Sake brewed with yeast from fallen leaves at the Sado gold mine

On Sado Island, off the coast of Niigata in the Sea of Japan, a sake with an unusual origin is being brewed. The Niigata Prefectural Sake Brewing Research Institute (the prefecture’s sake-making research body) has cultivated a wild yeast, found in fallen leaves at the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site “Sado Island Gold Mines”, until it could be used for brewing. Five breweries on the island began brewing with this yeast last December. Kyodo News reported the story.

They searched the whole island, and found it in only one place

The starting point was a joint promotion of local sake that Sado’s five breweries have run since 2021. Having heard that Niigata University and others had once found a yeast suited to sake in wisteria flowers, they said, “We want to find our own yeast on the island, too.”

At the request of the Sado Sake Brewers’ Association, the research institute and others collected samples in 2023 from 56 places across the island, including apple orchards, temple hydrangeas and pottery kilns. Yeast is a microorganism that greatly influences the aroma and character of a sake. Of all those places, only one yielded a yeast suited to sake brewing: fallen leaves around Doyu no Warito, the mining scar that symbolises the gold mine. It is a place that looks as though the mountain has been split in two, carved away by gold mining.

Turning wild strength into strength a brewery can use

The drawback of yeast taken from nature is that, as it is, its fermenting power is weak. The research institute repeatedly crossed it with existing brewing yeasts and cultivated it, achieving practical use around the end of 2024. The resulting yeast is said to combine a wild roughness with a gorgeous aroma.

Ichiro Kato, representative of the Sado Sake Brewers’ Association, describes this coincidence as a bond “tied by the god of sake”.

How to enjoy it in Europe

It is not yet clear whether this sake will reach Europe, but sake from Sado Island breweries can sometimes be found among the offerings of specialist shops and importers. On labels and product descriptions, look for the place name “Sado” and any mention of the yeast used. With sake, the same rice and water can give a different aromatic character when the yeast changes. To enjoy a gorgeous aroma, you could try it slightly chilled in a wide-mouthed wine glass. It is a story worth remembering as a glass that lets you taste the “terroir” created by the microorganisms of a place.

Sources

• Kyodo News (Infoseek News), “Sake brewed with leaf yeast from the Sado gold mine: Niigata prefectural research institute cultivates it for practical use”