Professional Documents
Culture Documents
of Sake
Featured
article
History............................................................ 1
How is sake made........................................... 2
Product information........................................ 6
How to evaluate and enjoy sake...................... 8
NRIB
(National
Research Institute
of Brewing)
No.1, issued in
January 2014
History
01
Unprocessed
rice
Rice
polishing
Pressing
Sake
cakes
Sake
Rice washing
and soaking
The science of
sake making
polishing proportion (seimai-buai). In order to obtain 1 kg
of white rice with 70% of polishing proportion, we need
1.4 kg of brown rice. When making a special refined sake
(daiginjo-shu), 50% or more of the rice is polished away.
Some of the highest-quality daiginjo-shu is made from rice
with a polishing proportion of 30%. It may seem wasteful
to polish away 70% of the rice.
However, rice polishing is one
of the most important steps to
produce great sake with fine
aroma and elegant taste.
Storage
(aging)
Seed
mash
Heat
sterilization
Main
mash
Bottling
Rice
Flowers of
Yamadanishiki
Rice
washing
and soaking
Filtration
Rice
steaming
Koji
making
Rice
polishing
Brown
rice
70%
40%
polishing
polishing
proportion proportion
Automated rice-polishing
machine. The experience of
sake breweries was converted
to computerized data to design
and control this machine.
First, the rice bran is washed out of the rice. Then, the grain
is soaked in water so that it absorbs adequate moisture.
Then the rice is steamed. Sake is made during the winter,
and the workers in sake breweries have to work in the cold
season using cold water. Therefore, washing rice is a very
arduous job. The technique for making the grain absorb
moisture varies with the degree of polishing rice and variety
of rice. The soaked rice is drained and covered with a cloth
overnight. The next day, the rice grains are sent to the next
step, steaming.
Rice
steaming
Koji making
Fermentation
Koshiki
A traditional
rice steamer
An automatic
rice steamer
Freshlysteamed
rice
Pressing
Seishu
As time goes by, white areas called 'haze' extend across the
surfaces of the rice. Approximately two days after the rice is
placed in the koji room, the koji-making is finished.
1st day
Steamed rice
being cooled
and transported
automatically
on a conveyor
belt
The Story
of Sake
2nd day
The koji extends hyphae not only on the rice, but also
into the rice grains. While the koji mold is growing on the
steamed rice, it produces enzymes. Though the enzymes
cannot be seen, they have a very important role in the
making of sake. The enzymes from the koji convert the
starch in the rice into sugar.
Yeast needs sugar to make alcohol. Starch has longer
molecules made of sugar and cannot be directly converted
to alcohol by yeast.
That is, yeast does not
have an enzyme to
digest starch. When
the koji is added to
the main mash, its
enzymes convert
the starch to sugar.
The yeast can then
produce alcohol from The koji enzymes (as shown in the beaker
on the right) convert the starch in steamed
that sugar. Koji and rice to sugar, and the main mash becomes
yeast make a great liquefied. The left beaker does not contain
koji.
team!
03
Unprocessed
rice
The science of
sake making
Yeast
Rice
polishing
Making shubo
04
Rice
washing
and soaking
Rice
steaming
Koji making
Fermentation
Now, the main elements for making sake are ready. Let's
make moromi, the main mash.
Put the steamed rice, rice koji, water, and shubo into a
fermentation tank.
When the main mash is prepared, the 'sandan-jikomi'
(three-step addition method) is used. Each of these
materials (except the seed mash) is divided into three
portions with increasing volume, and a portion of each
material is added in sequence. This three-step addition
method is effective to avoid lowering the yeast density
and the acid level in the mash and to prevent bacterial
contamination.
Pressing
Seishu
Water
Steamed
rice
Rice
koji
The Story
of Sake
Seed
mash
Final addition
4th day
Middle addition
3rd day
First addition
1st day
Sandan-jikomi
(the three-step
addition process)
Fune
The
fermentation
tank, soon after
the final step has
been taken.
After a
week, the mash
is seething with
fermentation, with
lots of bubbles
on top.
Generally, new sake is pasteurized in a process called 'hiire (heat sterilization). The purpose of heat sterilization
is to kill bacteria that deteriorate sake during storage
and to prevent further enzymatic reaction. After heat
sterilization, sake is stored for a certain period. Then it is
bottled and shipped.
05
ra-sh
ochu
Rika: How will the flavor of the sake change after neutral
alcohol is added?
Owner: Sake will be less acid, and its taste will become
crisp and dry.
Rika: What does honjozo-shu taste like?
Owner: It has a good balance
of tastes and flavors
derived from rice. We
recommend honjozo- Dry Sour Sweet Umami Bitter Salty
shu for everyone,
from beginners to
Taste of sake
sake connoisseurs.
The label shows that
it is made from rice,
rice-koji, and jozoalcohol.
Rika: It will be tasty and easy to drink.
Owner: The largest amount of sake produced is futsu-shu
(standard sake). Simply put, this is sake that is
pressed out after a bit more neutral alcohol is added
than that is used for honjozo-shu. The label shows
that it is made of rice, rice-koji, and jozo-alcohol.
For standard sake, it is allowed to use saccharides
and acidulant. Saccharides and acidulant will appear
on label when they are used.
Delicio
us!
Dry
Sweet
07
Amino
acids
08
Rich
Sake cups
Light
Alcohol
Sweet
Dry
Weak Strong
Acids
Sugar
Clear Heavy
Components
in sake and
taste
The Story
of Sake
National Research
Institute of Brewing
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