The “Beau-Zone” Layer – Gakki Masamune Junmai & Okidaikichi Honten “Konnichiwa”
From Fukushima Prefecture.
Junmai. SMV: N/A Acidity: N/A
Cooking Sake. SMV: -25 Acidity: N/A
OK, why two brews for this month's Beau Zone Layer? Because when you visit a brewery that makes world class Junmai sake and equally world-class "cooking sake" under the same roof you just gotta shout out some love! On my last trip to Fukushima Prefecture I met a lot of really cool and really smart sake brewers, but none were as cool as Okidaikichi, who was and continues to be one of my sake brewing heroes. (And I hope he knows it!)
Ironically, I never wanted to write about Gakki Masamune sake, because I was afraid that we would sell too much of it and then I would not have any to take home with me! I was afraid that you would drink all of my favorite sake! And trust me when I say that I definitely cleared this with Mei and the team before writing this, just to make sure we had access to enough of this sake that they don't even sell at their brewery! (GM is so popular that they sell everything they make in a heartbeat, and almost the same with their cooking sake, which is aged and then snapped up.) In a word, the Junmai is their prototypical style. It's fresh, light, effervescent, and has a lick of acidity that elevates the flavors and feel.
The Junmai drinks magically! That's it. It's magical in the way it goes down the palate. And that is why the cooking sake, made in a different week using all of the same equipment and kurabito, is equally magical for what it is... an umami tidal wave in the bottle. It is not sweet like Mirin, but it is a -25 SMV that actually requires all of that umami to push through! It's essentially liquid umami, and Okidaikichi was stoked when I said our customers use it for marinating, stir-frying, and more. He wasn't so stoked when I said some of our customers drink it like sake. "No," he said, shaking his head, "I wouldn't do that!" But it's OK.
I'll write more about this incredible brewery, but you should try these brews sooner rather than later, because there is a chance I will drink all of our inventory while cooking with "Konnichiwa."