Collection: Naeba Brewery

Niigata sake - Naeba-san

Mount Naeba, one of Japan's 100 Famous Mountains; Ryugakubo, one of Japan's 100 Famous Waters.
The summit of Mt. Naeba is covered with high-altitude wetlands, which transform into snowfields and grasslands in winter.
The abundant snowfall gives rise to the pure and fertile groundwater, exemplified by the famous Ryugakubo spring.
Enjoy "Yukino Mayu," a rich and flavorful sake made from Japan's finest soft water.

Sake brewing

Naeba Brewery was founded in 1907 in Tsunan Town, Nakauonuma District, Niigata Prefecture, and for over 100 years since then, it has been a leading local sake brewery, mainly enjoyed in the Uonuma region.

Tsunan Town is one of Japan's leading heavy snowfall areas, where the entire brewery is completely buried in snow during the winter. In February 2022, it recorded a record-breaking 4.19 meters of snow. Snow exceeding 4 meters is enough to disrupt daily life. However, this harsh yet abundant nature has fostered a wonderful environment ideal for sake brewing, including Ryugakubo, one of Japan's 100 best water sources known for its abundant spring water, and the pure groundwater produced by the melting snow of Mount Naeba, one of Japan's 100 famous mountains. Using Gohyakumangoku, the finest sake rice produced in the prefecture, Naeba Brewery's brewing techniques have been passed down through generations by Echigo Toji (master brewers) who pride themselves on their skills and traditions.

Using local water and rice, and the techniques of Echigo sake brewers, we will continue to brew sake that has the unique umami of rice that you can never tire of drinking.

Yukino Mayu

"Yukino Mayu" - A delicate and fresh sake made using a single-stage brewing process.
Naeba Brewery was founded in 1907.
This is a local sake brewery located in Tsunan Town, Nakauonuma District, Niigata Prefecture, one of Japan's leading heavy snowfall areas, which has been brewing high-quality, beloved sake for generations.

While cherishing our history of being close to the local community, the shared aspirations of various people have led us to begin brewing a new brand of sake.
"We aim to create a sake with a refreshing ginjo aroma, a concentrated sweetness and umami from the rice, and a taste that you won't tire of."
Almost every step of the process, from washing the rice and preparing the koji to brewing and pressing, is done by hand. This is a meticulously crafted, exquisite product made with great care, attention to detail, and significant time and expense.

A rich sweetness and umami flavor that will please both sake lovers and those who don't usually like sake.
What rushes through your mouth after you take a sip is the refreshing, light carbonation produced by the yeast.
A small local sake brewery is pouring its big dreams and passion into creating "a delicate and fresh, single-stage brewed sake."
That is "Yukino Mayu".

We are committed to single-stage brewing, unpasteurized sake, and bag pressing.

◆ Single-stage preparation

Normally, sake is made using a three-stage brewing method, where a starter culture is prepared, and then koji, steamed rice, and water are added to the fermentation tank in three separate stages to initiate alcoholic fermentation. This method allows for mass production while maintaining a certain level of quality. "One-stage brewing" is a method where this entire brewing process is completed in a single step.

Because the sake is pressed at a very young stage, while the sugar is still being broken down into alcohol, it results in a fresh and rich sake with a low alcohol content of around 14%, retaining the rich ginjo aroma and the sweetness of the rice that emerges in the early stages.

Furthermore, the single-stage brewing method requires more rice than regular sake production, resulting in higher costs, and its difficult and delicate process means that only small quantities can be produced at a time.

However, the sweetness, acidity, and ginjo aroma produced by this single-stage brewing process can be considered the very essence of sake, a fermented food.

The single-stage brewing process creates the unique fruity flavor of "Yukino Mayu."

◆Raw unprocessed sake

To provide you with the freshest sake, we are committed to serving unpasteurized, undiluted sake.

Heating the sake to stop the yeast's activity will reduce its freshness, even if only slightly, and adding water to adjust the alcohol content will spoil the delicious flavor that was so carefully crafted.

In particular, unpasteurized sake (nama-zake) contains live yeast, so it continues to mature in the bottle even after bottling. The complex changes in flavor that can be enjoyed as the days go by are one of the inherent charms of sake, a fermented food.

◆Bag squeezing

To preserve the unique ginjo aroma of "Yukino Mayu," we decided to use the bag pressing method instead of a pressing machine for the pressing process.

Although it takes more time and effort than using a press, we intentionally leave the final "pressing" portion unpressed to produce sake lees, aiming for the best possible sake quality. The sake lees produced by this pressing method retain the sweetness and ginjo aroma of the rice that wasn't completely pressed.

Therefore, the lees yield is 70% (for example, 700 kg of sake lees are produced from 1000 kg of brewing rice), which is more than double the amount of sake lees produced in normal batches.

"Yukino Mayu," a genuine shochu made from fresh, unique sake lees quickly distilled. Please enjoy its elegant ginjo aroma.