This week, we pulled a bottle out of the fridge that has been waiting very patiently. This is the last bottle I have left from my internship at Daimon Shuzou this spring.
Daimon shuzou: Sakahan Daikanzukuri Usunigori: Kasumishu
I had actually planned this bottle to be part of a matched tasting, but many such plans go unfulfilled. Tasting two bottles together sounds good in theory, but in practice (with only one helper) it tends to make me less productive the next day or leaves two open bottles lurking for too long and going to waste.
Daimon shuzou makes two usunigori – that is, thin, or lightly cloudy nigori. One is Rikyuubai no Kasumi shu: A junmai milled to 55%. The other is the Daikanzukuri junmai shinshu milled to 60%. I was really impressed by both of these when I was at the kura. They look similar: light sky-blue bottles with a slightly hazy brew inside, but they are each quite different; the first being drier and the second sweeter.
I guess I would translate the Daikanzukuri as “made in the deep cold of winter”, but when I opened it this week, it made me think of summer. I wish I had another bottle stashed away to keep for a summer barbecue. I think it would go great with almost anything fresh off the grill on a hot day.
Too soon for BBQ season, we tried a pretty challenging match: Et-chan’s bouillabaisse. [Tweet | Pic] Kasumishu did not disappoint. I was afraid that I might have left it in the fridge too long and lost the “shinshu goodness” but this was bright and fresh and could handle the deep rich flavors and umami of this dish that even had a bit of Pernod in it.
Tonight, Et-chan and I returned to the rest of the bottle and the acidity made me think it needed a little heat. Maybe the chilled weather this evening helped too. Heated up to 55 C brought out some yeastier ricier flavors, but at first sip we agreed that kanzamashi (燗冷まし) or heated and left to cool, might be better. That turned out to be the case, but after that little experiment, though fun, I’d probably stick with it chilled.
I didn’t get the side-by-side comparison I’d planned, but we enjoyed this bottle for sure. I’d get another one, but looks sold out on the website. There’s always next year…
An excellent brew indeed. Alas, it never occurred to me to pick up any bottles from the brewery itself while I was there for the first internship session. My luggage was already full to the brim with other bottles I stashed away from the previous two weeks. I’ve only a small pile of that very label used on this brew. Well, I suppose that settles it; I need to go back and acquire some more.
Posted by Tyler | May 17, 2009, 10:58 pm@Tyler Well, when are you coming back? Actually, that’s a semi-serious question. I think we need an MISBP Reunion next year, but anytime you are coming through, please let me know.
Too bad there wasn’t more room in your luggage, but I guess there is never enough. I’m pretty spoiled here in Tokyo–I didn’t carry a thing and just had a box of bottles shipped to my house. Delivery service in Japan is the best and with so many kura running online stores these days there is always something tempting out there.
Posted by Te-chan | May 18, 2009, 8:30 amWell, I would most certainly make the effort out your way during the next serious break I get from work and school. I was telling Daimon-san via email that I have a break between the masters and PhD programs during the summer of 2011, but I don’t know if I can wait that long. So, it sounds like I seriously need to make an effort between classes. Let me start to strategize and I’ll keep you in the loop when things look a little more concrete.
Posted by Tyler | May 18, 2009, 12:00 pm