Sake Flashcards
What the word Nihonshu means?
- Japanese alcohol (sake)
What type of alcohol can be added in a sake?
- Known as jozo-alcohol, it is normally made from distilled rice or sugar beet and is unaged, colorless and often flavorless
What maximum of spirit can be added in a sake (in weight)?
- the final product must not exceed 10% of the weight of polished rice
True or False, producers can work with table rice varieties
- True, but more difficult to work with
What is the difference between Sakamai (sake rice) and Kakomai (table rice)?
- Sakamai tend to be heavier and about a quarter taller than table rice. It does have a spongier texture and has a unique ratio of fat and protein on the outside, with a particularly starchy center
What is the name of the white heart of rice?
- Shinpaku
Why sake rice is more expensive than table rice?
- It is more challenging to grow, due to wind and top-heavy crops. (sake rice is heavier than table rice)
Why sake is traditionally diluted?
- to avoid additional taxes
What is the average of alcohol of a finished sake?
- 15%-22% (cannot be more than 22%)
What is the official sake association?
- Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association
Why are we using a kiki-choko for Sake competition (white ceramic cup with a blue bullseye pattern on the inside)?
- You can analyze the color of the sake with the white part and its cloudiness with the blue part
How is name the traditional Japanese cedar vessel?
- Masu
How is named the classic cup and decanter for sake?
- Ochoko: cup
- Tokkuri: decanter
What is the highest temperature we can served sake?
- 50 Celsius (122 F), it’s call Atsu-Kan
What is the lowest temperature can we served sake?
- 5-10 Celsius (41-50 F), it’s call Reishu
What is the top 3 Prefecture for production of Sake?
- Hyogo
- Kyoto
- Niigata
What is the top 3 Prefecture for the number of breweries of Sake?
- Niigata
- Nagano
- Hyogo
True or False, the ideal water for sake in high in iron and manganese
- False, it’s the opposite; low in iron to avoid oxidation and low in manganese to avoid discoloration. High level of potassium and magnesium is preferable, they contribute to the stabilization and flavor
What is the most important yeast used for sake?
- Yeast No.7 or Nagano, more than half of Japan’s breweries have used this yeast.
What is the most important sake rice type?
- Yamada-Nishiki
What the term Seimaibuai refers to?
- the amount of rice that remains after polishing.
Which machine is used for rice polishing?
- Seimaiki
What is the difference between Koji, Koji Muro, Koji-Kin?
- Koji: steam rice + yeast + Koji-Kin
- Koji Muro: Koji Room
- Koji-Kin: Fungus
What aspects on a finished sake is impacted by the Koji selected?
- Acidity
- Potential alcohol
- Aromatic potential
Why are we referring the fermenting process of sake as multiple parallel fermentation?
- The starch is converted as sugar and the sugar is converted to alcohol in the same time
Why lactic acid is crucial for the Moto or Shubo (fermentation starter)?
- It protects the fermentation from other, unwanted bacteria
What is the official term for a master brewer for Sake?
- Toji
What is the traditional method to cultived lactic acid during the Moto process?
- Called the Kimoto method, where the workers pound the mash with large wooden poles for hours at a time, cultivating naturally occurring lactic bacteria from the air
What’s the name of the main fermentation of Sake?
- Moromi
What’s the most delicate press for sake?
- Shizuku (tear drop or gravity press). The bag is hung inside a tank and only what drops out of the bag makes it into the bottle. Almost exclusively used for high end junmnai daiginjo
What is used for a filtration of Sake?
- activated charcoal
What is a Namazake?
- unpasteurized sake
True or false, Japanese law dictates that sake labels must state the date of bottling but not the production date
- True, this means producers can theoretically store sake for a year and then bottle it right before shipping
What is the name of an aged sake?
- Koshu