The One and Only Craftsman Brewer

There is one chief brewer who is responsible for the fate of “Gokeiji”. He is Kazuhiro Yanai,
who has been the chief brewer at Aoki Sake Brewery since 2013. Mr. Yanai is a "craftsman brewer" that is rare among small sake breweries these days.

Mr. Yanai started his career as a sake brewer in 1990. He devoted himself to brewery work at a local sake brewery in his hometown of Aizu and passed the Nanbu Toji certification test after 12 years. Since then, he has been leading his subordinate brewers as a chief brewer.

On the other hand, prior to hiring Mr. Yanai, our brewery was facing the problem of aging craftsmen. We met with several candidates in order to recruit a new chief brewer, and Mr. Yanai told us, “Sake brewed with laughter has the effect of healing and soothing. You won’t feel tired after drinking it, and its taste is absolutely good. I want to brew sake that brings a soft expression to the people who drink it”. His words immediately struck a chord with us. So we asked him to “do what he wanted to do” and entrusted him with the fate of our brewery. From this point on, our philosophies match perfectly, and a new history of “Gokeiji” began.

It is often said that “personality comes out in sake” and I believe this is definitely true.
In the mouth, it has a soft, heartwarming flavor with a clear aftertaste. Every year, Mr. Yanai puts his heart and soul into brewing “Gokeiji”, which involves both healing and laughter. Everyone at Aoki Sake Brewery is a fan of the sake brewed by Mr. Yanai and is proud of the love they put into brewing.

One of the roles of the brewery is to pass on the skills of Mr. Yanai.
Aoki Sake Brewery will continue to take challenges in the future and is committed to training young craftsmen to produce sake that will satisfy our customers.
2018.8

Our Thoughts on Gokeiji

• Brewing Better Sake than the Previous Year… Change is to Make History.　Shigenobu Aoki, 7th Generation Brewer
• The Brewer of the Next Generation, Woven by the 7.5 Generation, Chisa Aoki
• Kazuhiro Yanai, the Chief Brewer of our Brewery, is Dedicated to Happy Brewing
• “Goddess of Inheritance - Chisa Aoki (27), 8th generation brewer of ‘Aoki Sake Brewery', which has a history of 186 years in Koga, Ibaraki”
• Not a GOKEIJI, Initiative Taken by the Twenties - Nisai no Kamoshi
• The Best Non-pressed Series that the Chief Brewer Has Created with Dedication
• Won “Ibaraki Daiginjo Trophy” in SAKE Division at IWC 2022
• Gold Award Winner of SAKE COMPETITION 2019
• Won the top prize in the Junmai Ginjo Sake category of “SAKE Division” at the IWC 2016 and the top prize in the Ginjo category at the U.S. National Sake Appraisal 2016
• Won the third place in the Junmai Ginjo category at the SAKE COMPETITION 2015