HIYA-OROSHI RELEASE

Hopefully everyone reading this recalls what hiya-oroshi sake is. But just to be sure, hiya-oroshi refers to sake that has been pasteurized the first of the usually-two time, but not the second; it is released early in the fall – perhaps six months only after having been brewed. It’s appeal is that it is a smidgeon young, but not too young. The term overlaps big time with nama-tsume, but hiya-oroshi has a seasonal nuance to it. And the term itself refers to the situation long ago, when it finally became cold enough outside (hiya) where they could distribute (oroshi) the sake without needing to pasteurize it a second time.

As everyone likely also recalls, this is not a legally defined term. As such there could be some vagueness associated with it. But the brewing world has always stuck to the above convention. However…

When out in Nagano on September 7, at a meeting of the next generation of brewers, during the post-event evening bash, the sake began to flow. One brewer brought over his hiya-oroshi. Another teased him.

“Wuzzupwidat? It is only the 7^th! I thought we agreed we would all release our hiya-oroshi on September 9!”

 The offending young brewer smiled sheepishly and mumbled, “Ah, gimme a break. It’s a special event, and this guy is here too…”

Naturally, enquiring minds need to know. And so I asked, what is the significance of 9/9? It was explained to me that this young group of brewers (other brewers in other prefectures may be involved too; it was not clear) were trying to get September 9 to be a more or less officially recognized date for the release of hiya-oroshi, much like the third Thursday in November for Beaujolais Nouveau.

“However,” he explained with some resignation, “we need to get the O-te (the big brewers of the industry) behind it, or it will go nowhere!”

Later that month, I received a notice for a tasting put on by one of my favorite Tokyo-based uber-distributors, Aji no Machidaya. In that notice, they said they were trying to get October 10 recognized in the same way: an official day for releasing hiya-oroshi. While these efforts show great strides in the direction of having the sake industry cooperate on marketing efforts, it also typifies the difficulties of trying to get a slightly splintered industry on the same page.

And the plot yet thickens! Twice this fall I have seen aberrations on the hiya-oroshi concept (one from that hallowed Nagano region, one from another area.) The first was a nama hiya-oroshi. In other words, a hiya-oroshi that did not get pasteurized the first time either. Huh? A nama hiya-oroshi? Isn’t that an oxymoron? 

 It is indeed. And welcome, again, to the sake world. Obviously, the intent of that brewer was to say his product was a bit youthful but not too much so, and suited to the season. And just as obviously he thought it was more interesting as a full-on nama. But isn’t he breaking the rules, you might ask? Remember: there are no rules; not legally, not for hiya-oroshi. So while it goes against convention, he can get away with it. And in truth, it is just a minor crime.

The other thing I saw was just the opposite: a hiya-oroshi that had been pasteurized a second time as well. Just apply the same logic as in the above paragraph to try to figure this one out…

Please bear in mind that these two examples are but sporadic anomalies, two isolated cases amidst the norm. Hiya-oroshi is as you know it to be. My only point here is that, in the sake industry, there will always be an exception to just about any rule.

 Choku-gumi

I love the fall tasting season, despite the toll it takes on me. But interestingly, it is less about the 17 gazillion sake I get to taste than it is about the exchange of information. Just yakking with brewers and owners about what is new, what is old, what has changed and what I did not know – it is all incredibly fascinating. And from time to time, a new term behind a nascent trend will appear. Such is choku-gumi.

I ran across this term four times this fall, all amongst smaller brewers. Choku-gumi literally means “directly scooped/drawn out.” What it refers to (assuming, of course, they all stick to the same convention!) is sake drawn out from one tank, directly, and bottled. So it is basically a single-tank (i.e. not blended with other tanks of the same product) sake. It may or may not be genshu or even pasteurized; there seemed to be some variance on this. It seems to have originated with local-rice-junmai-only brewer Mori no Kura in Fukuoka, and spread to a few of his cronies from there.

It is, in truth, way too early to tell if this is a trend or just a marketing trick. But should you cross this term, well, now you know.

 New Products in the Industry

I have noticed a couple of new products on the market, mostly from the big brewers, and whether or not the catch on, they seem indicative of those companies responding to changing consumer needs.

The seventh largest brewer, Kizakura has a flagship fairly inexpensive “box-sake,” (product called “Don,” pronounced with a long o, and written with an alternate character for “drink.” They have used yellow koji and some white koji calling it “awase koji,” (blended koji) to give it some earthiness. White koji is the type of koji usually used in shochu. I have not tasted it yet but am interested in tasting this futsuu-shu as I am starting to see a cross-pollInation of koji types.

I am not sure I would call it a trend, but a couple other brewers, including Amanoto in Akita, have created a sake using at least a little bit of black koji (usually used in awamori, a spirit made only in Okinawa). Also, this fall, I came across a product from Kikusui in Niigata that is a version of their popular canned muroka nama genshu product, but made with a bit of added shochu! It was, for the record, disturbingly tasty.

And finally, I almost discounted as not newsworthy an article about Koyama Honke (one of about three big companies that owns smaller breweries around the country, all combining to make them large) making what they call Shirotanrei (“white and light”), that is a blend of 80% sake and 20% barley shochu.

Both Kizakura and Koyama Honke have the same thing in mind in terms of new products and directions for sake. Kizakura describes their sake thusly: “a round sweetness and the umami of the yellow koji combine with the clean acidity and earthiness of the white koji to create a flavor that is  sukkiri maruyaka, (clean and round) and can be enjoyed casually at home, and goes well with Japanese, Chinese or western cuisine.

Koyama Honke calls their product “dry at first sip, with a flavor that is both light yet earthy, with a clean, sharp finish.” As for applications, it goes well with “Japanese, Chinese or Italian cuisine.” The target market is “men 55 or older that find sake a bit too heavy.” Their goal is 1,000 koku (20,000 9-liter cases) of the stuff! The alcohol is 12-13% and it is officially classified as a liqueur, which in Japan is a catch all for sake to which aberrant things have been added. Remember, you can add only water after pressing if you want to call it sake. 

INDUSTRY STATISTICS

Statistics can be difficult. They’re up, they’re down, they are open to interpretation and fudging. So in the end, it can be hard to know what they are telling us. They can be up one month, down the next, up YTD one month, down YTD the next. For example, the most recent stats show that July shipments were down 5.5% over July of last year, but then January to July YTD was up 2.6% from last year. Go figure.

There is speculation that sake has begun to turn around, due in part to natural cycles (as shochu starts to decline) and a backlash, so to speak, of the March tragedies. Whether it will continue or not is hard to predict, but the fall season statistics will tell a lot. Stay tuned!

   FUTURE COURSES

Sake Professional Course Level I in Japan, January 23 - 27, 2012

The Sake Professional Course in Las Vegas (December 5 to 7) is full. The next running of the course will be the annual Japan-based Sake Professional Course with CSP certification. Currently, the course is half full and there is room for about another ten participants. Should you know (or employ!) anyone that might be interested, for reservations or inquiries, please send an email to sakeguy@gol.com.

Sake Professional Course Level II in Japan, February 13 - 17, 2012

The “Level II” course and the subsequent ASP testing is scheduled for the week of February 13, 2012. As you likely know, the requirements are having successfully completed Level I. You do NOT have to have passed the CSP exam to take this course. However, to sit for the ASP exam you will need to take and pass the CSP exam, and an opportunity to do this will be provided to you at the beginning of the course.

The Level II ASP course is expected to cost 150,000 yen, with travel and lodging separate but evening meals included. Feel free to indicate your intention to attend if you are so inclined.

Currently, those that have expressed interest in attending Level II are:
 
Yoed Anis, Michael Carlson, Hiro Christoph, Nancy Cushman, Daren Epstein, Daniel Ford, Julian Houseman, Fran Kysela, Tyler LeBrun, Chad Lobner, John Mang, John Peiser, Drew Peterson, Andrew Remy, Dhal Smith, Janice Stein, Mariko Tajir, Edith Wong, Birdie Yang,Trevor Zebulon

Should you be on that list and want off, let me know. Should you be off that list and want on, please let me know that as well. An email to sakeguy@gol.com will do the trick!

In Closing,

We hope you are well, where ever you are, and enjoying sake in some capacity.
By all means, all CSP and ASP readers are encouraged to submit content for the SEC newsletter. Don’t be shy!

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Sake Education Council

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