With Mom and Dad in front of Obasute Masamune's historical sake brewery.
千曲市・戸倉上山田温泉の造り酒屋「姨捨正宗」の年に一度の蔵開きは３月２３日行われました。亀清旅館では誇りを持って、姨捨正宗の日本酒を扱っております。従って、「蔵開きを行うので、来てください」と言われて、飛んで行きました。私のままとパパはアメリカから遊びに来ているので、ついでに連れて行きました。
酒粕積み放題、試飲、甘酒などのコーナーは楽しめたが一番良かったのは見学ツアーでした。スタッフ一人は３０分をかけて、歴史的な建物の蔵を細かくて案内し、お酒の造りかたを丁寧に説明してくれた。実際に利用なされている近辺の湧水の試飲から、梯子を上って仕込みタンクの中を見て、香りをかむまで、非常に勉強になりました。
一か所は２時間後と調べる必要があった。案内して頂いた方はその当番でした。年明けから約２か月半、ずっと２時間ごとに起きて作業しました。
誇り。
うちの親まで感心しました。思い出の為に何本か買って帰りました。
Our onsen town Togura-Kamiyamada is fortunate to have a sake brewery nearby: Obasute Masamune in Chikuma City's Kuwabara district. We here at Kamesei Ryokan proudly serve Obasute Masamune's sake. So when we were invited to their annual "Open Brewery", I jumped at the opportunity. And as my folks are here visiting from the States, I took them along.
For the special event, there were free samples, free amazake (sweet sake), free sake lees to take home. But more than the freebies, what made the biggest impression was the half hour tour of the brewery and its historical buildings. From tasting the actual spring water they use from the nearby natural spring, to climbing up and taking a whiff of the the mixture fermenting in one of their huge vats, it was a fascinating tour.
The most amazing part was hearing how one section had to be checked on every 2 hours around the clock. And our guide was the one that did that for 2-1/2 solid months.
Pride.
Even my parents were impressed by the process, and bought sake to take home as momentos.
酒蔵の姨捨正宗Obasute Masamune Sake Brewery
The tour
Modern facitilities with touches from the past
The vats
The lab
The new cedar sprig ball
Free amazake (sweet sake) and soup
Sake sampling
Free sake lees
Storehouse walls made of earth and straw
