Zao Shuzo (蔵王酒造株式会社)

What kind of brewery is Zao Shuzo?

The brewery began in 1873 as a sole proprietorship run by Sakichi Watanabe, the fifth generation. It was reorganized as a company in 1913, adopted Zao as its brand name in 1931, and renamed itself Zao Shuzo in 1970. Today it brews once a year from November to March and also makes new styles such as rose-colored and sparkling low-alcohol sake.

Water

The brewing uses underground water from the Zao mountain range and the cold winter Zao Oroshi wind.

Ingredients

It uses locally grown sake rice, including contract-grown rice.

Style

The koji aimed for is sohaze, with the mycelium spread across the whole rice grain.

Other

Five refrigerators set at -10, 0 and 5 degrees C are chosen to suit each sake for storage.

Yeast

The Kokoro Series uses a single isoamyl acetate type yeast strain throughout.

Can you visit Zao Shuzo?

• Tours

  Brewery tours are booked through the reservation page.

• Shop

  The on-site museum sells products at retail, is open 10:00 to 16:00 with free admission, and closes from December 28 to January 4. Groups should contact the brewery in advance.

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

Other brewery tours in Miyagi

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