Tenryohai Utashiro Gekka ‘Moonlight’

Utashiro Gekka is part of Tenryohai Shuzo's celebrated Gagakudai series, brewed on Sado Island in Niigata by a brewery that was on the verge of closing in 2018 before a 24-year-old, Senichi Kato, took over as president and rebuilt it under the philosophy of "brewing smiles." Gekka ("Moonlight") is bottled unpasteurized, capturing a delicate, quietly refined character typical of the Gagakudai line - built around Sado's own sake rice and the soft underground water flowing from Mt. Kimpoku. Like its sibling bottlings, it favors a gentle, narrative-like progression from aroma to palate to finish rather than any single bold note, reflecting the brewery's focus on craftsmanship and the terroir of Sado Island.