Okamura Honke (株式会社岡村本家)
Okamura Honke is a brewery in Toyosato, Shiga, making the Kinki and Taisei brands. It still uses traditional steps such as wooden-hull bag pressing. It was founded in 1854.
What kind of brewery is Okamura Honke?
Brewing at Okamura Honke began in 1854, when the eighth head of the family started making sake under a brother's name to meet a service obligation to the Hikone domain, paying sake as tax in place of rice. After 1860, when the family gave up that service, it concentrated on brewing. The company was set up as a stock company in December 1959. Brewing paused in 1992 and resumed the next year. The toji has led brewing since 1999, and a sixth-generation head took over in 2009.
- Water
- Rice is hand-washed in groundwater from the Suzuka mountains.
- Ingredients
- The rice is Omi rice grown by farmers within about 10 km of the brewery, including sake rice Ginfubuki and Tamasakae.
- Master brewer
- The brewery follows the Noto style of brewing learned from an earlier toji.
- Style
- Sake is pressed by traditional wooden-hull bag pressing, and four-stage brewing is used for many products.
- Other
- Each brew is a small batch of about 900 kg.
Can you visit Okamura Honke?
- Tours
Brewery tours run every day of the year from 9:00 to 17:00, with free admission and free tasting. Tours without commentary need no booking. Online booking is not final until the brewery sends a follow-up email.
Hours and booking rules change, so check before you go. Official website
Compiled with AI from public pages, mainly the brewery’s own site (not yet checked by the brewery)Sources: kin-kame.co.jp