Shikishima Tokubetsu Junmai Muroka Genshu

It was just a coincidence that we found Itō Masaru's crowdfunding campaign on Campfire. Reading how he had given up his day job at NTT Docomo to relaunch his family's sake brewery that had ceased operations in 2000 was enough to get hooked! In hindsight, I wish we had joined Masaru's next "Steps", his 2023 and 2024 brews, too. I hope he'll consider new crowdfunding campaigns.

His Muroka Genshu is made of Yamada Nishiki rice that was polished down to 60%. It has an earthy nose, with notes of fungi and a mildly sweet aroma. True to a genuine Genshu, it is quite rich and "dense", with refreshing acidity and lovely yet unobtrusive sweetness. As it's undiluted, it comes with an alcohol content of 18 to 19%. The new Shikishima has an interesting and deep character with many different layers stimulating your palate; a slightly spicy finish with lingering acidity.


After the crowdfunding campaign had ended on 27 December 2021, Masaru kept updating the contributors regularly. According to him, there were many days of trial and error: he'd acquired his sake brewing license on 4 December, started steaming the rice and prepare the koji on the 10th and entered the "yeast stage" on the 13th. On the 28th, the brewing was finished. The photo below shows the finished unrefined sake.



On New Year's Day, he reported that the unrefined sake was still in the process of fermentation. The photo below shows the moromi (醪), the fermented sake mash when the mash produces bubbles (水泡 suihō). Later on, the bubbles will grow in size and look like pebbles. They are called iwa-awa (rock bubbles). During this stage, the fermentation process picks up in intensity.



The next photo shows the moromi on 13 January, halfway through fermentation. In the beginning, there was active bubbling, but the alcoholic fermentation had calmed down considerably at this stage, and the number of bubbles decreased. Subsequently, the toji will determine the timing of the pressing while keeping a close look at the data, the taste and the aroma.



On 21 January, the pressing (上槽 jōso) was completed.



On the 28th, the sake had been pasteurised, ready to be bottled. Masaru called this his most taxing day, as he wasn't familiar with the machinery, but succeeded with the help of the brewery staff. He also informed the contributors that he'd wanted the taste to develop a bit more before delivery asking everyone for patience. He already felt that Step 001 would be superior to Step 0 the year before.



13 February: shipping!