Tamagawa Shizenjikomi Junmai Yamahai Hyōgo Sake 85

Kinoshita Tamagawa Shizenjikomi Junmai Yamahai Hyōgo Sake 85 3U version (玉川 自然仕込 山廃純米酒 兵系酒85号 無濾過生原酒 [2024年蔵出し新酒] 2023BY) is made of Hyōgo Sake 85 milled to 77%. Hyōgo Sake 85 is a new rice variety developed by Hyōgo Prefecture in 2017. In recent years, deterioration in rice quality due to the summer heat has become a problem; however, Hyōgo Sake 85' keeps its quality even at high temperatures and is resistant to diseases.

This sake is part of Tamagawa's "Untouched" Series" and a "3U" (undiluted, unpasteurized, unfiltered) junmai, limited editions bottled to order during brewing (December to April). Along with the "Icebreaker", it is one of the strongest crafted by the brewery.

Highly perfected and rough-cut at the same time, it can be enjoyed on its own or paired with food. Due to its high alcohol volume, it can be consumed on the rocks and even warmed.

Kinoshita Shuzō, in Kōyama, Kyōtango, Kyōto Prefecture, was founded in 1842 by the fifth head of the Kinoshita family, Kinoshita Zenbei (木下善兵衛), who reportedly used the harvest from almost thirty hectares of rice fields and the copious spring water gushing from the mountain behind the brewery. The hereditary name Zenbei was passed down to the 6th and 7th generations. Then, the company was led by the 8th, 9th and 10th generations (Sentaro, Zenichiro and Juichi, respectively) before being handed on to Kinoshita Yoshito, the current president and the 11th in line.

The brand name Tamagawa can be translated as "Jewel River." The name is thought to refer to the Kawakamidani River, which flows by the brewery. The character 玉 (tama) means a jewel and has sacred implications in Japan's native Shinto . 川 (kawa or gawa in compound words) means river.

Kinoshita Shuzō is one of the few Japanese breweries with a foreign tōji, Philip Harper. Born in the UK, he graduated from Oxford University. He taught English under the JET programme until he discovered sake. He worked at Umenoyado Sake Brewery for ten years before taking and passing the Nanbu Tōji Association's qualification test in 2001, earning him the title of 'Tōji'. He was the first foreigner to become a toji (and the only one at the time). He then worked at Umenoyado Shuzō, Daimon Shuzō and other breweries before becoming tōji at Kinoshita Shuzō in 2008.

Kinoshita Yoshito gave him full responsibility for everything except following the locally favoured taste of regular sake and daiginjō. He immediately began producing kimoto sake, which does not use brewing lactic acid, and yamahai, which uses only natural yeast from the brewery. In addition to new sake types like 'Icebreaker' and 'Time Machine', Tamagawa's legacy is reflected in the sake he produces.

Along with the new master brewer, the brewery's logo was redesigned with an innovative design by Sakane Katsusuke to symbolise the new Tamagawa. It is now widely known as the 'Marutama mark' (丸玉マーク).