When walking around Nerima Kasuga in April, I passed by the Masuya Sake Shop and saw a poster introducing Chikuha, a brand name from the Kazuma Sake Brewery, a sake brewery in the Noto region of Ishikawa Prefecture. The Noto Peninsula earthquake that struck on New Year's Day this year caused extensive damage to 11 breweries in the region, and many breweries have yet to recover from the disaster.
When I asked the shop staff about the latest news of Chikuha, a sake they carry, I was told that the mash rescued from the Kazuma Shuzo Brewery transported to the Shata Shuzo Brewery, known for its “Tengumai” brand, and the Yoshida Shuzo Brewery, known for its “Tedorigawa” brand, located in the same Ishikawa Prefecture, and that it was brewed on behalf of the brewery. According to her, they had the brewed sake in stock now.
The “Chikuha Hyakumangoku No Shiro Daiginjo Saved by Shata Shuzo Brewery” and “Chikuha Junmai Daiginjo Saved by Yoshida Shuzo Brewery” were displayed on the shelves at the back of the shop. They are the fruits of a miracle when I imagine the process from the earthquake to the present. I bought a bottle of “Chikuha Hyakumangoku No Shiro Daiginjo Saved by Shaka Shuzo Brewery” to take home that day.
Checking the media reports in April regarding the Kazuma Brewery, it was reported that they had resumed sake brewing operations in April for the first time in three months. Until then, the brewery had been forced to suspend sake brewing because the earthquake had caused the walls of the brewery to collapse and muddy water from the tsunami had poured into the brewery. Usually, sake brewing is finished in April, but this year, the brewery plans to continue brewing until June by making sake in a refrigerated room.
The sake was brewed and delivered with the help of many people, and is the fruits of a miracle that overcame the earthquake disaster. The sake poured into the glass makes me feel rather cheered up.
Ingredients: rice ( produced in Noto), rice malted rice ( produced in Noto), distilled alcohol, raw rice (100% Hyakumangoku no Shiro)
Rice polishing ratio: 50 %
Alcohol content: 17 %
Appearance: Clear and colorless
Aroma: Fruity aroma like lychee, white peach, and rice-derived aroma like shiratama powder
Viscosity: Slightly viscous
Taste: Like topnose, it has a pleasant mouthfeel with sweetness like lychee, white peach, and shiratama powder.
It is slightly thick in the mouth. The finish is dry and can be drunk as much as you like.