Brewery History
Marumoto Brewery has been brewing sake since 1867. Marumoto’s sake production bears many similarities to the estate-bottled wine model, wherein the brewing and rice cultivation are undertaken by the brewery directly which often gets referred to as the “Farmer’s Brewery”. The current president and sixth generation brewmaster, Niichiro Marumoto, focuses his attention particularly on the production of rice, which is the main ingredient of sake. Marumoto started cultivating their own Yamada-nishiki sake rice for brewing in 1987, expanding from an initial 3 hectares to now over 20 hectares.
Marumoto uses the “San-Ou” rice cultivation method, which leaves the rice stalks to whither to yellow three times during its growing cycle. This allows the roots to grow stronger by absorbing nutrients on their own, and minimises the amount of fertiliser used. This makes cultivating the rice an extremely arduous but rewarding task, as the flavour profiles can be traced back to the individual rice fields and the various factors that drive their cultivation.
Regionality
Located in Kamogata, Okayama Prefecture, the brewery is situated with Mt. Chikurin looming over it, thus where their name came from. In addition to being regarded as a spiritual powerspot, Mt. Chukurin also boasts Japan’s, and one of the world’s, largest optical telescope observatories, offering amazing views from its peak. The water used by Marumoto for sake brewing is a hard and soft water blend, sourced from an underground reservoir that originates all the way up in Mt. Chikurin itself.
The climate within the Kamogata region is quite warm, which makes it highly suitable for growing sake rice. Marumoto chose the Yamada-nishiki variety because it grows extremely well in warmer conditions.
