Sake & brews ── Nihonshu (sake)
Akita no Sake
Akita sake — snow-insulated, slow-fermented and soft
Akita sake, brewed with soft water in deliberate contrast to Nada's hard water, aiming for a mellow, delicate character. Breweries buried in snow are said to gain a natural insulating effect from it, a tradition of slow, low-temperature fermentation built around that climate.
- Origin: Akita City, Akita
- About 450 km north of Tokyo
What it's made of
Akita's brewing water is soft, said to yield a mellow, delicate sake in deliberate contrast to hard-water Nada. Rice varieties like Miyama Nishiki, Akita Sake Komachi, and Yamada Nishiki go into the mash, and some breweries polish ginjo-grade rice down to 40–50% of its original size. Washing, brewing, and bottling together are said to use 20 to 30 times the rice's weight in water.
How it's made
Brewing begins each year around November as winter sets in; the falling snow is said to purify the air, and breweries buried under it hold a remarkably stable indoor temperature, well suited to slow fermentation at low temperature. In 1990, a locally developed yeast known as AK-1 was created, later adopted nationwide as Brewing Society yeast No. 1501.
Why it took this shape
Harsh cold from winter's northwesterly winds and heavy snowfall are said to have been treated by local breweries not as a hardship but as conditions suited to slow, low-temperature fermentation. Refining yeast and milling technique to work with the constraints of soft water, accumulated over time, is said to have shaped a mellow style distinct from Nada's.
Before you go
- Enjoying a bussanten (regional products fair)A guide to what's sold at a bussanten (regional products fair), how to find one, when it gets crowded, shelf life and taking food home, and how to fit one around a trip.
- How to use an antenna shopA guide to what's sold at an antenna shop, its restaurant or eat-in counters, its tourist-information role, the cluster of shops around Ginza and Yurakucho, and how to use one before a trip or for last-minute souvenirs.
- Sake brewery tours in Nada GogoNada Gogo, spreading from Kobe to Nishinomiya in Hyogo Prefecture, is said to be one of Japan's leading sake-producing areas. Many breweries here have visitor facilities open for touring.
Dishes in the same style
- Daiginjo-shuSake made from rice milled to 50% or less with brewing alcohol added — among the officially defined categories, the deepest level of milling, aimed at a pronounced aroma and light body, born of elaborate brewing techniques honed for tasting competitions.
- DoburokuA brew made from rice, koji, and water and fermented, but never pressed or filtered. Because nothing is strained out, it keeps a hint of the rice's starch and sugar and a gentle sweetness, and the law classifies it not as sake but as a separate 'other brewed alcohol.'
Ingredients and dishes from this land
Also from Akita
- Akazushi (Akazuke)Cooked glutinous rice cured briefly in red shiso and vinegar — an Akita sushi with no fish in it at all, a plant-based cousin of narezushi also offered at Obon altars.
- AsazukeBroken rice grains are pureed, simmered, and seasoned sweet-and-sour with sugar and vinegar, then mixed with cucumber, turnip, and seasonal fruit — a summer dessert unrelated to the pickle of the same name, said to refresh women after a day planting rice.
- Edokei RamenA soy ramen topped with a knob of bright red chili miso built on garlic and garlic chives. Stirred in gradually as you eat, it turns a mild bowl steadily richer and spicier — a specialty of Akita City.
- Akita HoshimochiSliced mochi is strung up, soaked in water, then left to freeze and thaw through the winter cold in a process called 'kanjime' — the result crisp and filling, said to have fueled breaks during rice-planting season.
- Imonoko JiruBaby taro corms called 'imonoko' simmer with chicken, mushrooms, and wild greens in miso or soy — an autumn soup said to use taro grown in Yokote's Sannai district, prized for its soft bite, and set alongside kiritanpo nabe as the region's autumn counterpart.
- Akita OyakiGlutinous rice dough wraps sweet red bean paste and is pan-grilled until lightly browned — unrelated to the wheat-and-buckwheat oyaki of Nagano stuffed with nozawana and eggplant, said to be offered to the mountain god and sold as a signature item at Gojome's morning market.