iwakuni

Episode 135. Ready, Set, GO! This week, John and Timothy explore another brand profile: Gokyo Five from Sakai Shuzo in Yamaguchi Prefecture. Yes, we are returning not only to Yamaguchi, but also to the town of Iwakuni for this week’s episode. The town is famous for it’s 5 arched Kintai Bridge and Gokyo “GO”  FIVE (Go means 5 in Japanese) is a fun brand that explores seasonality and highlights the brewery’s dedication to “kioke” or wooden sake brewing vats. While breweries across Japan abandoned wooden vats to use for fermentation decades ago, Sakai Shuzo is bringing back this tradition coupled with a kimoto fermentation stater for good measure. The resulting sakes are educational to learn about and absolutely delicious to taste. Let’s GOOOO! #SakeRevolution

Episode 129. This week we focus our spotlight on sake and stories from another prefecture: Yamaguchi!  Well known in Japan as the home to the poisonous but delicious Fugu (Japanese blowfish aka pufferfish), there are a number of outstanding breweries in the Prefecture. Located on the far western tip of Japan's main Honshu island, Yamaguchi is not close to Tokyo, but does have easy access to Hiroshima. To dip our toe into the wide world of Yamaguchi sake, we taste the stunning Gangi Mizunowa Junmai Ginjo. This expressive and fruity brew elegantly layers pineapple, mango and a whisper of floral notes to create a silky smooth and enjoyable aroma and flavor.  But does it pair with Fugu?  Listen in and discover a bit of what Yamaguchi sake has to offer. #sakerevolution