ARAMASA EARTH
Rikuu 132: Shine Muscat, white flowers, lactonic notes and cedar.
Thailand · Product information
Product information from Bacchus Global Co., Ltd., based in Bangkok, Thailand. About Bacchus Global
Rikuu 132 from Uyashinai, in the 2025 vintage
Rikuu 132 was developed in Akita during the Taisho era from Kame-no-O and Aikoku, hence its alternative name Ai-kame. It is also known as a rice whose cultivation was encouraged by Kenji Miyazawa. EARTH uses Rikuu 132 grown without pesticides in Uyashinai, Akita.
The rice is polished to 50%, and the sake is brewed by kimoto with Association No. 6 in cedar vats, then pasteurised, at 13% ABV without dilution. The unblended, single-lot 2025 bottling is described as expressing Rikuu 132’s rugged character, with lingering, gentle astringency.
Specifications and tasting notes shown here describe the 2025 vintage. If the supplied lot differs, its bottle label takes precedence.
The story behind this bottle
By twenty twenty-one, only one workshop in Japan could still make these wooden tanks — and it had announced it would close. A conversation about what the brewery did next. About six minutes.
Question 1
Which two rice varieties does the page name as the parents of Rikuu 132, also called Ai-kame?
- Kame-no-O and Aikoku
- Kairyo Shinko and Miyama Nishiki
- Yamada Nishiki and Omachi
Read the answer and explanation
Correct answer: A — Kame-no-O and Aikoku
“The sake” identifies Kame-no-O and Aikoku as the parents of Rikuu 132. Its alternative name, Ai-kame, is a clue to that lineage.
Question 2
What challenge concerning wooden vats does the podcast follow?
- That wooden vats always add fruit aroma
- How to pass on vat-making skills as the number of makers dwindles
- Replacing wooden vats entirely with wine casks
Read the answer and explanation
Correct answer: B — How to pass on vat-making skills as the number of makers dwindles
The audio starts with the prospect of losing a wooden-vat maker and follows the brewery’s effort to preserve the craft. It does not assert a scientific benefit or superiority over other vessels.
Question 3
How does “The brewery” describe Colors, the line to which EARTH belongs?
- A line of sparkling sake made only with white koji
- A line of fruit-steeped liqueurs
- A pasteurised line that expresses differences among rice varieties
Read the answer and explanation
Correct answer: C — A pasteurised line that expresses differences among rice varieties
The brewery description presents Colors as a core pasteurised line showing the character of different rice varieties. EARTH uses Rikuu 132.
How it tastes
The 2025 aroma profile includes Shine Muscat grapes, white flowers and lactonic aromas, grounded by gentle cedar.
Soft sweetness, subtle umami and juicy acidity meet herbaceous, conifer-like astringency from the cedar vat. The 2025 finish retains the rice’s rugged character and a lingering, gentle astringency.
The chart is a Bacchus Global reference estimate, not brewery analytical data.
Akita rice, kimoto and cedar vats
Aramasa was founded in Akita in 1852. Association No. 6 yeast was isolated from its fermenting mash in 1930. Akita-grown rice, kimoto and cedar vats underpin its brewing. The Colors and PRIVATE LAB products presented here use No. 6; ASTRAL PLATEAU ferments without added yeast.
The brewery returned to cedar-vat brewing in 2013 and began passing on cooperage skills in 2016. It established its own cooperage in 2024 and completed the transition to Akita-cedar brewing vessels. The brewery uses 50 Akita-cedar vats.
Colors is the pasteurised core line expressing differences between rice varieties. PRIVATE LAB explores four styles: kijoshu, high-acidity sake, low-alcohol sparkling sake and sake made with minimally polished rice. ASTRAL PLATEAU shares three foundations: a single rice variety, new cedar vats and fermentation without added yeast.
At the table
What follows is not a brewery recommendation but a reference set built by Bacchus Global from the acidity, sweetness, umami and finish of the sake.
- Cured fish
- Grilled shellfish
- Goat cheese
- Roasted root vegetables
Related products
Three routes: a close style, a contrasting expression, and an ARAMASA reference point.
Related stories
Related Bacchus Global editorial content; no new external source is quoted here.
Interested in listing ARAMASA EARTH at your restaurant? Our team can provide information on availability, storage requirements and trade terms.
