Development of “Hanaomoi”: An Original Variety of Aomori Rice Suitable for Japanese Sake Production

In order to develop a new variety of rice that adapts to the climate of Aomori prefecture and possesses characteristics suitable for production of high quality Japanese sake, artificial cross experiments were executed between Yamadanishiki, which is widely used nationwide as an authentic variety of rice for sake production, and Hanafubuki, which was peviously developed by Aomori prefecture. An excellent hybrid, named Hanaomoi, was selected and fixed by a series of selection experiments and systematic cultivation. Unpolished Hanaomoi rice contained less amount of protein than Yamadanishiki and Hanafubuki. Unpolished rice of Hanaomoi was harder than Yamadanishiri and Hanafubuki, therefore polishing treatment was done in high yield and one could obtain a high degree of polish on the rice(namely 40% polishing). These features are advantageous to production of high quality of sake.Test brewing using 40% polished Hanaomoi gave rise to a characteristic sake that contained a slightly higher amount of alcohol and flavor components than Yamadanishiki and Hanafubuki. Sensory tests concluded that sake from Hanaomoi was as superior as the one from authentic Yamadanishiki. Hanaomoi is a promising variety of rice suitable for production of a high quality sake exclusive to Aomori prefecture.