Gunma Springs: A comfortable, soothing spring that soaks into your body

Shimaoka Sake Brewery, founded in 3 in Ota City, Gunma Prefecture, has been making sake using the abundant spring water from the Akagi mountain range and locally grown rice, taking advantage of the region's rich natural environment. The sake, brewed slowly and carefully using the traditional "kimoto-kei yamahai brewing" method, is called "Gunma Izumi." It is full of rich flavor, exuding vitality, yet with a complex mellowness. Its pleasant taste seeps into the body and makes the drinker feel at ease, without getting tired of it even if they drink it every day.

"Evolving but not changing" sake brewing

Shimaoka Sake Brewery is one of the few sake breweries in Japan that has inherited the "kimoto-kei yamahai brewing" method, which makes the most of the power of nature, since its founding. The brewery has always valued "remaining unchanged." However, this does not mean that they will continue to make the exact same thing. Sake is refined with the times, and it must continue to be something that can be "drinked for generations to come." The brewery's policy is to "evolve, but not change," and to continue to evolve as necessary in order to be "drinkable for generations to come" without change.

Yamahai-style craftsmanship that faces nature

"Kimoto-style Yamahai brewing" is a delicate method that cannot be achieved without the Japanese winter climate, microorganisms, and the skills of the brewers to bring out the best in them. Shimaoka Sake Brewery maintains the traditional sake brewing method with the help of natural lactic acid bacteria and microorganisms such as koji that have lived in the brewery for many years. Yamahai brewing requires fewer artificial steps, so the brewer's skill and experience are essential. It is supported by the observational eyes of the master brewer who does not miss any changes. This method is backed up by locally grown sake rice such as "Wakamizu" and "Maikaze," and water with high hardness that is ideal for kimoto brewing. In addition, the finished sake is aged for 1 to 2 years before being shipped, except for the new sake, so in addition to the strength typical of Yamahai, it is given a mellowness and complex flavor that comes with age.

A bottle that could be the future of Japanese sake

The bold and complex "Gunma Izumi" is a sake with a completely different personality from the flashy types of sake that are trendy these days or the sakes that are entered into competitions, but in recent years, as more diversity has been required in sake, it has also been highly acclaimed in external settings such as competitions. Now that a trend has emerged in Japan that values ​​aging, just like overseas, the traditional "Gunma Izumi" could be a sake that will lead the new future of sake.