Nurtured over long periods at low temperatures and carefully aged over, our sake is bottled at the moment it's ready to drink. In theory bottling seems a simple process, but at Kokuryu, our approach shows a commitment that's different from the practice in traditional sake brewing.
Kokuryu lives by the motto, “If we make good sake, people will support it.” For this we grow our own rice, seek out special yeasts and strive for the best brewing and maturation techniques, taking utmost care at every step. And we ensure the safety of our products. When customers can say without care or concern, “It's delicious,” then Kokuryu has done its job.
In contrast to our traditional methods for brewing sake, our bottling plant features state-of-the-art equipment to keep the sake safe. When sake has reached maturity, it's pasteurized (depending on the type of sake, sometimes this process is skipped) and bottled.
In August 2008 we introduced a clean room equipped with cutting-edge automated bottling lines at our sake processing facility. Workers enter the clean room through air locks with air showers, cleansing them of any foreign objects including dust. Motion-sensor curtains that automatically part to let workers through also help keep facilities clean. Our goals at Kenjojima Sakezukuri no Sato, our bottling plant, are to maintain and improve the quality of our stored sake, and to produce it safely and securely. Both objectives have been met.
Since earliest times, sake has played an irreplaceable role in people's lives — in purification rituals, celebrations, send-offs and welcome parties. It's our hope that sake will continue to safely quench people's thirst at these events in life. This is the hope behind our new sake bottling line.
