich with the gentle aging process creating a rounded texture. Lovely and delicious rice notes accent the primary flavors of this sake. Despite the bold body, the finish remains crisp and cleansing – ideal for food pairing. I recommend a well chilled serving temperature to bring out the invigorating essence of this sake.

Going International
Hakkaisan Snow-Aged Junmai Ginjo 3 Years was recently introduced to the USA with a a launch party at The Modern, the Michelin starred restaurant at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC. The event was attended by about 100 guests from New York restaurants and wine shops as well as press and VIP guests. Appetizers were passed for the group to try pairing this Snow-Aged Junmai Ginjo with non-Japanese cuisine. The President of Hakkaisan Brewery, Jiro Nagumo, was also on hand to introduce the sake to the attendees. It was noted that the beautiful all white bottle design is a reflection of the roots of snow storage used for this sake. You will soon see Hakkaisan Snow-Aged Junmai Ginjo 3 Years appearing in your local sake shops and restaurants. Please try this sake that is new to the USA – you can get a taste of Japan’s Snow Country in your town!

One of the great things about living here for one year is getting to know even more about Hakkaisan beyond the delicious sake. One place I spend a lot of time is Hakkaisan’s Uonuma no Sato. Clustered around Hakkaisan’s Daini Kowagura Brewery, where Hakkaisan Seishu and Tokubetsu Honjozo are produced, Uonuma no Sato is a group of shops, cafes and restaurants that beautifully illustrate the connection between Hakkaisan and the local culture and community. Over the next few weeks, I’ll profile some of these facilities to introduce you to even more of what Hakkaisan has to offer.

Last time I featured Uonuma no Sato’s Hachikura which specialized in traditional Japanese gift wrapping. This week, I’m thrilled to introduce you to Satoya Cafe! I often spend a lazy saturday here enjoying coffee and their signature cake! But this is not just any cake – of course it’s sake cake!

Satoya is the brainchild of pâtissier ### Sato. He worked with Hakkaisan to open Satoya and create a line of Hakkaisan sake-infused desserts and sweets. The centerpiece is several types of “baumkuchen”. This is a cake that originated in Germany and is baked in a very unique oven that uses a spit to cook the log shaped cake in many thin layers. When sliced open, the cake layers look like the rings of a tree! Satoya sells two Baumkuchen that use sake. The Hakkai-baum uses Hakkaisan Daiginjo sake in the sweet glaze on the cake. The　Satoya-baum mixes in Hakkaisan sake kasu (the left over rice after pressing the sake mash) right into the batter, giving the sake a heavenly sake taste.

In addition to Baumkuchen, Satoya also makes other treats using Hakkaisan sake! You can enjoy Hakkaisan sake jelly or Hakkaisan Daifuku as well.

Once you’ve selected your sweets, you can go to the cafe seating upstairs to relax and enjoy the views of nature and the seasons from the large picture windows. It is incredibly relaxing to sip on coffee and watch the snow fall outside during a snowy afternoon at Uonuma no Sato! If you every have a chance to visit Uonuma no Sato, I highly recommend a visit to Satoya.

One of the great things about living here for one year is getting to know even more about Hakkaisan beyond the delicious sake. One place I spend a lot of time is Hakkaisan’s Uonuma no Sato. Clustered around Hakkaisan’s Daini Kowagura Brewery, where Hakkaisan Seishu and Tokubetsu Honjozo are produced, Uonuma no Sato is a group of shops, cafes and restaurants that beautifully illustrate the connection between Hakkaisan and the local culture and community. Over the next few weeks, I’ll profile some of these facilities to introduce you to even more of what Hakkaisan has to offer.

First off is Hakkaisan’s Hachikura. This is a beautiful gift shop housed in a old snow country house. Primarily, here you can buy all manner of Hakkaisan-produced goods… of course the full range of sake, but also fermented foods, sake cups and glassware, sake cosmetics and more. However, the Hachikura is not just your regular gift shop. They offer a service that is becoming more and more rare in Japan: Origata gift wrapping.

Origata is a type of beautiful Japanese gift wrapping that uses a single sheet of paper with folds to wrap a gift, highlighting it’s shape. To hold the paper in place, Mizuhiki cords tied into knots are used. Mizuhiki is a type of stiff washi paper cord and each type of knot has its own colors and symbolic meanings. For serious gift giving occasions such as New Year’s day, weddings, births or funerals, gifts can be purchased at Hachikura and then professionally wrapped using Origata methods featuring the beautiful Mizuhiki knots.

The options and meanings of the different knots are staggering, so I asked Hachikura Manager Ms. Kitsu to be my guide. She explained the process and some of the basic meanings to me. First, a base paper is selected and this paper is used to wrap the item using folds alone with no cutting of the paper. Interestingly, the paper wrapping itself is used to emphasize the shape of the item, not to hide the contents of the gift as we do in the west. The next option is to select a knot to secure the paper to the gift.

The first knot I learned about was the “Awajimusubi”. This is a type of knot that can be used for both happy and sad occasions. It represents a close relationship that cannot easily be undone. When you pull on the ends of the strings, the knot is pulled tighter together symbolizing a closer relationship between the gift giver and receiver.

Next I learned about “Hanamusubi”. This is a type of knot that is used to tie gifts for a happy occasion you wish to repeat, such as the birth of a baby. This type of knot is tied in such a way that it is easy to open when pulled, allowing for that happy event to happen again. Based on the shape of the package there are two types of Hanamusubi – flat items have two ends of the knot to pull while round items, such as a bottle of sake(!) have a single end to pull, allowing you to hold the item while opening.

Kitsu-san showed me that Hakkaisan also has it’s own original knot – the “Figure 8 musubi”! This knot is shaped like the number 8 and is meant to represent Hakkaisan (8 peaked mountain) after which Hakkaisan sake is named. It is simple and beautiful!

Gifts wrapped at the Hakkaisan Hachikura also often include a graceful stalk of rice grains slipped in behind the knot. This is a symbol of the gift’s origin – with sake and our fermented goods of course coming from rice!

The array of wrapping styles on display is beautiful. I can imagine if I received a gift wrapped in the Origata style, I would be very impressed. The simplicity and thoughtfulness of such gift wrapping is really beautiful. Going to these lengths to wrap a gift with such great attention to the paper, knots and colors is a sign of respect for the receiver of the gift.

When I think about some of the wrapping jobs I have done on Christmas or birthday gifts to friends and family in the past, I shudder to think about the amounts of scotch tape I used to hold the whole thing together. This visit to the Hachikura has inspired me to try Origata wrapping myself the next time I have to give a gift! And there is no better way than that to wrap up this blog post.