Surprising sake in Aomori

Business Times

08-05-2025

IN HACHINOHE, eight drunken immortals had a role to play in boosting the city's reputation for sake making. It's how its most famous brewery Mutsu Hassen got its name, with Mutsu referring to the Tohoku region in northern Honshu, and Hassen alluding to this legendary group of undying bar-hoppers. With an arsenal of eight regular sakes, and 30 seasonal and limited edition varieties, you can understand why they couldn't stay sober.
Mutsu Hassen has a long history dating back to 1740, when its founder first arrived in Tohoku. Today, 250 years later, the brewery's ninth generation descendant, Hideyuki Komai, continues the tradition of making sake out of rice grown only in Aomori, clear spring water from Kanisawa, and Aomori yeasts.
According to Komai, the rice grown in frigid Aomori is stronger, and more resistant to pests. 'It doesn't go bad easily,' he says in Japanese.
Compared to Hachinohe's small population of just over 200,000, Hassen's annual production is sizeable, at 300,000 bottles of 1.8 litres each. Most of it is consumed in Tohoku and Tokyo, and predictably, it's the ubiquitous drink in Hachinohe with over 70 per cent of its restaurants serving it on their premises.
Innovative and playful style
Hassen's repertoire runs the gamut of award-winning Junmai, Junmai Ginjo, Junmai Dai-ginjo, Ginjo and Dai-ginjo – the perfect accompaniment to Japanese cuisine.
It also has a playful side that makes it stand out from other staid sake brands. Take its special edition bottle of Junmai Dai-ginjo Nama, which is famous for its laterally inverted label. Komai jokes that it's a misprint, but fans can't get enough of it. Immediately sold out after its annual release in February, this unpasteurised pure rice sake without added alcohol is made with 50 per cent polished rice. Fresh and slightly fruity, with a long finish on the dry side, it pairs well with raw fish or karaage (fried chicken).
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Mutsu Hassen is the most famous sake brewery in Hachinohe. PHOTO: JAIME EE/BT
Hassen uses enamel tanks for fermentation, but Komai's less traditional approach also includes ageing sake and shochu, or Japanese distilled spirits, in oak or cypress barrels, for a softer, more complex profile.
But, what is most special about his modern take on the traditional Japanese beverage is the wide range of Hassen sake with bubbles or white wine features. The result is sake with acidity that pairs perfectly with Western cuisine like Italian or French. But why the pivot?
Komai attributes it to the industry's move some 20 years ago to appeal to younger adults who found traditional styles too dry for them.
'In the past, acidity was not seen as a good attribute of sake. But after the popularity of other types of cuisines, we added acidity to match them,' he says.
Sparkling and fruity-tasting sake followed, as did the reduced alcohol content from the usual 15 per cent or 16 per cent.
'The alcohol content is lower because people were more used to wine, which was becoming more mainstream. It is also easier to drink when there is less alcohol.'
Not black and white
To create sake that tastes like white wine, Komai varies the type of koji mould used. He takes a special yellow koji, then adds some white koji, which is not typically used in sake production (there is also black koji, but that is reserved for shochu).
'The white koji is in the base fermentation mash to give the acidity, then we add the yellow. For sparkling sake, only white koji is used.'
Hassen introduced the technique about eight years ago after Komai's younger brother and master brewer, Nobuyuki, visited an Akita brewery famed for its nama sake and began experimenting with white koji.
An eye on exports
The move towards modern sake is also motivated by another reason – the export market. Sake consumption in Japan is dropping amid an ageing population and the changing tastes of younger consumers.
For now, 80 per cent of Hassen production goes to Tohoku and Tokyo equally, while 15 per cent is taken up by Hokkaido and Kyushu. Only 5 per cent is exported.
To make sake more appealing worldwide, Hassen is making sake that matches international palates. It's not just rolling out new types that are sparkling, like champagne, or fruity and less dry, like white wine, but also new ways of making it. For example, the seasonal Hassen Junmai Dai-ginjo Nama is aged for one year at -5 degrees Celsius – unusual for sake which is often drunk fresh or within 12 months, not to mention more expensive. The reason?
'The sake becomes sweeter because of the increased amino acids,' explains Komai.
How to wine and dine with sake
Sake is a no-brainer match for Japanese cuisine or washoku. But without the acidity common in white or red wine, it's hard to pair it with non-Japanese cuisines like French or Italian.
Hassen's solution is to incoporate acidity by using different types and combinations of koji mould. In sake brewing, koji is introduced to first break down the starch in rice into sugars, before yeast is used to convert the sugars into alcohol. Hassen's Aomori yeasts are also able to impart the fruitiness displayed by some of its sakes.
One prime example is its use of multiple indigenous rice types and yeasts in its flagship Hassenblage sake. A portmanteau of 'Hassen' and 'assemblage', this premium Junmai Dai-ginjo sake is a blend made with four types of Aomori rice and four Aomori yeasts for a fruity and crisp wine-like profile. Komai says that its fruitiness makes it a good match with Italian food.
Meanwhile, Isaribi is a light and dry Tokubetsu Junmai sake with some acidity and apple and banana aromas, making it a good match for Hachinohe's plentiful mackerel and squid. But this award winner is also excellent with something you wouldn't associate with Japanese food – Parmigiano cheese and aged pork. Komai shares that after a few months in the bottle, it develops even more umami for a richer finish.
'Hassen's philosophy is to make a sake for every course and every cuisine. For example, by changing the proportion of the koji used, our junmai daiginjo tastes like white wine.'
Hassen Blanc, a Junmai with prominent acidity, easily passes for white Bordeaux, or sauvignon blanc, in a blind tasting. It's a perfect match with oily saba, or mackerel, and kohada – gizzard shad marinated in vinegar.
Hassen 8000 Dry Sparkling is a Junmai with bubbles that is a good alternative to champagne brut. Creamy with grapefruit notes, it is ideal with cheese, cream or anything rich.
Interestingly, that's not Hassen's only sparkling sake. Milky Sparkle is a slightly fruity and unfiltered Junmai Ginjo Nigori, with a light sweetness that goes well with dessert, and even Chinese food.
There is also Natural Sparkling Sec in a 500 ml bottle, slightly smaller than the standard 720 ml. This slightly dry Junmai has almost imperceptible bubbles and is so easy to drink that it will match anything deep fried or grilled, like karaage or yakiniku.
Fruity or sweet, sparkling or dry, Hassen goes where no other sake has gone before.