Kirinzan Brewery
Est. 1843, Niigata, Japan
Kirinzan are one of the most popular and prestigious sake breweries in Niigata, located below Mount Kirinzan. Local is the most important factor to Kirinzan. Sake rice is 100% Niigata local and over 90% of it is grown in their local town of Aga. Local soft water from the Tokonami river is used to brew the sake. And sake is brewed to match the tastes of the local people.
The present
Kirinzan is now in it’s 7th generation under Shuntaro Saito. There are 15 kurabito (brewery staff) including toji (master brewer) Kirinzan produces 5000 koku/1000kL of sake a year.
Their goal is to make sake with sake rice 100% from Aga in the near future. By making sake here, they want to contribute to the lives of the local people of Aga and would like people here to enjoy their sake with seasonal food.
The majority of Kirinzan sake is sold in Niigata, but is also to department stores, bottleshops and specialist sake shops Japan-wide. Overseas their sake can be found in the US, Singapore, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, France, Germany and Italy.
Kirinzan's philosophy is about using local ingredients to produce food friendly sake. In order to pair it with food, they consistently brew crisp, dry sake.
The soft water is created by the local environment where the fallen leaves of beech forests around the Tokonami River create a leaf mold soil which makes an excellent filter for the winter melted snow.
Kirinzan Dento Karakuchi, their most popular sake in Japan, also won Gold at the prestigious IWC 2018 (International Wine Challenge, Sake division). It has the taste of Niigata's traditional "tanrei-karakuchi" (light clean dry) sake style.
Their sake is so popular that you can find it in almost every single izakaya around Niigata station.
Sakeshop - Chef’s Armoury are the exclusive retail distributor for Kirinzan in Australia.
Kirinzan Sake Online
- Kirinzan Chokarakuchi
- Kirinzan Yukinoshita
- Kirinzan Nagareboshi (Blue)
- Kirinzan Kinunmo (Brown)
Kirinzan Umeshu Online
- Kirinzan also make a seasonal Kirinzan umeshu
View Kirinzan Sake Online
