gozenshu

Although the shuzo has been in operation since 1804, Gozenshu has a young management team of passionate and professional sake makers (kurabito). They are especially radical and unconventional in that the head brewer (toji) is Maiko San and she is one of less than 20 in all of Japan female Tojis and the first female toji in the Okayama region (Bichu guild).

The family is very arts oriented with the occasional poet or, artist in residence and they greatly support cultural events. One of the signature features of Gozenshu sake is its use of multiple yeast strains, which gives each variety a distinctive flavor and aroma. The brewery also experiments with different brewing methods and aging techniques to create a wide range of sake styles, from light and fruity to rich and complex.

In addition to its focus on quality and innovation, Tsuji Honten is also committed to sustainability and environmental stewardship. The brewery uses renewable energy sources, such as solar power, and recycles all of its brewing byproducts, such as rice bran and sake lees, to reduce waste and minimize its carbon footprint.

Their unconventionality flows through to their sake making as they have bucked the region’s trend to produce a dryer than normal range. Also they have revived the ancient ‘bodaimoto’ method which predates the kimoto method commonly thought of as the oldest. One of the only handful brewery in Japan currently making sake using bodaimoto method. It brings a counterbalancing tart or, sour note to the sweetness.

But the namesake sake, Mimasaka is dry and truly embodies the style of Gozenshu. And their bodaimoto usu-nigori namagenshu muroka is one of our most popular sakes.

Being from Okayama region they use mainly ‘Omachi’ rice (the birthplace of Omachi is Okayama) which is considered the queen of all rice, best grown in the region and has a unique delicious taste. It is hard to grow because of its extreme hight and thus easy to lose to hurricane damage. Omachi is a very old strain of rice which is grown, almost exclusively, in Okayama Prefecture. Tsuji Honten excel in brewing this variety of rice and pride themselves on bringing out its rustic and earthy flavours. They offset the depth of flavour from the rice by using softer water from the Asahi River which is fed from the 110m high Kanba waterfall. Soft water generally produces clean and sweeter sake, thus, the juxtaposition of the two ingredients results in well-balanced, rich, clear tasting sake with buckets of umami.

In the future Tsuji Honten will concentrate and specialise in Omachi rice and Bodaimoto technique.

Their shuzo is located in Katsuyama, near to Maniwa which is in the centre of Okayama prefecture. Katsuyama town was chosen to be "one of the best 100 streets to stroll down" in Japan and it truly is a lovely place to visit. The beautiful buildings and streets were restored, in part, with funds raised by the Tsuji family. The town is famous for its bamboo basketry and also noren (traditional, fabric dividers hung on doors). The winters are mild with steady, average lows of just above freezing and gentle snow falls.

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