Wednesday Lessons #40: Hanakobo
WEDNESDAY LESSONS #40: HANAKOBO 9/17/2024
EMISHIKI Blend ($33/ 720ml)
Junmai Kimoto “Black” Shiga
Rice: Tamazakae (local) Polishing: 50% SMV: -2, ABV: 16% key: kimoto, junmai daiginjo Temperatures: chilled, room, warm
Emishiki is an ...eccentric and very passionate producer located in Shiga, near Kyoto. Inspired by German riesling and wanting to create an approachable everyday sake, the “Sensation” series was born, varying both rice and yeast to achieve stylistic range.
AMABUKI Marigold ($10/ 180ml)
Junmai Yamahai Saga
Rice: Omachi Polishing: 65%, SMV: +8, ABV: 15% key: yamahai method, omachi rice Temperatures: room, warm
Amabuki, a sake producer in the agricultural southern prefecture of Saga, is famous for using only hanakobo, making them the most committed hanakobo brewery in Japan. Their US export series is...
AMABUKI Sunflower ($40/ 720ml)
Junmai Ginjo Namagenshu Saga
Rice: Sake Komachi (local farm) Polishing: 55% SMV +7, ABV: 16% key: dry! local rice Temperatures: chilled, room, warm
...especially interesting because unpasteurized versions (such as Himawari and Ichigo) can easily be compared to their unpasteurized versions, sold in 180ml one-cup size. The yeasts develop very differently in
AMABUKI Strawberry ($40/ 720ml)
Junmai Ginjo Namagenshu Saga
Rice: Omachi Polishing: 55% SMV: +1, ABV: 16% key: nama genshu Temperatures: chilled
pasteurized vs. raw contexts, revealing a wider range of nuance and bitterness when raw. But hanakobo are also being studied for their affinity to age compared to “standard” sake yeasts. With Amabuki’s hanakobo series, they’ve leaned in to the natural flavor profiles of each yeast, emphasizing them with other brewing decisions.
BONUS: $5
CHOKAISAN Dianthus ($53/ 720ml)
Junmai Daiginjo Namagenshu Akita
Rice: Miyamanishiki (local, contract) Polishing: 50% SMV: +2 ABV: 17% key: award winning, nama genshu Temperatures: chilled
Chokaisan Junmai Daiginjo was the first award winning hanakobo sake, celebrated by the entire hanakobo research community as a shared triumph. As a result of this early success, dianthus yeast is currently the most popular hanakobo in Japan. Tenju shuzo is also famous for being trailblazers in Akita rice farming.
RIHAKU Creeping rose ($44/ 720ml)
Junmai Ginjo Namagenshu Shimane
Rice: Omachi (Okayama) Polishing: 55% SMV: +1, ABV: 17% key: award winning, nama genshu Temperatures: chilled
A heartwarming story if I’ve ever read one, Rihaku “Origins of Purity” is a nod to the current president’s nostalgic, even naive pursuit of individuality 15 years ago, when he first developed this wild, hanakobo fermented, unpasteurized and undiluted, omachi rice sake, the very antithesis of his predecessors’ famous mellow style.
Printed on the sheet as #40; sequenced here by date.
