| Product Name | Ibi, Ginsen, Funaba Non-Filtration Original Sake |
|---|---|
| Brewer | Sugihara Sake Brewery Co., Ltd. |
| Location | 1, Shimoiso, Ono-cho, Ibi-gun, Gifu prefecture |
| Toji | Yoshiki Sugihara |
| Rice Brand | Ibi no Homare ASM18(Rice of contracted farming produced in Gifu Prefecture) |
| Percentage of Rice Milling | 60% |
| Alcohol Content | 16% |
| Mother Water | Underground water of the Ibi river |
Type
| light | fresh | fruity | soft |
| 〇 | 〇 | 〇 |
| sharp | dry | sweet | rich |
| 〇 | 〇 |
About Brewer
With an annual production volume of a mere 30 goku in 2013 – equivalent to three thousand 1.8L bottles – this holds the distinction of being the smallest sake brewery in Japan. The current and fifth Head Brewer, Yoshiki Sugihara, dedicated three years to the Young Overseas Cooperation Volunteers, before becoming driven by the desire to safeguard an aspect of living Japanese culture in the form of the sake craft, which he returned to and inherited in 2003. His predecessor had considered shuttering the brewery, until Sugihara persuaded him not to do so, thereafter setting about extensive repairs to the dilapidated premises. With no formal training in the craft, his brewing knowledge was accumulated through first-hand experience and diligent trail-and-error.
Not content with the challenges of brewing, he also managed to cultivate a cross breed of the Yamada Nishiki and Wakamizu rice variants in tandem with a local farmer, resulting in a crop of Ibi no Homare for use in sake production. Carried out in collaboration with a member of staff, who brought twenty years of experience as a devotee of obscure rice varieties – Hiroki Takahashi – the project bore fruit in 2009 in the form of Ibi.
About Product
The name Funaba is a reference to the pressing room in which the fermented sake is separated from the rice lees before bottling. Numerous sacks filled with the mash are piled up on a traditional pressing device called a fune, where they spend a period of two-to-three days as the weight forces the liquid out.
This particular sake is honjozo style, drawn from the first pressing of the 2016 vintage. With an aroma of ripe apple and pineapple, a creamy, mild sweetness, and slightly amber hue, it resembles a fine dessert wine in more ways than one.
Suitable Dish
Western cuisine such as Gratin of milt and Sautee of shrimp with scorched cheese etc., Oyster pot with mixed miso a lot etc.
Recommended Temperature Range
5-10℃
Recommended Vessel
Bambi wine glass(sherry glass with shot foot)