STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

Shin Hasegawa was riding a chairlift up Sun Valley’s Bald Mountain when he had a satori moment, or an experience of enlightenment.

“Why not share my Japanese heritage with my new hometown by brewing sake!?” he exclaimed to himself.

He could barely contain himself as he made a few more turns down the mountain and in September he rolled out his first batch of sake—or Japanese rice wine—at the Wood River Farmer’s Market.

Shin Hasegawa’s sake, which he touts as Idaho’s best craft sake, has a sweet acidity with a touch of umami mushroom flavor.

He named it Pioneer Nama after the Pioneer Mountains that surround Sun Valley. And he called this artisanal sake an ode to the majestic mountains, crystal clear rivers and untamed wilderness that define Idaho.

The logo includes the Pioneer Mountains and the Big Wood River. And it is, he said, Idaho’s best craft sake from Idaho’s first craft sake brewery.

“In two weeks, I sold four cases of 48 bottles each,” he said. “I received good feedback from customers so I’m ramping up for farmer’s markets and some restaurants.”

Hasegawa grew up amidst cabbage farms a 30-minute train ride from central Tokyo. Trained as a sushi chef, he moved to California when he was 20 to work as a sushi sous chef in Sacramento and the Lake Tahoe area.

Shin Hasegawa has been building his commercial brewery one piece at a time.

“I came not knowing English,” said Hasegawa, who eventually gave up his sashimi knife and bamboo rolling mat to move into the tech world.

In 2022, after 20 years in California where he experienced lockdowns during the COVID pandemic, Hasegawa and his partner decided to move to Sun Valley where they could mountain bike, ski and enjoy the outdoor lifestyle.

“My partner had family here and she works in tech job that she can do remotely. Moving was almost like no brainer for me,” he said. “I didn’t really enjoy life in Tokyo. I like more mountain places. One of the reasons for moving to the states is the big space here. Now, I feel like Sun Valley is my second home--I love summer in the mountains here.”

Hasegawa had brewed his own sake in Japan, and he kept alive his passion for brewing after coming to the United States by brewing his own beer and kombucha. In time he also began making his own miso paste and sake.

Shin Hasegawa saved thousands of dollars by building his own cooling system for his sake for $200.

“Getting Japanese food in the states is really hard, and brewing sake is much like brewing beer,” he said.

Japan has a rich sake culture believed to date back to 500 B.C. Often used for ceremonial purposes, it is Japan’s national drink. There are 1,500 breweries in Japan, Hasegawa said, with the oldest nearly a thousand years old. In contrast, he said, there are only 30 breweries in United States.

The ingredients for sake are simple: water, a special rice that’s milled differently than table rice, yeast and Koji, a rice he’s inoculated with Aspergillus oryzae, a fermented fungi mold that makes the rice fuzzy and sugar-producing.

Hasegawa brews his sake the way it’s been brewed for hundreds of years in a commercial kitchen he shares with Sun Valley Mustard near Friedman Memorial Airport in Hailey.

Shin Hasegawa loads supplies on a K truck or kei truck, a compact pickup truck originating in Japan that features the steering wheel on the right.

“I cook mustard for them and I brew sake for me,” he said.

Hasegawa washes sake rice that has been polished in a specially designed milling machine. He then soaks it in water to increase the moisture content. After steaming it, he cools it and adds the koji, and yeast to create a starter mash.

After six weeks, the thick mash looks like oatmeal. He passes the mash through a press to separate the sake from the lees. As it matures, he dilutes it with water to adjust the alcohol content and bottles it

The final product is rich-bodied like a brandy, slightly fruity smelling, unpasteurized, 100 percent pure sake with no additives.

Sun Valley’s climate and water makes it a perfect place for brewing sake, Hasegawa said.

“The climate here makes for good sake, too—it’s easier to watch the brewing process than it is in the humidity of Japan. Good sake is only as good as the water it’s brewed with and I’m lucky to be able to draw from the water here as it has a good mineral content.”

Eventually, Hasegawa said, he would like to offer more flavors.

“I go quality over quantity.”

To learn more, contact Shin Hasegawa at shin@satorisakebrewing.com or call 916-295-9879.