Sake Bomb! Flashcards
What is the Japanese term for what we refer to as Sake?
Nihon-Shu
What is multiple parallel fermentation?
MPF relies on the combined activities of yeast and the mold, koji-kin (Aspergillus oryzae), to undergo both crucial processes of fermentation at once producing alcohol and CO2.
In 2016, the World Trade Organization gave geographical indication (GI) status to what two prefectures?
Yamagata GI and
Hakusan Kikusake GI
What are some high quality breweries in Yamagata GI?
Tengumai, Kikuhime, Tedorigawa, Manzairaku
Name a high quality brewery in Hakusan Kikusake GI?
Takasago in the town of Hakusan in the centrally located Ishikawa Prefecture
The Yamagata GI rules state that the 51 breweries of the prefecture must follow what rules for production?
51 breweries of the prefecture must use rice and koji grown in Japan, use only Yamagata water, and bottle and store their sake in Yamagata.
What was the rustic, unrefined home brew sake made in millennia’s past time?
Doburoku
Where was the first imperial sake brewing department was established?
Nara, Japan, 689 AD
In 1943, to control production, the Japanese government introduced a sake class grading system that divided sake into what three categories?
Special Class (tokkyu)
First Class (ikkyu)
Second Class (nikyu).
When was the Junmai system created?
1991
High-quality sake is comprised of a maximum of five key ingredients?
Rice, water, yeast, koji mold, and brewer’s spirit (distilled alcohol)
What is Futsuu-shu?
-Normal sake that does not qualify under Tokutei Meishou-shu classifications
-Constitutes 80% of total sake production in Japan
Styles for Sake with brewers alcohol?
Honjozo-shu
Ginjo-shu
Daiginjo-shu
What is Honjozo-shu?
-Made with rice, water, koji & pure distilled alcohol to elevate flavors
-Tokubetsu designates a more highly polished rice or a special bottling (this falls below in the ginjo level since rice is polished to 60% or less)
What is Ginjo-shu?
Made in a more traditional method in contrast to mass-production using rice with 40% polished away
What is Daiginjo-shu?
Highest quality designation, utilizing great precision and rice with half of its mass polished away (50% polished away) or greater
Styles for Sake without brewers alcohol?
Junmai-shu
Junmai Ginjo-shu
Junmai DAiginjo-shu
What is Junmai-shu?
-There is no longer required seimaibuai for this classification.
-Often a lighter style
-Tokubetsu styles also available (these fall below the Ginjo level)
What is Junmai Ginjo-shu
-Made using rice with 40% milled away (60% remaining).
-Fermented at colder temperatures to elicit more complex aromatics
What is Junmai Daiginjo-shu?
-Made utilizing very highly polished rice (50%).
-Highest quality level of sake available.
-Alcohol levels can be 17+%
Define Jozo-alcohol?
Brewers spirit.
It is normally made from distilled rice or sugar beet and is unaged, colorless, and often flavorless.
State the maximum ABV of the Jozo alcohol?
95% (usually diluted to 30%) and that its weight in the final product must not exceed 10% of the weight of polished rice.
What does Shinkapu translate to?
Starchy center concentrated on the inside known as
“The white heart”.
For alcohol, what is the range for ABV in Sake production?
Sake ferments to about 8 to 20% natural alcohol. The final product is often diluted to around 15%. Legally Sake has a maximum of 22% ABV.
What will Sake producers look for while purchasing Sake rice?
Sake rice that can absorb the right amount of moisture, cooperate with and be penetrated by koji mold, and interact with various types of yeast.
What are the five grades of size for classifying Sake rice?
Santoh (Grade 3), Nittoh (Grade 2), Ittoh (Grade 1), Tokuto (Special Grade), Tokujo (Higher Special Grade)
For Tokutei meisho-shu, what are the guidelines when producing this sake?
Meaning “Special designation”
the rice size, NO preservatives, coloring agents, flavors, or fragrances added during or after production, a regulation enforced by law.
Sake rice is milled with what machine?
Seimaiki, which is a vertical machine.
The size of the machine is indicated by the size of the millstone, which ranges from 40 to 65 centimeters.
What are brewery workers called?
Kurabito
Briefly explain the milling process?
The milling process, (seimai) begins with brown rice (genmai). Inside the machine, the dry rice grains are slowly milled in a polishing chamber with a roll made from an extremely hard material, then fall vertically through the mill. The machine removes the outer layers, (fat and protein) which point the rice is considered white rice(hakumai). Once the polished rice grains leave the chamber, a series of perforated plates separate the resulting flour (nuka) and the adequately polished grains. A calibrated hole will reject rice that is insufficiently polished, moving it back to the top with a bucket conveyer to go through the process again.
What does the term seimaibuai refer to?
The amount of rice remaining after polishing
It takes 50 hours to polish a grain of rice to %50
Describe the difference between lower seimaibuai and higher seimaibuai?
Lower seimaibuai (more fat and protein removed) leads to more elegance, delicate flavors, and vibrant aromatics.
Higher seimaibuai (less fat and protein removed) produces more rustic and savory styles of sake.
In Japan, what is a brewmaster called, and where do they learn about Sake?
Brewmaster is Toji
Toji shudan is the school
