The Sake Anatomy › Sake Brand Index › Born
No.48 · Brewery Profile
Born梵 · Kato Kichibee Shoten 加藤吉平商店
Kato Kichibee Shoten in Sabae, Fukui, founded in 1860, brews only additive-free junmai. Its Born label is defined by high polishing and sub-zero ice-temperature (hyoon) aging, and has been served at Japanese state and diplomatic occasions.
Who makes Born?
Kato Kichibee Shoten, founded in 1860 in Sabae, Fukui. The brewery makes only additive-free junmai, and its Born label is defined by high rice polishing and sub-zero ice-temperature (hyoon) aging; it has been served at Japanese state and diplomatic occasions.
What does Born taste like?
Tagged Elegant & Refined and Aromatic & Fruity, both bottles are kunshu (fragrant). The Gold Junmai Daiginjo is ice-aged near -10°C for about a year at 4/5 aromatic intensity, while the ultra-polished Chogin, milled to just 20%, is blended from sake aged around five years, reaching a 5/5 aromatic rating.
Which bottle should you try first?
Start with the Gold Junmai Daiginjo, the more accessible of the two at 50% milling, before the rarer, more intensely aged Chogin milled to just 20%.
How does Born compare to other Fukui breweries?
Born shares its Elegant & Refined, Aromatic & Fruity profile closely with prefecture-mate Hanagaki, tagged Rich & Umami and Elegant & Refined, and stands apart from Kokuryu, tagged Elegant & Refined alone, and Ippongi, tagged Dry & Crisp and Rich & Umami.
Frequently asked questions
What makes Born’s brewing method distinctive?
Kato Kichibee Shoten brews only additive-free junmai, and ages Born sake at sub-zero, ice-temperature (hyoon) conditions rather than standard cold storage.
How finely is the Chogin bottle milled?
To 20%, using Yamada Nishiki rice, and it is blended from sake that has been ice-aged for around five years.
Has Born been served at any notable occasions?
Yes — it has been served at Japanese state and diplomatic occasions.
The bottles
Gold Junmai Daiginjo梵 GOLD 純米大吟醸
薫酒 Kunshu · Fragrant“Ice-aged near -10°C for about a year.”
Chogin梵 超吟
薫酒 Kunshu · Fragrant“Blended from sake ice-aged around five years.”
Reading the bars: an editorial flavor reading (0–5) of each bottle — Dry→Rich, Light→Full, Subtle→Aromatic, Low→High acidity — not laboratory values. The colored badge is the SSI four-type classification (薫酒 Kunshu · 爽酒 Soshu · 醇酒 Junshu · 熟酒 Jukushu). SMV and acidity appear only where the brewery publishes them.
Sources: born.co.jp · bimeguri.jp