Top Iwate brewery turns to AI for high-tech assist with sake

Nanbu Bijin Co. in Ninohe, Iwate Prefecture, is developing an AI tool to find the best time to drain water in the steeping process for rice before it gets steamed. The company aims to see AI put in practical use in several years. "We would like to develop AI to partner with our workers to help resolve the manpower shortage (at breweries in Japan)," said Nanbu Bijin President Kosuke Kuji, 46. The company, whose origins date back to the early 1900s, won the top sake title in the junmai category for its Nanbu Bijin Tokubetsu Junmai at the International Wine Challenge 2017. Junmai sake is made of only rice, kōji (mold) and water.