Fukuchō Hattansō Junmai Hybrid Kimoto Nama

Imada's Fukuchō Hattansō Junmai Hybrid Kimoto Nama (富久長 八反草 純米 ハイブリッド生酛 特別栽培米 生酒) is made according to a hybrid sake yeast method, which combines high-temperature saccharification with a traditional sake yeast base. The 2021 version uses a specially cultivated Hiroshima native variety called Hattansō (八反草) as kakemai (the steamed rice added to the moromi mash), and the rice is milled to the original form after the germ has been removed. The latest rice polishing technology achieves pleasant sharpness and lingering aftertaste, the aroma and smooth texture derived from ginjō-style brewing, and the deep flavour created by the diverse micro-organisms.

It is a jikagumi (直汲み), sake directly bottled from the press, undiluted, and pasteurised in-bottle.

Imada Brewery is located in Akitsu, Higashi-Hiroshima, facing the Seto Inland Sea and was founded in 1868. Hiroshima is one of Japan's top regions of sake production; the prefecture ranks among the top six in annual sake production. The region is famous for its soft water and smooth sake with a solid, lively fragrance. The brewery is run in the fifth generation by Imada Miho (今田美穂), one of the few female tōji (brewmaster) in Japan. She learned the trade from her father, Imada Yukinao but also enrolled in the National Research Institute of Brewing and later graduated from Meiji University's law faculty. After working for the cultural activities section in a Tōkyō department store, she returned to Hiroshima and took over the brewery. In 2020, the BBC included her in their list of the world's 100 influential women of the year.

Hiroshima is renowned for its ginjō-style sake varieties with beautiful fragrances and refined flavour. Imada Miho has continued and perfected the art of ginjō: in 2017, her Fukuchō ginjō won the platinum award for Junmai sake at Kura Master 2017, an annual contest selecting the best sakes from over 550 sake brands across Japan. Imada also experimented with heirloom rice varieties that had been out of use for centuries, created her hybrid yeast starter, and experimented with white kōji.

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