{"id":49442,"date":"2019-09-22T20:00:08","date_gmt":"2019-09-22T11:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/?p=49442"},"modified":"2021-04-23T10:36:53","modified_gmt":"2021-04-23T01:36:53","slug":"microbrewery-craft-beer-whisky-sake-okayama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/microbrewery-craft-beer-whisky-sake-okayama\/","title":{"rendered":"Craft Beer, Whisky, Sake, and More at Okayama’s Doppokan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

“When life gives you lemons… make sake<\/em>.\u201d I imagine this could have been the mantra of young Kamezo and Motosaburo Miyashita around the end of the 19th century when they were sent to live with relatives after their father died. It was living with these relatives who were sake<\/em> brewers that the brothers learned their trade and in 1915, they founded their own brewery, Miyashita Sake Brewery<\/strong>, which also became known as Doppokan Brewery<\/a> <\/strong>when they began brewing beer nearly a century later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Japanese<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The actual motto of Miyashita Sake is “Never stop challenging<\/strong>\u201d, a directive which has led them to produce award winning sake<\/em> and also step out into less familiar territory. Taking a leap of faith in 1983, they added shochu<\/em> (a traditional Japanese spirit) to their product line, and in 1995 they became a microbrewery of German inspired beers<\/strong>. From there, it was only a matter of time that their expertise in beer led them to whisky distilling<\/strong> in 2011, and most recently, gin and vodka. Miyashita Sake Brewery aims to be a comprehensive producer of fine spirits<\/strong> and given how far they have come, they have nearly accomplished that goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 100-year Sake<\/em> Heritage<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The primary ingredients of sake<\/em> are rice and water, both of which are of superior quality in Okayama Prefecture<\/strong>. The brewery sources the water for its products from a cold spring 100 meters underground that feeds the nearby Asahigawa River. This soft water is a delicious foundation for all of the brewery’s spirits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Japanese<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Omachi rice<\/strong> grown in nearby Takashima is used for Miyashita sake<\/em>, shochu<\/em> and even some of its beers. It is a rare rice, difficult to grow and more disease prone than other types of rice, but it produces a very smooth, mellow flavor. Miyashita’s most renowned sake<\/em> are classified as Junmai Daiginjo<\/em>, the highest quality type of sake<\/em>, with rice grains that have been polished down to less than 50% of their original weight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Japanese<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This sake<\/em> heritage, along with access to the finest quality rice and water, led Miyashita to expand its production to shochu<\/em> in 1983. Shochu<\/em> is a hard liquor brewed from rice, barley or sweet potatoes. Miyashita Brewery’s dedication to “never stop challenging” has led it to produce many different types of shochu catering to the different tastes of its customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Making the Leap to Microbrewery<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 1994, Japan changed its laws relating to beer production to pave the way for a microbrewery<\/strong> revolution. Miyashita was a microbrewery pioneer, the first in the Chugoku region and ninth in all of Japan, and Doppokan Brewery was born in 1995. “Doppo<\/em>” is a play on words which roughly translates as “independently” (Doppokan’s philosophy on beer-making is “independent and with conviction”) but uses one of the characters from “Germany”, a nod to the brewing style used at Doppokan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n