Basic knowledge of sake

Guide to Japanese Sake

by: Hong Yu

Basic Infomation of Sake Brand Name

Sake Type

Specific Sake Type

Rice polishing Ratio (Seimaibuai)

Alcohol Type

原材料名：米、 米麹 精米歩合：４０％ アルコール度数：15度

Rice Type (Shuzokotekimai)

What is Sake?

Sake is an alcoholic drink made from fermented rice. Often referred to as Nihonshu (日本酒) or Seishu (清酒) in Japanese. Because in Japanese, “sake” refers to all alcoholic drinks in general. That includes beer, wine, shochu, and the beverage we call “sake” in English.

Japanese Sake Sake is to Japan as wine is to France, and sake has nearly an equally long history. It is said that even the ancient gods themselves imbibed this delicious brew. And even today sake still retains its religious place. Marriage ceremonies include ritual sake drinking; sake is placed on the family altar for the enjoyment and pleasure of both the gods and the dead. Many of the annual festivals also include sake drinking.

Types of Sake There are so many different types of sake, to keep things simple, we are going to focus on some major types and classifications. Basiclly, there are two main types of sake: Junmaishu and Honjozoshu.

Junmaishu

Junmaishu is the broad term of pure sake. This means the sake is made only from rice, water and rice koji (similar as yeast).

Junmaishu The only ingredients are rice and rice koji.

No alcohol is added.

No regulation of seimaibuai.

Junmai Ginjoshu The only ingredients are rice and rice koji.

No alcohol is added.

Seimaibuai must be under 60%.

Junmai Daiginjoshu The only ingredients are rice and rice koji.

No alcohol is added.

Seimaibuai must be under 50%.

Types of Sake There are so many different types of sake, to keep things simple, we are going to focus on some major types and classifications. Basiclly, there are two main types of sake: Junmaishu and Honjozoshu.

Honjozoshu

Honjozoshu or Honjozo is the general name for sake made with rice, rice koji, and a very small addition of pure distilled alcohol. The amount of pure distilled alcohol must be specified and the seimaibuai must be 70% or less.

Honjozoshu The ingredients are rice, rice koji and small amount of pure distilled alcohol.

Seimaibuai must be under 70%.

Ginjoshu The ingredients are rice, rice koji and small amount of pure distilled alcohol.

Seimaibuai must be under 60%.

Daiginjoshu The ingredients are rice, rice koji and small amount of pure distilled alcohol.

Seimaibuai must be under 50%.

What is Shuzokotekimai?

Shuzo-Kotekimai is the official designation for rice suited for sake brewing. As of 2012, there were more than 100 different varieties. The production of Shuzo-Kotekimai is only 1% of total rice production in Japan, because of the strict criteria of special inspection.

The Criteria for Shuzo-kotekimai 1. Large grain size (25-30g/1,000 rice grains) 2. Has shipaku (the white part in the center) 3. Lower levels of lipids and protein 4. High water absorption rate 5. After steaming, should be hard on the outside

Top: Shuzo kotekimai Bottom: Food rice

What is Shuzokotekimai?

Shuzo-Kotekimai is the official designation for rice suited for sake brewing. As of 2012, there were more than 100 different varieties. The production of Shuzo-Kotekimai is only 1% of total rice production in Japan, because of the strict criteria of special inspection.

The Condition for Shuzo-kotekimai Cultivation 1. Large difference in temperature between day and night 2. Rich soil 3. Wide space for better sunlight and ventilation 4. Skillful farmers 5. The height of Shuzo-Kotekimai rice plant need reach more than 1.5m (5ft), whereas a typical rice plant is only 1.2m - 1.3m (3.9ft - 4.3ft).

Left: Shuzo kotekimai Right: Food rice

What is Seimai?

Rice grains are polished before used in the sake production because the grains’ outer layers create undesirable flavors in the end product. Basiclly, the more polished the rice is, the better gets the taste and the higher gets the price tag of the resulting sake. This polishing process is called Seimai.

Seimaibuai Seimaibuai is the degree to which the rice used in brewing has been milled or polished. It is expressed as percentage. For example, rice with a 60% seimaibuai means the rice has had the outer 40% ground away.

Specific Sake Types By omitting or adding certain steps to the sake production process, some special types of sake can be produced. Below are some of the more common types encountered:

Namazake (raw sake) Nigorizake (cloudy sake) Sparkling sake Koshu (old sake) Jizake (local sake) Amazake (sweet sake)

Left: Namazake Middle: Nigorizake Right: Amazake