Branded: Hououbiden

Hello everybody, and welcome to Sake Revolution. This is America's first sake podcast. I am your host, John. Puma from the Sake Notes. I'm also the guy who made the Internet Sake Discord, as well as the lead mod over at Reddits r slash sake community. I.

And I'm your host, Timothy Sullivan. I'm a Sake Samurai. I'm the Director of Education at the Sake Studies Center, as well as the founder of the Urban Sake website. And every week John and I will be here tasting and chatting about all things sake and doing our best to make it fun and easy to understand.

Well, hello Tim. How are you doing this week?

I'm doing great. How about yourself, jp?

Mm, no complaints. No complaints at all. Just, uh, you know, living the dream. You know, another day, another sake podcast, another day, another Sake podcast. And, the one thing I'm, I'm really happy about today, 'We're doing a branded episode, Tim.

Yes, we are diving into a brand, kind of telling the story of the brand and I'm very excited for these episodes. They're always a lot of fun. I.

Yeah.

I always say that sake is, I always say that sake is more than just liquid in a bottle. It's all about the people who make it, you know?

yeah.

these episodes allow us to explore that a little bit.

Yeah. Yeah. And you know, we typically do these branded episodes when a, uh, when a new sake that's got, that's kind of got some hype behind it, shows up on our shores. And, uh, as time goes on, it's, it's harder to get those because it, a lot more sake makes it to, makes it to the United States, which is wonderful. Uh, but. Here's one that, that did catch on really nicely. Got got a lot of momentum behind it in Japan, and now it is finally here.

Yes, we are gonna be tasting a Junmai Daiginjo from Hououbiden, and that's made by Kobayashi Shuzo, and they're located in Tochigi Prefecture. I. So Hououbiden is a well-known brand and I think it kind of has a reputation for being a little bit hard to get and a very luxurious style, and they really value local rice production in their sake as well.

Yeah, uh, I had, I, I had heard all of those things actually. Um, and it's really nice that you know when you have a sake, that is hard to find in Japan. It is often. Trickier to find here when they do bring it over. So we're very fortunate that we were able to get our hands on a bottle. Uh, and in full disclosure, this was actually, gifted to us for the show by the importer. Thank you very much to the folks over at, uh, Sake Suki for, and we has this bottle of Hououbiden.

I think the brand story is amazing. The brewery was founded in 1872, and it's been in the Kobayashi family. I. Since then and the most recent, uh, president to take over has been Masaki Kobayashi, and he's the fifth generation of the family to run this brewery

All right.

Now. one thing that is really interesting is that he came back in like 1995 to take over as president. And from what I've read online, Kobayashi Shuzo was on the verge of bankruptcy.

Uh, oh.

They were not in a good way. They were not in a good way.

That, that's a story we hear, uh, occasionally where, The previous generation, uh, they're having a rough time, and then the next gen comes in and, and they, they're, they're taking the reins in, in a really perilous position. Uh, so what, so what happened next to get us to where we're at now?

Yeah. Well this story has a very interesting twist.

Ooh. I like twist endings.

Yes. And it involves a love story as well. So, uh, Mr. Kobayashi actually met his. Future wife and she happens to be involved in the sake brewing business as well. She was an instructor at the Iwate Prefectural Brewers Institute, which is the, Technical Institute connected to the Nanbu Toji. So the Nanbu Toji is the largest Toji group in Japan, and it's connected to Iwate. So, he met Mayumi, they fell in love, and they got married. So not only was Mr. Kobayashi running a brewery, but.

Nice. That's awesome. I, I, it's, I love these stories of, of these breweries that, you know, they're, they're on the ropes and then they make a change. And they're able to just, Make this like wonderful comeback story and uh, and now they've got this like really Sought after sake that's being exported to the U.S. that's great.

Yeah. And in 2022 they actually built a new facility to, Make the modern production methods that they're using. So they still have the old, their main brewery where traditional sake Brewing is carried out. But in 2022, they built the Hishogura, which is their modern brewing facility. And I think out of that facility, a lot of their award-winning sakes have come and uh, it's been.

Yeah. That's awesome. That's fantastic. good for them. I'm so glad to hear that.

I I just wanted to mention one last thing. I mean, there are not a lot of female. Tojis or master brewers in Japan. So Mayumi Mayumi is contributing greatly to the success of this brand. And I think it has to be acknowledged that this is a rare situation where it's a husband and wife team, the husband is the president, the wife is the master brewer, and that's just not something you see every day.

No, it's a, it's a feel good idea. You know, it's a feel good story.

but what do you talk about at the dinner table? It's like, the, the Moromi temperature was this, that, blah, blah, blah. Well, this brand is very sought after and we were super lucky to receive the sake as a sample to taste. On today's podcast. I'm thrilled to be featuring this. I've never had this particular one before, so we're both gonna be reacting and,

Sure. Now, if, if at home you heard, uh, Asahi Mai and thought, Mai, that sounds like rice. Uh, you are absolutely correct. This is in addition to the name of the sake. It's actually the name of the rice that's used here. So I'm gonna jump right into that and we'll, we'll backtrack a tiny bit. This is using, uh. Asahi Mai from Okayama, apparently Asahi Mai Very, very difficult to cultivate, not easy to get along with, is this rice.

Oh yeah.

Yeah, that Asahi Mai is milled down to 50% of its original size. The yeast is listed as house yeast, so I'm assuming that that is something proprietary to them or do you think they're doing something ambient? Probably proprietary right.

Proprietary.

Yeah. that's, that's my thought. Uh, I don't think, I don't think the, the flavor profile is, uh, matched up with a ambient yeast for this one. Unfortunately we don't have sake meter value for this. Ones it's a little under wraps, much like the yeast and, but we do know that the A BV is 16% 'cause that's the law. They have to tell us that.

All right, so the, the only thing I have to add is that this, this sake rice called Asahi Mai, the only other thing I know about it. It is that it is a non crossbred heirloom variety. like omachi, like omachi been crossbred and is like an original heirloom strain. Uh, I've read that Asahi Mai Asahi Rice is a. Also a non crossbred heirloom strain. And I think that is one of the reasons it's so difficult to cultivate and to grow, it hasn't been crossbred to facilitate.

Right. Yeah. It's very important to note that, when people are cross-breeding and trying to make new types of rice, it's not just for flavor. It's not just to try and, change how the sake tastes necessarily. It's also very important for making it easier to cultivate because you get larger. If you get larger yields, you're able to make more sake at a lower price. Uh, this is, you know, when you're using the original stuff, it becomes a little bit more difficult and more expensive.

John. I think the kids call it a vibe.

It's a vibe. Oh,

It's a vibe.

Sorry kids. I screwed it up. The Hououbiden Kanji though is, uh, isn't like silver, which is very nice. It's a shiny,

Yeah.

cool. I think this, this label might be, I. For the Western market. It's like a, a one piece wraparound label. It might be a Western market label. but I am excited to get this in the glass.

And there's also, there's also a phoenix on the label.

Oh yeah. Is that what that

there's a bird. So the phoenix is the, of course, the symbol of rebirth. And um, I think they use that phoenix icon or iconography in all of their branding. So it must be tied to their brand, um, which is very cool. Yeah.

Yeah,

All right. Should we get this open and in the glass?

we absolutely should.

Alright. All right, I've got it in the glass. Let's give this a smell as we usually do. Hmm.

Ooh.

Very subtle,

Very.

elegant. This is not showy, is it?

No. No, it's not. It's nice though. It's got that. Hmm.

It's lovely.

I'm having a really hard time identifying

Hmm.

this. What do you think? What do you get outta this?

Well, I think the aromatics are very subtle, very clean. Uh, there's a hint of something that could be a whisper of fruitiness, but there's almost like an incense quality to it.

Yeah, I was gonna say like annise or something like that.

Hmm,

I was worried I'd be misusing the word anise. Something almost, almost minty on the nose. I don't know what it is. But when you said, um, when you said incense, that I think that that's, that might be what I was detecting.

Yeah. And I don't mean like, you know, hardcore Catholic church incense. I'm talking like wafting wafting Japanese incense from the tea house next door house next door.

Alright.

Hmm. Yeah. It's got something very pleasant, but light and, uh, it, it's a very gentle aroma.

Extremely. Alright. Are you ready for a sip?

let's taste. Hmm. So good.

That's nice. There's a, the, there's a wonderful little like bite of acidity on the finish there that I am a big fan of.

I think for me, bite is too strong a

Mm. Mm-hmm.

This is very silky and it has like a velvety texture. It's soft. And again, it, it's not. In any way overtly fruity or tropical fruit or any of that? It's very, um, reserved. Reserved elegance is like the word that comes to mind. It's like, um, very silky smooth and hints at, um, maybe apple or some kind of fruitiness, but very restrained and very, very elegant. It's. So much about the texture for me here. Very velvety and delicious. Not heavy at all. Uh, it's 16% alcohol.

I think you're right and I, I think that one of the things that's the most fun about this, that it is sort of like. Subverting expectations in a way. You know, you're having this Daiginjo, you're expecting like, oh, it's gonna be fruity and blah, blah, blah. Fruity and light. And like in this, it's like, it's, there is some sort of a fruit here. But it's a very, different style, much like I'm agreeing with you a hundred percent. Uh, is that, this is, it's very unusual and I like it a lot.

Yeah, it's interesting, when sakes are bold. In your face loud, there's no disputing like what's going on. But when you have a sake like this that is so restrained and so elegant, and it's not in your face,

It's so much more difficult.

It, it's difficult to find the words, to find the descriptors to, to, give it its justice, you know, when in a, in describing how it is. but I think, um, for me, the texture is so. Subtle and elegant. It is not, I think if, if you describe it in a way that you say, oh, it's elegant, it's restrained. Some people might think, oh, it's probably too boring for me, but no way this, there's so much to explore. I.

Yeah.

And again, I think it's, it's an unknown rice to us kind of coming through on the palate and it doesn't taste rice or grainy at all, so it's not like a traditional rice flavor coming across. But I think that is giving it the depth of flavor that we're kind of trying to describe. I think it's coming from that Asahi Mai Rice.

Yeah, I think that, This is really interesting to me because we've been doing this show for a very long time now, and outside of that, I've been tasting sake with you for even longer, and I've, I've never seen you, at a loss for words for trying to describe what you're experiencing when you're tasting a sake before, not like this. And I think that's amazing that this sake is here and it's, and it's able to do that.

I. I think it's good to be challenged sometimes and try to dig around and, you know, uh, I'm tasting this for the first time and it's true sometimes when you are evaluating a sake, you have to go back to it a second time, a third time experience it, uh, maybe do a food pairing with it. So I'm not at all. Perturbed by, you know, not being able to nail down a flavor or aroma that we're both like, aha. I think it's fine to, to explore and, revisit down the road again.

I think that's absolutely true. It's just such a hard sake to describe. It doesn't, it doesn't fit into the nice little bubbles and little compartments that we have in our minds for a lot of sakes, that tastes like that are of this type. it's a lot of fun to, to delve into something new.

Yeah, well I do have a tasting note from the brand. Should we read that and see what they say?

I am very curious to see what they say. Yes, absolutely.

So they say the muscat driven Ginjo aroma introduces a vibrant bouquet that is beautifully complimented, by the balanced Umami and refreshing characteristic of Asahi rice. The palate offers a rich depth with a light crisp base, making it both approachable and versatile. The flavor remains stable when cooled, ensuring a consistent and high quality experience in every glass. So they don't go into much detail. They gave us musk, they said muscat driven aroma.

No, I'm gonna,

Yeah. It's not as Muscat grapey as I would think, but

Right. When I hear Driven, I'm I'm thinking it's, it's, you know, it's, taking the wheel. Uh, no, this is, it's subtly there. Um, and it's not something I picked up on earlier, but, yeah, I do like how even they avoided specific known fruit. Descriptors that like don't really apply to this sake. The sake's different. It's fun and different. It's, it is all these things that they described it as though

Yeah.

really nice. So, I wanna know, uh, what you think about food with this since is this. Yeah. So we've got texture, the texture here. You got that silky, elegant la aha. Oh, it's so wonderful. and then you've got this, this, this really nice, Restrained crisp sake. What are you thinking?

Hmm. Well, my mind immediately goes to lighter, cleaner dishes. I think that if you were having sushi or sashimi, this would be an amazing sake to have with it. I think that anything from the raw bar, like shrimp cocktail, oysters on the half shell, crab legs, all my, my standard go-tos poached fish as well. I think that seafood would be the best friend of this sake, basically.

Yeah. I immediately, my mind immediately went to sushi usually sushi is so light and this would be such a great compliment to, to so much of that sushi and sashimi. Other types of, I, I would love like a, like a, like a white fish with a really mild, sauce. I think that would be like a, like a broiled, broiled white fish would be amazing with this. I think the two of them would go fabulously together. Let's see. They recommend. Let's take a look out. They recommended sushi and sashimi.

Yeah.

Yeah. We're doing it right, Tim.

All right. That's good. Well, I, I think now that I've thought about it for a little bit, I think that there are other sakes that I often pair with sushi and sashimi that are clean, crisp, and they are, dry. You know, they are a little more bracing. This has a, a depth of flavor to it that brings more dimension and. This one has that, a very subtle rice flavor from the Asahi Mai that gives it a depth of flavor. Even though it's so restrained and elegant, there's a depth going on.

Yeah, I think I do. And I agree. I'm like so excited to try this with food now. Like that's, um, that's my main takeaway from this is like, you know, I'm not the pairing guy. I'm the sit on the couch and drink the sake guy. We've talked about this before, but like, this sake makes me so excited to try it with food. I am. I'm gonna do some, I'm gonna do some experiments for the next week, I think, and just kind of every dish I have, I'm gonna pour a little bit of this and see how it goes.

Yeah, and I'm intrigued by the subtlety of this sake. It's so delicious. It's a ultra premium Junmai Daiginjo, but it has this subtleness to it that makes you want to look in the glass and study it. Like that's what's getting me. It's like, oh my gosh, this tastes so good. What's going on? And it's the combination of the gentle fruitiness with the rice flavor at a super premium level that I think is really grabbing me. Yeah, it's really good.

I agree a hundred percent. It is, um, it's been a while since I've had a sake that was, uh, so. so different yet. So just, I want more, you know, it's, you know what I mean? It's like, it's such a, it's a unique flavor and a, and a wonderful combination, of the flavor and the texture and the, and the Crispness. And I'm just, I just want to explore this and, and have so much of it and try it and see what's going on. Like it's, um, I just feel like I can get a lot out of this sake.

Yeah, it's appealing, it's elegant, but I think it's fair to say that this is also food friendly for a Junmai Daiginjo.

Uh, yeah, for sure. Yeah. Yeah. And note, note that my first instinct wasn't, I'm taking this to the couch. I'll see you later. This is my first instinct was I need to try this with some food.

So, uh, the brand again is Hououbiden. It's a little difficult to say Hououbiden

that doesn't exactly roll off the tongue.

Hououbiden

Hououbiden

Hououbiden. But I'm really excited to try more sakes from this brand. Now what about you?

Absolutely. Um, I'm, I would be lying if I said I haven't tried another sake from this brand. 'cause I very much have, and they are honestly, they're, the other ones I've had from them have been wonderful and elegant, but they were a little easier to put into a box where you're just like, this is, you know, this one's very nice and fruity. It's got a really, you know, a wonderful mouth feel, et cetera, et cetera.

Yeah, I think, one thing I didn't mention earlier is that I think their water comes from an underground source, so, that might mean that their water has a bit more minerality and that might add to some of the layering in the sake as well. That's just, I'm, I'm taking a, a guess here, but I did read that they're, they use an underground water source. And, I think that might play a role in some of the depth of flavor and layering that we're getting here.

Yes. So, um, in addition to this one is the, uh, Asahi Mai. They've also got the, uh, sake Mirai, which is that, uh, that wonderful sake rice that was originally cultivated in, uh, if I'm not mistaken, in the Yamagata. I think this is a. Uh, Juyondai's Rice, and then also the black Phoenix, which I've, I've definitely had, uh, in Japan before. And that is Aiyama. So Aiyama starting to come into, starting to come into the States. I'm very excited. I am, it's been a long time coming.

We know you're an Aiyama fanboy

I am a fan boy. This is, this is the truth. I'm not gonna attempt in any way to disguise that. I am 100% a fanboy, unabashed.

Alright, well, sounds like we're gonna have to get that Aiyama sake from Hououbiden on the show at some point in the future, but this was a fun look into this brewery and a very interesting setup with a married couple being president and Toji and an intriguing sake. So just, uh, really interesting all around.

Yeah. Good times, and I'm, and I'm. Glad to see this one, in the States. It's just, it's always, it's always exciting when new stuff comes to our shores.

Yeah. Well thanks to you, John. Thanks for tasting this intriguing sake with me. Special thank you to Sake Suki for, Providing this sake for us to taste today, and I wanna say a special hello and thank you to all of our listeners, but especially the members of our Patreon community. If you're interested in supporting Sake Revolution, we do have a Patreon. You can visit us at patreon.com/sakerevolution and join our community. We do a live happy hour.

And if you've got a question for Tim and I here, or maybe a show suggestion, or maybe we flub something and you need to correct us, that's very important too.

it, it happens.

It does happen from time to time. uh, we wanna hear from you though. Uh, reach out to us. We've got an email address. It's [email protected]. The website also has a little form you can fill out to send us messages directly. You can also slide into our dms on Facebook or Instagram. until next time though, please remember to keep a drinking sake. And Kanapi.