Name: Miyakobijin "Usagi" Junmai Muroka Nama Genshu Yamahai
Brand: JS
Price: 42.0 USD
Availability: InStock

$42.00

Shipping calculated at checkout.

Size

720ml

1800ml

In stock, ready to ship

This has that Summer-in-Norway, gjetost, buckwheat, honey, dried flowers, dried pear, salted caramel, morel compound butter, something something going for it that makes me return for more again and again.

At room temperature, the palate explodes with a vision of salty, miso-brown butter cookies with espresso and dark chocolate flakes, pomelo zest, toasted Scottish oats, wakame seaweed, and apricot nectar. REALLY big on the palate, almost oily in texture. A delight from start to finish.

This comforting brew has very quickly become my top choice for after work. And over 6 weeks, the 1.8L bottle I've been pouring from has only improved.

Brewery: Miyakobijin Shuzo
Prefecture: Hyogo; Awaji Island
Rice: Gohyakumangoku + undisclosed table rice
Polishing: 70%
Brewing year: 2021
Grade: Junmai Muroka Nama Genshu
Starter: Yamahai
Water: hard
ABV: 18%

Toji Yamauchi-san uses mostly table rice, wild yeasts, and the old school yamahai fermentation method along with room temperature maturation for a full-flavored, complex, umami-rich line of sake.

Miyako-Bijin was established as a company in 1945, when 10 smaller breweries merged together to consolidate their brewing skills. Originally called Awaji Shuzo after the island’s name, it changed to Miyako-Bijin in 1959. After the Sake boom of the 70’s and early 80’s Miyako Bijin struggled with sales and over the following years, cut back on volume-based production and focused solely on small batch quality-driven products. Much of the brewery machinery was sold off and they moved back to handmade, small-tank production.

Today the brewery is led by Toji (Master Brewer) Kunihiro Yamauchi, a talented young brewer who oversees the production of all the Sake, Umeshu and liqueurs produced at Miyako Bijin.

Miyako-Bijin believe in focusing on quality over quantity and use the traditional method Tenbin-Shibori, where a wooden beam press is used to press their sake rather than a modern commercial press. This method is rare to see as it takes twice as long to press the sake, with less liquid resulting.

(credit to Fossa Provisions for the writeup!)