Kamoisumi
Brewing Company
The
Brewery
From December through March, the Saijo area
west of Hiroshima has an average temperature of 38
degrees Fahrenheit with low humidity. The water is
mildly alkaline. The rice is good. It is one of the
most favored brewing locales in the entire Japanese
archipelago.
The Maekake family, who run the Kamoizumi brewery,
started out as rice farmers who became landlords and
then moved into "value added" areas such as
rice milling and eventually sake brewing at the onset
of the modern era in 1910. In 1965, Kamoizumi became
one of a pioneering group
of ten breweries who committed to junmai sake
production at a time when breweries all over Japan
were heavy-handedly adding brewers alcohol to their
vats to make as much money as possible.
In 1971, Kamoizumi introduced its first junmai
label. At the time, it was the practice to filter the
pressed sake through charcoal to remove impurities and
attain the pure, colorless state that was the
aesthetic ideal. The Kamoizumi brewers felt, however,
that these "impurities" were essential
characteristics of the sake itself and that to remove
them entirely was to compromise the essential nature
of its identity.
No brewery in Japan has taken a stronger stand for
individuality than Kamoizumi. Their sake has an
attitude: robust, tawny, full-flavored, yet with the
smooth finish and easy drinkability that
are the hallmarks of technical mastery. Aging and
blending are paramount, and when finally released, the
Kamoizumi labels pair well with meat dishes and
Chinese cuisine, a rarity in the sake world. For the
connoisseur, their supple balance of sweetness,
acidity, astringency and the elusive flavor component
of "umami" is without peer.
The
Sakes
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