Spring Namazake Tasting
SPRING has finally arrived at The Sake Shop! How do we know it’s Spring you ask? Is it because of the beautiful weather we’ve been having or maybe the blooming flowers everywhere? No my friends, it is now officially Spring at the shop because we just received our shipment of seasonal SPRING NAMAZAKE! So you know what that means … it’s time for our annual Spring Namazake Tasting!
All of the sake we’ll be tasting are “Nama” or unpasteurized, which gives them a fresh, green and brash flavor. Most of them are also “Genshu” which means the alcohol content is a little higher than most sake. It’s been so long since last year’s Spring Namazake Tasting that we just can’t wait until this Saturday!
So along with our usual “Nama Trio” from Harushika, Kamikokoro and Ichinokura, we’ve also added a brand new Namazake to the line up this year. Brand new from Niigata prefecture we’ll be sampling Koshinohomare this Saturday!
SPRING NAMAZAKE
COMPLIMENTARY SAKE TASTING & SALE
Saturday, February 18, 2012
3:00pm to 7:30pm
Here is the lineup for this Saturday.
KOSHINOHOMARE SHIBORITATE
**NEW TO HAWAII**
Junmai Nama Genshu
New to Hawaii from Niigata prefecture, Koshinohomare Shiboritate is rich and smooth with tranquil aromas of fruits, grains and yogurts. Great balance of acidity, fruity and savory flavor. Deep and expansive taste with crisp finish.
HARUSHIKA SHIBORIBANA
Junmai Ginjo Nama
Unpasteurized Junmai Ginjo from Nara prefecture. Hands down our best seller from last’s years Spring Tasting. Flavorful light and smooth type. Very fresh and clean aroma with a hint of strawberries. Perfectly balanced fruity flavors with soft texture.
KAMIKOKORO TOUKAGEN SHIBORITATE
Tokubetsu Junmai Nama Genshu
Unpasteurized rich type from Okayama prefecture, the place where the Momotaro or “Peach Boy” story comes from. Very unique sake brewed with white peach yeast. Refreshing aroma of peach, lime and bamboo. Expansive mild taste with crisp acidity and long finish. One of our favorites!
ICHINOKURA NIGORI
Tokubetsu Junmai Nama Genshu
For you Nigori lovers this is an unpasteurized cloudy sake from Miyagi prefecture. Very fruity nigori sake with apple, melon and lemon aroma. Complex flavors balanced well with crisp acidity.
So please join us this Saturday for our Seasonal Spring Namazake tasting! If you’ve never tried an unpasteurized sake, this is your chance to taste some of the best, including Koshinohomare, brand new to Hawaii.
Kanpai,
Malcolm & Nadine Leong
The Sake Shop
SPRING NAMAZAKE
COMPLIMENTARY
SAKE TASTING & SALE
Saturday, February 18, 2012
3:00 pm to 7:30 pm
Sake Bottles Heated in Water
For those of you who are not familiar with “Nama” or unpasteurized sake, here is a quick overview on what it’s all about.
As a general practice, most sake is pasteurized twice before being released for sale. This is why most sake are shelf stable and can be stored unrefrigerated.
When a sake is not pasteurized at all it is called a “Nama” sake or “Namazake”. Nama is the Japanese word for raw or fresh. In this case you could think of it as fresh or “draft” sake.
Namazake have a very distinct flavor profile, with a green brash flavor. They must be kept refrigerated until consumed to keep live enzymes and other things from activating.
In line with this type of brewing style, many of these unpasteurized sake are not diluted with water as most other sake are. Sake that are not diluted with water are referred to as “Genshu” and can have an alcohol content of up to 20% compared to most sake’s 15 to 16%.
Kamikokoro Brewery
One of the sake we will be tasting this Saturday is from Kamikokoro which is located in Okayama prefecture. Kamikokoro is a relatively young micro sake brewery that was founded in 1913.
The prefecture of Okayama is known as a famous peach producing area and the birthplace of the Momotaro or Peach Boy story.
Mr. Fujii and Us
We were lucky enough to meet the President of Kamikokoro Brewery last year, Mr. Nobuhiko Fujii. Wonderful guy who dressed up as Momotaro the Peach Boy during our tasting.
One of the neat things about Fujii-san’s Spring Namazake is that he uses a special white peach yeast to make his “moto” or starter yeast. Almost all brewers will normally use very specialized sake yeast for this instead.
Momotaro or Peach Boy Story
The story of Momotaro begins with a childless women finding a giant peach floating down the river. When she and her husband attempt to cut it open to eat it they find Momotaro inside.
He tells the couple he was sent from Heaven to be their son. They name him Momotaro which roughly translates to “Peach Boy”. (Momo in Japanese means Peach and Taro is a common eldest son name.)
The story continues with Momotaro growing up and then going on a quest to defeat some evil orges or demons who have been causing trouble for everyone.
The demons live on a remote island very far away. Along the way to reach the island Momotaro meets and befriends a talking dog, monkey and pheasant who all agree to help him.
Of course being the hero he is, Momotaro and his friends defeat the demons and return home with their treasure. Along with his parents and new friends, they all live happily ever after.
