Thursday, January 26, 2023
On Monday, January 23, a courtesy visit was made to Ryujin Shuzo, a sake brewery that uses Hokuryu-machi sake rice "Comet" to brew "Oze no Yukidoke" sake.
- 1 Courtesy visit to Ryujin Shuzo (Tatebayashi City, Gunma Prefecture)
- 2 About Ryujin Brewery
- 3 Visit to Ryujin Sake Brewery and Sake Brewery
- 4 Discussion with Isao Kezuka, President and Representative Director, Ryujin Shuzo Brewery Co.
- 5 Commemorative photo with everyone
- 6 Celebratory sake "Oze no Yukidoke" at Izakaya "Uokane
- 7 More Photos
- 8 Related Articles
Courtesy visit to Ryujin Shuzo (Tatebayashi City, Gunma Prefecture)
Yasunori Watanabe, a Hokuryu Town resident and a producer of sake rice "Comet", had proposed the idea about three years ago, but it could not be realized due to the Corona disaster. This time, thanks to the coordination of Mr. Maki Takagi, Manager of the Rice Section, JA Kitasorachi Sales Department, Mr. Katsushi Horigome, Chief of Hokuren Iwamizawa Branch Office, and other related people, the courtesy visit was realized.
Participants in the courtesy visit to Ryujin Shuzo Brewery
- Hokuryu Town, Mayor Yutaka Sano
- JA Kitasorachi Sake Rice Production Association, Yoshio Sasaki, President (Representative of Kyoei Farm, Hokkaido Agricultural Advisor)
- JA Kitasorachi Sake Rice Production Association, Mamoru Hiraba, Supervisor
- Mr. Yasunori Watanabe, JA Kitasorachi Sake Rice Production Association (Hokkaido Agricultural Advisor)
- JA Kitasorachi Hokuryu District, Hirokuni Kitakiyo, Representative Director
- Mr. Katsushi Horime, Chief, Rice Division, Iwamizawa Branch Office, Hokuren
- Koki Kikuchi, Rice Section, Hokuren Tokyo Branch
- Maki Takagi, Manager, Rice Section, Sales Department, JA Kitasorachi
- Kazuya Matsuda, Rice Section, Sales Department, JA Kitasorachi
Noboru Terauchi & Ikuko Terauchi, community support staff of Hokuryu Town, accompanied the team as part of the Hokuryu Portal's coverage.
About Ryujin Brewery
The sake brewery "Ryujin Shuzo" was founded in the Edo period in Tatebayashi City (Gunma Prefecture), which is rich in water resources. The brewery started its business by building a sake brewery on top of "Ryujin-no-Ido," a well famous for its water, which was created by the accumulation of snow melt from the Oze Mountains.
At Ryujin Sake Brewery, rice is carefully milled using an in-house rice-polishing machine, which is rare for a small brewery, and the entire process from washing rice by hand (to completely remove bran for high-quality koji rice) to the top of the tank is carried out by hand.
In terms of facilities, the brewery is equipped with a pastiller (a method of heating sake in bottles by pouring a shower of boiling water over the sake) for instant pasteurization and a refrigerated warehouse for low-temperature control. Rare sake rice, including Yamada-Nishiki, is purchased and brewed using different processes for each type of rice.
While preserving the sake brewing traditions unique to Japanese sake, we are constantly introducing new methods and investing generously in a variety of facilities and equipment.
This is the homepage of Ryujin Shuzo, the brewer of sake "Oze no Yukidoke" and "Ryujin". There are the business information of the store, the official online store, etc.
▶ Click here to visit the website >>
Various Awards
- Brewing year 2006 and 2007 National New brew of sake competition, Gold medal consecutive awards Click here for screening results >>
- Delicious Sake in a Wineglass Award Main 2022, Main Category
Oze no Yukidoke Junmai Daiginjyo Namazume" won the highest gold medal.(Ryujin Shuzo Brewery Co.)Click here for screening results >> - Wineglass Delicious Sake Award Main 2021, Main Category
Oze no Yukidoke Junmai Daiginjyo Namazume" won the highest gold medal.(Ryujin Shuzo Brewery Co.)Click here for screening results >> - Wineglass Delicious Sake Awards Main 2020, Main Category
Oze no Yukidoke Junmai Daiginjo Yamadanishiki 45" and "Oze no Yukidoke Junmai Ginjo Omachi 50" won the highest gold medal.(Ryujin Shuzo Brewery Co.)Click here for screening results >>
Ryujin Brewery's Commitment to Hokkaido Rice
❂ Excerpts from the Ryujin Brewery handout at the time of the visit
- Started trial use of Hokkaido rice "Ginpu, Kitashizuku, Comet" in 2017 (Heisei 29).
- 2018 (2018)cometadoption
- 2019comet80 bales
- 2020 (Year 2020)Hokuryu Rice Cometand used in earnest (720 bales)
- 2021 (the 3rd year of the Japanese calendar)Hokuryu Rice Comet（960 bales of rice designated as "rice for saving
- 2022 (the 4th year of the 20th year of the 20th year of the 20th year of the 20th year of the 20th year of the 20th year)Hokuryu Rice Comet（960 bales of rice designated as "rice for saving
Comet Quality
❂ Excerpts from the Ryujin Brewery handout at the time of the visit
- Good milling performance: High milling of 50% or less is possible.
- Raw material processing: Water absorption time is longer than other sake brewing rice in other prefectures. After water absorption and steaming, the rice is very crispy (can be said to be unique). Can be used as koji rice.
- Malt: Final capitalization is good, quality can be improved by improving formulation and fermentation management.
- Taste: cool and easy to drink, with a refreshing taste that goes well with the unctuous and aromatic ginjo-shu
- Sold every year as a limited edition sake using 100% comet, it is very popular.
- Mainly used as a premium rice for products that do not claim to use rice
Visit to Ryujin Sake Brewery and Sake Brewery
We were given a tour of the brewery, filtration plant, bottle storage (refrigerated warehouse), in-house rice-polishing facility, and sales store (photography was not allowed in the brewery). Mr. Hideaki Tabei, Manager of the Production Department of Ryujin Shuzo Brewery, guided us around.
Brown rice is polished, white rice is washed, soaked, steamed, and made into koji (steamed rice, koji, and water are added to a tank to increase yeast and slow fermentation), the rice is pressed into moromi, divided into sake and sakekasu, the sake is heated and stored for several months to several years, then perfumed and bottled for completion.
Brewery and filtration plant
filter bed
Ruins of the famous spring "Ryujin no Iido" (Well of the Dragon God)
Inside the brewery facility, the remains of the "Ryujin no Iido" well, a famous spring that was used in the past for brewing water, hence the name of the brewery "Ryujin Shuzo" (Dragon God Brewery), were left behind.
Bottling facilities
Bottle storage (cold storage: refrigerated warehouse for low temperature control)
From right: Mr. Yutaka Sano, Mayor of Hokuryu Town, Mr. Hideaki Tabei, Manager of Ryujin Shuzo Brewery
Yasunori Watanabe, JA Kitasorachi Sake Rice Production Association, and Hirokuni Kitakiyo, Representative Director, Hokuryu District, JA Kitasorachi
Discussion with Isao Kezuka, President and Representative Director, Ryujin Shuzo Brewery Co.
Ltd., a roundtable discussion was held with Mr. Isao Kezuka, President of Ryujin Sake Brewery, Mr. Yutaka Sano, Mayor of Hokuryu Town, Mr. Hirokuni Kitakiyo, Representative Director of Hokuryu District, JA Kitasorachi, Mr. Yasunori Watanabe, a sake rice producer, Mr. Katsuji Horime, Chief of Rice Division, Iwamizawa Branch Office, Hokuren, and Mr. Kazuya Matsuda, Rice Division, Sales Department, JA Kitasorachi, at the office of Ryujin Sake Brewery. Mr. Kazuya Matsuda, Rice Section, Sales Department, JA Kitasorachi, participated in the discussion.
Hokuryu Town, Mayor Yutaka Sano
Mr. Yasunori Watanabe, a sake rice producer in Hokuryu-cho, asked us to accompany him on a courtesy visit to Ryujin Sake Brewery in Tatebayashi City, Gunma Prefecture, which brews sake with Hokuryu-cho rice "Comet".
Before our visit, we tasted "Oze no Yukidoke" and found it to be a very tasty sake.
Hokuryu Town's rice is highly regarded for its safety and security, winning the Japan Agricultural Award Grand Prize (2017). All farmers in the town grow rice with 50% less pesticides than Hokkaido's customary standards for agricultural chemicals.
We are very happy to hear that the sake rice "Comet" produced in Hokuryu-cho has been selected for the sake rice because of the "dragon-dragon" connection. Speaking of the "dragon" connection, we used to participate in the "Dragon Summit" (17 cities, towns, and villages across Japan), an exchange program for municipalities that include the characters for "dragon" and "dragon," and the summit was held in Hokuryu-cho in 1991. Unfortunately, the summit was cancelled from 2005 due to the abolition of the constituent municipalities as a result of the Heisei Era merger.
I feel familiar with the name "Ryujin." I also think "Oze no Yukidoke" is a wonderful, refreshing brand.
We deeply appreciate the opportunity to be associated with "Ryu-Ryu" to brew the most delicious sake using "Comet" rice produced in Hokuryu Town. Thank you again for this valuable opportunity to meet the producers. We look forward to working with you in the future.
Isao Kezuka President
Question: Why "Comet" rice from Hokkaido?
❂ Isao Mozuka, President:The first time I learned that a brewery I knew in the same industry was using Hokkaido sake rice. When we started using Hokkaido sake rice, we approached Hokuren in Sapporo and were introduced to them.
First, in the first year, 2017, we used three types of rice suitable for sake brewing in Hokkaido: "Comet", "Kitashizuku", and "Ginpu". Among them, we intuitively felt that "Comet" was the best match for our brewing style. Therefore, we decided to use "Comet" exclusively.
Since then, the volume has increased every year, and in 2022, the company is currently trading 960 bales of Hokuryu-machi grown "Comet" (designated as rice with reduced pesticide use).
It has been very well received by our customers. We use "Comet" for 40% to 50% of our sake rice at Ryujin Sake Brewery, and it is now the mainstream rice.
Our sake has an aroma and sweetness, and our target customers are mostly young people and foreign customers, making our sake easy to drink and gentle and refreshing, like wine.
Question: What is not labeled "Comet" from Hokuryu Town?
❂ Isao Mozuka, President:Ryujin Sake Brewery uses a brewing operation style in which rice is used from the rice on hand, and the ratio of rice used changes depending on the time of production. Under the Sake Brewing Law, the labeling of sake is very strictly regulated, and if the ratio of rice used does not exactly match the label, it is illegal. Therefore, most sake labels state "domestic rice".
We use "Comet" as our main ingredient, and this is the reason why sake made from 100% "Comet" is labeled "Comet" only once a year.
In the future, we would like to take on the challenge of producing high-end sake that reflects the producer's commitment and added value.
We will also try to serve sake for overseas consumption with a higher alcohol content, which is different in taste from domestically distributed sake. We would like to provide fresh sake for domestic consumption as much as possible. On the other hand, for sake destined for overseas consumption, which takes more than two months by sea, our priority is to stabilize quality to prevent deterioration, and we are aiming for a gorgeous aroma as well.
Question: What is the origin of the sake name "Oze no Yukidoke"?
❂ Isao Mozuka, President:Oze no Yukidoke" is a brand of sake named after the image of limpid and pure sake. My father named it.
JA Kitasorachi Hokuryu District, Hirokuni Kitakiyo, Representative Director
Hokuryu rice is grown with low pesticides. We use 11 ingredients, half the amount of pesticides used in Hokkaido's daring agriculture.
One of those pesticides is neonicotinoid, an insecticide that is harmful to the developmental nervous system. It has been decided that starting this year, we will not use "neonicotinoid" insecticides, but will replace them with other pesticides to unify the entire process.
We do not know how the taste of the rice will change, but we will aim to produce rice that is gentle to the human body by eating it. We hope that the rice will be appreciated as value-added rice.
Yasunori Watanabe, Sake Rice Producer
The sake rice I grow, "Comet", has been a part of my business with your company from the very beginning. I am very grateful that you are able to brew delicious sake through the "Ryu-Ryu" connection.
We have been proposing a project like this for three years, and we are happy that it has finally come to fruition. We hope that your company will visit Hokuryu-cho in August, when the sunflowers are in full bloom, and experience Hokuryu-cho.
A precious moment when the hearts of producers and brewers were exchanged through Hokuren and JA!
Thank you for the wonderful experience of taking the time to experience the skill and soul of the painstaking craftsmanship of the brewers.
Private rice milling facility
The rice milling facility at Ryujin Brewery is separate from the brewery and is located on the same site as the sales outlet.
Sales Stores
Oze no Yukidoke Junmai Daiginjyo Namazume" Ryujin Shuzo Co.
Commemorative photo with everyone
Finally, a commemorative photo of everyone together in front of the store!
Celebratory sake "Oze no Yukidoke" at Izakaya "Uokane
With the lingering impression of the event, we took the train to Akihabara.
We visited Uokin, a tavern in Akihabara that sells Ryujin Shuzo's famous sake "Oze no Yukidoke," and toasted the celebratory sake "Oze no Yukidoke" with everyone. (Japanese only)Click here for reference page >>)
Good drinks and good food! Thank you for the food!
Rice & Sake are produced with love and care, just like raising a child with care!
We express our unlimited love, gratitude, and prayers for the birth and evolution of even more delicious and wonderful sake through the precious encounters and gratifying relationships between rice producers and sake brewers.
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◇ Photography and Editing: Noboru Terauchi Reporting and Writing: Ikuko Terauchi
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