Japan: Suntory completes Hakushu Distillery enhancements

Suntory’s Hakushu Distillery has brought yeast cultivation in-house and introduced floor malting as part of a year-long site renewal project, The Drinks Business reported on August 27.

The Japanese multinational has announced today that the renewal of its Yamanashi Prefecture-based whisky distillery will be completed in September 2024. The project had been under way since last year.

Suntory has introduced yeast cultivation at Hakushu, located at the foot of Mt. Kaikomagatake in the Japanese Southern Alps. Yeast is essential to whisky production. By cultivating yeast at its in-house facilities, the company aims to continuously obtain high quality yeast, the company said in a press release.

Floor malting will also become part of the distillery’s production process. The technique is a traditional process for malting barley, where once the barley has been soaked in water, it is spread out on the malting floor where it is shoveled or raked to expose it to oxygen in the air and encourage uniform germination. This method will enable Suntory to malt barley in various conditions.

Hakushu Distillery was established in 1973 and celebrated its 50th anniversary last year. The site creates whiskies that differ from that of Yamazaki Distillery, due to their differing climates and locations as well as facilities.

Suntory has also developed the distillery’s tourism offering as part of the development. A Bird Bridge at the site now connects the Visitor Centre and the Bird Sanctuary, the company said.

In addition, a new restaurant Hakushu Terrace will open on 1 September, serving dishes using local ingredients. Hakushu Terrace will offer stone oven pizza made with local ingredients from the Yamanashi Prefecture, as well as an original cocktail using Suntory Single Malt Whisky Hakushu.

Suntory is also launching new distillery tour called Hakushu Distillery Monozuri Tour Prestige on 20 September, replacing the current lineup Hakushu Distillery Monozukuri Tour Premium.

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