Akitabare "Northern Skies" Junmai 720mL
There are 4 units left in stock.
ABOUT THIS SAKE
Akitabare is brewed in the northern Tohoku region, in an area with the highest per-capita sake consumption in Japan. The brewery takes pride in its traditional methods, allowing fermentation to proceed at low temperatures for up to 25 days before pressing. The result is a family of clean, pared-down sakes with excellent balance and structure. Much of the work is done by hand in small lots, and some of the equipment has been in continuous use for nearly a century.
Classification: Junmai
Rice variety: Gin no Sei
Yeast: Akita Konno No.12
Polishing Ratio: 65%
ABOUT THIS PRODUCER
Koshiki Junzukuri (The Old Way) read the characters on Akita Brewing Company’s junmai label, and a glimpse inside the brewery shows why. Some of the tools from a hundred years ago—the huge wooden basin for soaking the rice, the giant kama for steaming it—are still in use today.
Lots of technical innovation has occurred in the sake world over the last hundred years and many of the new tools and techniques have elevated the level of sake quality. But when change is just for the sake of modernisation, or to increase volume, there is usually a trade-off in quality. And this is a trade-off that Akitabare has never been willing to make.
What this commitment means in practice is delicacy, precision and care at every step of the brewing process. Akitabare sakes possess perfect balance, a mild aroma and a subtlety expressed but very distinct taste profile. They tend to appeal to those not overly impressed with flowery aromas and ornate flavor and for whom balance, clarity and finesse are the mark of a great sake.