Amazake brewing unique to Okinawa using black koji ── Chuko Sake Brewery (Okinawa Prefecture) | Amazake specialty store Ren MURO Muro [official mail order]

Hello. This is Ren MURO , a store specializing in rice koji amazake.

Today, under the name of "Amazake Craft Story", we will introduce a popular amazake brewer at Ren MURO .

The brewer that I will introduce in the 5th time is "Chungko Sake Brewery".
Chuko Sake Brewery, which was the first amazake brewer in Okinawa, was founded in 1949 and is located in Tomigusuku City, Okinawa Prefecture, a 10-minute drive from Naha Airport.
We are pursuing new possibilities of Awamori based on our corporate philosophy of “succession and creation of Awamori culture”.

■ I want to make sweet sake unique to Okinawa

The company's "Kuro Amazake" is an amazake that uses black koji and is characterized by its natural sweet and sour taste. It was born in 2012 after repeated development, "Is it possible to make amazake using black koji mold, which is indispensable for making awamori unique to Okinawa?"

▲Kuro-koji is used to make shochu in Okinawa.

Black koji is a type of rice koji typically used in making shochu, and is said to have originated in Okinawa. The color is so black that if you touch it, your hand will turn black.
Since the koji contains a lot of citric acid, it can suppress the growth of bacteria, and is indispensable for making shochu in Okinawa and Kyushu, which are hot and humid.

▲Tadako Sake Brewery Black Amazake
In fact, there is no culture of drinking amazake in Okinawa, and there was no place that made amazake. However, since around 2012, the koji and amazake boom has been gradually gaining momentum. that's right.

▲ Steaming rice for amazake

In the development of the black amazake, it seems that he was particular about "balancing the acidity and sweetness", which is the key to the taste.
We experimented with various combinations of koji, rice, and water, and selected strains that were suitable for balancing sourness and sweetness from among the nine types of black koji mold. We aimed to make amazake, which is possible only because we are an awamori brewery that uses black koji mold.
The black amazake, which was born in this way, contains a lot of citric acid from black koji, and has a fruity sourness with less sweetness, which is different from ordinary sweet sake.

Amazake that is not black even though it is black koji

I would like to introduce one episode from the development of such “Kuro Amazake”.
When it first went on sale, the black amazake looked just like its name, like a dark gray color made from black koji rice. And it seems that the spores of black koji mold left a harsh taste. In order to improve it, we have developed a technology that suppresses the spores of black koji mold. With this technology, we succeeded in developing a mellow "black amazake" that has a color close to the white of amazake and has no harshness.

■ Difficult to obtain in Honshu

Chuko Shuzo's products account for 80 to 90% of the market share in Okinawa Prefecture. Therefore, in Honshu, they are shipped mainly at the "Okinawa Fair", and there are very few shops in the Kanto region like ours.
At our shop, we have two types of Shikuwasa flavor: black amazake and black amazake.

▲Blue-cut Shikuwasa black amazake

The blue-cut Shikuwasa uses Shikuwasa fruit juice from Okinawa Prefecture, giving it a more refreshing taste.
When you hear the word “Shikuwasa”, you tend to imagine strong sourness, but this amazake has just the right amount of sourness. Thanks to the fruit juice, it has a refreshing aftertaste and is very easy to drink.

Both types of amazake are best served chilled with plenty of ice, especially in the summer. It's delicious even if you mix it with vegetable juice or fruit juice.
By the way, Tadakatsu Brewery recommends soymilk split. In addition, it is said that you can enjoy it deliciously even if you warm it up.
The black amazake containing citric acid is perfect for preventing summer heat exhaustion, and it is exactly the amazake of Okinawa. Why don't you drink this and experience the summer in Okinawa?

Click here for the Amazake handling list of Chuko Shuzo

https://koujiamasake.jp/collections/Tadako Sake Brewery

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Noren MURO Kagurazaka

Address: 1-12-6 Kagurazaka , Shinjuku -ku, Tokyo 162-0825

Phone number: 03-5579-2910

Website URL : http://noren-japan.jp/store/murokagurazaka/

EC site URL : https://koujiamasake.jp/

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