Masumi Okuden Kantsukuri Junmai

Miyasaka Brewing Company's Masumi Okuden Kantsukuri Junmai from Nagano's Suwa region — a classic junmai-grade sake produced by one of Japan's most respected kura (sake breweries). Masumi is famous for discovering yeast strain No. 7 (Masumi yeast) in 1946, now the most widely used sake yeast in Japan and America. Okuden Kantsukuri is the brand's workhorse junmai: dry, clean, with umami depth appropriate for food pairing. In BC, particularly valued as a food-pairing sake for richer dishes — salmon, grilled chicken, soy-glazed preparations.

Pairing intelligence

• starter: Masumi's full Junmai body and clean umami support the tempura's richness and mushroom's earthiness; the tentsuyu's dashi base mirrors the sake's natural umami depth.
• main: Uni (sea urchin) and ikura (salmon roe) are two of the most intensely umami foods in Japanese cuisine. Kimoto Junmai's elevated amino acid content and earthy depth is the correct match — delicate ginjo sake would be overwhelmed by the intensity of uni. Warm service amplifies the rice and brine bridge between sake and seasoned sushi rice.
• pre dessert: The full-bodied, earthy Junmai finds a harmonious companion in black sesame's deep nuttiness; the red bean's sweetness bridges the sake while matcha adds a refreshing herbal counterpoint.
• cheese: Kimoto Junmai has the highest amino acid content and umami intensity of any standard sake style — it mirrors Époisses's extraordinary umami concentration (one of the most pungent cheeses in France). The sake's lactic character from kimoto fermentation echoes the cheese's rind fermentation. Warm service (nurukan 42°C) opens the rice and earthy notes to match the cheese's power. This is an experimental pairing that works on first principles.
• cheese: Washed-rind cheeses (Taleggio, Époisses, Livarot) are among the most challenging foods for beverage pairing — their pungency overwhelms many wines. Kimoto Junmai's high amino acid content and earthy, fermented character is one of the few beverages that can complement rather than clash with washed-rind intensity. Roasted grapes provide sweetness; walnuts provide fat that softens the cheese's bite; fig jam bridges the sake's mild sweetness with the cheese's savoury depth.