Wednesday Lessons #46: Kamenoo 亀の尾
WEDNESDAY LESSONS #46: KAMENOO 亀の尾 1/29/2025
SENKIN MODERN (2023) ($42/ 720ml)
Junmai Daiginjo Genshu Sakura, Tochigi
Rice: Kamenoo (domaine) Polishing: 40% (koji), 50% SMV: -2, ABV: 15%, Acidity 2 yeast: Tochigi, Sokujo moto Temperatures: chill, room, warm
Senkin Shuzo is run by 11th generation brothers Kazuki Usui (Brewer) and Masato Usui (Toji). “Senkin” has a dual meaning of “crane” and “a legendary wizard that lives in the mountains and is capable of performing miracles”. Their style is brighter and juicier, focusing...
BONUS: $5
SENKIN CLASSIC (2021) ($42/ 720ml)
Junmai Daiginjo Kimoto Genshu; Sakura, Tochigi
Rice: Kamenoo (domaine) Polishing: 40% (koji), 50% SMV: -2, ABV: 15%, Acidity 2 yeast: Tochigi, Kimoto Temperatures: chill, room, warm
...on their motto, “yokei na koto shinai” (do nothing unnecessary)= genshu, muroka, namazume. The same water that grows the rice is used in brewing, and all rice is farmed organically within 5km of the brewery. Starting in 2024, their focus has shifted heavily toward Kamenoo.
DEWAZAKURA KAMENOO LTD ED Not for sale- suitcase bottle
Junmai Daiginjo Genshu Tendo, Yamagata
Rice: Kamenoo (grown by kurabito) Polishing: 45% SMV: -3, ABV: 17%, Acidity 1.4 yeast: 1901, Sokujo moto Temperatures: chill, room, warm
A collaboration with local sake shops, this product is only sold in 10 stores in Yamagata, and was made with the help of all 10 shopkeepers: product design, koji making, fermentation management, and so on. Yeast 1901 was selected as it was developed in 2014 to make sake healthier.
MITOBE YAMAGATA MASAMUNE Not for sale- suitcase bottle
Junmai Ginjo Kimoto Tendo, Yamagata
Rice: Kamenoo (domaine) Polishing: 55% SMV: 3, ABV: 16%, Acidity 2.0 yeast: 1401, Kimoto Temperatures: chilled, room, warm
Using seeds from the Abe family, Mitobe propogated their fields of organically farmed Kamenoo and from ~5 years ago began experimenting with kimoto vs. sokujo versions, eventually finding that the natural rustic bitterness of kamenoo and their mineral-rich water is best matched to kimoto.
YONETSURU KISSUI Not for sale- suitcase bottle
Tokubetsu Junmai Yonezawa, Yamagata
Rice: Kissui (domaine) Polishing: 65% SMV: 1.5, ABV: 15%, Acidity 1.6 yeast: Yamagata KA, Sokujo moto Temperatures: chilled, room, warm
Founded ~1700, records dating back to the early 1900s confirm the company’s leadership role in the local sake brewing industry. Yonezuru is a pioneer in growing local sake rice and In 1983, they formed the “Takahata Sake Rice Research Association,” with the result that ~50% of all rice grown in Takahata is now used for sake.
NISHIDE HARUGOKORO Not for sale- suitcase bottle
Junmai Kimoto Kaga, Ishikawa
Rice: Kamenoo (local- Komatsu, specially grown for Nishide-san) Polishing: 83% yeast: ambient, kimoto Temperatures: room, warm
Founded in 1913, Nishide Shuzo has always been small but in 1996 due to financial difficulties, the brewery transferred its license and closed its doors. In 2014, after stufying under Noto legend Noguchi Naohiko, 5th gen toji Hirohisa restarted Nishide Shuzo, creating Harugokoro: traditional methods, kimoto brewing, wild yeast, and local organic rice.
Printed on the sheet as #46; sequenced here by date.
