The Sake Anatomy › Sake Brand Index › Kinoene
No.90 · Brewery Profile
Kinoene甲子 · Iinuma Honke 飯沼本家
Iinuma Honke, Chiba Prefecture’s largest sake producer, traces its brewing back to the Genroku era of the Edo period. Long sold as Koshi Masamune, the brand was renamed simply Kinoene in 2023 with a redesigned bottle. Soft water drawn from roughly 100 meters beneath the Narita plateau, combined with Nanbu toji technique, has earned its junmai daiginjo top honors at the Wine Glass Award and Kura Master in recent years.
Who makes Kinoene?
Iinuma Honke, Chiba Prefecture’s largest sake producer, traces its brewing back to the Genroku era of the Edo period. Long sold as Koshi Masamune, the brand was renamed simply Kinoene in 2023 with a redesigned bottle. It draws soft water from roughly 100 meters beneath the Narita plateau.
What does Kinoene taste like?
Tagged solely Elegant & Refined, both listed bottles are kunshu (fragrant) in SSI terms and built on highly polished Yamada Nishiki. The Junmai Daiginjo Yamada Nishiki 50, low-temperature fermented, won top gold at the 2023 Wine Glass Award; the more highly milled Junmai Daiginjo Hatsuyuki (40%) leans into Yamada Nishiki’s characteristic fullness with a subtler aroma.
Which bottle should you try first?
Start with the Junmai Daiginjo Yamada Nishiki 50, the low-temperature-fermented bottling that won top gold at the 2023 Wine Glass Award.
How does Kinoene compare to other Chiba breweries?
Chiba has only one other brewery in this index, Terada Honke, tagged Rich & Umami and Acidity-driven. Kinoene sits at the opposite, more delicate end of Chiba’s range, tagged solely Elegant & Refined.
Frequently asked questions
What was Kinoene previously called?
Koshi Masamune; the brand was renamed Kinoene in 2023 with a redesigned bottle.
What water does Iinuma Honke brew with?
Soft water drawn from roughly 100 meters beneath the Narita plateau.
How many bottles does Kinoene make on this page?
Two, both Junmai Daiginjo made with Yamada Nishiki rice: the Yamada Nishiki 50 and the more highly polished Hatsuyuki.
The bottles
Junmai Daiginjo Yamada Nishiki 50純米大吟醸 山田錦50
薫酒 Kunshu · Fragrant“Low-temperature fermented; won top gold at Wine Glass Award 2023.”
Junmai Daiginjo Hatsuyuki純米大吟醸 初雪
薫酒 Kunshu · Fragrant“Subtle aroma with the characteristic fullness of Yamada Nishiki.”
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: iinumahonke.com · tanoshiiosake.jp