Ozeki's small-batch brewery Sakigake-gura releases its second sake

A major sake company, best known for mass production, is deliberately turning to small batches to bring out the individual character of each brewer. Ozeki, based in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, released the second sake from Sakigake-gura, its small-scale brewery completed in October 2025, on 20 May 2026 in limited quantities: “Chinu no Natsukaze Junmai Daiginjo”.

A small brewery within a major producer

Ozeki is a major sake company headquartered in the Imazu district of Nada, the sake-brewing region between Kobe and Osaka. Each brew at Sakigake-gura uses a maximum of 150 kg of raw rice, a very small scale. It has two aims: to pass on the skills of the Tamba Toji, the guild of master brewers whose roots lie in the Tamba region of Hyogo Prefecture, to the next generation, and to let employees learn sake brewing by doing it with their own hands. Ozeki has six Tamba Toji, and the plan is to present the individual style of each as “sake with a visible brewer’s face”. The first sake, “Tenyo no Sake”, was unveiled at the brewery opening in March 2026 and has already sold out.

A junmai daiginjo for the wine glass

The second sake uses only rice from the highly rated Tokuyo-A district, grown from Yamada Nishiki, the sake rice of Hyogo Prefecture. Its rice polishing ratio (the proportion of the brown rice that remains after milling) is 50%, which makes it a “junmai daiginjo”, the top class of sake, brewed with only rice and rice koji. The brewing method is distinctive too. The proportion of shubo, the yeast starter, is raised to 20%, and the mash, normally built in three stages, is completed in two. The result is a sake with a clear contrast of sweetness and acidity, with a sake meter value of minus 8 (the lower the figure, the sweeter the sake) and acidity of 2.2. It is characterised by a gentle aroma reminiscent of white wine, a soft sweetness, a faint acidity and a light finish, and the brewery recommends drinking it well chilled from a wine glass. The name “Chinu” comes from an old name for Osaka Bay, which stretches out in front of the brewery.

Brewed by master brewer Fumiya Igarashi

The sake was made by Fumiya Igarashi, who joined the company in 1975 and has been a Tamba Toji since 2005. He has entered the National New Sake Appraisal 12 times and won a gold medal in eight of them. Rather than relying on experience alone, Igarashi’s approach is to design the character of the sake around how it will reach today’s drinkers.

This sake is sold only at Ozeki’s directly operated shops and its official online shop, so it will be hard to find in Europe. Even so, the trend this news points to matters: a major brewery is moving into small-batch production that puts the brewer’s name front and centre. At your local sake retailer, look for a junmai daiginjo labelled with a negative sake meter value and relatively high acidity, and try it well chilled in a white-wine glass. It is a way to experience the sweet-and-sour style of sake. At Sakigake-gura, the plan is for each of the six master brewers to make their own sake in turn. Following Ozeki’s official Instagram account should let you keep track of the next bottle.