Ōyama Tokubetsu Junmai [1 Koku - 38]

From Yamagata Prefecture's Kahachiro Kato Shuzo, which traces its roots well past its foundation in 1872 to the early Edo period, when the local breweries were so numerous and popular that Ōyama town even drew comparisons to Nada in Kōbe. Like most breweries today, Kahachiro Kato has modernized and mechanized many of the brewing process, but somewhat unusually, the technology has been largely developed in-house in order to best preserve their traditional methods. Staying put by moving forward. Reminds me of someone.

Ōyama is no longer thick on the ground with breweries, so one might say Kahachiro Kato's Ōyama sake is both representative of and a tribute to this small bit of sake culture. This tokubetsu junmai is made from Sasa-Nishiki milled to 60%, SMV +6, acidity 1.3, amino acidity 1.1, 15.5% abv. The sake is brewed with the Yamagata strain of Kumamoto KA yeast, also known as #9. Nose is sweetish and clean, with notes of watermelon and not-quite-ripe banana skins. On the palate, this enters light and smooth, with moderate sweetness and touch of tangy springwater, before progressively gaining in body and dryness until it finishes lightly starchy with notable bitters and plenty of lingering, steely minerality. R. was very happy with this selection.