Sake Special Zone
Although Gakkokura has been open since 2014, until 2019 we were brewing under a liquor license. While Obata Brewery has a sake production license, Gakkokura is about 8 kilometers away, which required getting a new license. In the interim we got a liquor license, and started producing a junmai sake that was then aged in cedar barrels made from trees felled on Sado Island.
During that period, the Cabinet Office created a new Sake Special Zone designation, for breweries engaged in revitalizing local areas by hosting sake-making experiences. Sado was the first place in Japan to receive the Special Sake Zone designation, and were able to use the new rules to include Gakkokura in our original sake production license.
Obata Brewery brought an abandoned back to life, transforming it into a “ teaching brewery” that runs on renewable solar energy. Making the best reuse of local resources, combined with our passion for brewing sake, is the first step to revitalizing our region.