Bottle Size:

720 ml

ABV:

15%

Rice:

Yamadanishiki

Seimaibuai:

50%

Prefecture:

Niigata

Profile:

This beautiful Junmai Ginjo is aged for a minimum of 3 years in Hakkai Brewery’s snow-storage room, called the Yukimuro. The Yukimuro holds stainless steel tanks of the nihonshu, buried under several tons of snow. This allows the flavors of the brew to evolve slowly, the soft notes of a junmai ginjo evolving into something more savory. Find notes of fava beans, enoki, and umami-rich dehydrated shiitake.

Producer:

Founded in 1922, Hakkaisan Brewery is situated at the foot of Mount Hakkai in Niigata. The spring
water that flows from the mountain is used to produce its sake.
The Brewery insists on producing in small batches, using hand-made kōji and slow fermentation at low temperatures — to which the cool climate of Niigata is well-suited.

Behind the Name:

• Ginjo refers the to level of polishing the rice undergoes before fermentation. To be a ginjo, the producer must polish away at least 40% of the grain, for a seimaibuai of 60%.

  • Keeping in mind that the minimum polishing rate is 60% for a ginjo designation, Hakkaisan has milled away 50% of the rice for this bottle. They choose to call it a junmai ginjo and not a junmai daiginjo, however, thanks to the incredible savory notes from the aging process.

• Junmai is brewed using only rice, water, yeast, and kōji — there are no other additives, such as sugar or alcohol.