FEB 25: Blessings of Fukui: Denshin Fuyu and Born Muroka Nama Genshu

Mt. Hakusan, benefactor to countless superb sake brewing regions!

Hi, it’s Molly! So far in my tenure here, my contributions to the club have been quietly research oriented- googling retired tojis and regionally specific rice varieties, combing abandoned brewer blogs for fun facts, sending Nina cultural treasures I unearth like the GI Yamagata theme song while she tries to get real work done, etc. But this month, since she’s busy plugging away at organizing Fuyu Fest, aka the event of the year,  you get to hang out with me!

This month we’ve got two picks from Fukui prefecture- the deep yet brisk Denshin “Fuyu” from Ippongi Kubohonten in Katsuyama City, and Born MNG Junmai Daiginjo, the iconic big ‘n’ fruity umami bomb from Katokichibee Shoten in Sabae City. These bottles encapsulate how this February has felt so far in Portland- almost aggressively clear, cutting, and cold. Selfishly, I was interested in two contrasting picks from the same area because 1. Fukui sake is new territory for me and I wanted to geek out, 2. Fukui February sounds nice, and 3. both of these bottles have cool names! More on that later.

Fukui lies in central Japan’s Chubu region, nestled up against the Sea of Japan, and surrounded by the sake powerhouse prefectures of Ishikawa, Gifu, Niigata, Shiga and Kyoto. It is a notable sakamai (sake rice) production area, thanks in large part to Ishikawa’s Mt. Haku (Hakusan) to the Northeast. Snowmelt is slowly filtered through the mountain, then carried into Fukui’s Northeastern mountain river basin area via the Kuzuryu (nine-headed dragon!) river. Most of the prefecture’s 36 sake breweries pull water from wells fed by this system, including Ippongi and Katokichibee, who are located near a couple of the river’s tributaries. 

Thanks to those same mountains creating an ideal diurnal range (cold night/ hot day) for rice cultivation, Fukui’s Oku-Echizen basin grows top quality Gohyakumangoku, Yamada Nishiki, and a host of other locally developed sakamai. 

In Portland you’re receiving it a few days late to pull off a snowman scene with the bottle, but it sure is cute.

Denshin “Fuyu” Shiboritate Tokubetsu Honjozo Namazake

Naming conventions are not a game at Ippongi and are worth note. Ippongi was established at the turn of the century and was the official sake for the Katsuyama-Ogasawara Clan, who bestowed the brewery its name. 一本義/Ippongi is taken from  第一義諦/Dai Ichi Gitai, the zen concept of the highest state of mind where enlightenment is reached.  Then we have their seasonal brand, 伝心/Denshin, meaning “to reach one’s heart,” a reference to their desire to connect their drinkers to the circle of the seasons.

The Brew:

Their Denshin lineup is dedicated not just to the cycle of the seasons, but the specific climate of the Oku-Echizen basin at the foot of Mt. Haku where the brewery is located. Classically, Ippongi’s tojis were from the Nanbu guild, who pursue a clean and crisp style in a typically dry and cold winter brewing setting. But Katsuyama’s winters are very humid, so over the century, their Nanbu tojis have adapted their style to the setting for a brew that can only be made in Katsuyama. Denshin is Fukui made to the core, using only rice from Oku-Echizen, water from Mt. Haku, and for their aruten, rice alcohol distilled from Fukui grown rice. Starting with this brew year,  Ippongi will switch to their house pot still rice shochu for alcohol additions, so keep an eye out for that next Winter.

What to expect:

Year to year, we expect a powerful yet brisk palate from this very unique honjozo, thanks to the high concentration (18% ABV out the gate!) and unique hazelnut-persimmon flavor profile with full body and a finish that reads something like ice-cold Dr. Pepper: is it dry? Is it sweet? I can’t tell. This year I’m getting some lovely velvety bittersweet cocoa notes as well, and I feel like the sake is expressing more richness and body than in past years.

I have a funny condition sometimes called a gustatory sneeze reflex, where certain pungent flavors (horseradish, black pepper, altoids/strong mints especially) make me sneeze. Without fail, Denshin Fuyu always makes me sneeze… so because it passes my “sneeze test,” I consider it especially brisk and spicy as far as sake goes. -Nina

• Location: Katsuyama, Fukui

• Classification: Tokubetsu Honjozo (“special” honjozo, so designated due to the special rice).

• Rice: Local Gohyakumangoku

• Polish: 65%

• ABV: 18% (genshu, undiluted)

• Water: Super soft water from the base of Mt. Haku

• Starter: Sokujo (added lactic acid)

• Other: Fukui rice-distilled neutral spirit 

• Recommended Temperature: Chilled to cool (5-15°C)
  
  

Pairing:
I love taking this sake in a Chinese or Taiwanese direction, leaning into the sweet-umami-salty angle often found in these culinary traditions. Tofu topped with green onion, XO sauce, shoyu and black vinegar, which plays off the sweet umami of dried fish; hot pot with Taiwanese BBQ sauce; noodles with spicy peanut sauce; duck & hoisin crepes; tonkotsu; Korean Fried Chicken (or cauliflower for that matter), & anything you’d pair with a malty brown ale… perhaps a comte & quince paste grilled cheese? -Nina

Their flagship sake, “Wing of Japan” could equally refer to Kato-san’s impressive eyebrows.
Photo credit: Natsukipim.com

Born Muroka Nama Genshu Junmai Daiginjo, Katou Kichibee Shoten

The brewery was founded by a village chief and the head of a money lending family in 1860 and is now on their 11th generation of leadership, with each generation taking on the Kichibee name. You could say they have high born origins, maybe?
梵/bon means Brahman, the Ultimate Reality of the Universe in Hindu philosophy.  Until 1966, the highest grade of sake available could be classified as “bon” until Katoukichibee’s 10th generation head Yoshihei trademarked it at Japan’s Patent Office. When your sake is what the Showa Emperor wants to drink at his enthronement ceremony, you can get away with this.

One of the first things the current president changed when he took over the brewery was change the romaji expression of the brand from “BON” to “BORN,” “with a wish that a bright future will be born to every single person who enjoys Born sake.” Or more pragmatically, to improve its brand recognition and reception in the international market.  -Nina

The “Born” brand

The concept of the “Born” brand is a high standard of luxury, which they’ve defined to mean 100% junmai, zero additives (although ‘junmai,’ which means pure rice, implies purity, enzymes and certain other agents can legally be added in the brewing process), 60% polishing at a minimum (their average is 37%, meaning 63% removed!) and all sake is matured at 14F for at least one year, typically two. In addition, all sake is fermented to the sound of live Mozart recordings. Kato-san explains:

Some vintners in Europe have established this winemaking method using vibration to improve the fermentation process. We were one of the first sake breweries to implement that practice at the entire brewery by playing Mozart. In order to accurately recreate the high and low pitch that are unhearable to human ears, we use the recording of an actual orchestra and play it on 50 high-tech Bose speakers inside the brewery. We picked Mozart as his songs usually have a range of two octaves which is more effective than other songs. (Tippsy interview)

I like how he thinks it’s anything more complicated than crazy French vigneron being crazy,  rationalizing their superstitious vinting music as beneficial vibrations.

Born uses custom fermentation tanks with a conical bottom to create natural convection currents within the fermentation, rather than using traditional stirring tools (called kai) to mix. They have 5!! Stainless steel (rather than the traditional cedar) kojimuro (koji-making rooms) to prepare koji separately for each stage of the fermentation (more than any other brewery I’ve visited; Kenbishi has 4, Daishichi has 4, almost all have 1) as well as a custom sake press to make it easier to clean. 100% of their lighting is LED, most of their power needs are satisfied by solar, and 99% of their grey water is filtered/treated and cycled back to its underground source.

As to the brewing method, whether or not this is yamahai is a bit of a mystery. But a source on Jizake.com writes that although it’s not stated on the label or product name:

“When the product name and bottle color were updated to their current ones in 2007, the word "Yamahai" was changed to "Nakadori", but the contents are still brewed using the traditional Yamahai method.”

https://www.jizake.com/c/sake/born/SakeD3023_720

Honestly, were this true, it gives me a deeper appreciation for the sake and puts it in a class of fruit-driven yet satisfyingly unctuous “secret” yamahai like Yuki no Bosha “Old Cabin,” which I like so much. The tension created by the wild bacterial fermentation yet clean and precise methodology might also be why wines created in this way– naturally, but cleanly– are the best in the world. It might be part of the reason why this sake is such an overwhelming best seller at so many retailers, and the level of skill, time, complexity and resources that go into making it are hardly born (haha) out in the <$60 price tag.

Postnote: consulting with someone who recently visited the brewery, we can confirm definitively that Born JDG Nama is not yamahai, it is sokujo. Perhaps at some point, it switched over!

Oh, last fun fact. The city where this brewery is located in Fukui, is famous for eyeglass frames! Their long history of fine lacquerware eventually transitioned into frame production, for which they produce ~20% of the world market and 96% of Japan’s domestic market! Next time you go to Sabae city, definitely plan on buying new frames.

-Nina

What to expect:

This sake is dense, concentrated, rich and incredibly full flavored with aromatic fruit notes that stop just short of cloying, but still feel completely indulgent. Notes of wildflower honey, cantaloupe, rose, ultra-ripe persimmon, white chocolate, bubblegum and banana candy enrich the silky-smooth and generous palate. The palate segues to a deep, drawn-out umami but the palate finishes clean, not cloying. A Kistler Chardonnay of a sake if there ever was one. -Nina

The Brew

• Location: Sabae, Fukui

• Classification: Junmai Daiginjo Muroka Nama Genshu

• Rice: Toku A Yamadanishiki from Hyogo

• Polish: 50%

• Yeast: KATO9, a proprietary house strain of Association 901

• SMV: +4

• Starter: Undisclosed… evidence suggests Yamahai **(2/18 Update: we have confirmed with the president that they are now 100% sokujo! So this is also sokujo!)

• Aging: 1 year at 14F

• ABV: 17%

• Water: Super soft water from Mt. Haku drawn from their 180-600 ft. deep wells

• Recommended Temperature: Chilled to cool (5-15°C) but I plan to experiment with some warming, too, now learning that it is yamahai!

Pairing:
This intense junmai daiginjo is uniquely suited to pairing with bigger, fattier dishes: dressed avocado, cream sauce (on anything), pizza bianca, garlic & olive oil shrimp, insalata rusa, almost-overripe camembert...  -Nina