Takasago Shuzo (高砂酒造株式会社)

What kind of brewery is Takasago Shuzo?

The brewery began in 1899, when Kotoyama Tetsusaburo founded Kotoyama Shuzoten in Asahikawa after first running a dried goods business in Sapporo and then a grain trade in Asahikawa. In 1965 it merged with Ishizaki Shuzo and took the name Takasago Shuzo, and in 1975 it created the dry, masculine Kokushimuso. After applying for civil rehabilitation in 2004, it kept brewing with support from Nihon Seishu and completed the procedure in 2007. The snow-cellar Ichiyashizuku was halted in 2016, and Asahikami was launched in 2017. In recent years the brewery has also developed products that use sake lees.

Water

The brewery uses groundwater from the Chubetsu River basin.

Ingredients

Over 80% of the rice used is grown in Hokkaido, much of it from the Kamikawa area.

Style

The brewery makes snow-aged sake by storing sealed tanks under snow for a long low-temperature ageing.

Master brewer

The toji is the head brewer, and the crew is made up of Hokkaido-born brewers working as a team.

Other

About 30 to 50 tonnes of sake lees are used each year, and the brewery develops products with many companies.

Little-known facts about Takasago Shuzo

• Takasago Shuzo carries whole tanks of sake to Biei and buries them in snow until they disappear from view, ageing them slowly in the cold.

  takasagoshuzo.com

Can you visit Takasago Shuzo?

• Tours

  Factory tours run twice a day, 10 guests per tour, free and by advance booking. Tours are in Japanese only and pause during Golden Week, Obon and the September maintenance period.

• Shop

  The shop is open 9:00 to 17:00 and closed over the New Year holidays.

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: takasagoshuzo.com