Please note, this product is not available for shipping. It is available for free pick-up or delivery in Portland, OR.

Akishika Brewery is located in Osaka prefecture. They brew with organically grown rice which they grow themselves. Akishika obtained certified organic-status in 2011, although they and their farmers had been running things as such for much longer. All of their rice used is Yamada Nishiki or Omachi. Brewer Hiroaki Oku says, "I am a farmer who makes sake." It is his aim to show the terroir of the rice that he grows for the sake that he brews.

This sake is 100% Yamada Nishiki, milled to 70% and brewed with ambient yeasts, as well as ambient lactic acid bacteria (Yamahai-method). The sake is completely unpasteurized. 

Of unique note for Akishika, they are of a small cadre of aging-oriented sake brewing. Although the mainstream of sake is geared towards fresh and fast consumption of brews, following short aging, Akishika follows their own path and stores the majority of their releases for years before release. (The Yama, here, is actually a fresh-released exception to their aging-trend) They release sake from storage sporadically, only once it is deemed "ready". Given this, Akishika Brewery's sakes (including this Yama release) are ones that we would wholeheartedly endorse cellaring. We really can't say for how long one should hold onto these, but the structure and complexity of Akishika's brews speak to this. Also consider opening a bottle, having a glass, and then putting the open bottle away for 24 hours (or 6 months, why not?). There's really something fantastic about the way oxygen affects these sakes, and like other bold sakes (such as Yuho), our experimentation is continuing to pay off in tasty surprises.