sake

Hideyoshi Cloud

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

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

This relatively new brand has a sister product, the Blue Label Ginjo version, which is only available in summer. The Orange Label Autumn version is a special Junmai sake with a rice polishing ratio of 65%.

Sake rice"That's cute."100％、AK-1 yeastIt is brewed with a balanced flavor that can be enjoyed both cold and hot, making it the perfect taste for the autumn and winter seasons. We carefully taste the new sake harvested in spring and select the ones that are ready to drink in autumn. Considering the time and effort required and the quality,Extremely cost-effective productWe can say that

As this is a seasonal product, opportunities to purchase it are becoming more limited, but there is a limited amount of stock available on various online shopping sites.

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

Looking back, my hometown is a "good place for sake brewing"

"Hideyoshi""Sake King"It is not a self-proclaimed name, but rather, in the Edo period,The reason is that the feudal lord at the time, Satake, praised it as "outstanding" and "the true king of sake."That's what they said.

Apparently, the brand name used at the time of the company's founding was "Hatsuarashi."

The former Nakasen town where the storehouse is located is located in the very center of the Senboku Plain, one of Akita's leading grain-producing areas, right in the "Nakasen" area, surrounded by the Ou Mountains to the east and the Dewa Hills to the west, in an area rich in water veins.

Even today, many villages and homes use community pumps to pump well water for daily use, and there is even a nearby area called "Shimizu."

Thanks to the snow brought by the winter atmospheric pressure pattern of high pressure in the west and low pressure in the east, and the underground water of the Ou Mountains that collects that snow, this region has long been free from droughts and cold damage, making it one of the areas that has supported the rice-producing region of Akita.

The brewery here has a long history, dating back to the Edo Genroku period, and its founder is said to have come from Ise (present-day Mie Prefecture). It is endlessly fascinating to wonder how it came to take root in Akita, but one cannot help but sense a strong pioneering spirit.

This spirit seems to still live on at the brewery, which is always seeking ways to enjoy sake that are in line with the times. We have featured "Cloud" here, but the brewery produces a variety of products that are worth trying at least once, from traditional items to happoshu (low-malt beer).

In addition, in 2019,"Nakasen Roadside Station"toDirectly managed restaurant "Kurato"They have established a new facility and are working together with the local community to pioneer new fields.

Food preferences, alcohol, and local cuisine

Now that you've finally managed to get your hands on Hideyoshi's seasonal limited edition sake, what should you pair it with?

This got me thinking, as people get older, their food preferences change, or rather, become more diverse, and if they enjoy alcohol, their criteria become whether or not the food goes well with alcohol.

Even if you aren't particularly interested in it as a child, it can become a favorite food as you become an adult, and local cuisine generally has strong elements of this nature.

For example, Kiritanpo hotpot is a local dish of Akita, and it is a sophisticated dish that appeals to the tastes of drinkers.

The flavor of this dish, which highlights the rustic taste of the ingredients and may not be to your liking as a child, seems to be even more appealing when enjoyed with alcohol.

This is a very personal opinion, but I can't help but think that once you start to love the combination of local food and sake, it's a kind of gateway to adulthood. In that case, I've prepared a kiritanpo hotpot for you.

That's what I would like to say, but there is another kind of hotpot experience that can only be found in Hideyoshi's hometown, southern Akita Prefecture.

Southern Akita Prefecture is famous for its imonoko soup

Yes, "Imonoko Soup" is the culmination of the bounty of the mountains and fields.

In fact, in southern Akita Prefecture, imonoko soup is the most popular hot pot dish.

There is no set recipe for the ingredients that go into imonoko soup, but the ingredients are usually taro, green onions, shirataki noodles, fried tofu, and meat, either chicken or pork. Sometimes, in my house, the main ingredient in the hot pot is simply changed from kiritanpo to taro.

If you add mushrooms, it becomes a delicious dish that goes well with sake. It can be served with either soy sauce or miso.

In addition, local elementary schools have long held the "Nabekko Field Trip" as an annual autumn event.

The event is planned and conceived mainly by sixth graders, who then head to a nearby riverbank and get to work starting the fire.While the menu is free to choose, the most popular dish is the miso-flavored imonoko soup.

I later learned that these outdoor activities for children are a custom that originated in Akita.

If I have the opportunity, I would like to find out if it shares any roots with the famous Imoni-kai (sweet potato stew) in neighboring Yamagata.

Personally, I think that Akita sake is originally characterized by its rich, sweet flavor.

Strangely enough, as I get older, I find myself yearning for that taste. As I experience these changes in my tastes as I get older, I feel that I still have a long way to go before I reach adulthood.

So tonight I'll have some imonoko soup with a bottle of Hideyoshi Cloud in hand.

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