Wakaebisu Shuzo (若戎酒造)
Wakaebisu Shuzo is a sake brewery in Aho, Iga City, Mie Prefecture, founded in 1853. It brews with soft water from the Aoyama plateau and Mie-grown rice.
- Makes
- Sake
- Japan Sake Awards
- 4 golds
Where to buy
What kind of brewery is it?
The brewery was founded in 1853 in Aho, a post town on the Hatsuse road, by a founder whose family had long run an inn there. After exchanging their house and business with a brewer across the street, they received a brewing licence from the Tō domain. In 1983 the fifth-generation owner released Gizaemon, a junmai ginjo named after the founder, and the brewery later made it its flagship. Under the eighth-generation owner, the brewhouse was extensively renovated with strict temperature and hygiene control and small-batch brewing.
What makes it distinct
- Water
- Uses soft water, a groundwater flow from the Aoyama plateau.
- Ingredients
- Uses Mie Yamada Nishiki or the Mie original rice Kami no Ho.
- Yeast
- Uses many kinds of yeast, chosen for each product.
- Master brewer
- The toji of the Tajima school took charge of brewing Gizaemon.
- Also
- The eighth-generation owner decided on a major renovation of the brewhouse.
Visiting
- Tours
- Shop
The brewery shop is open 9:00 to 17:30, closed on Wednesdays, Thursdays and public holidays. Tours of the Ginjokan museum are by reservation for about 10 to 40 people, booked online, by phone or by fax, and cost 500 yen with tastings of three sakes.
Compiled with AI from public pages, mainly the brewery’s own site (not yet checked by the brewery)Sources: wakaebis.co.jp
Japan Sake Awards
A prize-winner in 5 of the 9 contests from brewing year 2017 to 2025, with a gold prize in 4.
Source: the prize lists of the Japan Sake Awards (National Research Institute of Brewing and Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association). Brewing year 2019 had no final judging, so no gold prizes.