13% ABV and Still Genshu: KAGURA Junmai Clear Without Post-Production Dilution

KANPAI Makers’ Choices No.10

The word genshu is often associated with sake at a high alcohol level. Yet Matsui Sake Brewery in Kyoto produces KAGURA Junmai Clear Non-filter Nama-Genshu at 13% ABV.

There is no contradiction. Under Japanese labeling rules, genshu describes whether water was added after production to adjust the sake. It does not set a minimum final alcohol level.

Matsui Sake Brewery will present four products at KANPAI Thailand 2026:

– KAGURA Junmai Clear Non-filter Nama-Genshu – KAGURA Junmai Midnight Blue Non-filter Nama-Genshu – KAGURA Junmai-Daiginjo White Non-filter Genshu – KAGURA Umeshu Cup with Whole Ume Fruit

No.10 focuses on KAGURA Junmai Clear and explains how 13% ABV and the genshu designation can appear together.

Genshu Describes a Process, Not a High Alcohol Level

Under the National Tax Agency of Japan’s labeling standards, genshu is sake that has not been adjusted with water after production. A small adjustment that changes the alcohol level by less than one percentage point is permitted to align slight differences between batches.

The key point is not the final alcohol number. It is whether the level was set through post-production dilution. For that reason, sake at 13% ABV can still carry the genshu designation.

The published specification for KAGURA Junmai Clear Non-filter Nama-Genshu lists both 13% ABV and genshu. Its 13% level is therefore not the result of reducing a higher-alcohol sake to 13% through post-production dilution.

The public information does not explain exactly how the brewery targeted 13% during fermentation. What can be confirmed is the distinction between the fermentation stage and the later rules governing the genshu designation.

Yondan-jikomi Does Not Alone Explain the 13% Level

KAGURA Junmai Clear uses 100% Iwai sake rice from Kyoto Prefecture and has a rice-polishing ratio of 65%. This means that the polished white rice weighs 65% of the original brown rice.

The brewery also identifies Kyoto yeast Kyo no Koi, yondan-jikomi, and low-temperature fermentation in the product information. Yondan-jikomi is a four-stage method that adds one more addition after the usual three-stage process.

However, the published information does not establish that yondan-jikomi is the direct reason for the 13% level. The amount and timing of the additional ingredients, along with detailed fermentation conditions, have not been disclosed.

These facts belong to two different stages. Yondan-jikomi and Kyo no Koi concern the design up to fermentation. The genshu designation concerns water adjustment after production. They should not be joined by an unconfirmed causal claim.

Clear and Midnight Blue Share Iwai at 65%, but Follow Different Specifications

KAGURA Junmai Clear and KAGURA Junmai Midnight Blue have several points in common. Both use 100% Kyoto-grown Iwai rice, both have a 65% polishing ratio, and both are unfiltered nama-genshu.

Their published specifications then diverge. KAGURA Junmai Clear uses Kyo no Koi yeast and is listed at 13% ABV. KAGURA Junmai Midnight Blue uses Matsui Sake Brewery’s original yeast and is listed at 15% ABV.

The two-percentage-point difference cannot be attributed to yeast alone. Other factors, including mash proportions and fermentation control, may also be involved. The confirmed point is simpler: the same rice variety and polishing ratio are paired with different yeast and alcohol specifications.

White Uses a 35% Polishing Ratio and a Different Heat-Treatment Plan

KAGURA Junmai-Daiginjo White also uses 100% Kyoto-grown Iwai rice, but its polishing ratio is 35%. This is 30 percentage points lower than the 65% ratio used for KAGURA Junmai Clear and KAGURA Junmai Midnight Blue.

KAGURA Junmai-Daiginjo White is a Junmai Daiginjo made with Matsui Sake Brewery’s original yeast. Under the event specification, the unfiltered genshu is bottled and then pasteurized once. Pasteurization is a heat treatment used to stabilize the sake.

A 35% polishing ratio does not by itself place the product above sake polished to 65%. The number describes the degree of polishing, not the overall quality of the sake. The three products also differ in yeast, alcohol level, and heat-treatment specifications.

“Non-filter” does not mean that the fermented mash was never separated into sake and sake lees. It refers to filtration after that separation and describes a different stage from nama or genshu.

Umeshu Cup Belongs to a Different Category

KAGURA Umeshu Cup with Whole Ume Fruit is a 180 ml sake-based umeshu containing two large whole ume fruits. Its ingredients and category differ from those of the three sake products.

White, Clear, Midnight Blue, and Umeshu Cup should therefore not be placed on a single scale. The three sake products differ in polishing ratio, yeast, alcohol level, and heat treatment. Umeshu Cup uses sake as part of an umeshu composition and retains whole fruit in the finished product.

Together, the four event products show that Matsui Sake Brewery varies both production processes and product categories, rather than changing names or colors alone.

No.10 Records the Choice Not to Set 13% Through Post-Production Dilution

KANPAI Makers’ Choices does not treat numbers or labeling terms as measures of rank. It reads them against the production stages that can be confirmed. For No.10, the central choice is not to set KAGURA Junmai Clear at 13% through post-production dilution.

KAGURA Junmai Clear uses Iwai rice at a 65% polishing ratio, Kyo no Koi yeast, yondan-jikomi, and low-temperature fermentation. It is then bottled as a 13% genshu without lowering the alcohol level through post-production dilution.

The public information does not identify the precise fermentation conditions that produced 13%. That uncertainty matters. Yondan-jikomi is information about fermentation, while genshu is information about later water adjustment. Read in this sequence, 13% is not only an alcohol figure. It is also connected to the maker’s choice not to lower that figure with water after production.

This article is intended solely to provide factual and cultural information about Matsui Sake Brewery and KAGURA Junmai Clear, including its production design and labeling terminology. It does not aim to promote or encourage the purchase or consumption of alcohol. It is intended for readers aged 20 and over.

บทความนี้จัดทำขึ้นเพื่อให้ข้อมูลเชิงข้อเท็จจริงและวัฒนธรรมเกี่ยวกับ Matsui Sake Brewery และ KAGURA Junmai Clear รวมถึงแนวคิดด้านการผลิตและความหมายของคำที่ใช้บนฉลากเท่านั้น มิได้มีเจตนาเพื่อส่งเสริมการซื้อหรือการบริโภคเครื่องดื่มแอลกอฮอล์ บทความนี้จัดทำขึ้นสำหรับผู้อ่านอายุ 20 ปีขึ้นไป

Related Products

KAGURA Junmai Clear Non-filter Nama-Genshu / KAGURA Junmai Midnight Blue Non-filter Nama-Genshu / KAGURA Junmai-Daiginjo White Non-filter Genshu / KAGURA Umeshu Cup with Whole Ume Fruit

Related Reading

No.09: Five Years, Two Vessels / No.06: What “Unfiltered” Truly Means / No.04: Dryness Is Not a Single Number / KANPAI THAILAND 2026: All Episodes