The brewery is situated on the romantic island of Awaji (beautiful sea btw) – I have fond memories of a summer crossing over the long rope bridge that connects it to the mainland- and is what remains after a merging of 10 other breweries at the end of the war. Their sake is crafted by toji Yamauchi Kunihiro who hails from the Noto toji guild and specializes in Yamahai. Yamauchi san is perhaps the most youthful looking toji I have ever met. As he shows a bottle of sake to the camera, brimming with his charming smile, he is like “a kid at a lemonade stand” as one participant remarked. Another thing to note about their brewery is their sake press.They are one of only a handful of breweries carrying on the tradition of using the Tenbin press, which uses the weight of stones to press the sake.
Yamauchi san’s brewing focus is very much the koji.Indeed, the 1,2,3s of brewing are traditionally said to be 1.koji, 2.moto, 3.moromi.However, Yamauchi san takes a very holistic approach to his koji making. It’s about not about playing by numbers, it’s about adjusting the evironment and settings just when the koji needs you to.Where most breweries get by with just one, he has a total of 5 rooms for this purpose.
Miyako Bijin Kano
The sake is a medium-dry tokubetsu junmai. Oh boy, this is a spicy, meaty, feisty little fellah.So much body and depth! But so soft and well rounded.In the case of this food pairing, it was a case of two of the same characters meeting in the middle and creating a harmonic explosion of flavor, with both softening each other’s sharper contours:caramel, brown sugar, soy, steamed rice, butter, toasted cereal, glazed honey, toasted almonds and after every drop you are left with this heavenly finish of cocoa butter.I can definitely recommend the jerky although this isn’t kobe beef steak.You don’t get many pieces in the packet, but hey it’s a treat right?
Grade:
Tokubetsu Junmai
Brewery Name:
Miyako Bijin Shuzo
Prefecture:
Special Type:
Yamahai
Alc%:
15.5%
Other Type:
Rice Polishing Ratio:
60%
SMV:
n/a
Acidity:
n/a
Taste Profile:
Med-Dry
Ingredients:
Yamada Nishiki, K901
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