Right before this trip I got infected with the corona virus. Being sick is never fun, but because of it, I had to miss a very special sake tasting organized by Kuratje. Thankfully I got sent a lot of interesting pictures, so I was there in spirit. One of the bottles that was tasted that day came from this craft sake brewery: Ine to Agave. And after trying their craft sake at Sake Park, I knew I wanted to visit.
Located in the small city of Oga, about an hour by train from Akita city, this brewery makes craft sake. But what is craft sake? Sake is made by using rice, koji, water, yeast and optionally distillers’ alcohol. If you add in other ingredients, you are not allowed to call it sake. To make sake you also need to have the right permits to do so. There are currently a lot of brews that look a lot like sake, but can’t be called that because of the rules stated above. Those brews are called craft sake.
At the Sake Park event I saw that most young people that attended were primarily interested in craft sake. And who can blame them? With many different flavour profiles to chose from, it’s sure to have something you like. Ine to Agave was especially popular that weekend.
So, while staying in Akita, I decided to take a peek at the brewery in Oga. And luckily, it’s not hard to find. The brewery is located inside the old train station, 1 minute away from Oga station. Inside you will find a small bar, where for 500 yen you can try 3 of Ine to Agave’s craft sake. I decided to do this twice, trying the following sake:
- Ine to Agave (OGA)
- Doburoku French Hops
- Doburoku Kimoto
- Doburoku Momo (Peach)
- Doburoku Coffee
- Ramen Senyou
As you can see, this brewery makes a lot of doburoku. My favorite of the bunch was the French Hops doburoku. The hops really complimented the thick doburoku, making me finish my cup way to quickly. And no, the Ramen Senyou is not a sake made with ramen noodles, but it was made for the ramen restaurants across the street.
For those who are hungry, you can order lunch here as well, and of course get yourself a bottle of craft sake. I am really curious about how this brewery will develop going forward!
Ine to Agave
〒010-0511
Shinhamacho-1-21 Funagawaminato Funagawa, Oga, Akita
1 minute walk from Oga train station
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