Kansai Bilans d’évènement • Visite d’entreprise • Vins et spiritueux
Dégustation de saké et visite de la brasserie Konishi à Itami
Mr. KONISHI Shinuemon (15th generation sake brewer) was kind enough to organize an exclusive tour of his 474 years old brewery.
Mr. KONISHI Shinuemon (15th generation sake brewer) was kind enough to organize an exclusive tour of his 474 years old brewery, followed by a comparative tasting of rare sake from his collection.
After putting on the necessary (and highly fashionable) sanitary outfit to prevent any unauthorized bacterias from infiltrating the tanks and interfering with the delicate operation, we were allowed to enter the sanctum.
The whole process was very well explained, with detailed panels and samples of rice to visually catch in a glance the meaning of the different degrees of refinery. The guide was obviously a veteran brewer, and could give us many detailed explanations about the complex process.
Humidity is another important factor though, which is why part of the process happens inside wooden rooms, built inside the brewery. Some modern brewer do this in stainless steel rooms, but the Konishi brewery believes in the importance of the traditional wood to regulate the humidity properly. In this case in particular, sugi (pine).
Once the visit was finished, Mr. Konishi Shinuemon himself welcomed us at the nearby restaurant run by his company, the Chojukura, which doubles as a museum on the history of Sake brewing. He gave us a personal lecture on that history, giving us an educated insight on the difference between old sake and modern sake.
We were not all ears though, because tongs and palates played an essential part in this lecture. To better demonstrate, Mr. Konishi had actually taste different samples of sake, some of them new, some of them recreating original recipes from hundreds of years ago. Some were made the traditional way, while some were brought up in pine casks, or whiskey casks; all of them had very unique flavors and were very distinguishable, even to the neophyte.
To finish on a joyful tone, we finally all left the classroom to move to the table floor, where we were served a very good menu full of tasty meats, vegetables and seafood. Bottles of sake were available, of course, all throughout the meal, and we were even presented with a fine selection of belgian beers.
The Konishi company is indeed a privilege importer of a whole selection of famous belgian beers such as Chouffe, Vedett or Duvel.
It was definitely a precious evening, all the participants being able to bond over this delicious experience.
