Making Sake

Making Sake
Written by Kazushi Kawano
Edited by Tony Leonard

Sake is defined as "rice wine" by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. To many Americans, sake is looked upon as liquor because it contains more alcohol than wine. However, to the Japanese, it is much more than mere liquor. It is their national drink and has been part of their culture for over 2000 years. Sake is the only naturally fermented beverage that can produce alcohol up to 20%. Because of this, many scientists find the sake making process both unique and complex. I had the opportunity to go to Japan and do a work/learn internship in a sake brewery, where I learned the fundamentals of making sake. The first sake was called kuchikami no sake which can be translated as "mouth chewing sake." At that period, steamed rice was chewed by ladies of the shrine who would spit the chewed rice into a cask. The cask was allowed to sit until a nice aroma came out of the cask. Kuchikami no sake was reserved only for religious ceremonies. Fortunately, sake making has changed with time. Sake brewing techniques changed in the Edo period, when much of the equipment which is still in use today, was developed. For example, the koshiki (batch rice steamer) and the process of pasteurization were developed during this time period. Subsequently, during and after World War II, the sake makers had to adjust their style of brewing due to the lack of the main raw material: rice. Since there was not enough rice at the time, sake makers had to come up with a way to brew sake efficiently. As a result of this shortage, the sake makers resorted to san bai jozo, a technique of tripling the volume of sake by adding 95% ethanol to the final mash of sake. This taste was widely accepted and the new taste of light and dry sake was enjoyed by everyone.

Sake is made only from rice and water. The water comes from fresh wells in the mountains, and the rice is sake rice which is suited only for its specialized purpose, and not for consumption. The harvested rice is dried and milled to the specifications of the toji (sake master). By late November or early December, the climate for making sake is just right. The cold weather prevents the growth of many wild microbes which can cause contamination. As the rice enters the kura (sake brewery) it will go through a two-week long process until the sake fermentation is started. First, at the kamaba, the sake rice is washed, soaked, and drained. On the next day, the rice is steamed. The first batch of steamed rice is taken to the koji muro (koji making room)
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Making Sake

where the rice will be reacted with koji mold (asperigillus oryzae) to produce starch breakdown enzymes. After the koji is made, we begin the making of the moto (starter mash). It is comprised of water, koji, steamed rice, and yeast (saccharomyces cerevisiae). The combination of water, koji, and steamed rice makes a suitable environment for the yeast to grow. The koji enzymes break down the starch in the steamed rice to fermentable sugar: glucose. Then the yeast consume the glucose to begin the budding, which will increase the number of yeast cells. The highest priority in moto making is to increase the number of yeast cells. After the moto is made, the fermentation begins. The moromi, as it is called, begins with the addition of the moto to a new batch of steamed rice, koji, and water. This addition is repeated two more times, until the tanks are half full of moromi mash. The three-step addition of initiating the sake fermentation is called san dan shikomi. This serial addition is found only in sake fermentation, and is one of the largest differences between making sake and beer or wine. In the next three to four weeks of fermentation, the starch in the rice is broken down into glucose, by the actions of the koji enzymes. Then the fermentable sugar is converted to ethanol by the yeast. This relay fermentation is unique and explains why sake can be up to 20% ethanol. In Japanese, this fermentation is called heiko fuku hakko, or in English, multi-parallel fermentation. In the temperature controlled, stainless-steel tanks the sake is fermented, unlike wine or beer. In wine or beer making, the fermentation is a one-step process: the conversion of glucose to ethanol. In a sake fermenting tank, the starch in steamed rice is broken down to glucose and the glucose is changed to ethanol. Scientists differentiate the two process of making wine and sake by calling the former single fermentation and the latter double fermentation. After the moromi has reached the end of fermentation, the mash is separated into solids and liquids. The solids are called kasu, or sake cake, which will be used for pickling salmon and vegetables. The liquid is sake and this will be treated further and aged for three to six months. After the aging, sake is filtered to be stable. The sake is diluted down to 16%, pasteurized, and bottled. The finished product is clear as water, but with a scent of delicious apples or pineapples. The sake slips down the throat and it tastes light and dry.

A person may drink sake in one of two ways. The first is okan, or the warm method. When sake is heated to about 40 degrees Celsius, it tastes wonderfully smooth, and goes down well. Most of the aroma is lost during the heating and one can enjoy the taste more than the aroma. On the other hand, if sake is chilled, the fruity aroma is the dominant feature and can be enjoyed. The taste is still smooth, but it may seem too strong to the average beer drinker. No matter how one enjoys sake, it tastes choice.

Sites About Sake:

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Sake Home Page (maintained by Kimihana &Taylor Associates, Inc.) http://www.sake.com/ eSake.com - Online information and sales of Japanese Sake http://www.esake.com/index.html

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