Summer Vacation Travel: Soy Sauce ExplorationPart 2

Junna.K
Oct 1
5 min read

Following on from last blog, here is the second part of my summer vacation soy sauce brewery visit!

The last place I'd like to introduce is a soy sauce brewery in my hometown, Shiga Pref.

Place to visit: 3. Yamakawa Brewery, Gifu Pref.

Yamakawa Brewery is located a five-minute drive north from the famous cormorant fishing boat dock on the Nagara River.

This brewery produces Tamari soy sauce, which is the darkest soy sauce of all.

Originally a liquor store, Yamakawa Brewery began producing miso and soy sauce during the war in 1943. The reason they started was because the number of miso and soy sauce makers had decreased during the war, and they wanted to contribute to the food shortages in the region. Because they were a latecomer, they had a hard time getting their products sold in Gifu Pref. even after the war, and because it was originally a seasoning for home use, local liquor stores and greengrocers wouldn't carry it at all. They thought that if they weren't going to sell anyway, it might be better to sell it in Nagoya rather than Gifu Prefecture, so they tried selling it in Nagoya and found that they made more profit, even including delivery costs, than selling it in Gifu Pref. Nagoya has been their main market ever since.

At its peak, the company also had an office in Osaka, delivering tamari to rice cracker and arare shops. However, around 1965, the popularity of snack foods led to a decline in demand for rice crackers, and the brewery shifted its business to udon shops, eel restaurants, sushi restaurants, and other establishments. At its peak, the udon shop in Nagoya alone had around 1,000 customers, 80% of whom ordered made-to-order products.

[What is Tamari?]

Tamari soy sauce has four main characteristics.

①Standard soy sauce is 50% soy and 50% wheat,100% soyThat is.

②The amount of water used for preparation is 50-80% of that used for standard soy sauce.The amount is small.

③Aged for more than 2 years and long-term aging.

④The ratio of koji to brine different from standard soy sauce. The reduced amount of brine makes for a richer, thicker soy sauce.

[Raw materials]

・Whole soybeans (from Gifu)

・Underground water from the clear Nagara River

※Gluten-free soy sauce made without wheat!

[Characteristic method]

Kumikake (Water Circulation Process in Tamari Brewing)The process of pumping:

Since the amount of briner is one-half of the amount of soy sauce, it becomes a hard and heavy mash (almost like miso paste) and cannot be mixed. To solve this, a tall pipe (resembling a chimney) is placed into the center of the wooden barrel and connected to a spout at the bottom outside the barrel before the mash is put in. During the process called “Kumikake,” brine is poured through this chimney. The bottom of the chimney has many small holes, which allow the brine to collect inside and circulate through the mash.

This process of circulating the ingredients that cannot be stirred from top to bottom and allowing them to mature is carried out every Monday morning, and after doing the same process every week for two years, Tamari soy sauce is produced.

[Soy sauce stored in a wooden barrel]

There are 100 wooden barrels, ranging in size from 750 to 1,050kg, lined up in the brewery.Once the brewing is complete, the small amount of tamari soy sauce that has accumulated at the bottom of the wooden barrel is drained from a tap at the bottom of the barrel. At first, it comes out due to the weight of the stones, but the speed gradually slows down, and it takes six months for the soy sauce to be drained completely.

The mash remaining in the barrel is dug up with a shovel, cut into small pieces using a special machine, and pressed.

Place to visit: 4. Mizutani Shoyu, Shiga Pref.

https://www.mizutani-shoyu.com/

Founded in 1853, the brewery is located in Hikone City, Shiga Pref., famous for the national treasure "Hikone Castle." When the brewery first opened, it produced soy sauce in wooden barrels. In 1970, the brewery switched to brewing tanks, which allowed for consistent flavor. 50 years later, in 2020, the brewery met a wooden barrel craftsman just as it was preparing to install new brewing tanks. The brewer first met the craftsman while he was performing maintenance at a soy sauce brewery in Aichi Pref. Seeing the craftsman's approach to the wooden barrels and his work, the brewer knew he wanted him to make the wooden barrels. It was his experience at a wooden barrel brewery that led him to pursue soy sauce brewing. With the decline of wooden barrel brewing soy sauce, the desire to preserve and nurture the craftsmanship for future generations led to the shift to using wooden barrels.

The soy sauce is made by Yuta Mizutani. When he was 23 years old, he had the opportunity to try wooden barrel brewing at another soy sauce brewery. He was so impressed by the deep, umami flavor of the wooden barrel-brewed soy sauce that he decided to pursue a career in soy sauce brewing. Since then, he has traveled to various soy sauce breweries across the country to learn more about soy sauce himself. He has apparently tasted around 1,000 bottles to date, including soy sauce and processed products like ponzu sauce!! His love for soy sauce and his dedication to making delicious soy sauce are truly incredible! Once you learn his story, you'll want to try this soy sauce!