Akashi-Tai is the best expression of everything we believe in. A true artisan sake, handmade in small batches by our Toji (master brewer) Kimio Yonezawa and his close team of trusted craftsmen. We brew using traditional methods, and only with the highest quality, locally produced ingredients. Most notably the rice and the water, both of which Hyogo is renowned for throughout Japan and the wider sake world.

It is the embodiment of Akashi Sake Brewery’s spirit, and a prime example of characterful sake from Hyogo – the birthplace of sake.

It may sound obvious, but rice is what makes the sake. And respect for the rice is what gives the sake character. You need to treat the rice with integrity, use the right water, know which variety to use at each stage of the process, proceed at as slow a pace as much precision as those processes demand, and most of all not cut corners where others might say you can get away with it.

For example, in our Daiginjos we use 100% Hyogo produced Yamadanishiki both for koji-making and for mashing, not just where we think you’ll notice it most.

Because the quest for perfection is all about incremental gains.

“My mission is to make sake with character. Joyfully exuberant, generous and open-hearted sake. Sake with depth, with flavour and aroma that lingers. Enough to silence the table as that flavour keeps developing. Sake that can reveal the character of Hyogo’s water, rice and yeasts, among the finest in Japan, and really let them shine. Sake that makes every gathering a celebration of the simple joy of a shared meal. Sake that will pair up with your favourite food and dance.

Because I live for that magical moment when food and sake become one, and both are amplified. The food reveals hidden depths in the sake, and the sake lingers and prolongs the pleasure of the meal.”

Our Brewery has been in Akashi on the shore of Osaka Bay since we started over 150 years ago. The straits of Akashi are famous for the fierce currents and whirlpools that form as the tides rip through, which makes life difficult for the fish that live here. But that difficulty rewards the hardy, and makes the fish strong. The best Sea Bream is the one that strives the most and fights the hardest.

We admire the strength and resilience of this noble fish, which is why we chose it as the symbol of our flagship sake. It represents all the qualities we admire, the qualities we seek to express, the qualities we aspire to:

We brew using traditional equipment and methods, always by hand and in small batches, the way it has been for centuries. However traditional doesn’t mean closed-minded, conservative or non-progressive.

The way to truly respect tradition is to keep it alive, and to do that you sometimes need to be willing to question and challenge. This requires an insatiable curiosity, youth of mind, and the strength of character to follow your own path, but with a profound understanding of and respect for the centuries of tradition and craft that have led to where we are now.

The fertile land around Akashi is ideal for rice-growing, and plenty of clean fresh springs supply the region with the purest water. These conditions mean it has become as famous for sake as it is for seafood. We aim to reveal and celebrate the diversity of taste that the different rice varieties can offer, not to drive for the homogenous erosion of taste and character.

To achieve this goal, to find the true soul of the rice, you sometimes need to go to greater lengths and respect even elaborate details. For example, at ASB we brew using the same water that’s used to cultivate the Yamadanishiki in the first place.

Some would say that won’t make any difference, we think that circles should be closed.

Akashi Sake Brewery Co. Ltd
Office:
1-3, Okurahachiman-cho,
Akashi-city, Hyogo
673-0871, JAPAN

Phone +81-78-919-0277
Fax +81-78-919-4377
Mail e-info@akashi-tai.com

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