[Fukuoka Sake Brewery Wakatakeya Sake Brewery] Article introducing Vice President Shinoda!

It has been over 300 years since the first generation Wakatakeya Denbei opened the brewery. Although it is the oldest brewery in the Chikugo region, Wakatakeya was not a wealthy man like a headman.

It was a time when other sake brewers were large landowners who used their surplus rice to make sake, but it is said that the first generation Denbei was captivated by the charm of sake itself and started making sake.

The current head of the company is the 14th generation, and the 15th generation is scheduled to join the company in the spring of 2021.

The brewery currently has 8 employees, with a total of 14 including seasonal brewers and staff.

It is a small warehouse with about 400 stones.

We mainly sell alcohol in the local Tanushimaru and Fukuoka areas, but some of our alcoholic beverages are sold nationwide, and in recent years we have been actively expanding overseas.

Quote: Kurume Tourism Convention and International Exchange Association

Tanushimaru Town is located in the Chikugo Plain, which stretches between the Chikugo River, the largest river in Kyushu, and the Mino Mountain Range. Tanushimaru Town has a warm climate and is known as a granary region as well as a production area for plants and fruits.

Benefiting from underground water from the Minou Mountains, the water used for brewing sake comes from 80 meters underground within the company. For sake rice, we basically use Yamada Nishiki and Yume Ikkon, which are grown by contracted farmers in the town.

The sake made in Tanushimaru's Wakatakeya is brewed using local water and rice.

Originally, I had no intention of returning to Wakatakeya (my parents' home) and wanted to work for a company with an eye on overseas expansion. As luck would have it, I received offers from several of the companies I wanted, and when I was wondering which one to choose, I consulted my brother (who held the common position of head of the development department at the time...).

He was supposed to go back to his parents' house and listen to his concerns, consult with them, and decide on a career path, but halfway through he was brainwashed by his older brother, and before he knew it, he turned down the job offer and ended up joining Wakatakeya.

I still laugh and drink with my brother about stories from that time.

Now, I'm grateful to my brother for brainwashing me (I'm not joking, I still think it was really brainwashing).

The work is tough now, but it's fun.

The ``trigger'' was something as simple as this.

Wakatakeya Denbei Genrokushu (commonly known as Genrokushu)

Even though I'm not a strong drinker, I still want to drink while reading a book or watching a movie.Serve it on the rocks with a round piece of ice, or sometimes warm it.

While reading and watching the movie, it is a drink that will help you feel the emotions of the time, and it will also wipe away the tears that come from your lachrymal glands, which have become looser as you get older.

My criteria for judgment are simple.

“Is it good or bad for the family, children, and descendants?”And “Does the work make the staff and customers who work at Wakatakeya happy?It is.

That's the kind of sake brewing and work that I do.

06. Future vision

My motto is, it doesn't have to be your first drink, it should be your last drink.

I want to do business in such a way that the people who drink it think of me, and that when they drink it, they think of the face of someone at Wakatakeya.