C17 - The Global Sake Industry - working Flashcards
what are the reasons behind the export of sake is increasing?
decline in local market and interest in sake outside of Japan
How many sake breweries in Japan comparing 1970s and 2014-15?
- 3500
- 1500
How’s the production volume of sake in Japan comparing 1970s and 2014-15?
- over 7.5 million koku
- 2.49 million koku
what is the structural problem among the sake brewing industry?
the industry is split between a few giant producers and many smaller producers, very little in between
what is the average (mean) production volume of sake in Japan now?
1500 koku
how’s production volumes per big, medium and small breweries?
- over 80% is <1000 koku
- more than 3% are over 10,000 koku
- only 1% is approx. 250,000 koku
what is the determining factor of the price of a sake?
how much the consumer is prepared to pay for it
What made the price differences between sakes?
- correlated to the costs of raw ingredients and production
what are the main factors affecting the cost of sake?
- rice type (and grade)
- rice polishing ratio
- sake category (without jozo)
- sake style (ginjo)
- other methods used (kimoto, koshu…)
other than the factors affecting the costs, what else add up the final price of a sake?
- gross profit for the brewery
- labour and equipment
- taxes and levies
- distributors’ margins
- further taxes in each layer
which 2 prefectures account for 1/2 of all sake production in Japan?
Hyogo and Kyoto
which prefecture ranked third in production volume but has the largest number of breweries?
Niigata
when did Nihon-shu became a G.I.?
2015
what are the 2 main reasons it’s so difficult to develop G.I. system in Japan?
- ingredients
- business trends
means a brewser in any location can make any style of sake in Japan.
why ingredients making G.I. development difficult?
- rice can be sourced from anywhere
- water’s mineral and nutrient content is permitted to adjust
- yeast and koji-in spores are mainly supplied by the BSJ. Only a few suppliers outside of the BSJ
why business trends making G.I. development difficult?
- expertise and skills now can be learnt from universities and organisations i.e. NRIB. rather from local guilds
- brewers are increasingly seeking national or international markets
what are the rough styles of each region in Japan?
- north-east (Niigata): lighter and drier
- south-west (HIroshima): sweeter, more intense flavour
- eastern-coastal (Miyagi): lighter, purer - for local-cold water seafood
- central mountains (Nagano, Akita): heavier, more complex
- west coast: richer, more intense
Iwate Prefecture (north-east) / toki guild / style
- Nanbu Toji guild
- pure, clean and light
Niigata Prefecture / toki guild / style
- Echigo Toji guild
- tanrei-karakuchi
- light, dry and very pure
- with a short clean finish (kire)
Nagano Prefecture (south of Niigata) / style
- intense flavour, rich and slightly sweet
- junmai
- exact opposite to Niigata style
- local yeast: Alps
- local rice: Miyama-nishiki
Kyoto Prefecture / style
- most delicately aromatic
- elegant and refined
- pair with sophisticated fine Kyoto cuisine
- use low-mineral water
Hyogo Prefecture / style
- firm texture
- more intense flavours
- higher umami
- so-haze koji
- mineral and nutrient rich local water
Hiroshima Prefecture / style
- ginjo
- using extremely low-mineral water
- so-haze koji
- slow, cold fermentation
- higher acidity
Which prefecture is an exception of styles in the Shikoku region?
Kochi prefecture
what is the style of Kochi prefecture’s sake?
- the driest and lightest
- due to consumption in large volume
Saga prefecture / style
balance sweetness with high acidity