Freshly Made!
The Allure of New Sake

'Kumamoto Yeast' was adopted as 'Kyokai No. 9 Yeast' by the Brewing Society of Japan and has been distributed throughout Japan since 1968, because of its excellent characteristics of being resistant to low temperatures and producing a great ginjo aroma. Kumamoto Prefecture Sake Institute is not only the brewer of 'Koro' but also serves as a research institute for 'Kumamoto Yeast'.
 
"Just like any yeast, Kumamoto Yeast tries to change for the worse if left alone. So we maintain it by replanting so it doesn't change, and that's an effort we make on a daily basis." Sake brewing begins in December and is finished by the end of March. "We have about eight employees, but much of our work is done manually; so we are quite busy during that time of year! With our pride in being brew masters in the most original style sake brewery in Kumamoto, we currently are working on about 10 varieties of the Koro brand," said Oda, speaking of the continuing efforts, and difficulties, of research and sake brewing.
 
The surrounding area where the Kumamoto Prefecture Sake Institute stands has many natural springs. In fact, the water veins of Kinposan Mountain flow on the north side and the veins from Aso Mountain flow in the south. For sake brewing, water from the Aso Mountain is pumped up from 120 meters below ground through three bedrocks!

Mr. Oda says, "If we do not continue to make excellent sake, the reputation of Kumamoto yeast will go down. It is our mission to preserve the traditional taste of sake made with Kumamoto Yeast while carefully utilizing the fine water and rice from Kumamoto. We hope we can share the results of our efforts in creating sake that meets the needs of the times, along with other Kumamoto Prefecture breweries, and contribute to the development of the industry, in Japan and worldwide."