Toyo Bijin, New Year's Sake

We are supposed to drink sake called Otoso on New Years day in Japan.
Otoso is sweet sake infused with medicinal herbs.
However, we had another sake in our mind for this day.

This is the sake we had: Toyo Bijin Banshu Aiyama Junmai Daiginjo by Sumikawa Shuzo.

Banshu Aiyama is the name of the rice. This rice is harder to polish than Yamadanishiki, but for this sake, it was polished to 40%.
The sake was pasteurized in spring, matured during the summer, and released in autumn. This seasonal sake is called Hiyaoroshi.

The brewery is in Yamaguchi, the western part of Japan.
Toyo Bijin was gaining popularity and I always wanted to try, so I was surprised when I heard that their facility was heavily damaged in 2013 by severe storm.
The damage was devastating but volunteers from other breweries helped to rebuilt the brewery and they restarted the production by the end of 2014 and now I finally had a chance to try.

It was sharp and clear, and soft, round sweetness like pear was behind it.
Clean sake. It feels good to drink.

We had this with grilled dried fish and Japanese style crostini.
Toppings were Chirimenjako (dried baby sardine), Takuan (pickled Daikon), Sauteed Spinach, Umeboshi paste, etc.
I liked the pairing with Chirimenjako the best.
JC's choice was with grilled Shishamo (smelt).