Kanagawa Pref. Brewery Preps Newest Batch of Sake Grown through The Power of Mozart

The Yomiuri Shimbun

18:55 JST, December 23, 2020

HADANO, Kanagawa — Kanei Brewery Ltd. has kicked production of its newest batch of sake, made from koji mold exposed to the music of Mozart during growth, into full swing.

Sixteen tanks, each containing 6,500 liters of liquid, are housed in the brewery located along the Mizunashi River in Hadano. The liquid is a mixture of steamed Gohyakumangoku brand rice harvested in Niigata Prefecture and river-bed water flowing from the city’s Omote-Tanzawa mountainous area. Brewers were seen using 3-meter-long paddles to carefully stir the mixture, which will eventually become Shirasasa brand sake, to uniformly spread the koji mold throughout the tanks.

“This year’s batch has a mild flavor with a touch of sweetness,” the master brewer said.

Kanei has plans to ship 50,000 720-milliliter bottles of the alcoholic beverage, with the brewery’s managing director saying, “Our shipment this year has dropped to less than one-third of a typical year’s because of the coronavirus crisis.”