Fire-Hit Sasa Masamune Brewery Resumes Sake Making at a Fellow Brewer's Plant

Sasa Masamune Brewery in Kitakata, Fukushima Prefecture, lost its brewery in a fire in June 2026. On 7 August, it resumed sake making in the production space of Akebono Brewery in the neighbouring town of Aizubange. Kitakata is a city in the Aizu region of western Fukushima, an area known as a sake-producing district blessed with a cool climate and high-quality water. Before the fire, Sasa Masamune had bought a large quantity of sake rice for this season’s brewing. Local brewers stepped in to lend a hand so that the rice would not go to waste.

Starting with koji at a fellow brewer’s plant

On the day brewing resumed, Kotaro Iwata (42), head of production at Sasa Masamune, carried steamed rice on his back and made a small batch of koji. Koji is steamed rice on which koji mould has been cultivated, and it converts the starch in the rice into sugar. It is the indispensable starting point of sake making. Kotaro had previously helped out at Akebono Brewery during its busy periods, so he was restarting in a familiar place. Koichi Suzuki (42), president of Akebono Brewery, says he wants to find some way to manage this alongside his own brewery’s production.

Solidarity among breweries and support from the community

Miyaizumi Meijo in Aizuwakamatsu will also lend out its production space until Sasa Masamune’s brewery is rebuilt. Other breweries are reported to have offered their help as well. Japanese sake breweries are rivals, yet in an emergency the bonds that let them support one another remain.

Yujiro Iwata (39), Kotaro’s younger brother and the president of Sasa Masamune, held a press conference in Fukushima City. Junmai sake remained in a storage tank that escaped the fire. Junmai is a category of sake made only from rice, rice koji and water. Around 5,000 bottles of this sake, which were filled after the fire, will be sold within Fukushima Prefecture. Yujiro said that a brewery exists only because of its community, so he is determined to resume brewing in the local area. According to Kazuhiro Seino, managing director of the Fukushima Prefecture Sake Brewers Association, a fundraising appeal launched by the association had raised 26.88 million yen by the end of July. The donations will be used for demolishing and restoring the brewery and for rebuilding the business.

A note for readers in Europe

Because this junmai will be sold only within Fukushima Prefecture, it will be hard to find in Europe. Even so, this story is a good reason to enjoy sake from Aizu. If you come across sake from the Aizu region at a specialist shop or restaurant, do give it a try. Check the label for the junmai designation, and compare the aroma and mouthfeel when it is slightly chilled and at room temperature. Following how a community supports a single brewery and helps it rebuild on its original site is another of the pleasures of getting to know sake.