Saga's oldest sake brewery restarts with a 3 billion yen new factory

Saga Prefecture, in the north-west of Kyushu in south-western Japan, is a region with a thriving rice-growing tradition and a long history of sake brewing. Saka Shuzo (Saga City), regarded as the oldest brewery in Saga, has now been reborn through a large-scale investment.

A 3 billion yen investment to sustain a long-established brewery

Saka Shuzo is part of the Chiiki Mirai Group, headquartered in Fukuoka City. By April 2026 the company had completed a full renovation of its production base, costing about 3 billion yen. The new factory stands on the banks of the Kase River, which flows through Saga City, and comprises five buildings on a site of roughly 11,200 square metres. They include the brewing hall where the sake is made, a bottling building, a cold store with precise temperature and humidity control, and an office building that also houses a gallery and shop, with a total floor area of about 3,300 square metres. Most sake breweries in Japan are small, family-run businesses, so an investment in equipment on this scale is eye-catching.

Brewing free from the seasons

Sake has traditionally been brewed in winter, when temperatures are low and unwanted bacteria struggle to multiply. Because even a slight difference in temperature during fermentation changes the aroma and flavour, brewers have long made their sake while contending with the weather. At Saka Shuzo’s new factory, controlling temperature and humidity and automating processes is said to have created a system that delivers the intended flavour whatever the season or weather. The Yomiuri Shimbun reports that the company is also aiming at overseas expansion. Little variation in quality can be a strength for export sake, which reaches consumers after long transport and storage.

Enjoying it in Europe

Specific export plans have yet to be made public, but if you are looking for Saga sake in Europe, keep an eye out for the region name “Saga” on the lists of specialist shops and importers. With sake from a brewery that cares so much about temperature control, you might first chill it and check the aroma in a white wine glass, then compare how the flavour opens up at room temperature and as nuru-kan (gently warmed sake) at around 40 degrees, which may make it easier to sense what the brewer intended. This move by a historic brewery to reach the next generation with state-of-the-art equipment could be a chance to see how tradition and technology come together in a single flavour.