In Kashima City, Saga Prefecture, we conducted an online interview with the father and son of Baba Sake Brewery, who work hard to make sake with a focus on local production and local consumption, and brew the famous local sake ``Nogomi''.
Kashima City, Saga Prefecture is known as one of the leading sake producing areas in Saga, and there are still 5 companies and 6 sake breweries in this city with a population of 30,000 people.
The 8th generation president of Baba Sake Brewery, Ichiro Baba, is the chairman of the Saga Prefecture Sake Brewers Association.The brewery is one of Saga's most representative breweries, both in name and reality.
This time, we will ask President Baba about his thoughts on local production and local consumption, which he continues to stick to under the "Nogomi" brand, and the ninth generation of Baba, who carries on those thoughts.We asked Shuichiro about his future prospects.♪
AlsoFrom 19:00 on Saturday, July 30th, we will be inviting the two generations of Baba Sake Brewery.Online sake brewery study abroadwill do.
What is online sake brewery study abroad?, is a new service where we invite a hot brewer once a month to learn about sake, makers, and local culture while drinking together at home.
Read this article to make your online sake brewery study abroad experience even more enjoyable.♪
Baba Sake Brewery 8th President
Ichiro BabaMr.
Born in Kashima City, Saga Prefecture.
After graduating from university, due to family circumstances, he immediately took over the brewery. Kashima Yamada Nishiki Club was formed to produce sake using local rice.
Baba Sake Brewery 9th generation
Shuichiro Baba Mr.
Born in Kashima City, Saga Prefecture.
Kagoshima University United Graduate School of Agriculture (assigned to Saga University). Inheriting his father's passion, a young brewery attracts attention by producing sake using isolated yeast from the Ariake Sea and environmentally friendly rice.
Table of contents
- About “Baba Sake Brewery”
- Why do we care about local production for local consumption? The cancer of “vested interests” that has been rampant in the sake industry
- Is local production for local consumption the solution to curing industry cancer? Increase added value by visualizing rice farmers
- It takes 20 years to create a brand...
- From father to son. What I want to pass on
- About the alcohol we will send you this time
- About future vision
- Finally
About “Baba Sake Brewery”
Interviewer: Masu
President Baba, thank you for your time today.
First off, could you tell us a little bit about Baba Sake Brewery?
President Baba
Yes, thank you very much.
We, Baba Sake Brewery, have our brewery in the Nogomi district of Kashima City, Saga Prefecture, and have continued to produce sake with a focus on sake for over 200 years since our founding.
Our alcoholic beverages are generally slightly sweet to match Saga's ingredients and the rich flavor of Saga.We are.
Since we have a brewery in Saga, we pursue local sake that is rooted in Saga's culture, ingredients, and region.
Why do we care about local production for local consumption?
The cancer of “vested interests” that has been rampant in the sake industry
Interviewer: Masu
I heard that Saga's famous sake brand "Nogomi" was launched in 1993 by the eighth generation president, Baba.
We recognize that the essence of this is that it embodies local production for local consumption using Yamada Nishiki from Kashima, Saga Prefecture.
I also heard that President Baba himself negotiated with local farmers and even established Kashima's Yamada Nishiki Club.
Why are we so particular about local production for local consumption?
Could you tell us about the background of the sake industry at the time Nogomi Brand was established?
President Baba
Around 1993, when I first decided to launch the Nogomi brand,A time when alcoholic beverages were still ranked by grade, such as 1st grade sake and 2nd grade sake.The price was determined for each grade.
The locations where the products will be sold have also all been determined.
In this area, there is a liquor store called A, and in this area, there is a liquor store called B.
I mean like nowA time when it was not possible to freely decide where to sell or set prices.It was.
Simply put,An era of vested interests, where a system is designed to make a profit for a specific business operator.That's right.
So,I asked various liquor stores at the time.
“Is there a next successor?”And.
Then
``The liquor stores of the future will not be overwhelmed, but they will not grow either.
That's why he says he doesn't want to take over, and neither do his parents.''That's what I'm saying.
And that's as high as 80% of the people I've heard.
This simply means that the number of customers will be reduced by 80%.
In that case, I don't think our storehouse will survive.
That was the start of ``Nogomi''.
Is local production for local consumption the solution to curing industry cancer?
Increase added value by visualizing rice farmers
Interviewer: Masu
I see...
You can understand the distribution issues of the sake industry at the time.
To begin with, sake has been losing market share due to globalization and the introduction of a variety of alcoholic beverages, and as the population declines in the future, the situation will only get worse.
There needs to be a fundamental solution, but with the way things were done at the time, it would be impossible to raise prices and no one would make a profit.
Over time, the heirs will disappear and the ship will sink.
President Baba
Yes, that's what it means.
Then, in order to survive, he made a big decision to create the ``Nogomi'' brand, which was particular about using local rice.
Saga is a primary industrial area, with agriculture and fishing as the main industries.
If agriculture declines and the number of people leaving farming increases, this will directly lead to a decline in Saga's population.
Therefore,If I can reduce the number of people leaving farming even just a little through the sake I make,That's what I think.
To achieve this, we need to produce rice that we didn't know who was growing it until now.It is necessary to make the producers visible: “Where and by whom?”I think so.
In fact,The name of the rice producer is written on the label of Nokomi sake.However, by doing this, farmers can also be proud.
``This sake is made from the rice I made.''
This also leads to so-called good word of mouth.
For consumers, being able to see the producer gives them peace of mind and safety, which adds value to alcoholic beverages.
Therefore, Nogomi tried to sell 720ml for 3,000-5,000 yen.
However, liquor stores at the time were told that at such a price range, they would only be able to sell at the end of the year (Obon and the end of the year).
However,I can drink it as a daily drink even at that price range.That's what I thought. This is because wine is commonly drunk even at that price.
The breakthrough came when it won No. 1 for two consecutive years in a liquor contest run by a magazine called Tokusengai at the time, and was picked up by a local newspaper.
From there,It's definitely expensive, but the taste is worth the price.So, nothing was said.
I still feel that sake is too cheap.
Considering the future of the industry as a whole,We need a system that adds value so people can buy it for even 3,000 to 5,000 yen, and then returns the money to the farmers.That's what I think.
It takes 20 years to create a brand...
Interviewer: Masu
I guess that's the background and thought behind the phrase "I'm particular about using local rice."
President Baba
Yes. And I think it was at an alcohol training session or something like that, but someone said this to me.
"It takes 20 years for you sake brewers to create a brand and make it a success."and
Each product is prepared only once a year, so even in 20 years, the same product will only be made 20 times.
I was 27 years old at the time, so if I were to retire at age 60, I would only have 33 years left.
In other words, it would be impossible to create two brands.
Since then, I have put a lot of determination and thought into creating the Nogomi brand.
When I thought about making sake that I was satisfied with,After all, we are a local sake shop, so we are particular about using local rice, and we try to make sake that ``knows where and by whom it is made.''That's how it turned out.
From father to son. What I want to pass on
Interviewer: Masu
Thank you very much.
I feel like I was able to more deeply understand the idea of local production for local consumption.
Lastly, your son joined the company in April of this year. Are there any feelings you would like to pass on to your son?
President Baba
Well, rather than wanting to take over, I think I want to be able to support him in what he wants to do.
My son understands that we want to value local rice, but we need to change other flavors to suit the needs of the time.
When I took over the brewery, I also changed a lot of things, including the brand name.
In fact, before Nogomi was established, there was a brand called ``Houkun,'' but they changed that.
At that time, my relatives told me a lot about what to do with Houkun.
I am"If you ask me whether I will keep my name or my company, I will leave my company."That's why I overcame the opposition.
So even if my son told me he was changing the brand name, I wouldn't be able to deny it (lol).
About the alcohol we will send you this time
Interviewer: Masu
Thank you, President Baba.
Then, I would like to ask my son, Shuichiro.
President Baba says that he wants to support his son in whatever he wants to do, but may I ask you about the new alcoholic beverage we're sending you?
Mr. Koichiro
Yes, first of all, this is a sake made from yeast isolated from the Ariake Sea and bred and improved. First of all, are you using yeast from the Ariake Sea? I think you will have a lot of doubts about that (lol)
Yeast is invisible, but it is actually everywhere, and the yeast that is suitable for sake brewing is used as sake yeast.
I amI majored in the Graduate School of Agriculture at Kagoshima University's graduate school (attached to Saga University), and during my research there, I discovered that some yeast collected from the Ariake Sea might be suitable for sake brewing.I did.
So, we bred it and improved it and used it this time.
The Ariake Sea is similar to Saga, right?
I think yeast from the Ariake Sea is interesting because they are particular about local ingredients.
You can only enjoy the taste after drinking it (lol)
In fact,The name hasn't been decided yet, and it hasn't even been released yet, so those who will be drinking it during their next online sake brewery study abroad trip will be drinking it for the first time.That's what it means!
And, there is another type of environmentally friendly brew called ``Nogomi~Goen~''.The primary objective is to protect Kashima's rice terraces and tidal flats as part of its environmental conservation efforts.It is characterized by the fact that it is brewed using rice found in the country.
What I mean by this is that due to the recent decrease in the number of agricultural workers, there are no more farmers to protect the terraced rice fields.
When rice terraces become rough, landslides are more likely to occur.
If that happens, the tidal flats will become rough and the rich biological forms of the Ariake Sea will collapse.
In order to stop this, it is necessary to make and sell alcoholic beverages using rice from specific terraced rice fields, and make efforts to bring farmers back by making it economically profitable.
This is also our first initiative, and we will be releasing our first brewery on July 19th.
Inheriting my father's passion, I would like to produce meaningful sake while valuing the local area.
About future vision
Interviewer: Masu
It's a very interesting initiative, and there are so many topics to talk about on the day that it might be difficult.
I hope you will talk about the more detailed aspects of today's story during your online sake brewery study abroad program.
Lastly, please tell us about your vision for sake brewing in the future.
Mr. Koichiro
Even if it's my time, I want to protect the Nogomi brand.
``Nogomi'' is named after this village of Nogomi, and the spirit of valuing local production for local consumption.It is.
In order to protect this region, we need to take measures such as environmental protection measures to protect agricultural workers and maintain fields.That's what I think.
I also want to get to the point where people say not only ``I like Nokomi,'' but ``I like 〇〇 in Nogomi.''
For example, I like "Nogomi BLOOM" and I like "Nogomi Arabashiri."
We want a wide variety of people to enjoy our sake by preserving the spirit of Nogomi and creating a variety of flavors even though it is the same sake and brand.
I think so.
Finally
President Baba,Mr. KoichiroThank you very much.
An online sake brewery study abroad program will be held from 19:00 on Saturday, July 30, 2022, with President Baba and Koichiro introduced this time.I will.
This time, it's the first hands-on parent-child appearance.
The theme is [Family inheritance] Online sake brewery study abroad to learn about locally produced sake for local consumption.
We look forward to your participation.♪
■Click here for details and application
https://hands-on-local.com/products/sakaguraryugaku_sabusuku
