SHICHIDA
SAGA PREFECTURE Est. 1875
Established in 1875, Shichida Sake is created by Tenzan Shuzo in Saga on the southern island of Kyushu. Current owner Shichida san is 6th generation, and they have been growing their own rice since 1998, and use 70% local rice in their Sake.
Unlike the northern parts of Japan, it does not get too cold in winter. The technique of sake making is different as a result. They use the relatively warmer temperature to their advantage. They control a number of different temperatures to manage the fermentation process and duration. They also use a mix of a few different sake yeast to make their own style.
Their goal is for their sake to have a clean juicy mouth feel with deep flavour with lots of umami and elegant acidity. Whilst respecting tradition, they bring a modern approach to the production of their Sake. The water in this region is medium
hard, and it is sourced from beautiful pure rivers, and from a local waterfall which is rated in the Top 100 waterfalls in Japan for water quality.
The brewery sits alongside the Gion River, with the nature around the brewery being famously clean and pure in Japan.
In spring, wonderful cherry blossom prevails, and in early summer, you can see firefly’s. It is a very popular region for tourists to visit their city called Ogi. The city has lots of common names with Kyoto, and it is quite often called mini Kyoto.
Shichida only use local rice for their sake, and it is a creation from their natural environment. Shichida’s house style is juicy and full flavoured with good structure. They do not take charcoal filter process for all their sake so lots of flavour remain in Sake, and the structure in sake comes from local medium hard local mineral water.
