杜氏と水

Yamaoka and Kurita encounter Inspector Nakamatsu on the street, but their conversation is disturbed by two men struggling nearby and Nakamatsu demands that they explain themselves. They are Tooru Kiyama, a toji (brew master), and Hōji Kinno who runs a nihonshu brewery with his brother. Their product has a poor reputation, and they wanted to improve it so Kinno went to Niigata and hired Kiyama.

清酒江戸一番の専務・均野は社運を賭け招聘した杜氏・喜山を我知らず激怒させ、就職を拒否されるが理由が全く判らず狼狽。事情を聞いた土郎は均野の兄（社長）の味覚と嗅覚に全てを託す。