Kunimare Shuzo (国稀酒造株式会社)

What kind of brewery is Kunimare Shuzo?

The founder, Honma Taizo, moved to Mashike in 1875 and started a kimono shop there. Through an acquaintance who ran a sake shop in Sado, he decided to brew sake locally, and for about twenty years the brewing took place in a storehouse on the grounds of the original head shop. As herring fishing boomed and demand grew, a new stone brewery built from local soft stone was completed at the present site in 1902. The company became a general partnership that year and took its current name in 2001. The flagship brand, Kunimare, was originally called Kuninoho and was renamed after General Nogi Maresuke, according to the company's account.

Water

Groundwater rising from the snowmelt source of the Shokanbetsu mountain range supplies the clean water used for brewing. The water is soft, with a hardness of 18 to 20 on the American scale.

Ingredients

The limited Kunimare Junmai Daiginjo uses 100% Yamada Nishiki from Hyogo Prefecture.

Other

The brewery makes a dry junmai sake using a generation method with lactic acid bacteria native to the brewery.

Can you visit Kunimare Shuzo?

• Tours

  Brewery tours run from 9:00 to 16:30, open all year except over New Year. Groups of 10 or more should book in advance.

• Shop

  There is a shop and a free tasting corner, but people who drive are asked not to taste.

• Tasting & foodOffered

Hours and booking rules change, so check before you go. Official website

Other brewery tours in Hokkaido

Compiled with AI from public pages, mainly the brewery’s own site (not yet checked by the brewery)Sources: kunimare.co.jp