Kirinzan Mellow (720 ml)

When the Saito family renamed their brewery Kirinzan in 1882, they were staking an identity on place — the forested mountain rising behind the brewery in Aga-machi, Higashi-kanbara-gun. Nearly 30 years of direct collaboration with 55 local growers later, the brewery achieved what almost no Japanese sake house of comparable scale has managed: 100% locally sourced rice, supported by an in-house agricultural division established in 2011. Mellow is the expression of that commitment at the everyday table.

The brewery draws soft, low-mineral water from the Tokonami River basin, filtered through beech-forest soils — water chemistry that suppresses aggressive fermentation and enables the extended, slow, cold fermentation that defines Niigata's Tanrei Karakuchi (light and dry) school. The surrounding landscape is 94% dense forest; the microclimate is cold and stable, ideal for unhurried koji work.

Fermentation uses proprietary yeast G901 and a sokujo moto starter, with Gohyaku-mangoku rice — Niigata's signature variety — milled to 65% seimaibuai alongside Koshi-ibuki. Tank-aged in stainless steel and pasteurized before bottling at 15–16% ABV; not genshu.

Where most breweries treat entry-level futsushu as commodity, Kirinzan deliberately positions Mellow as a serious terroir expression — same water, same rice origin, same cold-fermentation discipline as the Junmai Daiginjo tier. The result is a dry, clean sake with a delicate umami backbone and a razor-sharp finish that performs across a wide temperature range.