sake Flashcards
What are the grades of sake from lowest to highest?
Futsuu-shu- normal Sake+Brewers Alc: Honjozo Ginjo Daiginjo No Brewers Alc: Junmai Junmai Ginjo Junmai Daiginjo
What styles can be labelled Tokubetsu to designate more highly polished rice?
Junmai and Honjozo
What re the rice polish levels?
Honjozo: 70% remaining
Ginjo: 60% remaining
Daiginjo: 50% remaining
What is Shinpaku and what does it translate to?
Core of starches in the center of the rice grain.
“Heart Rate”
Name three varieties of sake rice.
Yamada Nishiki OmachiRice Miyama Nishiki Ossetto Hatta Nishiki Tamazakae Kame no O Hidahomare Dewa San San
What is the Latin name for Koji?
Aspergillus oryzae
What is Saccharification?
The process of breaking starch into fermentable sugars. This is what koji does.
What are the methods of creating/adding lactic acid to sake?
- Kimoto-moto (pole ramming to create puree which acts as a starter, takes ~45 days, most traditional, gamey, sweet, acidic)
- Yamahai-shikomi (wild yeast, no pole ramming, ~30 days, gamey, eclectic)
- Sokuju-moto (lactic acid is added early on, faster and more industrial, most widely used)
What is Fune Shibori?
“Boat Press” a traditional , delicate way of pressing sake from the lees.
Shibori: process of pressing sake from its lees
Sake is is placed in filter bags and layed into a rectangular box (fune) and a mechanical press presses down on the bags.
What is Shizuku-shibori/Fukuro-tsuri?
Drip-pressed sake, letting gravity push the liquid through a fine mesh. Low yield, very elegant, very expensive.
Shizuku (gravity press)
Fukuro-tsuri (hanging bag)
Why is Nigori technically not sake?
Sake must be filtered, but Nigori can be labeled sake by straining the by products and then reintroducing them
If Nigori is filtered and then recombined with lees what is it called? And if the lees are never sepann1289ty7urated, but is it called?
Sheishu “clearhj sake” when the lees are filtered out and then reintroduced.
Origarami- when the lees are never separated.
What is unpasteurized sake called? What is the flavor profile?
Namazake
livelier, zingy flavor
Traditionally released int he spring
What re the two styles of Namazake?
Namachozo: cellared without being pasteurized, but pasteurized before bottling
Namazume: pasteurized once before cellaring, but never again
What is genshu?
undiluted sake
What is taruzake?
sake aged in wooden barrels, usually cedar.
Aging can be as short as a few hours
How does nihonshudo work?
0=neutral
negative=sweeter
What is the furthest north prefecture? And the furthest south?
North: Hokkaido
South: Okinawa
What are the two
GIs of Japan?
Yamagata GI (entire prefecture) Hakusan Kikusake GI (4 breweries in the town of Hakusan)
What is Enshiki?
book outlining the sake making process, published in the 10th century
What is sake with spirit added called?
Arukouru Tenka or Aruten
What is the legal max abv of sake? What is the typical range?
Max 22%
typically 8-20%, though often diluted down to 15% to avoid additional taxes
What soils are best for a rice paddy? Why?
Silt, clay, loam.
Requires a lot of water, so water retaining soil is best
What is the requirement for certified organic sake?
the rice must come from a rice paddy that has been free from synthetic chemicals for min 3 yrs.
Nothing to do with practices inside the brewery.
How do sake styles differ in the north vs the south?
North: earlier harvest (September) due to pressure from freezing temps. Leads to leaner style.
South: as late as mid-October harvest. Richer, mellower style
What is the rice milling machine called?
Seimaiki
What is the definition of Semaibuai?
Refers to the amount of rice left after polishing. Lower semaibuai=more polished.
What are the effects of a lower semaibuai?
Lower semaibuai (less rice remaining) means more elegance, delicate flavors, vibrant aromatics. Higher semaibuai (more rice remains, more fat and protein remaining) mean more rustic and savory style
How does the addition of brewer’s alcohol affect the flavor of sake?
Adds texture and body, and miner laity.
Can also soften any overwhelming components and flavors.
What is ordinary sake (below Junmai and Honjozo) called?
Futsushu
What re the requirements for a Junmai or Honjozo to have Tokubetsu on the label?
EITHER 60% semaibuai or less
OR it can be 70% but diverge from the producers usual methods, which must also be on the label, such as Kimoto or Yamahai.
What is Kaori and Aji
Kaori: aromatic, fruity, floral style, comes from lower semaibuai
Aji: textured, savory, rich
What is a sake brewmaster called?
Toji
Why does sake production Strat in the winter?
Even today, most sake breweries don’t have internal cooling systems, so the cool temps ensure a longer, healthy fermentation.
What is the yeast starter in sake called?
Moto
Shubu
What is Amazake?
sake produced with low- or non-alcohol producing year, resulting in fruity, sweet congee-textured beverage, often served to kids and praised for heath benefits.
Why is lactic acid important in sake production?
It protects the fermentation from from other, unwanted bacteria.
How long do the Kimoto and Yamahai process generally take? And Sokujo?
Yamahai and Kimoto: ~a month
Sokujo: ~2 weeks
What is Sandan Shikomi?
The three-stage process of adding koji, kakemai and water (all three get added each time) to the Moto after lactic acid has been added or cultivated.
What is the main sake fermentation called?
Moromi
What is Kasu?
the solids (lees, other solids) the gets filtered out of finished sake
What is the most common method of separating Sake from its Kasu?
Assakuki- a balloon-press air compressor.
What is shiboritate?
“fresh squeezed” sake that has been pressed and gone straight into bottle without the settling or 60-day maturation period.
What is Muroka?
non-charcoal filtered sake. Greenish-yellow tinge, sometimes “raw” flavor.
What is the optimal storage temperature for Namazake?
-5º C
What is the small wooden box used for drinking sake called? What size is it?
Masu
180 ml
Usually cedar
180 ml is used for all sorts of measurements, from production volumes for taxes to rice purchasing to bottle sizes.
When does the sake brewing year start and stop?
July 1-June 30
What is a sugidama?
a ball of cedar branches that a brewery hangs outside to mark the release of the first sake of the year. they start out green, and turn brown by the end of the brewery season
What is Koshu?
“Aged sake”
Sake made in one brewing year and released in the next. Aged for one year or more.
What is Shinshu?
“New sake”
Sake released in the same year it was brewed.
What percentage of finished sake is water?
80%
Where are the most coveted water sources in Japan?
Mount Rokko in Hyogo
Kyoto
Hiroshima
These prefectures are also celebrated for their sake rice.
What kind of water is best for sake?
Low in iron and manganese
Higher levels of potassium and magnesium .
Hard water= faster fermentation
Soft water= better for long, cool fermentation
Most Japanese water is relatively soft
What does Ki-ippon mean on a sake label?
Appended to any Junmai level sake, denotes that the entire production comes from a single place of origin, from water to rice to koji and yeast.
What are the bottle sizes for sake?
Tokkuri (carafe, not a btl)- 360 ml
Yongo- 720 ml
Issho-bin- 1,800 ml
What are traditional sake service cups?
Sakazuki- traditional earthenware cups
Ochoko- white porcelain
Masu: cedar box, 180 ml
What volume is the typical serving of sake?
ichi-go (single portion): 90 ml
ni-go (double portion): 180 ml
