A short walk from Echigo-Yuzawa Station are the large, shiny storage tanks of Shirataki Sake Brewery. This sake house has been turning out a favorite, easy drinking sake for locals and has been leading the way in marketing this old man's drink to a new generation of drinkers. Gone are the dark green bottles with heavy calligraphy on the labels. Lighter glass, a more modern look, and fruity product are the norm. You can find out all about it as you tour their brewing facility in Yuzawa.
We were taken around by Hosaka-san, a fluent English speaker who is in charge of exports of their sake and their popular cosmetic line. We got a good look at some of the production areas and found ourselves on the top floor in the offices and tasting rooms. There we watched an interesting overview of the process on DVD while sipping some freshly made green tea.
One of the secrets to the sake produced by Shirataki is the quality of the water. Vast amounts of it are used in the production process, from washing rice and bottles to the brewing itself. The purity of the local water is a key factor. The heavy snowfalls also work as an air filter keeping many of the impurities under control. I'd always thought that the famous local Koshihikari rice was one of the reasons for the high quality sake but there are many different kinds of rice used and often polished away until only the very sweet center of the grain remains. The video was a goldmine of information with Hosaka-san offering clarification on points of interest.
Then comes the tasting. The whole range is on offer to sample and having learnt about the finer points of sake brewing, we could start to appreciate the different flavors involved. Hosaka-san was always on hand to answer questions and ask our opinions.
A growing section of the business is skin care and cosmetics. The brewers who handle the raw materials in the production process all have soft, white hands and they have managed to isolate what it is that causes this beneficial effect for the skin. Many cosmetic makers are using sake bi-products in their skin care lines and they are proving to be very popular. Shirataki have their own range and, as with their sake, it is available to buy direct from the tasting room.
We ended up buying a couple of bottles of our favorite sakes and were also gifted with a souvenir sake cup as a memento of our experience.
