Tochigi's Daiichi Sake Brewery, Established Over 350 Years Ago, Receives Top Award at National Heated Sake Contest 2024 The highest award, the "Highest Gold Award" at the National Heated Sake Contest 2024.

Daiichi Brewery Co. (Location: Sano City, Tochigi Prefecture; President: Yoshinori Shimada) is pleased to announce that its Kaika Junmai Sake has won the highest award in the "Value-priced Nuru-Kan" category of the National Heated Sake Contest 2024, the world's only contest to select sake that tastes best when heated (sponsored by the National Heated Sake Contest Executive Committee and supported by the Japan Sake Brewers Association). The contest is sponsored by the National Heated Sake Contest Executive Committee and supported by the Japan Sake Brewers Association.

The contest was judged by 49 experts, including officials from public research institutes, sake brewing technicians, sake distributors, and sake school instructors. As many as 939 sakes were entered by 251 sake breweries from all over Japan, and the highest 12 gold medals were awarded to the best-priced lukewarm sake out of 237 entries in the lukewarm category. It was the only one of its kind in the three northern Kanto prefectures.

Highest Gold Award-winning product (Kaika Junmai Sake)

Junmai-shu with the same specifications as this award-winning sake (same rice polishing ratio of 65%) won the top prize (first place) in the Junmai-shu category at the 94th Kanto Shinetsu Regional Taxation Bureau sake competition (the largest sake competition held by a national organization, with entries from approximately 200 production sites) last year, proving our high technical capabilities in junmai-shu production. This is a testament to the high level of our junmai sake brewing techniques.

Our toji and I are very pleased to receive such high praise for our Junmai-shu, which is one of Kaika's standard products. In addition to our history and traditions, which are the oldest in Tochigi Prefecture at over 350 years, we were the first in the northern Kanto region to make all of our products specified-designation sake in 1997, and were one of the first in the region to make high-quality sake, the fruit of our craftsmanship passed down from generation to generation. The award-winning sake is made with carefully selected local rice (produced in Sano) and water under thorough quality control.

President Yoshinori Shimada said, "We are grateful to our long-time customers for this award. At the sake brewing site, not only Mr. Saito, who is in his second year as chief brewer, did his best, but also Mr. Ninomiya, the previous chief brewer, supported the new chief brewer by entering the site more than when he was chief brewer, and the other brewers worked together as one to make the sake. Sake today, and not only for our company, is the best tasting sake since the dawn of history. Our sales, which dropped five years ago due to the damage from Typhoon No. 19 and the coronavirus infection, have not fully recovered, but they have recently been on the road to recovery, and we will make further efforts to meet the expectations of our loyal drinkers, using the award as a tailwind. We will make further efforts to meet the expectations of our loyal drinkers, using the award as a tailwind. He said.

Toji Saito

The "Highest Gold Award" winning sake

Product name: Kaika Junmai-shu

Specific name: Junmai-shu

Rice used: Gohyakumangoku and Tochigi no Hoshi

Rice polishing ratio: 65% (flat polished rice)

Alcohol content : 14

Suggested retail price: 300ml 500yen, 720ml 1,150yen, 1800ml 2,268yen (all prices exclude tax)

Recommended drinking

Room temperature, warmed at 45-50℃.

Recommended to drink at room temperature or warmed up at 45-50℃.

This is a standard food sake made mainly from "Tochigi-no-Hoshi" rice produced in Tajima-cho, Sano, which is the brewery's home town. It has a low alcohol content of 14ºC, so you can drink it indefinitely. If you want to enjoy it warmed, we recommend raising the temperature to about 45°C and slowly lowering it!

◎Orders can purchase it at member stores of the Nihon Meimon Sake Kai, sake stores that carry Kaika, and Daiichi Shuzo Internet mail order.

Daiichi Shuzo official mail order site

https://shop.sakekaika.co.jp/

Supplemental information

Concept of the National Heated Sake Contest (official website http://www.kansake.jp )

The most important characteristic of sake is that it can be drunk both warmed and chilled. While there are many types of sake in the world, including beer, wine, whiskey, and vodka, sake is by far the most widely available in terms of optimal drinking temperature. There are records of sake being drunk warmed as early as the Heian period (794-1192), and from the Edo period (1603-1868) onward, drinking sake "heated" became the norm.

When sake is heated, the umami taste increases and the flavor softens and expands. It dissolves fats and oils and flows easily, complementing the food. This is why heated sake is called the ultimate food sake. Heating sake also developed sake cups, such as tokuri and sake cups, and fostered a rich sake culture.

It was around 1980 that the popularity of chilled ginjo-shu and nama-shu began to spread. This was about 30 years ago. The fresh, gorgeous, delicate taste attracted many people, but there was also a widespread misconception that quality sake should not be heated. As if in an attempt to clear up this misconception, some professional organizations began judging the quality of heated sake.

The National Heated Sake Contest is a continuation of this trend, with a strict panel of experts judging the quality of heated sake. The purpose of the contest is to promote the unique appeal of heated sake by making people aware of the fact that sake tastes best when heated. There are many fine sake that look great warmed up. We invite you to taste sake at a variety of temperatures and enjoy pairing it with food in a way that is different from wine.

Company Profile

Company name: Daiichi Sake Brewery Co.

Representative: Yoshinori Shimada, President and Representative Director

Address: 488 Tajima-cho, Sano-shi, Tochigi 327-0031

HP address: http://www.sakekaika.co.jp/