What kind of sake brand is 山間 Yanma?

07/04/2022

Indulge yourself with the charm of the sake “Yanma" brewed in Niigata Prefecture

When you put sake in your mouth, the harmony of umami, sweetness, acidity, and aroma creates a unique taste.

The “Yanma" made by Niigata Daiichi Sake Brewery is the ultimate go-to brand in the unique world of sake.

How did Niigata’s sake “Yanma" reached the “ultimate taste"?

Contents

“Yanma" aiming for “ultimate taste"

The secrecy of the Niigata Daiichi Sake Brewery

Recommended variations  of Yanma

Summary

“Yanma" aiming for “ultimate taste"

“Yanma" is a sake brewed by Yoshinori Takeda, the fourth generation, and is a sake made in Niigata prefecture with the concept of “ultimate taste".

After eight years of secret tasting by Mr. Takeda, he finally reaches the ideal taste. Launched in 2007, it quickly became popular and became a hard-to-find sake.

What kind of taste is the sake “Yanma" that Mr. Takeda himself admitted as “ultimate taste"?

“Yanma" taste

 By just taking a sip of Yanma, you can understand what the “ultimate taste" is.

The moment it touches your tongue, you will feel the taste that is unique to Kameguchi. The fresh and refreshing scent that makes you feel the fruit quickly spreads, the gentle and strong sweetness stimulates the tongue freshly. This combination of sweetness and umani will create a unique flavor that will draw you into the Yanma world!

You can enjoy the fascinating taste that people who drink it once will surely become repeaters.
Also, because it is a popular brand and difficult to obtain, some people say, “If you see it, you have to buy it!"

What is “9号 (No. 9)" written on the label?

If you look closely at the label in the Yanma, you will see letters such as “H29 BY 9号".

“BY" stands for Brew Year and refers to the brewing year. In the case of “H29 BY No. 9号", it means that it was brewed in 2017.
On the other hand, “No. 9" means the number of the brewing tank and refers to the sake brewed in the 9th tank of the year.

In the Yanma, the aroma and taste differ depending on the tank.
Therefore, it seems to be one of the pleasures to identify the brewing year and tank and compare the drinks.

The secrecy of the Niigata Daiichi Sake Brewery

“Niigata Daiichi Sake Brewery" creates the “ultimate taste" of  Yanma.

Next, let’s introduce Niigata Daiichi Sake Brewery.

Sake brewery without Toji (Brewer)

Niigata Daiichi Sake Brewery was founded in 1922 (Taisho 11) as Kameya Sake Brewery.
Kameya Sake Brewery merged with three neighboring breweries in 1963, in 1965, and it merged with another brewery to form Niigata Daiichi Sake Brewery.

Niigata Daiichi Sake Brewery has a history of less than 100 years, but surprisingly there is no Toji or brewer in the brewery.
This is because the motto is to make a drop of “friends with the same ambition" as one, and only employees who are hired annually make sake.
Therefore, the “brewing manager" is in charge of spearheading the sake brewing.

In addition to continuing to brew sake non-stop from November to March of the following year, employees are responsible for all of the many tasks such as sales, delivery, accounting, clerical work, refining, packing, labeling, packaging, and shipping. I am doing it.

Because we have a common sense of purpose among our employees, “I want to see the smiles of our customers," we are confident that we will demonstrate teamwork and “a professional group that you can understand if you drink," instead of the top-level sake brewing centered on the brewer. It is possible to make sake that is second to none.

The motto “Sake brewing that conveys peace, joy and emotion"

“Niigata Daiichi Sake Brewery" is brewing sake with the hope that people who drank in the Yanma can enjoy and relax themselves.
We continue to brew sake with a stoic attitude of sticking to it until we are satisfied with it, without compromising.

Even if we reach the ultimate, we cannot help but love Mr. Takeda’s humility and stoicism, which aims for the ultimate.

 Recommended variations of “Yanma"

Finally, We will introduce the recommended products in the Yanma! please check it!

山間 純米吟醸 仕込み1号 中採り直詰め 無濾過生原酒 Junmai Ginjo Preparation No. 1 Medium-picked direct-packed unfiltered raw sake

The first Yanma in 2018. It is an unfiltered raw sake of Junmai Ginjo that is directly packed with the middle-picked part during squeezing. The characteristic of medium-sized pickles is that the taste will increase even after opening. You can feel the freshness and well-balanced sweetness and umami!

Summary

The “ultimate" sake “Yanma" produced by Mr. Takeda after repeated research.
Its popularity is so great that it is sold out soon after it arrives at each liquor store.

Please experience the taste of the Yanma your tongue, which you will never forget once you drink it!

END.