A Taste of Tradition

Set to host a dinner at the Club this month, the head of a centuries-old sake maker in Tohoku explains why his brewery continues to stick to its roots.

In the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear crisis in 2011, a venerable sake brewery in the prefecture could count itself lucky. Nearly 300 years ago, the founders of Daishichi had decided to source their water from a deep well at the foot of Mount Adatara.

With an untainted water supply, filtered through the volcano, Daishichi could continue to produce top-quality sake, despite the catastrophe at Tokyo Electric’s nuclear power plant less than 100 kilometers away.

Aside from water, another key ingredient in making sake is, naturally, rice. Fears of cesium contamination devastated rice farming in Fukushima, but in January this year, the local government announced that the entire 2014 crop had been given the all clear, following checks on almost 11 million bags of rice.

Even though Daishichi had already been sourcing its rice from producers across Japan, the brewery installed ventilation filters, air curtains and radiation detectors to ensure its sake remained as pure as ever.

“We check everything: the rice when it comes in and the rice when it goes into the final product, and we are still continuing that,” saying Hideharu Ohta, the 10th-generation head of Daishichi, during a visit to the Club in December. “The water comes from very, very deep wells and it is not affected at all.”

While Ohta had expected sales to drop in the wake of the crisis, the opposite happened. Since people throughout Japan wanted to help Fukushima by buying local products, Daishichi enjoyed a bump in sales. Ohta admits that sales were flat due to concerns about the 2011 rice crop, but he says shipments are growing again, and he’s now focused on unearthing more overseas markets.

Founded in 1752, the brewery is quick to advertise its age-old methods to differentiate it from the competition. Daishichi is one of the few sake breweries left that uses the kimoto method, one of the most orthodox ways of producing the fermented rice drink. The approach centers on making natural lactic acid at the brewery itself, instead of buying it from suppliers like milk factories.

“Kimoto is a way to make very pure yeast simply, using human hands,” says Ohta. “It’s a very complex process in which many types of microorganisms come out and they fight each other, as it were, for control of the tank where they live. In the end, you get a lactic acid environment that yields a very pure yeast.”

Compared to more modern, efficient ways of brewing, kimoto takes two to three times longer. Meanwhile, the water used by the brewery has more mineral content compared to that of other makers and requires maturation. In this again process, it can take two years or more before the sake reaches its best.

Daishichi turns out a range of premium sake, including its flagship Junmai Kimoto Classic and Minowamon, a junmai daiginjo named after one of the gates of Nihonmatsu Castle in northern Fukushima. Junmai daiginjo is a type of high-grade sake made with rice that’s been highly polished, with at least 50 percent of its outer layer removed through milling. The minimum is 40 percent for ginjoshu sake.

“Daishichi’s ginjos and daiginjos are not just elegant, with a fine fragrance,” says Ohta, “they’re also sakes with body, so they can be paired with stronger-tasting foods, such as those with herbs, cream and oil. The lactic acid in the kimoto sake can become a natural bridge for a sommelier to cheese, buttery dishes or creamy dishes. So, kimoto sake also goes well with Western food.”

Of course, the proof is in the drinking, which those attending this month’s dinner at the Club will have plenty of chance to do. While Ohta is reluctant to reveal too many details, he does confirm that the event will feature a range of flavors, including a light sparkling sake, a traditional Junmai Kimoto and even a kimoto plum wine.

The evening is part of an overall effort to expose more people to Daishichi’s heritage and brand. The brewery’s sake is available in the United States, Europe and other parts of Asia, such as the growing markets of Singapore and Thailand. For Ohta, the dinner is a chance to explain one of his sake’s distinguishing points.

“The taste is more complex, but at the same time very harmonious, and it has a lot of umami,” says Ohta, referring to the savory taste often associated with soy sauce, cheese and monosodium glutamate. “It’s the fifth taste, but it doesn’t have a flavor itself like sweet or sour, but it enhances the original taste of the ingredients in the food. It brings out the taste in the dishes and harmonizes them. That is the quality of umami.”

Words: Tim Hornyak

Daishichi Sake Dinner
Friday, March 13
6:30–9pm
Washington and Lincoln rooms
¥6,500*
Sign up online or at Member Services
Sponsored by the Culture, Community and Entertainment Committee
*Excludes 8 percent consumption tax.