Mutsu Hassen Natsuginjō

Mutsu Hassen Natsuginjō (陸奥八仙 夏吟醸) is made of Hanafubukirice milled to 60%. Natsuginjō is released once a year. It has a slightly lower alcohol content than Hassen's regular Ginjō, giving it a refreshing and sweet taste. The aroma and mouthfeel are full and clean. It can be enjoyed on the rocks or chilled. It best pairs with light-flavoured and mild dishes, such as carpaccio of white fish, avocado and prawn salad, tempura of cod sprouts, and squid or octopus sashimi.

Hachinohe Shuzō was founded in 1775 by Komai Shōzaburō (駒井庄三郎), who traced his roots to the Omi merchants from the area around Takashima City in the north-west of present-day Shiga Prefecture. After the end of the Warring States period and the start of the Edo period , feudal lords from all over the country began to focus on the development of their domains. The Omi merchants followed the call when they were invited to trade in northern castle towns. Komai Shōzaburō, the founder of Mutsu Hassen, was one of the merchants who came to the Tohoku region. He later entered the brewing business and moved to Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, in the Meiji era . In the Taisho era (1912-1926), the brewery was established in its present location under the name Komai Sake Brewery.

Today, Shōzaburō VIII and his ninth-generation sons, Nobuyuki and Hideyuki, are taking on the challenge of producing safe, tasty sake that is environmentally friendly and healthy for the times, using only locally produced rice and yeast as Aomori Prefecture's local sake, and famous water from the Hachinohe and Kanizawa areas as the brewing water. The brewery's two brands are Mutsu Otokoyama (陸奥男山) and Mutsu Hassen (陸奥八仙). The origin of Mutsu Hassen lies in the Chinese legend of the eight drunken hermits (陸奥八仙), which tells various anecdotes about them and their exciting ways of enjoying drinking. The name was chosen in the hope that the drinker would enjoy sake just like a drunken hermit.

Hachinohe Brewery has won countless national and international sake awards at Kura Master, the International Wine Challenge, the U.S. National Sake Appraisal, the Fine Sake Award, the Kan Sake Award, and many others.