Denshu--- Why do so many Japanese sake fans love it? ---I love Japanese sake. Actually, I like alcoholic drinks in general. But when I am asked
what I like most, at least for the last 20 years or so, my reply has been sake. Althoughoccasionally I do buy magazines with special features on sake, I hardly ever read them.
When the flavor of sake is explained in technical jargon, I just don’t want to read about
it. What’s good is good. If I think something is tasty myself, surely that is enough, isn’t
it? It was with this approach that a few years ago I came across a sake called Denshu

tokubetsu junmaishu (special pure rice sake), produced by Nishida Sake Brewery in
Aomori Prefecture. Although Denshu has a light taste, it is also extremely distinctive
and flavorsome. I can’t really explain why, but anyway I was captivated.
So recently, rather selfishly, I admit, I visited Nishida Sake Brewery, the only sakebrewery in the city of Aomori, to learn about the secrets to the tastiness of Denshu, which
I believe to be the best sake in Japan. Together with videos of the sake-making process,let me introduce the essence of Japanese sake brewing.
On the day of my visit, I heard from Mr. Tsukasa Nishida, the president of Nishida Sake
Brewery, who also showed me around their sake-making facilities. When I began by
explaining the purpose and title of my article, the first thing that Mr. Nishida said, witha laugh, was, “We get some people visiting here who ask such technical things as whatyeast we use, but you really don’t have to know about that. The important thing is simply
whether or not the sake tastes good when you drink it.” When I heard him say that, I
knew we were on the same wavelength.

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● Video of interview with Mr. Nishidahttps://youtu.be/NOolSEle6kU

Mr. Tsukasa Nishida, president of Nishida Sake Brewery

What do you pay particular attention to in rice polishing?
The first stage in the sake-making process is rice polishing (seimai). Since the National
Tax Agency stipulates the quality standards for sake by the polishing ratio,1 I didn’t
imagine Nishida Sake Brewery gave any particular attention to this process. But Mr.
Nishida told me something very surprising.
“We outsource half of the rice polishing,” he said, “but for the rest we have started
original-form polishing [genkei seimai, in other words, maintaining the original grain
shape] using our own rice-polishing machine. Usually, with the emphasis on time
efficiency, the grains of rice are milled into a spherical shape. But milling using thisspecial rice-polishing machine maintains the original grain shape, which is not round,enabling unnecessary parts in the outer portion to be properly removed and the starchin the inner portion to be used effectively without any waste. Since there is no waste, I
think it can be said to be environment-friendly too.”
1. The polishing ratio (seimai buai) indicates the degree to which the rice has been milled. Since theratio shows how much the outer portion of the rice has been milled, a lower ratio means high-grade
polished rice with only the genuine starch in the middle of the grain remaining. The ginjoshu grade hasa polishing ratio of no more than 60% (meaning that under 60% of the original grain size remains after
milling), and daiginjoshu of no more than 50%. Tokubetsu junmaishu has a polishing ratio of under
60%; the ratio for Denshu tokubetsu junmaishu is 55%.

What about the rice-washing process?
Before my visit I had acquired a bit of knowledge from magazines and the Internet. I
knew, for example, that some breweries emphasize washing rice in small quantities. Mr.
Nishida, however, told me about a large automatic rice-washing machine that I hadneither seen nor heard about.

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“At our brewery we use a fully automatic jet-current rice-washing machine,” hesaid, with a look of satisfaction. “This machine fully automates the method of washingsmall lots, or batches, both by machine and manually. Normally three workers are
required, but we need only one machine operator. And actually the machine washes therice better than manual washing.” His eyes were brimming with confidence in the future.

After being washed at the brewery, the rice is a glittering white.
● Video of the rice-washing process

https://youtu.be/mgN-Lr91y88

What about the rice-steaming process?
The Nishida Sake Brewery steams sake rice2 using a modern and enormous steaming
oven called an OH-type double-layer steaming vat. The steamed rice is cooled to an
extent in a cooling machine releasing the heat. Usually a brewery of this size wouldemphasize efficiency and use a device called an air-shooter. But in recent years Mr.
Nishida has returned to the method of relying on manual power for this task. “If you use
an air-shooter,” he explained, “the rice is hit by strong blasts of cool air, and through athick hose it can be sent directly from the cooling machine to the final mash tank3 forbrewing sake. This process does not require any people. But it is difficult to make theair-shooter, which uses an extremely long hose, absolutely free of bacteria. And because
the rice is suddenly blown around by the air-shooter, its temperature when transferredto the final mash tank cannot be strictly controlled. When this process is done manually,
it requires five workers, and the work environment is tough. But we place the priority
on making tasty sake.” Hearing his explanation, I realized that the tastiness of Denshu
stems from much more than merely my own liking.
2. Sake rice (sakamai) refers to rice used as an ingredient for brewing sake. Officially it is called “ricesuitable for making sake” (shuzokoteki-mai).
3. The final mash (moromi) tank is the brewing tank in which steamed sake rice, water, and yeast
starter (the basic mash made in a small tank by adding yeast to a mixture of steamed rice, koji, andwater and cultivating it) are added three times and allowed to ferment.

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After steaming, the rice, which had a gem-like whiteness after washing, seems to have been given thewarmth of life.
● Video of the process from steaming vat to cooling machinehttps://youtu.be/jMqpmtuO1tw

What about the koji production process?
Koji, which is made by propagating koji-kin (Aspergillus oryzae) mold on steamed rice,changes the starch into sugars. There are various types of koji, but Mr. Nishida told me,“You don’t need to know the details.” Agreed!
Cooled to an extent by a cooling machine, the steamed rice is wrapped in small
hemp bags, which are placed in wheeled box containers and taken to the special koji
room.4 Here it is laid evenly on large tables filling the room, and there is a wait until thetemperature falls to a certain level. Then koji-kin mold is sprinkled evenly on thesteamed rice. After a while, the steamed rice is turned over, and more mold is sprinkled
before it is wrapped in cloth. A few hours later, the koji rice is broken up and divided into
small lots with large spatulas before being manually kneaded to rub in the mold spores.
After that, in a machine, the temperature is gradually raised to 42 degrees Celsius tocultivate the mold. When the koji is produced, the temperature is lowered and it is dried
and then, at an appropriate time, transferred to the basic mash tank and final mashtank.
In the trade, sprinkling the mold spores onto the steamed rice is called “cutting the
koji.” At Nishida Sake Brewery, previously, for sake with a lower grade than ginjoshu(including tokubetsu junmaishu), koji was “cut” in the cooling-machine process. Today,
however, koji for all sake is produced in the special koji room. Although this greatly
prolongs the process, it guarantees that all koji, which is so crucial for sake brewing, ison a par with ginjoshu.
4. The special koji room (koji muro) is a climate-controlled room with high temperature and humidity
to cultivate the mold spores. The temperature is maintained at around 30 degrees Celsius and humidity
at about 60%.

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International Hospitality and Conference Service Association (IHCSA)Unlike other facilities in the brewery, the special koji room has a shrine-like atmosphere with walls
and doors made of cedar.
● Video of the process from cooling machine to koji production https://youtu.be/qMSfOvXqqJI

What about making the basic mash?
The basic mash (shubo), literally the mother culture, or yeast starter, necessary forbrewing Japanese sake, cultivates yeast using steamed rice, koji, and water. The kojichanges the starch into sugars, and the yeast transforms the sugars into alcohol. The
yeast cultivated as the mother culture ferments the final mash, as explained below, to
produce sake.
There are various types of koji and yeast, but, as Mr. Nishida said, the story would
become too technical with this information, so it is omitted here. Suffice to say that bycombining koji and yeast in different ways, various types of sake can be brewed. The
temperature of the room in which the basic mash is made is set low, but Nishida Sake
Brewery also uses specially ordered thermal tanks enabling fine temperatureadjustments to be made in each tank.

Thermal tank in the basic mash room
● Video of the basic mash roomhttps://youtu.be/GHgXK_Mvxgg

What about the process of making the final mash?
The final mash (moromi) is made by adding kakemai5 rice to water and mixing in thebasic mash to ferment the mixture. Water, kakemai, and the basic mash are added threetimes until the tanks are full. In this process, at Nishida Sake Brewery all 30 tanks arethermal tanks enabling separate temperature adjustment. It deliberately does not use

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the air-shooters explained above in the section on steaming. The steamed rice taken fromthe cooling machine is caught in hemp cloth in small lots, which are loaded evenly andin a layer on a wheeled box container with a hose emitting cool air. After waiting until
the temperature drops to the scheduled level, the mixture is then transferred to the final
mash tank for fermentation.
5. Kojimai is rice used for making koji; kakemai is simply steamed rice not used for making koji.

The final mash room is so spotless and modern, it makes you think of a clean room.
● Video of the process from cooling machine to insertion in tank and mixing
https://youtu.be/T_gvYBZjq-4

What does Mr. Nishida think about low-alcohol sake?
Japanese sake has a higher alcohol content than wine, and some people say that makes
it difficult to drink. Recently low-alcohol sake made not by diluting with water but by
restricting the production of alcohol has appeared. When asked about this trend, Mr.
Nishida was clear in his reply. “I know that making low-alcohol sake is becoming popular,”he said, “but I think there are risks. Pyruvic acid remains in the sake, so there tends tobe an unpleasant rice-like smell. I think sake with an alcohol content of 15%–16% tastes
best. I want to sell sake that I personally think is good.”
What about the pressing and filtering processes?
“When pressing the fermented mash at a low temperature,” Mr. Nishida explained, “ifthe released sake comes into contact with air, it will oxidize. To transfer it to a tank while
preventing oxidation as much as possible, we attach ahose to the exit and inject from the bottom of the tank.
By doing so, we can hide the liquid from outside air andtransfer fresh sake without any foaming.” Hearing this,I remembered Denshu’s crispness and fizzy freshness.
I’ve also heard that when the sake is pressed at a lowtemperature, the carbonic acid does not escape.

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“Regarding filtering,” Mr. Nishida went on convincingly, “we use a large filter sothat the flavor of the sake remains.” Unfortunately, on the day of my visit the processesof pressing and filtering were not being implemented.
What about the pasteurization process?
“The purpose of pasteurization [hi-ire],” Mr. Nishida said, “is to halt the work of enzymes
that harm the sake and impair its taste and fragrance. Pasteurization kills microbes,
stabilizes quality, and enhances the sake’s preservability. At our brewery, we bottle freshsake and, before storage, conduct low-temperature sterilization on each bottle with hotwater of 65 degrees Celsius. This is called ‘one-time pasteurization for bottle storage.’
Apart from unpasteurized sake, we pasteurize all sake by this method.” For bottle
storage, Nishida Sake Brewery has 30 refrigerated containers and a large refrigerated
warehouse with a capacity of about 360,000 liters (200,000 bottles).
Regardless of such grades as daiginjoshu, ginjoshu, and tokubetsu junmaishu,
Denshu has “Keep refrigerated” written on its label. For some time I had wondered
whether the brewery makes refrigeration essential for retail stores as well, so I asked
Mr. Nishida. “Of course,” he replied without hesitation. “However much sake ispasteurized, it is going to deteriorate due to the outside temperature. We don’t supply
Denshu to liquor stores that do not properly store it in refrigerators.”
Unfortunately, on the day of my visit there was no pasteurization either. They had
just finished preparing new rice harvested this year, so it would be a little while longer
before new sake was produced.
What is the Nishida Brewery’s aim for tasty sake?
“The sake that I am aiming for,” Mr. Nishida remarked, “is midway between clear sakemade from highly polished rice and tasty sake with a strong flavor. In terms of thepolishing ratio, I think midway between 40% and 50%, around 45%, is best. Just because
the rice is milled a lot does not mean that the sake is going to be good. The protein parton the outer portion of the rice has an unpleasant taste. Personally, I think that with apolishing ratio of under 55%, this protein part changes into flavor. If you polish the rice
too much, the sweetness of the starch takes over, and the flavor components in theprotein, such as glutamic acid, become weaker.”
Finally, I asked Mr. Nishida what his brewery’s flagship sake was. The word
“flagship” refers to a ship carrying the commander of a fleet. In business parlance,
therefore, it means the most important or top-quality item---in other words, the crèmede la crème. After thinking for a moment, he replied confidently, “Undoubtedly our

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flagship brand is Denshu tokubetsu junmaishu. We produce various types of high-grade
sake. When asked which one constitutes our foundations, I would have to say this sake,
which has been a long seller for half a century and accounts for half of our production
volume. Its strong sales even today are testimony to its flagship status.” For me
personally, this was the happiest moment of the day. I felt as though I were aboard theflagship.
My visit to the brewery was in late October 2022. It
was a fine autumn day in Aomori Prefecture, with a crisp
blue sky. Feeling in a refreshed mood, just like theweather, I boarded the Hayabusa Shinkansen bullet
train to head home. Needless to say, I was carrying
bottles of Denshu tokubetsu junmaishu in both hands.

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Cooperation
Nishida Sake Brewery Co., Ltd.
46 Ohama, Aburakawa, Aomori City, Aomori Prefecture 038-0059
Tel.: 017-788-0007 Fax: 017-788-2553
The brewery does not offer tours, sake tasting, or sales.
History of Nishida Sake Brewery
1878: Establishment
1974: First sale of Denshu junmaishu
1981: Denshu is selected as the best sake in Japan in a tasty sake contest organized by
the magazine Tokusengai.
2003: Began making only premium sake; abolition of activated carbon filtering
2018: Realization of one-time pasteurization of all products

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