Type
Hara Shuzo · Niigata
Koshi no Homare "90 Yellow" Muroka Nama Genshu
$45.00
No sales tax — Oregon
Rice
Hazuki Minori (Niigata)
Prefecture
Niigata
Flavor profileEach scale is our tasting-room read on where this bottle sits between two extremes — dry to sweet, light to full-bodied, soft to acidic, and subtle to aromatic. These are subjective, however, and will shift with food, serveware & temp.
DrySweetBalanced: a bit of fleshy sweetness. Fruit notes taste more round and juicy, chocolate notes have more heft. Typical sweetness for modern styles. Some people will read "3" as dry.
LightFullLight: lean and easy, mellow, has enough flavor and umami to give it character but generally really easy to drink. This is the most common weight for junmai ginjo/ginjo sake.
SoftAcidicAcidic: bright, zippy, noticeable sourness, very often balanced by higher sweetness. Acidity is a key part of this sake's character, and might be heightened with special techniques, yeasts, koji, or CO2 gas.
SubtleAromaticModerate aroma: noticeable from the glass. Most often, moderate intensity aromas are either ginjo-ka (fruit, florals) or koshu-ka (nuts, mushroom, brown sugar).
Pairs with
Tasting like a crisp apple cider fresh off the press, Koshinohomare is brightly acidic-- 2.3!-- while remaining fairly dry. If it seems a touch sweet, that’s in large part due to the body and flavor of the Hazukiminori rice. I caught this sake doing an Oregon Chardonnay impression with chicken and barley soup, becoming soft and rounded w/ orchard fruit; with Chinese oyster sauce broccolini it was leaner, crisp and refreshing. But I enjoyed it most heated to 140 degrees, stirring constantly, in a pyrex coffee carafe (or ceramic). Hot apple-grapefruit cider...mmm
With satisfying, full flavor and high acidity, "90 Yellow" is like biting into a peak-season Gravenstein apple, or downing a big glass of fresh-squeezed apple juice. I get subtle notes of ruby red grapefruit and margarita served up, as well as a creamy lactic texture, sharply cut by bright acidity. It's a fantastic sake served warm as well, reading a bit like hot apple cider when slowly warmed to 140 degrees in a glass or ceramic vessel submerged in a hot water bath, stirred regularly. Perhaps the top stunner of this season's shiboritate!
“The fastest shinmai shinshu in the country!” The whole point of Yellow 90, the first of the Koshinohomare 90 series, is its freshness! For Yellow to be bottled and ready by Sake Day 10/1, Hazuki Minori is the natural choice as it’s ready for harvest in early-mid August. Originally bred for consumer demand, there’s new appeal in a variety harvested before the now-normal September heat spikes. Per the name, only 10% of the rice is removed for a 90% polishing ratio. They ferment with a strong, cold-tolerant yeast (701) at very cold temps to encourage fruity ester production and strong acidity as well.
Shinshu/Shiboritate translates to “new sake,” and should taste like it flowed right from the tank: lively, undiluted, a bit yeasty, carbonated and immature, like Beaujolais nouveau or draft beer. In Japan, Winter is Shinshu season: production traditionally starts October 1st and the first batches are ready ~November-December.
The story of modern shinshu dates to 1792, when the Tokugawa Shogunate issued an edict banning sake brewing before September 23rd of each year. The intention was to monitor production in order to assess taxes, control rice usage, and limit the likelihood of spoilage. Fascinatingly, the German Purity Laws enforced for beer also outlawed brewing before September 29 for similar quality and enforcement reasons.
“The fastest shinmai shinshu in the country!” The whole point of Yellow 90, the first of the Koshinohomare 90 series, is its freshness! For Yellow to be bottled and ready by Sake Day 10/1, Hazuki Minori is the natural choice as it’s ready for harvest in early-mid August. Originally bred for consumer demand, there’s new appeal in a variety harvested before the now-normal September heat spikes. Per the name, only 10% of the rice is removed for a 90% polishing ratio. They ferment with a strong, cold-tolerant yeast (701) at very cold temps to encourage fruity ester production and strong acidity as well.
Shinshu/Shiboritate translates to “new sake,” and should taste like it flowed right from the tank: lively, undiluted, a bit yeasty, carbonated and immature, like Beaujolais nouveau or draft beer. In Japan, Winter is Shinshu season: production traditionally starts October 1st and the first batches are ready ~November-December.
The story of modern shinshu dates to 1792, when the Tokugawa Shogunate issued an edict banning sake brewing before September 23rd of each year. The intention was to monitor production in order to assess taxes, control rice usage, and limit the likelihood of spoilage. Fascinatingly, the German Purity Laws enforced for beer also outlawed brewing before September 29 for similar quality and enforcement reasons.
Your case:
$30 flat-rate case shipping (up to 12 bottles) — the more you add, the less per bottle. Per federal requirements, an adult (21+) with photo ID must be present to receive the delivery.
Sake Club members: $20 shipping (up to 12 bottles) with your club bottles About the clubs
Specifications
Region: Chubu
Type: Junmai
Style: Namazake, Modern
Rice: Hazuki Minori (Niigata)
Rice-Polishing Ratio: 90%
SMV: 0
Acidity: 2.3
Yeast: Kyokai 701
Size: 720ml
Shipping
Available nationwide to states and counties that permit alcohol. No sales tax (Oregon). Flat-rate case shipping; in-store pickup available.
Pick up in person
Shop open Tu–Sun. Order online and pick up at the shop — 107 SE Washington St. #121, Portland, Oregon.
