We opened a craft sake brewery in the autumn of 2021 in Oga City, Akita Prefecture. "Craft sake" is a new genre of sake based on traditional sake production techniques, sometimes with the addition of secondary ingredients. In Japan, a number of promising brewers are developing their businesses in this genre. We are one of them.
Currently in Japan, new licences to brew sake for the domestic market are generally not issued. This means that new breweries such as ours are not allowed to make sake legally to sell in Japan. However, due to a change in the law in April 2020, a licence can now be issued as long as the sake is for export abroad. Ine and Agave uses this new licence to make sake for export to show the world the appeal of sake.
I am originally from Fukuoka Prefecture, but since I moved to Akita in 2014 to work for Aramasa Brewery, my life has been enriched by the support of many people. It is to repay this debt of gratitude that I started my business in Akita.
The peninsula of Oga has no major industry and a rapidly decreasing population. However, the peninsula has a charm that no other region can match. It has a unique culture, born of its seafaring origins, and being left behind by the urban centres as the land routes were developed, as well as an abundance of fish from the collision of warm and cold currents.
The philosophy of Ine to Agave is "brewing the terroir of Oga.” This has two meanings: the first is to produce sake that captures the spirit of Oga in a bottle. To achieve this, it is essential for us to get to know the local people and to understand Oga as a place. The second meaning refers to the drive to continue to create businesses that are not limited to sake making, and that excite many people. We believe that this will encourage people to build community and enrich the region for the future.
With this philosophy in mind, we have three main aims:
① Creation of a special zone for sake
② Making Oga a sake city
③ Fostering human resources for the future of the region
We want to create a legacy; a future in which people from all over the world will recognize Oga as a Mecca for sake and visit here for generations to come.
我們「稲とアガベ」(稻與龍舌蘭,RICE AND AGAVE)是於2021年秋天在秋田縣男鹿市創業的CRAFT SAKE釀造所。
所謂「CRAFT SAKE」,是指以日本酒的製造技術為基礎而釀造的酒,又或者以加入其他原材料而做出新的口味,邁向成為新種類的酒。現在,於日本有遠見的酒造也紛紛以此種類的酒來開托新市場,並加以發展。「稲とアガベ」也就是其中之一。