After a nice morning dip in the onsen hot spring, I was on my way to Akita Station to board Shinkansen. On my agenda today is visiting Také No Tsuyu Brewery, located in Haguro Village in the city of Tsuruoka in Yamagata Prefecture. Welcoming me at Tsuruoka Station was Aisawa-san.
今朝は温泉に入り、秋田駅へ。今日は竹の露合資会社の見学の為、山形県鶴岡市羽黒町へ向う予定。鶴岡駅では相沢さんがお迎えに来てくれた。
First thing we did after arriving at the brewery was to go out for lunch. Aisawa-san chose a local restaurant located amidst rice paddies, known for their hand-made soba. "Yama No Sobaya" specializes in thick and coarse "inaka-style" soba. We ordered the hot version, with its generous topping of roast pork and fried tofu. The combination of flavorful soup and firm texture of the soba was simply out of this world.
蔵元に到着したら真っ先にランチ。相沢さんのお勧めは田んぼに囲まれた「山の蕎麦屋」で田舎蕎麦。蕎麦は自家栽培で、ジューシーなチャーシューと油揚げ付き。味が確りした蕎麦汁と蕎麦の歯ごたえが最高。
Mr. and Mrs. Aisawa in front of the entrance to the brewery.
相沢夫婦と蔵の前で記念写真。
My first impression about Také No Tsuyu is extremely clean. That is not to say that other breweries are filthy, but at Také No Tsuyu, nothing seemed out of place.
蔵の印象と言えば、清潔感が溢れる。これは決して他の蔵が不潔と言う事では無く、竹の露の全てがキッチリされているからだ。
The first place Aisawa-san showed me was the tank where they keep well water. (The next entry will be dedicated to the water and rice of Také No Tsuyu.) Needless to say, Aisawa-san takes great pride in his water.
蔵の見学は水の説明から始まった。これが井戸水の貯蔵タンク。(次のポストは竹の露の水・米の詳しい説明。)相沢さんの話を聞くと、「水は命」の意味が十分解る。
This machine steams then cools the rice.
米を蒸してから冷やすマシーン。
Tank for the yeast starter. The aroma is quite something.
酒母タンク。酒母の香りも最高。
Nestled in the back of the brewery are fermentation tanks.
蔵の置くには仕込みのタンクが。
Right outside this room is a bamboo forest that inspired the name of the brewery (loosely translated as, "Bamboo Dew.") The shade offered by bamboo forest and cool draft descending Mt. Gassan provide ideal environment for aging and storing saké, even over the summer.
仕込みタンク部屋を囲んでいるのは蔵の名前の由来になる竹林。竹林の木陰と月山おろしが夏でも醗酵・貯蔵に快適な環境を作ってくれる。
This machine manages cultivation of koji mold. Their data management is very meticulous.
これは純米酒用の麹を管理する機械。竹の露ではデータの管理も徹底している。
Daiginjo-grade koji mold is manually managed by brewers in koji room in the 2nd floor.
大吟醸用の麹は2階の麹室で。勿論、職人の手作業。
After the tour, I went to onsen hot spring, then Aisawa-san took us for sushi dinner. Také No Tsuyu sakés went exceptionally well with the finely prepared sashimi by the sushi master of Happo Sushi. As we came straight from the hot springs, we don't have pictures for obvious reasons. After returning to brewery, we prepared for some evening work. Of course, preparation involved indulging in Hakuro Suishu sakés...
見学の後は先ず温泉。入浴後は和服へ着替えて、すし屋へ向かった。「八方すし」はマスターが繊細な腕を披露し、刺身と「竹の露」のお酒は最高のペアリング。温泉から直接向かったので、残念だが写真は無い。蔵に戻ったら、夜の作業の準備。その意味は「はくろすいしゅを」を飲むことであった...
今朝は温泉に入り、秋田駅へ。今日は竹の露合資会社の見学の為、山形県鶴岡市羽黒町へ向う予定。鶴岡駅では相沢さんがお迎えに来てくれた。
First thing we did after arriving at the brewery was to go out for lunch. Aisawa-san chose a local restaurant located amidst rice paddies, known for their hand-made soba. "Yama No Sobaya" specializes in thick and coarse "inaka-style" soba. We ordered the hot version, with its generous topping of roast pork and fried tofu. The combination of flavorful soup and firm texture of the soba was simply out of this world.蔵元に到着したら真っ先にランチ。相沢さんのお勧めは田んぼに囲まれた「山の蕎麦屋」で田舎蕎麦。蕎麦は自家栽培で、ジューシーなチャーシューと油揚げ付き。味が確りした蕎麦汁と蕎麦の歯ごたえが最高。
Mr. and Mrs. Aisawa in front of the entrance to the brewery.相沢夫婦と蔵の前で記念写真。
My first impression about Také No Tsuyu is extremely clean. That is not to say that other breweries are filthy, but at Také No Tsuyu, nothing seemed out of place.蔵の印象と言えば、清潔感が溢れる。これは決して他の蔵が不潔と言う事では無く、竹の露の全てがキッチリされているからだ。
The first place Aisawa-san showed me was the tank where they keep well water. (The next entry will be dedicated to the water and rice of Také No Tsuyu.) Needless to say, Aisawa-san takes great pride in his water.蔵の見学は水の説明から始まった。これが井戸水の貯蔵タンク。(次のポストは竹の露の水・米の詳しい説明。)相沢さんの話を聞くと、「水は命」の意味が十分解る。
This machine steams then cools the rice.米を蒸してから冷やすマシーン。
Tank for the yeast starter. The aroma is quite something.酒母タンク。酒母の香りも最高。
Nestled in the back of the brewery are fermentation tanks.蔵の置くには仕込みのタンクが。
Right outside this room is a bamboo forest that inspired the name of the brewery (loosely translated as, "Bamboo Dew.") The shade offered by bamboo forest and cool draft descending Mt. Gassan provide ideal environment for aging and storing saké, even over the summer.仕込みタンク部屋を囲んでいるのは蔵の名前の由来になる竹林。竹林の木陰と月山おろしが夏でも醗酵・貯蔵に快適な環境を作ってくれる。
This machine manages cultivation of koji mold. Their data management is very meticulous.これは純米酒用の麹を管理する機械。竹の露ではデータの管理も徹底している。
Daiginjo-grade koji mold is manually managed by brewers in koji room in the 2nd floor.大吟醸用の麹は2階の麹室で。勿論、職人の手作業。
After the tour, I went to onsen hot spring, then Aisawa-san took us for sushi dinner. Také No Tsuyu sakés went exceptionally well with the finely prepared sashimi by the sushi master of Happo Sushi. As we came straight from the hot springs, we don't have pictures for obvious reasons. After returning to brewery, we prepared for some evening work. Of course, preparation involved indulging in Hakuro Suishu sakés...見学の後は先ず温泉。入浴後は和服へ着替えて、すし屋へ向かった。「八方すし」はマスターが繊細な腕を披露し、刺身と「竹の露」のお酒は最高のペアリング。温泉から直接向かったので、残念だが写真は無い。蔵に戻ったら、夜の作業の準備。その意味は「はくろすいしゅを」を飲むことであった...
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