More than two years at −5°C.

That is the idea behind Katsuyama Ice-Aged Junmai Daiginjo, a sake made with Yamada Nishiki rice polished to 35% and matured below freezing for more than two years.

Rather than adding more to the sake, Katsuyama gives it something less visible: time.

The name Hyojuku — ice ageing — reflects the defining process behind this bottle.

This sake is available through IMAMI.

More Than Two Years Below Freezing

This is not a sake intended to leave the brewery as soon as it is made.

Katsuyama matures it at −5°C for more than two years, allowing the sake to develop greater maturity before release.

Freshness is often central to the way sake is discussed.

Here, the emphasis is different.

The brewing may be complete, but the sake is given another long period in which to develop before the bottle is considered ready.

Yamada Nishiki, Polished to 35%

The sake is made from Yamada Nishiki, one of Japan’s most highly regarded sake rice varieties.

The rice is polished to 35%, placing the sake firmly in the Junmai Daiginjo category. The finished sake is 16% ABV and bottled at 720ml.

First comes the precision of brewing.

Then comes the patience of ageing.

Both are essential to the character of this release.

A Brewery Dating Back to 1688

Katsuyama traces its history to 1688, when it began brewing in Sendai and later served as an official sake brewery to the Date clan. The brewery continues that lineage today.

Yet its identity is not built on history alone.

Katsuyama has continued to introduce new techniques and explore the possibilities of matured sake alongside its long-established brewing tradition.

That contrast — more than three centuries of history paired with a willingness to experiment — is an important part of the Katsuyama story.

From Grilled Nodoguro to Vanilla Ice Cream

The brewery’s own pairing suggestions reveal another side of this sake.

They include grilled nodoguro, fatty tuna and roast duck, but also ethnic cuisine, vanilla ice cream and baked sweets.

It is an unusually broad range.

Rather than thinking of aged sake only alongside traditional Japanese food, the bottle invites experimentation: different dishes, different temperatures and different ways of seeing what time has brought to the sake.

Red, Gold and the Phoenix

The bottle is finished in deep red with a gold phoenix, a design Katsuyama presents as an auspicious choice for special occasions.

Its appearance makes the bottle immediately recognisable.

But the most important part remains invisible.

More than two years at −5°C.

Time is the ingredient that defines this sake.

Katsuyama Ice-Aged Junmai Daiginjo

Miyagi, Japan | Sake | Junmai Daiginjo | 720ml | 35% Rice Polishing Ratio

A Junmai Daiginjo matured at −5°C for more than two years by Katsuyama Sake Brewery.

For pricing, current availability, and purchase enquiries, please feel free to contact us.

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