On January 28, 2024, the consulting company "Tugboat" (Michinoshita, Araya-cho, Hirakawa City) will begin selling apple brandy produced in Aomori Prefecture.

The company developed and sold cider under the "Crazy Cider" brand in 2022. President Kiyoto Mizuguchi says, ``Through our apple cider business, we aim to create products that will enrich the processing apple industry and make people proud of Aomori.''

Making apple brandy has been a goal of mine since I started making cider, and I received my distilling license in July of this year. In October, they invited an engineer from a distiller manufacturer from Germany as an advisor. Mr. Mizuguchi says, ``It gave me confidence to hear that our cider was highly praised by the people we invited to aim for a brandy that would be recognized around the world.''

Cider is said to be the base liquor that determines 70% of the quality of apple brandy. The water used for brewing is ultra-soft water with a hardness of 0.2 milligrams per liter from the Shirakami Mountains, a world natural heritage site. Production of the brandy has already begun, and sales of the ``White Edition'' will begin on January 28th.

In order to cover the cost of purchasing the aging barrel and participating in competitions around the world, we will be raising funds through crowdfunding starting January 10th. In addition to apple brandy and cider, there are a total of 14 return items, including 50 liters of apple brandy that can be packed in barrels and stored for up to a year, and items that include sightseeing and factory tours in Aomori. The amount is 6,000 yen to 1 million yen.

Mr. Mizuguchi says, ``I want to be a sake brewery that brings courage and energy to the region and is seen as cooler than Tokyo.''I want the people of Aomori to support me, even if it's just by adding it to my favorites, no matter how small. ” he calls out.

The crowdfunding period is from January 10th to February 15th.