Opening up a new eraShinshuBrand ShinshuBrand Awards 2021 HappinessShinshuCategory: Category Award: Shinano Nishiki "Super Gen"

HappinessShinshuCategory: Category Award
"Shinano Nishiki "Super Gen""
2021 theme "Zero Carbon"

Miyajima Toshi, CEO of Miyajima Liquor Store, Inc.

Miyajima Liquor Store was founded in 1911

In Ina city, surrounded by two major mountain ranges, the Southern Alps and the Central Alps,ShinshuMiyajima Liquor Store, founded in 1911, is a sake brewer based on the theme of "expressing the great nature of nature."

The previous president is a sake brewery that has been rooted in the local community, continuing to produce safe and secure sake, including working to brew sake that does not use preservatives (salicylic acid) before the nation.

We are committed to rice with the locals

Miyajima Toshi, the current president and fourth generation, has pursued his commitment to sake rice, which is the raw material, and has begun cultivating sake rice by local contracted farmers about 30 years ago. We have been growing rice that uses as little pesticides or chemical fertilizers as possible.

Miyajima Liquor Store has been focusing on brewing sake using low-priced sake in recent years. Among them, Chogen is the brand line for "ultra-low white pure rice sake, 91% using contract-free pesticide-grown rice cultivation," which is rare in Japan.

Currently, approximately 20 to 30 contracted farmers grow Miyama Nishiki, Kinmon Nishiki, Hitogokochi, and Yamae Nishiki in approximately 9 hectares of rice fields.

The reason I started working on this ultra-low-refining sake brewing was when I entered the rice fields with a contracted farmer.

"Miyajima asked me what kind of sake they would make with this rice. Of course, they want to make sake that is both safe and delicious. At competitions, Japanese sake that is refined and refined without any impurities is often appreciated, so I was aiming for that. So I told them that this rice was being made by shaving small pieces of rice into a "Junmai Daiginjo sake." What came back was, "How can we do such a waste when we sweat and make sake rice with care?!" ”

Miyajima Toshi, the current president and fourth generation

This unexpected phrase overturned the values of Miyajima Liquor Store, which has received many reviews, including winning the Gold Award for five consecutive years at the National New Sake Taste Review since 1993, but it seems that it was a turning point in realizing that it is not all about getting high praise at the competition, and that brewing sake unique to this area while sympathizing with local farmers.

The deliciousness of rice is only felt by its ultra-low refined whiteness.

"91% of "Chogen" is roughly the same rice polishing rate as the white rice rice. That's why I wanted to focus on the same level of sake," says President Miyajima.

The rice melts in sake and creates a rich flavor, but with low-pinking, the rice is less likely to dissolve, and the koji mold does not dig into the rice, which can weaken the power of the koji. Generally, most daiginjo sake has a rice polishing ratio of less than 50%, and even pure rice sake or regular sake has a rice polishing ratio of about 70%, so it is said that general sake brewing techniques do not work.

What was useful here was the manufacturing know-how of "brown rice sweet sake," which has been manufactured for about 10 years. It is said that the bitterness and astringency that had previously been found to be the original flavor of sake rice, and the sake is harmonious.

The "Shogen" spring 2022 product lineup includes three types: "S91" (Yamae Nishiki), "H91" (Hitogokochi), and "M91" (Miyama Nishiki).

Nagano Yamae Nishiki, a new sake rice developed by the prefecture and registered as a variety in 2020, is often used in ginjo sake, and is said to have a soft, bulging look. "Shogen" gives you even more sense of the softness that is unique to Yamae Nishiki, and Miyajima places it at the heart of the "Shogen" series.

Since its variety was registered in 1978, Nagano Miyama Nishiki, the main variety of sake, was originally used at Miyajima Liquor Store for dry sake. "Chogen" has even sharpened the refreshing sake quality of Miyama Nishiki, and although the lines are a little thinner than Yama Kei Nishiki, it is said to be suitable for drinking in the summer.

"Hitogokochi" is a liquor with a clear outline and a slightly rough texture when it is 91% pure, and goes perfectly with cheese.

A style of sake that suits the future era

The "Shogen" philosophy of making the most of your precious resources as much as possible has been embodied in the label.

The design is designed to be the largest current expression, with the aim of reducing the burden of collecting and cleaning bottles.

It has been recognized that it has been adopted early in the development of recycling agriculture, as well as implementing zero carbon from various aspects, such as reducing food waste and environmental conservation, and expressing it through products.ShinshuHappy Brand Awards 2021ShinshuThis led to the award in the category (theme: Zero Carbon).

In the future, he would like to try making sake using even more transcendent "unpure" brown rice. With the rise of a food crisis, I believe that in order to bring a bright future to children 100 years from now, we need to look at sake brewing that values rice more.

"In the coming era, everything is essential to be sustainable. I hope that Chogen will be an opportunity to change the values and lifestyles of alcoholic drinkers," says President Miyajima.

The thoughts that created Chogen are connected to the future 100 years from now.

HappinessShinshu Category: Category Award
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*This article is information as of May 2022. Please note that the products we carry may have changed.