Craft brewed liquor

Traditional drip-pressed sake

にっこにこ太陽酒造の店主が櫂入れしている様子

Nikoniko Taiyo Shuzo, Head Brewer

About Akihiro Sugimoto

I was a craftsman involved in manufacturing, but at the age of 31, I suffered a stroke and had to give up my craft due to the exploitative company I was working for.

After that, I transitioned to becoming an antique dealer, and about 20 years later, I returned to the path of a craftsman, this time in sake brewing.

Although I started working with sake, and despite having no health problems, my body suddenly became unable to tolerate alcohol.

Nevertheless, I did not give up on making sake and have been brewing it with a focus on local ingredients.

By using rice and water grown in that region, I can reflect the very essence of the local climate in each cup.

I brew craft sake. Among these, the "fukurozuri" method is a time-consuming process where the moromi (fermenting mash) is put into bags and hung, allowing the drops to collect solely by gravity without applying pressure. This method produces a clear taste free of impurities.

This fukurozuri sake is the only alcohol I can drink, even though my body can no longer tolerate it.

I believe that this fukurozuri method still connects me to sake.

Gravity-pressed, unpasteurized, undiluted sake

Sake Drip Craft Brew

We handcraft our sake using rice grown by a farming classmate in Kishiwada, Osaka Prefecture, and leveraging the power of IoT.

青い一升瓶からぐい呑みに日本酒を注いでいる
青い瓶からガラスの部位のみに日本酒を注ぐ

Kimama

Nama-zake

Not pasteurized

Craft brewed liquor

Doburoku

Bag Drip

Craft Brews & Lineup

  • Flavor craft brew generously using seasonal fruits

    Kishibe Fuwari

    包近の桃

    Made with an abundance of seasonal fruits and luxuriously finished using the bag-drip method.

  • gravity-drip craft sake

    Kime Sarari

    澄酒を徳利からぐい呑みに注いでいる所

    By eliminating all unnecessary impurities, we have created a sake that will change your perception.

  • Craft-brewed Doburoku

    Himie Torori

    どぶろくと料理

    Nothing added, nothing taken away—the true flavor of rice. Enjoy the aging process that only raw sake can offer.

岸和田城と桜
重力だけで搾った袋吊り澄酒
何も足さない何も引かない「どぶろく」

About the craft-brewed doburoku from our brewery

  • Himisarari

What is craft brewed sake?

This is a new genre of sake that incorporates methods and ingredients that are legally impermissible for traditional Japanese sake, while still being based on the manufacturing techniques of Japanese sake (seishu).

Under the Liquor Tax Act, it is classified not as "seishu" but as "other brewed alcoholic beverages."

Its appeal lies in its free and diverse flavors, which are not bound by the confines of Japanese sake. It builds on the umami of rice while adding secondary ingredients like fruits and herbs, or omitting the pressing process.

にっこにこ太陽酒造の造った希米ふわりを注いでいる所
  • Squeezed by gravity alone

Bag Drip

This pressing method involves filling sake bags with moromi (fermenting mash), hanging them, and collecting only the drops that fall due to their own weight.

Because no pressure is applied, it results in fewer off-flavors and a clear, refined taste.

However, it is a luxurious production method that disregards yield, as approximately half of the moromi remains as sake lees.

希米さらりを袋吊りで搾っている様子
  • Kimi Torori

What is Doburoku?

One of the craft brewed alcoholic beverages.

Sake production involves a process of pressing the moromi (fermenting mash) to separate it into sake and sake lees. Doburoku, however, deliberately skips this step, allowing you to enjoy the rice itself in its entirety.

"Mareyone Torori" from Nikkoni-ko Taiyo Brewery is an unpasteurized, nama (fresh) doburoku.

You can enjoy the rich umami inherent in the rice and the delicate, evolving flavors unique to live sake.

提灯にどぶろくと書かれている
  • Our Commitment

Uses local ingredients

Our brewery in Kishiwada, Osaka, carefully brews each drop using rice grown by local classmates. We monitor fermentation with IoT, and for the final pressing, we employ the "fukurozuri" method, relying solely on gravity.

We offer flavor craft brews made with seasonal fruits, clear sakes with impurities removed, and doburoku that allows you to savor the whole rice grain.

Please come and taste the free-spirited craft brews from this small brewery in Kishiwada.

稲架掛けした稲のある田圃の風景
Craft brewed liquor
Bag Drip
Doburoku
Commitment

Frequently Asked Questions

This is a new genre of sake, made from grains but with a free-thinking approach that goes beyond the traditional boundaries of Japanese sake, by adding auxiliary ingredients such as fruits and herbs, or by not pressing the mash. Under the Liquor Tax Act, it is classified as "other fermented alcoholic beverages."

This is an alcoholic beverage created with a free spirit, unfettered by the existing classifications of "sake" or "wine" under the Liquor Tax Act.

Because various sub-ingredients can be combined, we are exploring new flavors by blending traditional techniques.

We brew in very small batches of approximately 100 liters at a time.

We make the best adjustments according to the condition of the ingredients, the temperature during fermentation, and the changing seasons, so each lot (batch) produces subtle changes in flavor.

Please enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime encounter with the "taste of this very moment."

We apologize, but as these are limited, single-batch preparations, past lots are only available while supplies last.

However, we are striving for an even more refined flavor in the new lots.

Guest purchases are available, but registering as a member will streamline your input for future purchases and offer benefits such as priority notifications for limited edition lots.

You can also earn points, making it a great value.

Yes. To preserve the fresh taste, we strongly recommend storing it in a dark refrigerator (around 5°C).

Our Brewery's Basic Brewing Method

IoT-managed, gravity-drained bag-hanging pressing

Since it's not pasteurized or pressed, there are no unwanted off-flavors. It's a completely unpasteurized sake.

青い一升瓶からぐい呑みに日本酒を注いでいる

Bag Drip

By not applying excessive pressure, we achieve a clean and refreshing taste free of any off-flavors.

Monitoring with IoT

During brewing, data such as temperature and specific gravity are collected 24 hours a day to maintain optimal conditions.

お米を形どったアイコン

Using locally sourced ingredients

All rice and other ingredients used are produced in Kishiwada, Osaka Prefecture.

Unpasteurized sake

This is a fresh, unpasteurized sake that has not undergone heat treatment, allowing you to enjoy its fresh and vibrant flavor straight from the press.

Features of Our Brewery's Products

Bag Hanging

A craft brewed sake, made using the traditional method of allowing drops to fall by gravity alone

Flavored sake

A never-before-seen craft brewed sake is created by blending seasonal fruits into the moromi (fermenting mash).

お米を形どったアイコン

Doburoku

Since the moromi is not pressed, you can enjoy the pure taste of the rice.

Sake lees

The sake lees obtained by hanging the bags are thick and exceptionally delicious.