A Decade in the Brew: Ten Seasons of Sake, Tradition, and Innovation
Ten brewing seasons. A full decade of waking before the sun, shoveling freshly steamed rice, and watching the slow alchemy of yeast and time unfold under the roof of Shindo San’s brewery. It’s hard to believe I’ve spent so many winters here in Yamagata, yet each season has its own personality, its own challenges, and its own quiet victories. This year has been something special.
It started with the rice. The growing season was one of the most exceptional I’ve seen. Heavy rains throughout the summer yielded soft, plump grains—ideal for brewing. When we milled the rice down to its core, I could already tell the starch was supple and ready to be transformed. Winter arrived, harsher than usual, gripping the brewery in an icy embrace—a good thing for Sake, as the cold slows fermentation, enhancing complexity, but it also leaves the brewery freezing. We’ve been wrapping heating pads around the tanks to keep the temperature steady at around 18-20°C—just warm enough to keep the yeast happy, but cool enough to let the magic happen.
Then there’s the rice steamer. Shindo San spent the past year designing and building his own proprietary steamer, an absolute game-changer. Unlike the traditional cylindrical steamers, his design has a flat rice bed, allowing for perfectly even steaming. No more overcooked edges or undercooked centers—just beautifully consistent rice, batch after batch. It’s a small revolution in an ancient craft, and it’s already making a noticeable difference in our brewing.
Of course, Sake brewing isn’t just about technique, it’s also about the people. Here, the brewery isn’t just a workplace—it’s a home. Quite literally, as Shindo San’s house is attached to the brewery. His wife and family cook for us and after long hours of work in the cold, gathering around the table for a hot meal feels like being welcomed into the heart of something bigger than brewing. Plates of eggplant pickled with Sake kasu and pickled daikon that Shindo San’s dad prepared himself refuel our tired bodies, and conversation—sometimes lively, sometimes quiet.
As I look ahead, I can already tell this vintage is going to be something extraordinary. Maybe it’s the rice, maybe it’s the steamer, or maybe it’s just the weight of ten seasons spent learning, failing, improving, and growing. Whatever it is, I can’t wait to share it with the world.
