Production Flashcards
Four basic steps to make steamed rice
- Polishing
- Washing - by hand or maching
- Soaking
- Steaming
Two important roles of steaming
- Ensure the rice is able ot break up in the water during fermentation.
- Change the structure of the starch so the enzymes can access it and convert it into sugar.
If a brewer only polishes away some of the endosperm, the sake has more __________ and ____________ with ___________ and ____________ aromas.
acidity and umami with cereal and lactic aromas.
What does washing do?
Removes the dust reside left on the rice grains after polishing.
Rice that is polished to 70% is typically used to make sake that have:
A. more acidity and less umami
B. more acidity and more umami
C. less acidity and more umami
D. less acidity and less umami
B. more acidity and more umami
Rice that is polished to less than 50% is typically used to make sakes that have:
A. more acidity and less umami
B. less acidity and less umami
C. more acidity and more umami
D. less acidity and more umami
B. less acidity and less umami
What is the legally defined polishing ratio for daiginjō?
50% or less
Which one of the following has the production steps in the correct order?
A. Washing, polishing, steaming, soaking
B. Polishing, washing, soaking, steaming
C. Washing, steaming, soaking, polishing
D. Soaking, washing, polishing, steaming
B. Polishing, washing, soaking, steaming
The shuba (or moto) must be acidic why?
To inhibit the growth of microbes that can spoil the sake.
Standard ratio of steamed rice, koji, and water placed in fermentation tank.
80 : 20 : 130
steamed rice : koji : water
The aim of the fermentation starter is….
The build up a healthy population of yeast
The four main ingredients of the fermentation starter:
- kōji
- steamed white rice
- yeast
- water.
Prior to the start of the 20th Century, how was unwanted yeast and bacteria growth controlled?
The use of methods called kimoto and yamahai— both still used by brewers.
They both rely on culture of lactic acid bacteria naturally developing at the very start of the fermentation. They create lactic acid and make the fermentation starter acidic. Ultimately they give way to the brewer’s selected yeast.
Sakes made using this method typically have richer, more savoury flavours and are fuller bodied.
Which of the following statements is true regarding tsuki-haze kōji?
A. It is typically used to produce sakes with high levels of acidity and umami.
B. It has a high level of mould growth.
C. It is typically used in the longest fermentations.
D. It has a high level of enzymes.
C. It is typically used in the longest fermentations.
What is the legally defined polishing ratio for daiginjō?
A. 70% or less
B. 50% or less
C. 100% or less
D. 60% or less
B. 50% or less
What is the legally defined polishing ration for ginjō?
A. 50% or less
B. 100% or less
C. 70% or less
D. 60% or less
D. 60% or less
In the brewing process, what generally happens on Day 1?
Fermentation starter, water, kōji, and steamed rice are added to fill the tank to 1/6
In the brewing process, what generally is added on Day 2?
Nothing.
In the brewing process, what is generally added on Day 3?
Water, kōji, and steamed rice in 1/3 to total volume. When added to the previous 1/6, should equal 1/2 the brewing volume of the tank.
In the brewing process, what generally happens day 4?
Water, kōji, and steamed rice added in 1/2 brewing volume of the tank to achieve maximum volume.
When is Jōzō added?
After fermentation, before filtration.
What type of sake is lightly filtered?
Nigori
What indicates a sake that is not fined using charcoal?
Muroka
What kind of sake is not fully pasteurized?
Nama
What type of sake is not diluted?
Gensu
Kasu is to sake as pomace is to wine.
A. True
B. False
A. True
What is shizuku?
A. A method of pressing sake in a large accordion press.
B. A method of pressing sake by stacking bags of the main mash in a large box and applying pressure on the top.
C. “Free-run” sake made by hanging bags of the main mash and only bottling what drips out.
D. An unpleasant diacetyl aroma from microbial damage in sake.
C. “Free-run” sake made by hanging bags of the main mash and only bottling what drips out.
Also known as joso, what is the term for wringing the moromi from its lees?
A. shizuku
B. shibori
C. sokujo
D. shikomi
B. shibori
What is sandan shikomi?
A. Multiple-parallel fermentation
B. The three additions of moto that gradually build up to a full fermentation tank of sake
C. Sake that goes through two different stages of pasteurization
B. The three additions of moto that gradually build up to a full fermentation tank of sake
Legally sake must have no more than _____ ABV
22%
What are the Brewers aims in making steamed white rice?
- Reduce the levels of proteins, lipids, vitamins and minerals in the rice grains.
- adjust the amount and distribution of moisture in the rice grains.
- Gelatinise the starch
What are the brewers aims in making the koji?
- create enzymes to break starch into glucose
- create enzymes to break proteins into amino acids
What is the impact of steaming on starch?
Tightly wounds ‘balls’ of enzymes begin to unravel to give access to enzymes.
Why are the components for fermentation added in three steps over four days?
To ensure that the yeast population does not become too diluted and that there are always sufficient quantites of conversion enzymes for the koji.
What are the three stages of Moromi-making?
Day 1 - Hatsu-zoe - first addition
Day 2 - Odori - let it dance
Day 3 - Naka zoe - middle addition
Day 4 - Tome-zoe - final addition
What is the purpose of Odori?
The mixture is allowed to “dance” - the yeast cells multiply. It is essential and gives a large influence on the fermentation of the subsequent mixture.
What would happen if the entire yeast / water / koji / steamed rice mixture were added to the tank at once rather than Sandan Jikomi?
The yeast would become too diluted, prolonging the time required to reach the right density for the proper fermentation of alcohol and allowing microbes to multiply, which could interrupt the fermentation process and soil the mixture.
What are some methods for making sparkling sake?
- Injection
- Cuvee Close (tank)
- Traditional
- Method Ancestral
- Live Nigori (usually sold at Christmas)
What does soaking the rice achieve?
It alters the amount and distribution of water within the rice grain.
What are the three purposes of soaking and then steaming rice?
- Raise the moisture level within the grain
- Changes the structure of the starch
- Disinfection of the rice
Why is it important to raise the moisture level within the rice grain?
Soaking before steaming helps to ensure that the rice absorbs enough water to be soft and moist in the inside. Steaming (not boiling) keeps the outside of the rice firm. This is the ideal distribution of moisture for producing the best koji, and for ensuring the rice breaks up during fermentation at the right speed.
Why is it important that the starch in rice change during steaming?
The structure is changed by heat to allow the koji enzymes to break it into fermentable sugars. Without heat, the starch remains in a form that the enzymes cannot break apart.
What are the four key steps to sake production?
- The fermentation starter
- The main fermentation
- Jozo alcohol and filtration
- Finishing
Describe what is happening in parallel fermentation.
The koji enzymes are breaking down the starch into sugar to make food for the yeast and the yeast is consuming the sugar creating heat, alcohol, and CO2.
Nearly all sakes have some unfermented sugar.
T or F
True
What are the three principles of sake brewing?
Ichi koji, ni moto, san tzukuri
tzukuri = making the moromi-mash
What 6 factors impact soaking time?
- Type of rice
- The year’s harvest
- Seimaibuai
- Type of sake being made
- The purpose of the rice (koji or main mash)
- The day’s weather
Moisture can be controlled down to one half of one percent across all grains in any one steaming.
T or F
True
For inexpensive, mass produced sake, soaking is usually longer or shorter than for premium sake?
Longer, the time is not watched as closely.
Koshiki
Steaming vat
After an hour of steaming, the rice will be harder on the outside and softer on the inside.
T or F
True
(also, dryer on the outside, moist on the inside)
Shikomi
Batch
(Shikomi #10 is the tenth batch)
Kakemai
Steamed rice, not koji
When is jozo added in sake production?
Between nakazoe and tomezoe
What is the goal of the moto?
To establight a high population of yeast.
How long does it take to make the moto?
2 weeks
What may be added to sake after pressing?
Only water and kasu
Why is kasu added back to sake after pressing?
It is one way to make a nigori
What does pasteurization do?
Pasteurization stabilizes the sake by killing lactic bacteria and deactivating the enzymes that would feed the bacteria.
What are the three methods of pressing sake?
Yabuta
Fune
Drip
