美吉野醸造 (MIYOSHINO JŌZŌ), Nara, Japan

Fourth-generation kuramoto Hashimoto Teruaki became the tōji at Miyoshino Jōzō in 2008, and has since turned it into one of Japan’s most innovative and creative breweries. Hashimoto sees sake brewing as part of the local agriculture, working closely with nearby farmers and adjusting his sake to the rice they grow, not the other way around, as it is in most breweries. Brewing methods are very creative and rely entirely on natural yeast, with an ethos of “helping” nature do its work. The resulting sake is full-bodied, layered, rich in umami and acidity.