Brand introduction

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  Treasure of the town

  Goho is brewed in southern Hokkaido, a region formerly known as "Hakodate." The brewing water is underground water from Mt. Yokotsudake, a medium-soft water well suited to sake brewing. The sake rice used is "Ginpu," "Suisei," and "Kitashizuku," grown by local contract farmers in the Ohno Plain, the birthplace of rice paddies in Hokkaido. Grown in Hokkaido's relatively warm climate, fertile soil, and with the passion of the growers, the sake rice is large, uniform in size, low in protein, and imparts a refined umami flavor to the sake. Building on strong ties with the local community, we are constantly striving to make even better sake. Brewed with local treasures—water, rice, and people—Goho is a sake that breathes the essence of southern Hokkaido's terroir.

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  Techniques of the brewery

  Brewing sake in the brewery begins with rice polishing. At Goho, we use sake rice lovingly cultivated by local producers, which we carefully polish in-house. The hardness and moisture content of the harvested sake rice vary slightly each year depending on weather conditions and other factors. Our brewers use their own intuition to judge and meticulously adjust the polishing ratio. Delicate quality control through in-house polishing is essential to fully bring out the flavor, aroma, and unique characteristics of the terroir of the sake rice. Hakodate Jozo also practices "four-season brewing." While our annual production volume is by no means large, we pour our skills and heart into our work without compromise, delivering freshly pressed Goho throughout the four seasons.

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  The future of sake brewing as envisioned by the person in charge

  Hiroki Azumaya of Hakodate Brewery has devoted himself to sake brewing in Hokkaido for nearly 30 years, winning numerous awards, including the Gold Medal at the National New Sake Tasting Competition (three times in total as of 2020). He has sincerely approached sake brewing and repeatedly asked himself, "What is true local sake?" One answer he arrived at is "brewing local sake using locally grown sake rice, local brewing water, and the local climate." Believing this to be the very definition of a unique local sake, Goho is dedicated to embodying the terroir of southern Hokkaido, striving for a "light and delicious" sake that respects the local water and sake rice. "I want to create a quality local sake that reflects the passion of the local people involved in Goho," Azumaya says. As Azumaya says, Goho always aspires to be a sake that reflects the spirit of southern Hokkaido.