Rice Flashcards
When does newly harvested rice arrive at the brewery?
October to early spring, roughly 7 months.
What is the one big advantage of rice over grapes?
Rice can be stored for weeks or even months without rotting or severely degrading which means the rice harvest can be processed in small batches throughout the season.
What happens during the rice harvest once underdeveloped grains are removed?
The rice is separated by size in to different categories.
All five catgegories of rice can be found within a single paddy.
T or F
True
Name the five categories of rice.
Santoh (grade 3)
Nittoh (grade 2)
Ittoh (grade 1)
Tokuto (special grade)
Tokujo (higher special grade)
Broadly, there are what two type of rice?
Japonica (short)
Indica (long)
Name four features specific to sake rice:
- large grains
- low protein content and the presence of a well-defined, large Shinpaku. Ideally linear in shape.
- Good water absorbency and high solubility during the brewing process.
- Low ratio of rice cracking.
Why is rice cracking undesirable?
It leads to a less effective separation of starch from undesirable components.
The features specific to sake rice make what three things possible?
- The separation of a large proportion of desirable starch away from undesirable impurities.
- Help the water penetrate deep into the grain during washing, soaking, and steaming.
- Water penetrability also helps the rice ‘melt’ easily, making its starch available for conversion to sugar and then fermentation into alcohol.
How many Shuzo-koteki-mai varieties in Japan were registered as of 2011?
96
What are the two most important varieties of Shuzo-koteki-mai?
Yamada-nishiki
Gohyaku-mangoku
Yamada-nishiki and Gohyaku-mangoku make up what percentage of sake-specific rice production?
Over 60%
How much of Japan’s rice production is used for sake, and of that, how much is sakspecific rice?
5% of Japan’s rice production is used for sake, and of that one quarter is Shuzo-koteki-mai
Yamada-nishiki
- Main grower
- Production
- Character
- Common influence in style of sake
- Popular in what style
- Hyogo, but also Tohoku to Kyushu
- 21,838 (21,000+) tonnes
- Known as the king of sake rice, it has a particularly large shinpaku and is especially resistant to cracking during polishing.
- Fragrant, well-integrated, complete and soft flavours
- Popular for Daiginjo
Gohayku-mangoku
- Main grower:
- Production:
- Character:
- Common influence in style of sake:
- Niigata, southern area of Tohoku, northern Kyushu
- 19,645 (19,000+) tonnes
- Was the most grown until 2001. Easier for koji. Named after the anniversary of Niigatas rice production exceeding over 5 million koku (900 million litres) in 1957.
- Soft, smooth, clean, dry and slightly aromatic
Miyama-Nishiki
- Main grower
- Production
- Character
- Common Influence
- Nagano
- 6.540 tonnes
- Widely grown in Tohoku, Hokuriku, and Kanto region.
- Less dry and steamed rice flavour, very subtle on the nose. Pure and clean type of sake.
Dewa Sansan
- Main Grower
- Production
- Character
- Yamagata, also Niigata
- 1.436 tonnes
- Complex, not so dry, midly fragrant. Can range from fruity to earthy.
Extra: first cultivated in Yamagata in 1985– a cross of Hanafubuki (華吹雪) and Miyama Nishiki (美山錦).
Omachi
- Main grower:
- Production:
- Character:
- Common influence in style of sake:
- Extra:
- Okayama prefecture
- 1.625 tonnes
- One of the oldest varieties. It has a large shinpaku, but the rice is softer and difficult to polish much.
- Generally less fragrant, used to express firmly defined, earthy, rich and deeply spiced flavours.
- Makes good sake to serve warm