Discover the very “Umaii Umeshu”

Ibaraki is such a lovely rustic prefecture to appreciate a fresh bottle of sweet Umeshu as summer approaches.

Text: Cac Truc

(*) Umaii in Japanese means something that tastes good or is delicious.

Ibaraki is famous for its Kairakuen Garden with more than 3,000 apricot trees. This garden is an ideal place for visitors to spend a day wandering around and enjoying the fragrance of apricot blossoms and imbibing apricot wine at summer night parties. Endowed by nature with pure water, fertile soil, and an especially abundant variety of apricots, Ibaraki has become home to more than sake breweries. Umeshu – one of the most interesting fruit wines in the world, is made from Japanese apricot named ume. Ume is much bigger and fleshier than the apricots or plums in Vietnam.

Umeshu: Summer winds in Ibaraki (photo: Internet)

If you are curious about how the ancient Japanese produced Umeshu and sake, then visit Umeshu & Sake Besshunkan Museum at the Meiri Shurui Brewery. Long ago, Tokugawa Mitsukuni – the second leader of Mito- was passionate about sake and often held wine parties he called “besshunnkae” because for him “there was a spring in a glass of sake”. With a name which means wine parties, the Umeshu & Sake Besshunkan Museum is a wonderful place to explore how alcohols were made in the Edo period. Along the corridor are huge jars containing sake and ume.

There are different methods of making umeshu, but the most popular way is to soak the ume in sake. Umeshu sake has a distinct flavor. Some people also use Ginjo sake to make umeshu. Besides sochu, brandy, whisky, and rum can be used to make Umeshu such as Baiko Hyakunen – the standard  umeshu of Meiri Shurui Brewery. This was also ranked Japan’s best umeshu in 2008. To make Hyakunen Umeshu, they soak ume in a mixture of honey and 5-year-old brandy. It features a bold sweet flavor and long aftertaste.

Umeshu is as fresh and sweet as summer, and as pure as the color of amber and is also good for your health. A glass of umeshu served with a black forest chocolate cake or other delicious dessert is a great choice for the hot days. It’s easy to understand why visitors to Mito, the main city of Ibaraki, always buy a bottle of umeshu. Umeshu is as fresh and sweet as summer, and as pure as the color of amber and is also good for your health. A glass of umeshu served with a black forest chocolate cake or other delicious dessert is a great choice for the hot days. It’s easy to understand why visitors to Mito, the main city of Ibaraki, always buy a bottle of umeshu.

Ume tree (Plum tree) in Ibaraki. Photo: Ibaraki Pref.

Sake, Umeshu and Craft Beer Breweries in Ibaraki:

+ Umeshu:

Meiri Shurui Brewery

327 Motoyoshidacho, Mito-shi, Ibaraki

Website: http://www.bessyun-kan.jp

(Close every Monday)

+ Sake:

Sudohonke Sake Brewery

2215 Obara,Kasama,Ibaraki  309-1701

Website: http://www.sudohonke.co.jp

+ Craft beer:

Kiuchi Brewery

311-0133 Ibaragi-ken, Naka-shi, Kounosu 1257

Website: http://www.kodawari.cc