[Akita Prefecture] Shimizu's people, rice, and sake king ``Hideyoshi'' Growing up and the taste of hometown

editorial staff
2021.12.08
Last updated: 2023.06.9

table of contents

1 Looking back, my hometown is a ``suitable area for sake brewing.''
2 Food preferences, alcohol and local cuisine
3 Speaking of southern Akita Prefecture, it is sweet potato soup.

The image is located in Daisen City (formerly Nakasen Town), Akita Prefecture.Suzuki Sake BreweryAutumn limited edition"Hideyoshi Cloud"。

It is a relatively new brand with a sister product, a summer limited Ginjo version with a blue label. The autumn version of Orange Label is a special pure rice sake with a rice polishing ratio of 65%.

Sake rice is“You’re so hot.”100％、AK-1 yeastThe flavor is brewed in a well-balanced manner and can be enjoyed both cold and hot, making it the perfect flavor for the fall and winter season. We carefully select sake from among the new spring-picked sake that will be ready to drink around autumn, and considering the time and effort involved, and the quality. A product with excellent cost performanceI can say that.

Since it is a seasonal item, opportunities to obtain it are limited, but you can check a small amount in stock on various mail order sites.

So, this timeSuzuki Sake Brewery's signature brand "Hideyoshi"I would like to introduce you to the scenery surrounding the brewery and local cuisine.

Looking back, my hometown is a ``suitable area for sake brewing.''

In "Hideyoshi""Sake King"It is named after the adjective. It is not a self-proclaimed name, but it is an old Edo period, This is why it was praised by the Satake clan, the feudal lord at the time, as ``excellent and worthy of excellence'' and ``the true king of sake.''That's what it says.

The company's brand name when it was founded was "Hatsu Arashi."

The former Nakasen-cho, where the brewery is located, is located in the middle of the Senboku Plain, Akita's leading grain producing region, right in the heart of Nakasen, an area with rich water veins surrounded by the Ou Mountains to the east and the Dewa Hills to the west.

Even now, many villages and houses use community pumps to pump up well water for daily use, and there is even a district nearby called Shimizu.

Due to the snow brought about by the winter atmospheric pressure distribution of high in the west and low in the east, and the blessings brought by the underground water of the Ou Mountains that collects the snow, it has been one of the regions that supported Akita's rice producing region, with little drought or cold damage since ancient times.

The history of the breweries that took root there is old, dating back to the Edo-Genroku period, and the founder is said to have come from Ise (present-day Mie Prefecture). I'm always curious about how it came to take root in Akita, but I can't help but feel a strong pioneering spirit.

It seems that this spirit is still alive in the brewery, and the brewery is always looking for ways to enjoy sake that suit the times.We featured "Cloud" here, but from traditional products to low-malt sake, We send out items that everyone should pick up at least once.

In addition, in 2019, local"Roadside Station Nakasen"toDirectly managed restaurant “Kurado”and is moving forward with the development of new fields together with the local community.

Food preferences, alcohol and local cuisine

Now, I took the trouble to get my hands on Hideyoshi's seasonal sake. What should I bring?

This makes me think that as people get older, their food preferences change, or rather, they become broader, and if they like alcohol, their criteria becomes ``whether or not it goes well with alcohol.''

Even if you don't have much interest in it as a child, it becomes your favorite food as an adult.Overall, local cuisine has a strong element of this.

For example, Akita's local cuisine is Kiritanpo Nabe. It is truly a sophisticated dish that satisfies the tastes of drinkers.

The flavor, which emphasizes the wildness of the ingredients, which is something that children don't like, is even more appealing when enjoyed with alcohol.

Although this is a very personal opinion, I can't help but think that when you start to love the combination of local food and sake, it's a kind of gateway to adulthood. In that case, we have Kiritanpo Nabe available.

As I'd like to say, Hideyoshi's hometown, southern Akita Prefecture, offers a different kind of hotpot experience.

Speaking of southern Akita Prefecture, it is sweet potato soup.

Yes, "Imo-no-kojiru" is the culmination of the blessings of Yamano.

In fact, when it comes to hot pot in southern Akita Prefecture, the main dish is sweet potato soup.

There is no absolute recipe for the ingredients to go with the sweet potato soup, but we mainly use taro, green onions, shirataki or fried tofu, and the meat is chicken or pork.Sometimes, at my house, the star of the hotpot is from kiritanpo to taro. Sometimes things just change.

If you add mushrooms and other ingredients, you'll have a masterpiece that's perfect to accompany alcohol. Both soy sauce and miso versions are available.

In addition, local elementary schools have long held a ``Nabekko field trip'' as an annual autumn event.

The 6th grade students plan and plan the event, and they go to a nearby riverbank and work on the production from the start of the fire.Although the menu is free to choose, the most popular dish is the sweet potato soup made with miso.

I later learned that these outdoor activities for children are an original custom of Akita.

If I have a chance, I would like to find out if it shares some roots with the famous "Imonikai" in neighboring Yamagata.

Personally, I think Akita sake has a rich, sweet flavor.

Strangely enough, as I get older, I start to miss the taste these days. As I get older and experience the changes in my tastes, I realize that there is still a long way to go on the ladder to adulthood.

So, tonight I'm having some sweet potato soup with Hideyoshi Cloud in hand.