Imada Fukuchō Karakuchi Junmai Nama

Fukuchō Karakuchi Junmai Nama (富久長 辛口純米 生酒) is a new, unpasteurised version of Imada's regular Karakuchi Junmai. It is fermented at low temperatures to give it a dry taste with a hint of umami. It has a refreshing aroma and a slight sweetness with hints of banana.

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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