Takashimizu Yamahai Honjōzō Hiyaoroshi

Takashimizu Yamahai Honjōzō Hiyaoroshi (山廃本醸造ひやおろし) is made of rice grown in Akita milled to 60% and Association yeast No. 6, which has excellent fermentation power at medium to low temperatures. The harsh climate of Akita has nurtured the traditional flavour. It is brewed using the Yamahai method, spends the summer in the storage tank, and is cold-drafted in autumn when the temperature is similar to the outside temperature. This is an exquisitely brewed sake with pronounced depth and mellowness.

Akita Shurui Seizoh Brewery is located in Akita City and was founded in 1944 when twelve breweries were merged into one, as were most other small and medium-sized companies in the final period of the Second World War to overcome the war-time shortage of ingredients. In 1950, the main brewery resumed operations. Nowadays, Akita Shurui Seizoh has two production facilities in Akita and a rice polishing facility. The brewery has two labels, "Takashimizu" (高清水) for the Japanese market and "Shimizu-no-mai" for the U.S. market.

"Takashimizu" was chosen from 5,037 submissions and means "high spring water". In Akita City, "Takashimizu Hill" is famous for its spring water. According to legend, the sacred spring started gushing in the middle of the 7th​ century; the area is also known as the location of Akita Castle, one of the biggest citadels in the extreme north of Japan.

Awards:

Akita Shurui Seizoh Brewery has been awarded Gold medals at the Annual Japan New Sake Awards for fifteen years (as of 2014). Goshono Brewery received Gold medals for eleven years. The brewery was awarded Gold medals at the Tohoku Sake Awards for nineteen consecutive years. During these nineteen years, it won the Top Honour Award five times.