Kozaemon Yamahai Junmai Banshu Yamadanishiki (1.8 L)

Founded in 1702 by Nakashima Kozaemon in the mountain town of Mizunami, Gifu, this brewery made a deliberate commercial pivot in the early 2000s: abandoning the light, dry tanrei karakuchi style that dominated the Japanese market and committing entirely to umakuchi — rich, umami-forward sake built for food. The Yamahai Junmai Banshu Yamadanishiki is the clearest expression of that philosophy.

Water comes from a natural underground spring fed by snowmelt off Mt. Byobu (Byobuzan), filtered through the forested, cool-humid terrain of the Kiso River watershed. That soft, mineral-clean water underpins the mash without competing with rice character.

The production signature is layered: yamahai starter (the slow, lactic-acid-driven method that builds wild complexity and acidity) is combined with four-stage yodan fermentation — a fourth addition of rice and water beyond the standard three-stage sandan shikomi — which extends umami extraction and textural density. Koji is cultivated at approximately 98% humidity to maximise enzyme activity. Rice is Banshu-grown Yamada Nishiki, polished to 65% seimaibuai (Junmai tier), preserving the grain's full amino acid contribution.

The combination of yamahai and yodan in a single Junmai expression is rare — most breweries use one or the other. The result is a 1.8 L magnum-format sake with pronounced lactic depth, savoury rice body, and the structural acidity that yamahai characteristically produces.