Kyo Kitayama

Haneda Shuzo has been brewing in the Keihoku area of Kyoto's Kitayama mountains for over 120 years, using spring water from the upper Katsura River with naturally higher mineral content than the soft water of Fushimi. The brewery grows its own Iwai rice, a Kyoto-native sake variety, and takes advantage of winter temperatures that can drop to minus 10 degrees Celsius for fermentation. One signature release, the Kioke Shikomi, is brewed in cedar barrels using water from Matsuo Taisha, the Shinto shrine historically associated with sake brewing.