VISION
KIDOIZUMI’s tradition-based craft in making SHUBO
At KIDOIZUMI, for over 50 years, we have kept alive our precious sake brewing process, using high temperatures and raw natural lactic acid bacteria to stimulate the our 3 main fermentation agents: aspergillus, lactobacillus and yeast.
We can never be deterred from our goal of ‘creating great sake’ along with ensuring health and safety, which is why KIDOIZUMI’s vision continues to become reality.
We insist on brewing sake that is completely free from additives, pesticides, chemical fertilizers.
Although KIDOIZUMI was originally founded in 1879, the key turning point toward our current product occurred in 1956, when the 3rd generation of ownership made the decision to switch to a unique brewing method developed especially by KIDOIZUMI. It was an era of rapid growth requiring the development of mass production to provide for heavy societal deman, when triple-brewed sake was requiring more raw material. The company soon recognized the dangers, however, of using salicylic acid as a preservative and worked hard to find other ways to make sake that could last longer without resorting to preservatives. We insist on brewing sake that is completely free from additives, pesticides, chemical fertilizers. These strong principles of the brewer’s third generation led to the development, from 1967 onward, of the current brand name KIDOIZUMI Shizen Mai, the perfect name for a sake brewed from 100% naturally raised agricultural rice.
Our brewery takes pride in our history as pioneers in sake brewing
Another challenge to making great sake is to create sake with a taste that does not change even when stored over long periods. Overall, making long-term aged sake is always a challenge. After many failures in this endeavor, 1965 finally brought success. Both regular sake and long-term aged sake could now be produced. Throughout the rest of the century, as prices of manufacturing fell, Kizo Izumi was able to build on its research into brewing methods and take pride in its role as a pioneer in this field. Sake is often aged 5 years, 10 years…the oldest one currently aging has been doing so for 40 years.
All of this has been made possible by KIDOIZUMI’s relentless pursuit of a unique and special taste.
During the war, triple-brewed sake became popular dued to rice shortages. From that time onward, sake was considered part of a meal. KIDOIZUMI determined that the need for unique individual taste and a diverse range of sake meant that two goals would be crucial to its success. The first was the development of long-term aged sake able to endure the aging process. The other was to develop a more general multi-purpose sake. AFS (Afusu), a sake with a rich but sharp taste, is said to be the most impressive sake of this collection, a truly unique concoction. Generally, sake is prepared via dividing malted rice and raw rice into three parts, a three-step preparation. AFS (Afusu), however, is brewed through a single step involving both malted and raw rice. This gives the sake a solid body with strength and sharpness that stimulates the appetite. We are sure that you will enjoy every drop of this wonderful sake.