Thursday, December 24, 2015

Hamakawa Shoten “Sake that the locals will drink”

The new Bijofu labels, released in October,
use photographs taken locally.
Bijofu: Out of the Depths
   “Bijofu,” which has won Gold Prize for each of the last 5 years at the Annual Japan Sake Awards, is the most popular brand of sake produced by Hamakawa Shoten, located in Shikoku’s smallest town, Tano, in eastern Kochi. “Bijofu” was first developed by Naoaki Hamakawa, the fifth-generation CEO of the company.

   Hamakawa became CEO at a time when the future of Hamakawa Shoten was in doubt. The company had to sell 70% of its product to larger sake companies in order to make ends meet, but it finally pulled through the rough patch. Around that time, Hamakawa first encountered ginjo (special brew) sake in Tokyo. At the time, ginjo sake was only being made for contests, but more and more voices were calling for this delicious variety of sake to be released for regular sale. Enchanted by ginjo, Hamakawa thought, “I want to make this sake with my own hands!” Following this powerful urge, with no tanks, no technology, and no rice appropriate for ginjo sake production, he began to fumble his way through a field of “no” toward an entirely different kind of sake that his company had ever made before.
 
Unique Sake and a Passion for Quality
   “I want to get rid of people’s discomfort with sake,” says Hamakawa, who aims to make sake that is drinkable for people who don’t normally like it. For example, out of the idea, “Why couldn’t we make champagne out of sake?” came the bubbly, cloudy unpasteurized sake Mai Usunigori, which is especially popular with women. Using a process Hamakawa thought up 30 years ago, they double-ferment the alcohol in the bottle, resulting in natural carbonation. Hamakawa Shoten was also the first sake company in Kochi to make fruit and yogurt liqueurs using sake or shochu as the base. Drinking these liqueurs, you would think you were drinking fruit juice—and Hamakawa Shoten is very particular in selecting the best Kochi-produced fruit and raw milk (only the lemons are sourced from outside the prefecture). In fact, thanks to President Hamakawa, these reporters got to taste-test 5 varieties of Bijofu sake. Each and every one of them was delicious enough to entirely change our mental image of sake. We couldn't belive such drinkable sake existed.
The flavors of the yeast changes depending on
the chief brewer. This koji (malted rice), used
 to make junmai sake, tastes and smells a little
like a chestnut.

   Bijofu is handmade by craftsmen who seek the highest quality, using carefully selected sake rice and extra-soft water taken from the subterranean Nahari River. Its fragrance blooms and it travels easily down the throat, making you want to drink glass after glass. In order to make even more delicious sake, Bijofu is constantly making small changes to the process, such as changing the type of yeast used in fermentation based on the appenence of the fermenting rice.

   Usually sake is stored in the tank, but all varieties of Bijofu are stored in the bottle. This is because the sake can be preserved at its peak quality by bottling it immediately and then refrigerating it at 2 to 3 degrees Celsius. Hamakawa Shoten’s commitment to delivering the highest-quality product to its consumers is visible in this innovation.
 
We compared the appearance of a tank after 3 days and
a tank after 5 days. The contents looked completely different!
Keeping the Hometown in Mind
   President Hamakawa goes on business trips abroad almost every month. “It’s funny to think that sake we couldn’t sell around here has made it to the export stage,” he chuckles. We especially remember his response when asked about expanding his operation overseas: “If we were to expand abroad, I would begin by settling on a specific location for an overseas headquarters. But to me, the most important thing is being able to sell our sake here at home. Our base will always be our hometown.”
 
 
Hamakawa Shoten
   Location: Aki-gun, Tano-cho 2150
   TEL: 0887-38-2004 FAX: 0887-38-8284
   Website: http://www.bijofu.jp/
   E-mail: bijyofu@shirt.ocn.ne.jp

10 comments:

  1. Great blog here! Also your web site loads up fast! What host are you using? Can I get your affiliate link to your host? I wish my site loaded up as quickly as yours lol
    email with love online
    apps autoketing
    email with love free

    ReplyDelete
  2. You know what? I really like your posts. I wander on the internet to find something new or unique. And I see your articles. I decided to linger at your site and read more and more. I hope that you can upload new posts. I will be the first one to read them. Thanks a million
    y8y8y8 online
    kizi games for kids
    gogy unblocked

    ReplyDelete
  3. This site has lots of advantage.I found many interesting things here. Most of the links are useful and provides easy way to create quality links. It obvious that for ranking a site we need good quality back links and this list helps a lot for this purpose
    Stickman Fighter
    Flappy Unicorn
    Superspin.io

    ReplyDelete
  4. Your posts are my cup of tea. I'm interested in your articles. I always read them everyday and wait for incoming ones. It's because your posts are interesting.
    Kuu Kuu Harajuku: Diy Kawaii Stickers || Jumpy Kangaroo online || SnowWars.io games two player

    ReplyDelete
  5. Your blog provided us with valuable information to work with. Each & every tips of your post are awesome. Thanks a lot for sharing. Keep blogging
    Flyordieio Games
    Dynamons evolution games free online
    The story of cinderella Games for girls

    ReplyDelete
  6. Saved as a favorite, I really like your web site! I love what you guys tend to be up too. This type of clever work and reporting! Keep up the very good works guys I’ve incorporated you guys to blogroll.
    Elsa breakup drama best online game
    Chicken invaders unblocked games
    Zombie run games online

    ReplyDelete
  7. Excellent read, I just passed this onto a colleague who was doing a little study on that. And he actually bought me lunch because I found it for him smile So let me rephrase that: Thanks for lunch

    games online for kids
    jogos friv gratis

    ReplyDelete

  8. food games free
    basketball games online
    soccer games online
    I accidentally saw your post and it attracted me from the first few seconds, it was excellent, hope you have more successful posts.

    ReplyDelete
  9. BUY ORIGINAL NOVELTY ID CARD,DRIVERS LICENSE,PASSPORTS,VISA
    World Best documentation centre has years of experience producing fake passports,Driving Licenses and other identity documents. We use high quality equipment and materials to produce counterfeit passports. All secret features of real passports are carefully duplicated for our falsified documents. We are the best producer of quality fake documents. With over 30million of out documents circulating over the world. We offer only original high-quality fake money ,passports, driver's licenses, ID cards, stamps and other products for a number of countries like: USA, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Italia, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Mexico, Netherlands, South Africa, Spain, United Kingdom. Dubai(the emirates) and many more.

    To get the additional information and order visit our email team
    Quick, General and Technical support Visit our Website

    Website: https://majesticpassports.com

    Phone Number: +1(925) 338 9583

    Whatsapp == +1(925) 338 9583

    Website: Buy Registered Passports, Drivers Licence

    Buy Original registered Passport ,Visa,Driving License,ID CARDS,marriage
    certificates,diplomas etc.

    CONTACT CHANELS

    Website: https://majesticpassports.com

    Phone Number: +1(925) 338 9583

    Whatsapp == +1(925) 338 9583

    Email:.........majesticpassport@zoho.com

    ReplyDelete
  10. I just want the whole world to know about this spell caster I met
    two weeks ago,  I cannot say everything he has done for me my wife
    left me 3 years ago left with my kids I was going through online
    when I meant this wonderful man's testimony online I decided to
    give it a try and my wife is back to me now and we are happily
    married again cause is too much to put in writing all I can say is
    thank you very much am very happy   Contact him today on oseremenspelltemple@gmail.com or whatsapp him on +2348136482342

    ReplyDelete