Omoya Shuzo Brewery: Sake and shochu brewery with a long history in Iki.
Barley shochu originated from Iki.On this historic island, Omoya Shuzo Brewery makesIki shochu and Iki sake.Omoya Shuzo Brewery has revived sake brewing in Iki.By using the island's top-quality water and Yamada Nishiki rice grown in Iki,the brewery succeeded in making top-quality sake.Enjoy our famous sake which has a thick,dry flavor and full-bodied aroma complementing each other.We have both shochu made by hand using traditional techniques and shochu made with state-of-the-art equipment.Since the flavors are different, try both and see for yourself. You can discover a shochu to your liking.We also have sake with different alcoholic strength.Pick the one that suits you.
BARLEY SHOCHU
Iki is where barley shochu originated.On this historic island, our brewery uses rice and barley grown in Iki to produce barley shochu.We make barley shochu by hand using traditional techniques to produce a sophisticated umami flavor. We also make shochu with the latest equipment to produce a clear and sharp flavor that is not reproducible by hand.While retaining the traditional techniques established by the founder, Omoya Shuzo Brewery also employs new technologies to expand the possibilities of barley shochu.
-Products-
Producing the flavor
製麹 (Koji-making )
Koji-making is the process ofconverting the grain's starch into fermentable sugars.
Steamed barley is cooled, and koji-kin mold spores aresprinkled evenly onto it. Then, for 40 to 42 hours, thebrewer stirs it carefully until the koji is made.
蒸留
(Distillation)
Distillation, as its name suggests, is the process of making the liquid concentrate of shochu by distilling it.First, finished moromi (shochu mash) is put into distillation stills and boiled to form the above concentrate, which has alcohol.Next, the steam is cooled in a tank linked to the steps ahead.The liquid that is created is liquid concentrate shochu, the essence of shochu.
貯蔵
(Preservation)
The freshly distilled liquid concentrate has a great deal of unnecessary oil content. Getting rid of it requires "preservation work."This is the last process before shochu is made.If you get oil on your hands, it comes into contact with air and oxidizes, releasing an unpleasant smell.For that reason, preservation work must be done over and over while the shochu is in storage.
SAKE
Japanese sake for the world
Iki provides sake that is beloved around the world.Making the sake that once disappeared from Iki.We started our brewery because we wanted to use this island's water and rice to revive the sake that was once produced here.First, we trained to make sake, then searched for quality water on the island. After trying to grow Yamada Nishiki rice on Iki and other trials-and-errors, we finally produced the best sake.Our sake is so full-bodied and fruity that it is like biting into a fruit.No cuisine can beat the first sip of our sake. Iki offers sake that is enjoyed in Japan and around the world.
-Products-
1, Rice polishing
(精米)
Rice cannot be used as is to make sake.The bran on the unpolished brown ricemust be removed since it is not neededto make sake. This process is called rice polishing.The amount of bran to be removed differsdepending on the quality of the saketo be made. In the case of daiginjo sake,over half of the rice is polished to remove the bran.
2, Rice washing
/Rice steaming
(洗米/蒸米)
Rice washing is, as its name suggests, the act of washing rice.Washing rice after it has been polished removes the rice-bran fragments left on the surface.After that, rice is put in a rice steaming pot and steamed, turning it into a gelatinous starch.This is a process called "rice steaming."Through it, an environment is created in which yeast cells can multiply easily.
3, Koji making
(精麹)
Next comes koji (mold) making, which is said to be the most important step in making sake.The steamed rice is spread out, and yeast starter is sprinkled evenly over it.After that, it is placed ina koji production room, the temperature andhumidity in which is carefully controlled.A task called "kirikaeshi," in which the steamed rice is broken apart, is done repeatedlyuntil the process is complete.
4, Shubo
(酒母)
Shubo is yeast mash, the cultivation of a big population of yeast, which is necessary for fermenting sake. Good shubo produces a great deal of lactid-acid bacilli without any bacilli.Shubo is where sake begins. True to the characters in its Japanese name, it is the "mother of sake."
5, The three-stage fermentation process of moromi
(三段仕込みもろみ)
This is the end product of combining koji, made through careful control; shubo, made with diligence; polished rice; and high-quality water for making sake taken from Iki.In order to properly ferment it, the process is repeated three times.That is why it is called the three-stage fermentation process.
6, Compression/firing
(圧搾 / 火付け)
The moromi that has finished fermenting requires compression, which separates out sake lees from refined sake.Pressure is added and the two are carefully separated.The finished refined sake is left to sit for several days.Then, clarification - in which impurities areremoved - is done, and after this the sake is filtered.Finally, firing is done to suppressthe activity of yeast and bacillus, and the sake is finished.
