Mountain
Moon (Gassan)
Yoshida Sake Brewing Co., ltd.
Shimane Prefecture
The
Award Winning Sake Brewery
Gassan,
also known as Yoshida Sake Brewing Co., Ltd., is
located in the small village of Yasugi. Yasugi is in
the very Southernmost Japanese Prefecture of Shimane.
The Kura or brewery was founded in 1743 and present
owner Tomonori Yoshida-san's family took over the
property in 1826; hence Yoshida-san is the 5th
generation of family involvement and ownership with
the Kura.
Over 200 years ago around Yasugi, the
Amago-clan was reigning over the Sanin district.
There, the clan established a castle where the feudal
lord of Amago resided in the Age of Civil Wars.
"GASSAN", took its premium sake brand name from the
mountain in this area. Their time-honored tradition of
sake brewing was established by special permission
from the feudal lord of the House of Hirose. They have
proudly maintained this tradition, handing down
brewing secrets from generation to generation for over
180 years.
Their sake has received the gold award over ten times
at the "Zenkoku Shinsyu Kanpyou Kai" (National
New-Brewed Sake Contest), the foremost and
authoritative contest in the Sake industry.
Gassan produces Tobin Sake
or competition sakes from 18-liter tobins. The Tobin
sake is very limited in production, but is marketed.
About their Fine
Sake
Production is small at 700 Koku (or
14,000 9-liter cases in wine terms). Seven sake types
are produced here by the ageless Master Toji,
Tanaka-san, who is 84 years young. At artisanal
breweries like Gassan water is all important and sure
enough all of the water is sourced from mountain
springs around Yasugi.
Typical of Western Style Sakes,
their Nihon-Shu is big boned, rich and round, and
balanced with lactic acid.
Why they got so many
awards?
To make quality sake, it
really depends on (1) Water, (2) Sake Rice, (3) Toji's
Skill.
1.
The Water Source:
Their sake is
brewed with fine and super soft water, which the lord
of the House of Hirose used in their tea ceremonies at
the end of Edo period.
(late
1800s)
The
water Gassan uses for their sake is recognized as one
of the best 100 waters in Japan. It was also known as
one of the highest quality water in the "Fumai-style
tea ceremony". Furthermore, as water varies according
to climate conditions, we specially blend in other
water sources to precisely control water hardness to
maintain our exacting brewing requirements.
2.
The Sake Rice:
Gassan does not
hesitate to use high quality rice even though it may
cost them. They focus on making outstanding sake for
sake lovers. The sake mai or rice types used are:
- Yamada Nishiki
- Gohyakumangoku
- Sakanishiki
- Kairyoomachi
- Kannumai
3.
The Master Toji's skills are superior to others:
The Master Toji Tanaka-san, is
certified as "Modern master craftsman" by Ministry of
Health, Labor and Welfare. The highly skilled people
(a wide variety of things such as an entertainment,
food, Metalwork, machine appliance assembling, repair,
the sewing of clothes, carpenter) can be certified as
"modern master craftsman " that Japanese government
wants Masters to pass the technique to the younger
generation.
Tanaka-san is also passing all of his
skills to younger toji, Adachi-san. The uniqueness of
Gassan is the mixture of Classic and Modern Toji
skills that effect the flavor in the end.
The Producer, Tomonori
Yoshida-san, is passionate to make quality sake
Certificate
This
is the certificate of "Seishu Senmon Hyoukasha" (Sake
Expert Assessor) that Tomonori Yoshida-san holds.
There are about only 50 people who are certified. Out
of all the 50, Yoshida-san is the Second person of the
beginning.
This certificate is presented by
Alcoholic beverage research institute, the best liquor
research organization in Japan.
Whoever certified as Sake Expert
Assessor, they can be called top taster, just like
Master Sommelier in Wine world.
Because the exams are so
difficult, there are still only about 50 people
certified.
Currently, there
are about 1300 Kura exist in Japan, but most Kurabito
(brewery people) do not hold such certificate. You
need not only knowledge of sake, but also tasting
skills to be certified. The producer, Yoshida-san is
giving a 100% effort to create high quality sake.
Above all results, Gassan's
sake is world-class sake
Gassan's
sake is very easy and smooth to drink. Their constant
pursuit of perfection has led to success at a national
level. Now this high quality sake is available in the
US.
The
Sake
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