Hakushika will be the first Sake brewery on which I'll make an article. It is an ancient brewery & it is famous for both its premium & its traditional series. They're a wonderful place to start for anyone interesting in knowing more about the world of Sake. Hakushika is actually the brand of Sake made by the Tatsuuma-Honke Brewing Company.
“In order to get finer Sakes, humans are necessary…”
The History
The sake brewery has been founded in 1662 by Kichizaemon Tatsuuma, an innovative brewer. They're located in Nishinomiya, a region famed for the quality of its water sources, an essential component of Sake making. For the next 300 years, the brewery will go on from geneneration to generation, slowly expanding locally before going international. They won a national competition in 1877, where the Sake they entered was named Hakushika, this was the beginning of the brand & only a decade later, they win a gold medal in a competition in Paris. In the early 1900s, the Sake find its way into bottle, previously only available in wooden barrel. After the original Hakushika, a premium Sake finds its way on the shelves with the name Kuromatsu Hakushika. Even if WWI slowed down the production due to major shortages in rice, it still allowed for a rise on the USA market a few years later. The veterans desired some of the dishes they had back in Japan, allowing Sake to take the spot as the drink of choice to go with these meals. The vast new market available has a taste for different profiles of Sake which gives the opportunity to the brewery to expand its catalogue, introducing multiple new products over the course of a few years. Sushi seal the deal by becoming popular worldwide, bringing Sake with it everywhere in North America & Europe.
The Brewery
Hakushika doesn't mention a lot of information on their brewery or their brewing process other than they do the same traditional step that every other Sake brewer does. They do mention that they work at lower temperatures as a way to slow down the production which in turn provides better results in terms of quality. They brew a lot of different types of traditional Sake as well as more modern Sakes by playing with lots of local ingredients such as Yuzu, Plums or Japanese Pears.
The People
Even though they're a big company nowadays, Hakushika, or Tatsuuma-Honke Brewing Company, states that it is the people that make the Sake, therefore they are the central point of the brewery. Few part of the processes are automated, so a lot of manual labour is poured into their Sakes. In order to get finer Sakes, humans are necessary because they can provide sight, smell & taste, which a machine can't do. Consequently, the company has a leader in each critical step of Sake making from the development of Koji & Kobo to the Shubo, Moromi, the pressing, the pasteurization, the bottling many other smaller steps.
The Sakes
Tatsuuma-Honke has two different brands. Hakushika is their core brand with most of their quality-driven, traditional Sakes. Kuromatsu is the brand often used in their premium brand, aiming to offer a one-of-a-kind experience.
Series: Premium, Yamadanishiki, Traditional, Unique, Fresh
They have multiple series of Sakes each with their own styles & quality:
- Traditional: Junmai Gingo, Kuromatsu Junmai, Chokara Junmai, Nada Jikomi Karakuchi. All are dry Sakes elaborated with traditional techniques.
- Premium: Goka Sennenju Junmai Daiginjo, Kijuro Tokubetsu Honjozo. The Premium Series is made of rich, elegant & flavourful Sakes with a lot of personality.
- Yamadanishiki: Honjozo, Junmai, Tokubetsu Junmai Genshu, Gold Junmai. All of these are made with the high-quality rice Yamada Nishiki.
The rest is comprised of the Fresh, the Unique & the Innovative series. All have their own modern takes on traditional Sakes.
Since their are known internationally, finding most of these Sakes shouldn't be much of a problem. The Premium Series would definitely change the perception of any one who isn't use to taste higher-end Sakes, while the Traditional Series is made of crowd-pleaser. Now be wild & have one of their brews with something other than Sushis. Try pairing a Junmai Ginjo with a Beef Stir-Fry with plenty of soy sauce.
Comments