Yamakiu Sugioke-Brewed Ginjo Shoyu (ヤマキウ 杉桶仕込み吟醸)

The story behind it

This brewery is known by the name of its sake, Taiheizan. The order of things, though, was the other way around.

In 1879, the founder Kodama Kumenosuke began by producing shoyu (soy sauce) and miso. Sake brewing did not start until 1913, more than thirty years later. The company is still the largest miso maker in Akita.

This bottle is a tennen jozo (naturally brewed, no temperature control) shoyu, brewed in cedar barrels and rested for more than two years. Even after tank brewing over a few months became the norm, they kept the barrels and the time. Two years shows in the way the aroma carries.

People sometimes call it shoyu from a sake brewery. For this brewery, the shoyu came first.