Learning Objective 1 - Main Ingredients Flashcards
What are the only ingredients for premium sake?
Steamed rice
Koji
Yeast
Water
Jōzō
What are the main sake specific rice varieties?
Yamanda-nishiki - 34%
Gohyakuman-gaku - 21%
Miyama-nishiki - 7%
Akita-sake-komachi - 2.8%
Omachi - 2.4%
TABLE RICE
Yamada-nishiki
Hyōgo - 34%
Well defined shinpaku
Perfect for highly polished (low Polish Ratio)
Late Harvest
Prone to lodging
¥¥¥¥
Gohyakuman-gaku
Niigata - 21%
Bit small grain then Yamada-nishiki
Well defined shinpaku
Resistant to Cracking
Early harvest
Miyama-nishiki
Nagano - 7%
Adapted for cold
Smaller grains than Gohyakuman
Medium harvest
Omachi
Okayama - 2.4%
Oldest sake specific
Large grain
Large shinpaku
Difficult to polish (rounded shinpaku)
Lare harvest
Akita-sake-komachi
Akita Only - 2.8%
Adapted to cold climate
Large grain
Well-defined shinpaku
Low protein
Ideal for highly polished
Medium harvest
What are the rice classification grades?
Above Special - Toko-jō
Special - Toko-tō
1st Grade
2nd Grade
3rd Grade
Toko-jō
Above Special Rice Classification
Toko-tō
Special Rice Classification
What rice is only for sake making?
Toko-jō (above special)
Toko-tō (special)
What rice can be used for table and sake rice?
1st grade
2nd grade
3rd grade
What are the grading criteria for rice?
<15% or less moisture
-Broken %
-Cracked %
-Dead %
-Unripe %
What is unique about sake rice?
Large Grain
Low protein content
Well defined shinpaku
Good water absorbency
Easily broken down by enzymes
What are the characteristics of Yamada-nishiki rice?
Deep flavor
Soft
Texture
Elegance
Precision
What are the characteristics of Gohyakuman-gakui rice?
Light aromas
Light Texture
Niigata Style - light, dry, very pure, kire finish
What are the characteristics of Miyama-nishiki rice?
Restrained aromas
Rich Nagano style - junmai, Intense flavor, rich, slightly sweet
180° opposite of Niigata
What are the characteristics of Akita-sake-komachi rice?
Soft textured
Elegant
What are the characteristics of Omachi
Richer texture
Earthy
Spicy
Higher umami
Why is kōji used in sake production?
kōji is used for 2 reasons. 1. sake rice is usually polished to remove most of the rice structure including the bran and germ. The germ normally would produce enzymes to break down the
2. steamed rice is used and even if the germ remained the heat required to gelatinize the starch at 70-80° would kill the germ
What components help kōji breakdown the rice starch?
kōji is a mold
It contains amylases enzymes
1. alpha amylase
2. glucoamylase
3. alpha-glucosidase
4. Protease
Enzymatic hydrolysis
Breaks starch chains into glucose molecules and breaks non-branding amylose starch chains into dextrins
Takes place during fermentation
Aspergillus oryzae
kōji-kin
How does kōji work
Sends HYPHAE into the rice grain/starch which are feeding tubes.
Releases enzymes that break down glucose and amino acids which are used as food to reproduce
How does kōji impact style?
Flavins give color
Protease enzymes creates amino acids = umami flavor
Aminos also food for yeast = acidity
Adds vitamins & lipids
Creates Chestnut aromas
alpha amylase
kōji enzyme - breaks starch to dextrins (shorter starch chains)
glucoamylase
kōji enzyme - breaks dextrins (shorter starch chains) to glucose
Protease
kōji enzyme changes protein to amino acids and peptides
Alpha-glucosidase
kōji enzyme - similar to glucoamylase breaks dextrins (shorter starch chains) to glucose
What are the components of rice grain
Husk
Bran
Endosperm
Shinpaku
What is always removed from the rice polishing
Husk
Bran
Germ
What can be found in the endosperm?
Yeast nutrients - gives cereal aromas, texture
Proteins
Lipids
Vitamins
Minerals
What does more protein left after polishing for sake rice?
More umami
What does less protein after polishing help create for sake rice?
More ginjō aromas
What is amylose?
Unbranched chain of glucose molecules
What is amylopectin?
highly branched chain of α-glucose units and is water-insoluble
What is considered glutinous or sticky rice?
80%+ amylopectin
What is considered non-glutinous or non-sticky rice?
<80% amylopectin
What is required for enzymatic hydrolysis?
enzymes and water
What are the insoluble starch chains that enzymes cannot break down called?
Limit dextrin
What are the primary acids that are produced by yeast fermentation?
Succinic
Malic
Lactic
What are the 3 main strains of kōji?
White - citric acid produced
Black - citric acid produced
Yellow - most common used
How does kōji reproduce and how many days after innoculation?
asexual
4-6 days
What are enzymes and how are they managed?
Are proteins that act as a catalyst to speed up chemical reactions.
Can be managed with temperature control
What are outputs of kōji?
Glucose
Amino Acids
Vitamins
Minerals
Limits (fatty acids) / Protein
Flavins (color)
Chestnut aroma
What is the format of kōji when adding to steamed rice
- Granulated
- Powdered
What is granulated kōji?
Rice that has Kōji mold already growing on it
Used for hand-shaking distribution
When is powdered kōji used?
Simple mold spores used for automatic kōji processing
What nutrients do yeast require?
Sugar
Amino acids
Vitamins
Magnesium
Phosporous
Potassium
What are the outputs of yeast after glucose metabolism?
Ethanol
CO2
Heat
Aromas
Malic, Succinic acid
What is unique about sake fermentation?
There is a parallel fermentation
1. kōji converting starch to sugar
2. yeast converting sugar to ethanol
Who provides yeast to sake brewers?
Brewing Society of Japan
Kyōkai kōbo
What is unique about sake yeast strains versus wine or beer?
They can tolerate higher levels of ABV up to 22%
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Yeast species
What do higher temps for yeast do?
Creates fast fermentation
When does yeast stop fermenting?
3-5° C yeast goes ambient too cold
35° C+ heat can kill yeast
22%+ ABV ethanol kills yeast
Autolysis
When yeast consumes dead yeast creating lees aromas
What type of yeast did brewers traditionally use?
Ambient yeast found in the brewery take the foam from one brew and use it in the next
What did the Brewing Society of Japan start and accomplish?
Founded in 1906, BSJ manages the multiplication of yeast to keep yeast strains consistent and provide to sake brewers
How does the BSJ identify yeast?
Usually at brewery specific sites and isolate
How does the BSJ distribute
Numbered yeast are distributed in ampoules to avoid contamination
What is a ampoule?
Small glass bottles with yeast & nutrient rich fluid
2-5 ampoules per 100kg of polished rice
Shelf life 50 days
What are the options for yeast purchase?
Ampoules
Dried Yeast - cost-effective
Cultivated yeast
Why would a brewer pick dried yeast?
-Enables to skip shubo
-Means can complete fermentation in 2 weeks
-Low foaming
-1 year shelf life
-only option for outside Japan
What is cultivated yeast?
Brewers screen yeast out of moromi onto agar plates
What is cultivated yeast?
Brewers screen yeast out of moromi onto agar slants (test tubes with nutrients)
-still creates mutations
Shizuoka Yeast
Known for Isoamyl acetate (banana)
Low acidity
Success in competitions
Akita Yeast
AK1 Strain 1990
Great for low-long fermentations
Low aciid
Pronounced ginjō
Many wins in comps
Hiroshima Yeast
2013
Hightly Aromatic Sakes
Yeast #6
1935 Akita
Reliable & strong fermentations
Pre-date ginjō boom
Yeast #7
1946 Miyasaka (Suga)
Industry standard
Reliable & strong fermentations
Pre-date ginjō boom
Slightly better than #6
used from futsū-shu to ginjō
Yeast #11
Variant of #7 with similar char
Good for dryness
Dry, non-aromatic sakes
Yeast #9
1968 Early ginjō
Kumamoto
Released for competitions became a standard for ginjō
YK35 = Yamada rice-Kumamoto-35% polish ratio
HIgher acidity
Yeast #10
1977 - Meiri Yeast N. Japan
Early ginjō yeast
Yeast #14
1995 Kanazawa
Low acid ginjō yeast
Extreme version with pronounced ginjō and low acid
Pronouned isoamyl acetate (banana)
Yeast #1801
2006
Cross between #9 and #1601
Current standard for competition sake
Ethyl caproate (apple & melon)
Yeast #1901
2014
Non-urea (carcinogenic) producing strain of #1801
Ethyl carbamate (apple/melon) low levels
Why were low foaming yeast propagated?
Froth from regular yeast strains could take up to half the tank.
BSJ wanted less foaming closer to wine and beer. Saves money since you can produce more in the same tanke
What are other yeast options than using Brewing Society of Japan?
- Ambient Yeast
- Proprietary Yeast
- Prefecture or Regional Yeas
What is the challenge with Ambient yeast?
Ambient yeast is found within the brewery
They pose a risk due to other microbial contamination during the multiplication stage since there is little acidity in the sake
And can lead to inconsistent results
What is proprietary yeast?
Some brewers collect yeast samples from successful fermentation and other natural sources
Then develop specific variations for the brewery for differentiation.
What is blended yeast?
When brewers mix and match other yeasts like 1801 with 901 to blend the different yeast characteristics and aromas
How does Japanese water compare to the rest of the world?
Relatively soft water
What are water sources for sake brewers
Natural - spring and wells
Municipal
What are the key contaminants that must be low in water for sake?
Iron close to zero (1/10th of tap water)
Organic material
What are desirable minerals to have in water for fermentation?
magnesium
potassium
phosphorus
good nutrients for yeast
What causes hardness in water?
Calcium and magnesium
Miya-mizu
Mineral rich water
Nada and Kobe (Hyōgo Prf)
Faster, more complete fermentation
What style results from miya-mizu (hard water)
less floral
More complete fermentation
Restrained and drier
Fushima water
Near Kyoto
Soft
Less vigorous fermentation
Saijo Water
Hiroshima
Low-mineral water good for tsuki-haze kōji
Where does most jōzō come from?
Brazil - molasses or grain
Must be agri product
95% ABV Min
What is the dilution strength of jōzō?
30-40% ABV when added to sake
reduces the risk of fire in. the brewery
How much jōzō for
Junmai
Premium
Futsú-shu
Junmai = 0%
Premium = 10%
Futsú-shu = 50%
What is the challenge of adding jõzō from a timing perspective?
Too early or late can cause yeast to die
Yeast autolysis (self-digestion) creates unwanted aromas.
