Founded in 1686, the brewery has a history of more than 330 years, making it the second oldest brewery in Shizuoka Prefecture. The Garyubai brand was launched in 2001, and in 2018 it introduced the world to second fermentation in bottle sparkling sake.
Using the subsoil water of the Okitsu River, famous for its clear water and sweetfish, as the brewing water, 1.3 tons of sake is brewed from a total of 600 kilograms of rice by the Nanbu-toji, a craftsman who has inherited refined sake brewing techniques. Rice is divided into small portions for all brewing, and limited water absorption is used to adjust the water supply time and water absorption rate to achieve a sake quality that brings out the best of the sake rice. More than 10 varieties of sake rice, carefully selected from all over Japan, are used to provide a full range of flavor and aroma variations.
The quality of the sake produced by the delicate handiwork has been highly acclaimed overseas, and Garyubai Junmai-ginjo Yamadanishiki was awarded first place in the Junmai Sake category of KuraMaster 2019, a sake competition held in France since 2017.
