Saga's sake brewery "Koei Kiku", which sadly went out of business in 2006, is back for the first time in about 20 years!
The key figures in its revival were two television producers and the master brewer of "Kikutaka."
What kind of drama was behind the revival of the glorious chrysanthemum?

A meeting between a former TV man and Mr. Mori of "Kikutaka"

Mr. Kusaka, the current president of Koei Kiku, and Mr. Tashita, a director, met at the production of a television program for NHK.
While producing a program on the theme of Japan sake, Mr. Tashita expressed a strong admiration for sake brewing, and Mr. Kusaka also came to have a desire to "brew sake ourselves, rather than just reporting on it as a bystander." From there, Kusaka began training at a sake brewery in Nagano Prefecture.
Meanwhile, an encounter with a certain Japan sake changed the fate of the two of them.
That Japan sake was "Kikutaka" from Fuji City Sake Brewery (Aichi Prefecture).
Mr. Kusaka, who was shocked by the high level of perfection of "Kikutaka" that many brewers praised as "no flaws at all," fell in love with "Kikutaka" and wanted to brew sake with Mr. Mori, who makes such sake.
That Mr. Mori is Mr. Yamamoto, who will be one of the key players in the revival of the honored chrysanthemum.
Mr. Yamamoto honed his unique skills while studying sake brewing under Mr. Noto in Shiga and Mr. Nambu Toji in Osaka, and in 2004 he released the "Yamamoto Special" of "responsible brewing", and transferred to Fujiichi Sake Brewery as Mr. To, and sold "Kikutaka", which was sold as Mr. To, and quickly gained a reputation, and he was known as "Mr. Toji who brews solid sake with an acidic taste" among Japan sake lovers.
The encounter between the two of them with the legendary Mr. Yamamoto Mori, who is known only to those in the know, was the first step in the revival of "Koei Chrysanthemum".

Encounter with Saga's sake brewery "Koei Kiku Shuzo" that had gone out of business

After a miraculous encounter, the three of them try to start brewing sake, but since it is difficult to obtain a new license for Japan sake, they search for sake breweries that are out of business or dormant, but it does not go well, and the specific plan does not move as expected.
In the midst of all this, I heard that the brewery of Koei Kiku Sake Brewery, which gave up sake brewing about 20 years ago and went out of business, remained unused, so I immediately went to Saga.
It turned out that the brewery of Koei Kiku Sake Brewery that I saw there was well built and could be used if it was renovated. We agreed on the terms and conditions with the parties concerned, and it was decided to start construction of the brewery.
At the same time, Mr. Yamamoto also left Fujiichi Sake Brewery and transferred to Koei Kiku Sake Brewery, and in December 2019, sake brewing at Koei Kiku finally started in earnest.
The quality of the sake was decided to be "a sake that has acid and umami, and can be cut in the mouth at the end, suitable for meals," which is Mr. Yamamoto's specialty.
As for the brand name, if sake is brewed in the same place as the old Koei Chrysanthemum, it will have a strong image of revival, and we wanted to appeal to people to drink the sake loved by the local people again, so we decided to inherit the name "Koei Chrysanthemum".
Another reason was the chrysanthemum connection of "Kikutaka".

Overcoming the damage caused by torrential rains, the new "Koei Chrysanthemum" received a great response

Since it was the first time for the water to be used, the sake rice to be used for the first time, and the equipment and machinery were all new to us, we had to go through a series of test brewing.
Due to the heavy rain damage that hit northern Kyushu at the end of August 2019, this was not possible, and the first new sake was released in the actual production.
Even Mr. Yamamoto, who makes perfect sake, said, "I was anxious and my stomach hurt until I squeezed it."
However, the first and second new sake were sold out in no time.
After that, many of the liquor stores that carried "Yamamoto Mori's sake" and "Kikutaka" sake joined the distributors from the beginning, and many liquor stores that tasted the sake showed interest, and immediately after the sale, the new "Koei Chrysanthemum" quickly became a popular brand.
In this way, a miraculous encounter gave birth to the "honorary chrysanthemum" that overcame difficulties and revived.
Please savor its flawless and perfect taste.