Sake specs
- Prefecture
- Kanagawa (神奈川)
- Rice type
- Domestic rice (国産米)
- Polishing rate (semaibuai)
- 70%
- Alcohol content
- 15%
Kikkawa Kikuyū {菊勇 吉川醸造) is the brewery's standard sake, made of domestic rice milled to 70%. It has a deep and rich taste. Due to the local water's high mineral content, it is crisp and slightly dry and has what the brewery describes as an "old-fashioned, handmade taste".
About the brewery
- Brewery
- Kikkawa Jōzō
- Name in Japanese
- 吉川醸造
- Address
- 681 Godo, Isehara, Kanagawa 259-1138
- Phone
- 0463-95-3071
- Website
吉川醸造 | KIKKAWA JOZO | 神奈川の日本酒
神奈川県伊勢原市で日本酒をつくっています。 雨降山の硬水を使って、米が持つ全ての要素をお酒の味や香りとして表現。 美味しい日本酒は大切な方への贈り物にも最適です。kikkawa-jozo.com
Kikkawa Brewery was founded in Isehara, Kanagawa Prefecture, in 1912. The brewery uses water from the Tanzawa Mountains, which is unusually hard for Japanese standards: 150-160 mg/L, meaning one litre of water contains 150-160 milligrams of calcium carbonate. Today, it is common to think that soft water is more suitable for sake brewing. However, hard water promotes yeast fermentation and can be brewed at low temperatures, producing a refreshing and beautiful sake quality. Kikkawa Jōzō follows a new (in fact, old) trend of using rice that is only milled down to 90% to bring out all the elements of the rice that deepen the flavour of the sake. Kikkawa brews its sake slowly at a very low temperature, an effort that takes twice as much time and effort as other methods.