Nuttari: The Town of Fermentation and its Traditional Brewing Methods

Both sake and miso use rice as the main ingredient and so it is very natural that breweries developed early on in Niigata which has been historically known for its rice-making. However, along with abundant produce, Niigata has hot and humid summers followed by incredibly cold winters. This is good for sake making because slow fermentation at low temperatures produces refreshing sake. As for miso, the umami of miso is heightened by preparing it in the winter when there are less bad bacteria, and then gradually fermenting it at low temperatures until the good bacteria become most active during the summer heat. It turns out that Niigata’s climate is perfect for fermentation.

Yu Ando, a representative of the Hospitality Team of Imayo Tsukasa Brewery, and a Japanese sake enthusiast, explains about the brewery’s unique commitment to sake-making as follows. “Since Japanese sake is made of simple ingredients (rice and water), Imayo Tsukasa carefully chooses them wisely. We use the natural water of Mt. Suganatake in Gosen City, and sake rice varieties grown in Niigata called “Koshi Tanrei” and “Gohyakumangoku.” After re-committing ourselves to the traditional brewing methods, we re-introduced a wooden tank in 2010. Although there are other breweries that use wooden tanks for storage, Imayo Tsukasa is the only brewery in the prefecture at the moment that uses wood tanks to prepare and brew sake as well. The brewing volume is limited when wooden tanks are used but we have received a lot of positive feedback from our customers who said during a taste test that our wooden tank sake tastes refreshing and has a pleasant woody aroma.

“Moreover, the byproduct of sake making is called “sake lees” and it has been garnering attention as an ingredient that contains a lot of beneficial compounds for beauty and health. Our sake lees is freshest and has a rich and fruity aroma during the peak of the sake making season, between December and mid-February (sake finalization stage). It’s usually mixed into miso soup or used to marinate meat and fish but freshly-pressed sake lees sheets can be lightly grilled and eaten as a sake aperitif or made into amazake (a sweet sake drink) by mixing it into water and adding sugar and ginger.”

Minemura Brewery was founded in 1903 as a miso factory located near Imayo Tsukasa Brewery. Echigo Miso, one of Minemura’s top brands, has long been popular in Niigata and is a mildly salty miso that contains a well-balanced combination of soy beans and koji rice. Mr. Jun Kobayashi, the Manager of the Minemura Factory Shop explained that the final taste of miso can differ by factory, even if the same ingredients and methods are used.

Regardless of the factory, miso is basically made the same way. However, the taste can vary depending on the koji rice manufacturing method, ratio of soybeans, and the fermentation period. In addition, the resident bacteria of the storehouse greatly influence the final product. Each sake or miso storehouse is unique with its own special mix of naturally resident bacteria. It is even said that when miso storehouses remodeled their establishments in the past, they pasted their miso onto the pillars of their new storehouses to transfer the bacteria: that is the extent to which resident bacteria are important to the storehouses. Visitors can experience making miso at our factory but the final product will taste slightly different even if it’s made using the same ingredients and methods because it fermented at their home, not the factory.

One of Minemura’s most popular products is their amazake, a “sweet sake” that is made with koji rice. The Minemura Factory Store also sells the unique amazake made by their sister company, Furumachi Koji Manufacturing, which is popular, especially with women. Mr. Kobayashi went on to explain that “the output of koji rice at a miso storehouse and that of a sake brewery is inherently different, and thus the amazake they produce have different characteristics. The amazake of a miso storehouse tastes very sweet and vibrant, whereas that of a sake brewery is refreshingly and sophisticatedly sweet. The Imayo Tsukasa Brewery is nearby, so it could be fun to compare the differences between the amazake at the two locations. The koji mold was recognized as the national fungus of Japan in 2006; it might be that only Japan turns such a simple ingredient into such a variety of food items.

Niigata’s fermentation and brewing culture has developed with the aid of high quality rice, rich water, and a harsh climate. Just as in the past, the artisans continuously work to perfect their products through diligence and hard work. Niigata’s sake and miso never over-power a meal, but serve to bring out the natural flavors of the food items. Their delicate flavors might be the perfect flavor profile for the people of Niigata who are gastronomically blessed and know how to appreciate and bring out the natural flavors of their locally-grown produce.