CHICHIBU, Saitama -- A couple in the town of Ogano, Saitama Prefecture, has produced samples of mead using local honey and spring water, taking the next step toward fulfilling their dream of opening a meadery.
The alcoholic beverage was created by Elena Kudo, 31, and her husband, Hiroki, 34, who runs an information technology company. Elena and Hiroki asked a sake brewery in Kitakata, Fukushima Prefecture, which has experience making mead, to produce the sample for them.
Mead is made by fermenting honey with water and yeast used for wine.
After tasting the mead, Ogano Mayor Shintaro Mori said, "With its slight sweetness and fruitiness, it's delicious." The town will assist the couple in procedures to apply for use of the spring water as well as introducing local beekeepers, with an aim to help the mead become a local specialty.
Elena was born in Moscow but raised in Aizu-Wakamatsu, Fukushima Prefecture. She studied at Tokyo University of Agriculture and, seeking to take advantage of what she learned, moved to Ogano with her family in January to make mead.
The couple has already leased from the town office the gymnasium of a closed junior high school to use it as a brewing factory.
There are several criteria to obtain a brewing license, such as a constant scale of production. The couple is applying for a brewery license with an aim of setting up Japan's first meadery, selling mead with an alcohol content of 8 percent to 10 percent in 375-milliliter bottles.
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