Sake hits a new high

There’s a difference between premium sake and the harsh, additive-heavy rotgut, served mostly piping hot at every sushi joint in town. Like craft beer (sake’s production is similar to beer brewing), premium sake is made in smaller batches, renouncing mechanization for a more old-school approach. It is this handmade, high quality drink—mostly consumed cold that embodies the tireless Japanese work ethic.

Akita prefecture is located in the northwest quadrant of Honshu Island, an area renowned for its beautiful rugged landscape and its high quality rice grain. Rice, of course, is one of sake’s main ingredients, and because of Akita’s rice farming reputation, many declare this region’s sakes to be some of the best in the nation. How good are Akita’s sakes? Each winter, westerners get one chance to judge for themselves on a five-day educational tour of Akita’s craft sake breweries.

The tour is conducted in English and features a lecture with John Gauntner, one of the most highly regarded sake experts in the world. Having a glimpse into these kuras (breweries) is a rare treat, as they are normally closed to the public.

Akita’s cool climate and longer winters are also major factors in the region’s belief they are ‘bishuoukoku’ (Empire of Beautiful Sake). The cold allows for optimum brewing conditions during fall and winter—the traditional time sake is produced. Kuras here tend to brew at lower temperatures for much longer ferment times than other regions, resulting in sake that is rich, full-bodied, yet delicate.

Gauntner and Etsuko Nakamura, tour guide and organizer, accompany us to Saiya Shuzo brewery, makers of the sake-line romantically coined, Yuki no Bosha (Cabin in the Snow). The brewery is located in Yuri Honjo, along Akita’s western edge, overlooking the Sea of Japan.

When we arrive it’s a sunny winter’s day, but the 12-foot high snowdrifts between buildings and along the roadside tell of a different tale from days past. Toji, Toichi Takahashi, has been with Saiya Shuzo for over 40 years and has amassed awards virtually every year he’s been in charge. Takahashi-san’s sake has the honour of winning the most gold medals in annual competitions out of any Akita brewery.

An informative talk with Gauntner and toji eventually leads us on a brewery walkabout of every detailed step in the sake-making process.

To prepare, we don hairnets, white lab coats and rubber boots for our journey into the sake inner sanctum—truly, we look like a motley bunch of nutty professors.

Kurabito manually wash rice; time rice steeping with a stopwatch; create a form of malting by hand-mixing mold-inoculated rice in a hot, sauna-like cedar room; and shovel steamed rice by hand—all to ensure that rice doesn’t get cracked or damaged which can inhibit fermentation and lead to an inferior product.

This care and attention continues to the sake’s eventual pressing, sometimes through centuries-old methods with the mash inserted into long, narrow cotton bags, allowing gravity to separate the clear liquid from solids. This traditional form of pressing makes what is called shizuku-style sake. It’s some of the most expensive and exquisite sake one can ever taste due to its low yield and delicate flavour profile.

Shizuku is rarely done, but we were fortunate to catch several breweries pressing it for the upcoming annual spring sake competitions, and even sampled a few. Batches are pressed three times—the second pressing considered the best. Moriya Koichi, toji of Asamai Shuzo, makers of Ama no To (Heaven’s Door), uses a fish analogy for pressing: “You have the head, the middle and the tail. The most delicious part is in the middle—this is the same for pressing sake.”

Many of the brewing complexes are historically significant, dating back to when the kuras were first established. Hinomaru Jozo, a brewery we visited in the town of Yokote, was started in 1689. Akita Seishu, the last stop on our tour, was founded in 1865.

Each tour ended with a comprehensive tasting. We were able to try many sakes, some made specifically for locals and unavailable in Tokyo or abroad. Many breweries shared their lunches with us: homemade pickles, sashimi and grilled fish marinated with the brewery’s own sake kasu—the solids left from pressing sake. Nothing ever gets wasted in the sake-making process.

Rounding out the sake excursions, we were fortunate to enjoy a performance of traditional minyo folksingers who played the shamisen, a three-stringed guitar-like instrument, and tried our hand at soba noodle-making. Each evening featured an elaborate dinner paired with the sakes generously provided by the breweries we visited.

The food was incredible: fresh sea urchin, charcoal grilled sweetfish, the local rustic chunky-style miso, and kiritanpo—an Akita specialty, consisting of pounded rice molded onto a skewer which is then toasted—hearty and delicious.

We also visited Tsurunoyu Onsen—a hot spring retreat, tucked away in the mountains near Tazawako, a popular ski area. This onsen is famous for the much-touted health benefits of its milky-white sulphuric water.

Snow gently drifted down as we basked in the buoyant heat, steam dancing around us. A bit of sake shared in the onsen allowed us to elegantly elucidate how our Akita adventures and especially how Japan’s national drink is truly a beacon for what the nation continually strives for: pure unabashed and uncompromising perfection.

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Choosing Britain’s Next Axial Banker

A year ago, Rupert Murdoch was apparently the a lot of able unelected accepting operating in Britain. The media baron could acutely accept prime ministers. Again came the buzz hacking and badge bribery scandal, afterwards which politicians approved to ambit themselves from him.

The appellation of a lot of able unelected Briton now apparently belongs to Mervyn A. King, governor of the Coffer of England. Witness the way he accomplished Robert E. Diamond Jr., arch controlling of Barclays, two weeks ago in affiliation with the aspersion over accouterment of the London interbank offered rate, or Libor.

Whoever succeeds Mr. King next year will accept even greater powers. Afterwards all, albatross for cyberbanking adherence and cyberbanking administration is about to be added to the axial bank’s capital assignment of active budgetary policy. It is basic for capitalism that this ascendancy be acclimatized effectively, clearly and fairly.

Who will be Mr. King’s almsman if he accomplish down? And how will the new governor be fabricated accountable? These questions accept been brought into aciculate abatement by the Libor scandal. The beloved for Mr. King’s job has credible his affairs knocked, while doubts accept been aloft about the axial bank’s capability and transparency.

The next governor will charge to be something of a superman. Expertise in how to administer cyberbanking crises is apparently the top requirement, accustomed that the euro could draft up and there would be no time for on-the-job learning. Able administration abilities are aswell important, as abortion to agent finer would leave the bounden swamped. Finally, the governor will accept to be a acceptable communicator.

Until the Libor aspersion broke, Paul Tucker, one of the Coffer of England’s agent governors, was the favorite. He has a able clue almanac as a crisis manager. But his credible abortion to admit aboriginal warnings that Libor was accepting chic has fabricated him attending nave.

Another applicant is Adair Turner, administrator of the Cyberbanking Services Authority, a ample block of whose functions are about to be alloyed into the axial bank. Although the F.S.A. has not covered itself with celebrity in investigating the Libor affair, a lot of of the abuses occurred afore Mr. Turner took the helm.

Both men will be broiled by associates of Parliament this week, Mr. Tucker for the additional time. If neither impresses, the acreage will be advanced accessible for added candidates, like Gus O’Donnell, aforetime Britain’s top civilian servant, and Mark Carney, governor of the Coffer of Canada.

Holding the next governor answerable will be as important as allotment one. The Coffer of England was accurately accustomed ample ability in 1997 to anticipate politicians from meddling in budgetary action to beforehand their balloter interests. But the academy and its baton accept slipped up on abundant occasions that abrogation them absolutely to their own accessories is not a acceptable advantage either.

For example, Mr. King did not complete the anxiety audibly abundant during the acclaim balloon and was apathetic to act if there was a run on Northern Rock, the mortgage bank, in 2007. He again continued resisted any investigations into the Coffer of England’s own failings in managing the crisis. Now its hands-off access to the Libor aspersion is accepting revealed.

Based absolutely on its record, the axial coffer would not be accepting added powers. However, the Conservative-led government has approved to accusation the antecedent Labour government’s behavior for the acclaim crisis — in particular, its accommodation to yield abroad the axial bank’s albatross for cyberbanking supervision. Hence, it has become politically acceptable to about-face that move.

Given this, the antecedence should be to enhance the Coffer of England’s accountability. Under the accepted system, the government sets aggrandizement targets and picks the governor. It aswell chooses the agent governors and associates of two committees: the budgetary action committee, which sets absorption rates, and the cyberbanking action committee, which will anon be amenable for cyberbanking stability. Their absolute associates advice anticipate the governor from acceptable too dominant.

The Coffer of England aswell has a board, alleged the Court. But this has been abundantly ineffective. Though it could do better, it is bedridden because it accurately has no say over action or who is the governor.

Meanwhile, Parliament can alarm the governor and added chief admiral in to accord evidence. Although this is a potentially important analysis on the axial bank’s power, associates of Parliament accept not yet acclimated this apparatus effectively. Yield the continuing hearings over the Libor scandal. They did a poor job of interrogating Mr. Diamond, declining to alike their questions and appearing added absorbed on avaricious account than accepting to the truth. While the consecutive sessions were bigger planned, they were still not biting enough.

M.P.’s accept a adventitious to accession their bold in the hearings this week. A capital band of analytic care to be how absolutely Mr. King managed to actuate Barclays to get rid of Mr. Diamond. Few humans will afford tears at Mr. Diamond’s departure, accustomed that he abridged the acquisitiveness in the City of London. But the F.S.A. — not the axial coffer — is still Barclays’ primary regulator. Assembly should amuse themselves that the governor did not abjure his authority.

One way of convalescent autonomous ascendancy would be to accord associates of Parliament the appropriate to authority best hearings and, in extremis, adios the government’s best for governor and added top positions. Indeed, that is what assembly want. But the government is resisting. If associates of Parliament are to change their minds, they aboriginal accept to appearance they are up to the job.