Next in our series of interviews with Hakkaisan friends and brewery workers is Mr. Tsuneo Suzuki. He is the well respected Hakkaisan technical adviser on sake brewing known to everyone as Suzuki-sensei. With decades of experience, Suzuki-sensei is the go to guy for brewing questions, advice and sake research by the staff. He’s an invaluable member of the brewing team and he teaches and shares his knowledge with the staff every day. I was lucky enough to sit down with him to discuss his work and history at Hakkaisan.
Q: What is your work here at Hakkaisan Brewery?
Suzuki-sensei: Before joining Hakkaisan Brewery, my major was not related to Sakagura business but rather teaching about the technical aspects of sake making. When I joined Hakkaisan Brewery, many of the kurabito were very young people who just graduated from high school. Of course there are other seasonal workers helping us brew from autumn to spring. But after I joined Hakkaisan I would hold lectures for these young employees and teach them all about the technical points of sake making. I also instruct them on the attitude and spirit that goes into making great sake. I dedicated myself to improve the quality of Hakkaisan and I made a lot of effort to do that. I wanted to learn all I could about making high quality sake. After our current toji, Mr. Nagumo joined as full time employee, our technical ability of sake making got much better and the quality of our sake improved dramatically. Recently, I’ve been taking care of the water purification systems. This cleans the water we use to wash the rice before we return it to the river. High quality water is so important to sake making, so we want to protect the environment.
Suzuki-sensei
Suzuki-sensei: If I’m buying sake for myself, I buy hakkaisan Honjozo because in regards to price and quality, it is a very good value. I believe that our honjozo quality better than other ginjos you can find out there! For my regular every day sake, or what I recommend to friends, I think Hakkaisan Honjozo is the best.
Q: What foods do you like to pair with Hakkaisan sake?
Suzuki-sensei: I seldom eat food when drinking sake! I believe the classic Hakkaisan sake flavor does not cover up the taste of food, but works in a supporting role. When I do eat food with sake, I recommend not something not too salty – such as grilled fish.
Q: Do you have any message for American consumers of Hakkaisan Sake?
Suzuki-sensei: The history of sake in Japan is one of the oldest parts of our food culture, so it’s important to understand that it’s a part of our history. I think that sake is part of the Japanese people’s DNA, because it’s such a match to our lifestyle and food culture. I believe that compared to Japan, the United States has a shorter history and not such a historical food culture – so I recommend that people try sake and experiment with the taste of sake. I believe that sake can support many types of cuisine including the favorite taste of the U.S. as well. Sake can be a wonderful addition to the menu.
Second, I know that the export tax rate for Junmai sake and alcohol added sake is very different. That is why the alcohol added style of sake ends up being a little more expensive. However the fortified style of sake is also part of our culture. I hope to arrange and work to modify the tax situation so that people can choose based on taste preference, rather than only on price. Years ago, Junmai sake used to be very thick and have a strong flavor compared to the fortified style of sake one. Recently, thanks to the technical improvements in sake making, many Japanese breweries can make a very smooth and light junmai-shu. While Junmai sake is getting more and more popular abroad and even here in Japan, I hope people will not overlook the fortified style of sake, which is great in it’s own right.
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