Ishii Shinshu Sannen Miso (石井味噌 信州三年味噌)

The story behind it

Shinshu miso accounts for roughly half of all miso made in Japan. Most of it is fast-fermented and ready in a few months. Ishii Miso in Matsumoto still holds to three years.

Founded in 1868. Japanese soybeans and spring water from the Northern Alps go into cedar barrels for a full 3 years of tennen jozo (naturally brewed, no temperature control), passing through "two winters and two midsummers." Fermentation moving that slowly builds a deep reddish-brown richness and a saltiness with no hard edge.

On efficiency alone, three years makes no sense. They wait because the flavor gives them a reason to. Step inside the brewery and the cedar barrels stand in rows, as if time itself were aging in there.