Sake Terms Flashcards
What does Bijinshu mean?
“Beautiful Girl”. This improvement of the sake making process involves only using virgin girls to chew the rice in order to start fermentation.
What does Bodai Moto mean?
“Monk’s sake” A term used for the time period when temple-brewed sake was at its peak.
What does Chotei no sake mean?
“Court produced sake” A reference to the time period around 689 AD where the imperial court began to brew sake for consumption. Many technical advances came from this time period as the court’s endless resources allowed for extensive research into the art of brewing.
What does Dai Ginjo mean?
A sake with added distilled alcohol and a milling rate of at least 50%, meaning that only 50% remains after being polished.
What does Futsuu-shu mean?
Commonly known as “table sake”, futsushu typically means any non-premium brew
What does Genshu mean?
Normally brewers will dilute sake to bring its natural alcohol percentage of 18-20% down to a more manageable 14-16%. The term Genshu is used to label sakes that have not gone through this dilution process.
What does Ginjo mean?
A sake with added distilled alcohol and a milling rate of at least 40% meaning 60% remains after the process.
What does Honjozo mean?
A category of sake with a milling rate of at least 30%. This type of sake also includes added brewers alcohol to the mix.
What does Izakaya mean?
A Japanese drinking restaurant that offers traditional fare accompanied with sake. Typically popular with the business crowd seeking that “much needed post-work drink”
What does Jizake mean?
Roughly translated into “Local sake” Equivalent, and as overused, as the term “micro-brewery” in the United States. Local artisan sake.
What does Junmai Ginjo mean?
A category of sake that has a milling rate of at least 40% for each rice grain, meaning that only 60% of the exterior grain remains.
What does Junmai Dai Ginjo mean?
A category of sake that has a milling rate of at least 50% for each grain, meaning that only 50% of the exterior grain remains.
What does Honjozo mean?
A category of sake that has a milling rate of 30% for each rice grain, meaning that 70% of the exterior grain remains.
What does Kanpai mean?
Translated into “Empty Cup!” or “Cheers”!
What does Kan-zukuri mean?
The term used for the winter brewing season
What does Kimoto-moto mean?
A kimoto yeast starter takes a bit longer than yamahai to create, but ironically, the sake that results from these two methods is similar in flavor profile
Like sake brewed with yamahai moto, sake brewed with a kimoto moto has a higher sweetness and acidity, with richer, deeper, significantly more pronounced flavors
This is similar to batonnage, as the moto is stirred with a long, wooden pole. This process continues throughout fermentation (about 45 days)
A combination of yeast, koji mold and rice are crushed into a purée which serves as a starter
Traditionally this process was made via pole-ramming (yama-oroshi) which is depicted in much artwork
What does Koji mean?
Blanket term used for the mold culture that is used in the fermentation process of sake.
What does “ Kuchikama no Sake” mean?
A rudimentary form of sake brewing roughly translated to “mouth brewed sake”. One of the first methods of initiating the fermentation process in rices was to use the enzymes commonly found in the mouth.
What does Kura mean?
Simply means a sake brewery. Also known as a sakagura.
What does Kurabito mean?
One who works within a sake brewery
What does Masu mean?
A traditional square wooden box used to drink sake. Now these are typically reserved for ceremonial purposes and no longer the preferred receptacle for drinking sake.
What does “Minzoku no sake” mean?
A reference to the communal period when sake making involved an entire village.
What does Moromi mean?
“The Main Mash”. A vital step in the brewing process of sake where all the ingredients are added tether and the fermentation begins. It’s also called the Sake Maromi before pressing, this is what you press to get the final product - “Sake.”Main ferement that comes after you have made Moto/Shubo
What does “Moto” mean? Give a synonym.
A way to “jump start” the fermentation process. The moto is a combination of yeast, rice, water, and lactic acid.
Also known as “Shubo”
What does Nama-zake mean?
Unpasteurized sake that contains live yeast cells and bacteria from the brewing process. These types must be refrigerated and like most “live” products, they are best consumed fresh.
What does Nigori mean?
Sake that is unfiltered. Typically cloudy with a sediment that settles at the bottom of the bottlefrom kasu being added back
What does Nihonshu mean?
“Wine of Japan” The official name for what the Western world calls “sake”
What does Nihonshudo mean?
Sake Meter Value (SMV)
the index indicating the sweetness/dryness of each brew.
These values are determined via a Hydrometer that measures the density of the fluid and are given a negative or positive number based on the density of the sake.
The more positive, the dryer. The more negative, the sweeter the sake.
0 would indicate between semi-sweet and semi-dry.
What does Sakaya no Sake mean?
The formal term for a brewery
What does Sakaya mean?
A wide ranging term that can be used to describe either a shop that sells sake OR a brewery
What is Seishu?
the legal term for Nihonshu
What does Shizuku-shibori refer to?name of they key feature
The time consuming method of pressing sake that involved hanging the moroni in cloth bags (sakabukuro) and allowing gravity to separate the fluid form the rest of the mash. Results in very soft and refined brews.
What is Shochu?
A Japanese distilled beverage similar to vodka made from potatoes, rice, corn, and a variety of other sources. Usually high in alcohol content and considered a hard alcohol.
What does SMV refer to?
The Sake Meter Value
a.k.a. Nihonshudo
What does the term “Toji” refer to?
The master brewer at any given kura
What is Tokubetsu?
Tokubetsu 特別 designates a more highly polished rice or a special bottling (this actually falls below in the ginjo level since rice is polished to 60% or less)
What is Yamahai?
An updated method of the Kimoto process that creates yeast starters for brewing.
Non-charcoal-filtered sake is called?
muroka (basically means unfiltered - different from nigori)
Breweries may append Ki-ippon to any of their Junmai level sake to denote what?
the entire production came from a single place of origin, with no ingredients outsourced. only can be on jumnai styles
Most popular sake yeast
no. 7
What’s Kuroshu?
Sake made with no polishing
What’s iwai-zake?
(“celebration sake”), is during special occasions out of wooden barrels opened by mallet. Served freely to all to spread good fortune.
Toso - is a iwai-zake aromatized with tososan, traditionally served for New Years. a package of spices, or tososan - an herbal mixture of cinnamon bark, the seeds of sansho (Japanese prickly ash), and the roots of medicinal plants such as bofu and okera, a perennial herb that grows in sunny, dry mountainous areas. Similarly prepared spiced beverages include Germany’s gluhwein and the mulled wine found in Europe, especially around Christmastime.
What is the difference between ko-on touka moto and sokujo moto?
Sokujo moto takes an average of 14 days and i smade by steaming the rice to prepare it for saccharification. While ko-on touka takes significantly less time as the rice is just heated with hot air to gelatinize the starch and mixed with yeast.
Which of the following is a REQUIRED item to be listed on a Japanese sake label?
A.Type of sake B.Seimaibuai C.Rice variety D.Prefecture of origin E.Raw ingredients other than water
Raw ingredients other than water
What’s the oldest style of moto?
Bodai moto
What’s the difference between ‘So-Haze’ and ‘Tsuki-haze?’
If you look closely at the rice during this kirikaeshi stage, you can see the hyphae of the kojikin has grown, and that “haze” or the propagation of kojikin has started. If everything has gone well and the rice has a hard exterior with a soft inside as described previously, then the kojikin can easily germinate the hyphae towards the center of the rice grain. When the haze is uneven on the surface of the grain, but the hyphae has grown sufficiently inwards, then this is known as “tsuki-haze” or speckled-haze. In comparison, when the hyphae has grown deep as well as evenly across the entire surface of the grain, this is called “so-haze” or all-rounded haze.
The koji from so-haze has high levels of enzyme activity and is suited to bringing out the sweetness and umami of rice. On the other hand, koji from tsuki-haze is more suited for ginjo sake, because it has moderate enzyme and lends itself well to making a sake with a clear and dry taste (and a more umami-rich sake with higher acidity)
If a sake is labeled as “junmai muroka nama genshu,” what reasonable conclusions that can be made?
junmai - no brewer’s alochol
muroka - charcoal filtered
nama -not pasterized
genshu - un-diluted with water
This sake does not have lactic acid added during the yeast starter process.
The ester ___________ is responsible for ripe apple, tropical fruit, and anise aromas in sake.
ethyl carpoate
Due in part to its renowned water quality, which prefecture has the highest concentration of kura today?
Hyogo
Which style of sake is produced through the addition of sake instead of water during the Tome stage (third addition) of Sandan shikomi?
Kijoshu
Which sake producing region of Japan is known for soft, low mineral water?
Kanagawa
Explain the flavors of the following:
Dewasansan
Tamazakae
Hidahomare
Kame-no-O
Dewasansan: Complex, sweeter than Kame-no-O and more fragrant
Tamazakae: Opulent and complex
Hidahomare: Elegant and firm, soft acidity, dry, tropical fruit notes
Kame-no-O: Rich and aromatic, drier and more acidic than Yamada-Nishiki
Amakuchi refers to ______ styles and karakuchi refers to _______ styles of beverage.
Sweet / Dry
Name three starters that do not have lactic acid added prior to fermentation.
Kimoto / Yamahi / Bodai Motto
What’s the name and size of the original sake bottle? Barrel? Size of a ‘Go?’
Sho/Isho Bin 1.8L
Most common barrel is 72L or 4-to, medium sized is 36L or 2-to and a small barrel is 1-to. a ‘TO’ is a massive 18L bottle (or barrel) that is used to transfer sake
180ml
What’s traditionally referred to as a ‘4-go or yongobin?’
a 720ml sake bottle
What is a Tokuree & katakuchio
Tokuree = traditional carafe sake is served from
Katakuchio = traditional cups used to drink sake
organize the following from coolest to warmest serving temperature.
Nuru-Kan
Hito-hada-Kan
Atsu-Kan
Jyoh-Kan
Tobikiri-kan
Hito-hada-Kan - “Human-skin warm” 95-104
Nuru-Kan - “Lukewarm” 104-113 F
Jyoh-Kan - “Good Hot” 113-122 F
Atsu-Kan - “Hot Enough” 122-131 F
Tobikiri-kan - “Fly away for good” 131F and up
Organize these steps of sake making in the order they would occur.
what is sandan shikomi
Moto Making Tome-Zoe Maromi Making Naka-zoe Shikomi Fermentation Hatsu-zoe
When would odori occur?
Shikomi Fermentation Moto Making Maromi Making Hatsu-zoe Naka-zoe Tome-zoe
sandan shikomi is the term for the three additions during the brewing process
Between the first and second stages comes odori: the “dancing ferment” where bubbles form as yeast interacts with sugar and starch is converted to sugar.
What is Arukouru Tenka or Aruten?
sake with spirit added
What is the max amount of brewers spirit that may be added to sake?
must not exceed 10% of the weight of polished rice.
Name 5 rice strains aside from yamada nishiki
Omachirice / dewa san san / kame no o / tamazakae / hatta nishiki
What is the term for the rice used in sake production? What genus do they all belong too?
sakamai - Japonica
What % of abv does sake ferment to at max? Around that % is it released at? What is the max abcv?
20% / 15% / 22%
How do diurnal shifts effect sake rice?
temperature changes cause starch from the outside of a grain of rice to be collected into its center to make a good shinpaku with a high concentration of starch.
organize these from lowest quality to highest quality:
Ittoh / santoh/Tokujo / tokuto / Nittoh
Santoh (Grade 3), Nittoh (Grade 2), Ittoh (Grade 1), Tokuto (Special Grade), Tokujo (Higher Special Grade)
What does Tokutei meisho-shu mean?
What is the highest grade and name three factors that go into grading? What is the term for underripe sakamai?
“special designation” or “premium” sake, must be made from rice that has been given one of the five grades
Tokujo(size of grains/weight of 1000 kernels/no. of broken grains/where it’s from/water sourcing/
aomai
What is a seimaiki?
machine that mills sake rice
How many hours will it take to polish a grain of rice to a seimeubai of 50%
50 hours
How long will rice sit after it’s been polished? Why?
2 weeks / to absorb ambiant moisture
why is sake rice cooked in a way that leaves it soft on the inside but hard on the outside?
to encourage the koji to grow toward the center
What is Aspergillus Oryzae
yellow koji mold used the most in sake
what is the ratio of kakemai to koji used to start a sake fermentation? Final ratio?
25kilos koji to 37 kakemai or 1:1.5
200kg of koji to 800 kg of kakemai
1:4
What is Sokujo?
the practice of adding lactic acid directly to a fermenting sake batch. It creates a moto 2 weeks faster and most sake is made this way.
How do tojis keep ferments at ideal tempratures?
water jackets filled with cold or hot water.
What are the pressings of sake called?
What are the three presses of sake?
Arabashiri (“first run”) / Nakagumi (or nakadori, meaning “taken from the middle”) - best / Seme (“final run”)
What is the most well known strain of yeast for sake?
Yeast no. 7 (Nanago) discovered in Nanago Prefecture.
What is the Nihonshu-do?
What is the lowest and highest number?
Sake Meter Value or SMV in English, is a measurement of the specific gravity of sake: the density of sake compared to the density of water. It is measured with a hydrometer sunk into a graduated cylinder full of sake. The measurement itself is 10 times more precise than the Baumé scale used in beer and wine production. Most often, this number ranges from -4 to +14, where higher is drier.
Explain Fune Shibori / Shizuku-shibori
his method places the sake into filter bags and lays them in a rectangular box [fune or ‘ship’] and utilizes a mechanical press down on the bags.
Shizuku refers to a “drip-pressing” method, essentially letting gravity push the liquid through a fine mesh. This produces a very fine and elegant style. It also yields very little sake and is very expensive for this reason.
what is yama-oroshi?
pole ramming
what is awa-mori
is an alcoholic beverage indigenous and unique to Okinawa, Japan. It is made from long grain indica rice, and is not a direct product of brewingbut rather distillation
what is kiki choco?
small tasting cup for sake 9 official sake evaluation cup)
what minerals are desired and what ones are not wanted in water for sake
potassium / magnesium
no manganese or iron
most common sake barrel size?
72L
what is Nuruk?
fermentation starter cake for shochu in korea
what is Daqu?
ifermentation starter cake for shochu in china
what is a yabuta?
giant baloon press for sake - most used
what is the base grain for baiju
sorghum or rice
what is nanago?
strain of yeast #7
what is a sugidama?
cedar ornamant hung out of the kura
Sake production follows a unique brewing year, or BY, that runs from July 1 to June 30. Sake releases are sold by season, and while the related terms are not legal, they are typically followed. When the first sake of the year is ready, the brewery will hang a ball made of cedar branches called a sugidama (sugi means cedar) outside of the brewery. The needles on the branches of the sugidama are green when they are hung, but by the end of the brewery season, they go brown, a symbol of the season’s end. Breweries may call their first release “Sake Nouveau”; it is usually an unpasteurized, undiluted, non-charcoal filtered, freshly squeezed bottling (this could also be called Muroka Nama Genshu Shiboritate).
name 2 single malt japanese whiskeys
nikka / hakushi / yamazaki/ hakkushu
min aging for japanese whiskey
3 years aged and distilled in japan
what is the island of kiyushu known for?
shochu
two main soils for sake rice
clay and silt
what is akazake
Akazake (“red sake”) can be made in a variety of ways. One is using unapproved red rice varieties, letting their pigment bleed into the moromi. In Kumamoto, ash is added during production. In Niigata, a rare red koji is used. There are also yeast strains that give the finished product a red tint. Some sake is left to oxidize until it takes on an amber or reddish color. All of these are acceptable forms of red sake, though the term is unregulated.
Akazake (“red sake”) can be made in a variety of ways. One is using unapproved red rice varieties, letting their pigment bleed into the moromi. In Kumamoto, ash is added during production. In Niigata, a rare red koji is used.
what is tanrei karakuchi? Why would Kijoshu be a sweet style of sake? What style is Happo-seishu?
Tanrei is a term for a light and elegant flavored sake. It’s often brewed to be dry tasting, (karakuchi = dry)
Kijoshu is a type of sake made by replacing some of the water used for brewing with finished sake. The alcohol in the sake stops the yeast from creating more alcohol. The added sake does not stop the koji from making more glucose (sugar) from the rice, however.
Sparkling Sake
what is kasu
spent lees/pomace in sake production
what is koshu
aged sake most associated to madeira in flavor or px
Sake made in one brewing year and bottled in the next is called koshu, or “aged sake.”
Anything produced more than one brewing year ago may also be called ogoshu, or “extra aged sake.” However, these terms are not legally defined.
what is the GI satsuma shochu
a gi for sweet potato shochu
what are the four types of baiju?
**Qingxiang ( 清 香, qīngxiāng; light aroma, “Q-“ s pronounced akin to “Ch-“ ): Delicate, dry, and light, with a smooth and light mouthfeel. …
Mixiang ( 米 香, mǐxiāng; rice aroma ): …
Nongxiang ( 濃 香, nóngxiāng; strong aroma ): …
Jiangxiang ( 酱 香, jiàngxiāng; sauce aroma ): …**
who makes the playing card series of japanes whiskey?
ichiro
What is yamanshi know for?
top wine producing region in japan
what is an okanban? chiori?
the warm water bath for warming sake / To warm sake, it is poured into a copper vessel called a Chirori
what is nuka
by product of rice milling
Term for over milled sake 20% seimaibuai
teisei hakushu over milled sake 20% seimaibuai
what is koshu?
sake aged longer than one brewing season/ also japans top wine grape made in yamanchi
isshio-bin / tokkuri / ichi-go volume
1,800 (issho-bin) milliliters. Sometimes, a 360-milliliter tokkuri (carafe) is served. One portion is usually measured into a 180-milliliter sake serving vessel and called ichi-go.
The following information must be stated on sake labels, as enforced by Japanese law:
ingredients, liquid volume, product type (nihonshu and seishu are both acceptable terms), bottling date, brewery name and address, alcohol content, and a warning that sake cannot be sold to or consumed by minors.
difference between kaori and aji sake? Please name a rice variety for each that is not Yamada-nishiki.
kaori (aromatic, fruity, floral style) and aji (textured, savory, taste-driven style).
kaori = Kame no O
Aji = omachi rice
what does ‘san-do’ measure in sake?
San-do, or acidity, is occasionally denoted on a bottle. The number refers to the milliliters of liquid sodium hydroxide that would be required to neutralize 10 milliliters of sake and typically ranges from about 0.8 (sweeter) to 2.0 (drier).
what is unique about zenkoji sake?
Zenkoji (“all koji”) results from using 100% koji and no steamed rice in the production process. It ages quickly and is naturally sweeter. Tomizu is another variant, a 150-year-old method in which the moromi has a one-to-one water-to-rice ratio by weight.
What rice grains were crossed to make yamada nishiki? Where is the best place for this rice to be grown? What new rice has been bread there?
Created in 1936 as a cross between the Yamadaho and Watari Bune rice varieties
Hyogo
Hyogo Nishiki
What prefecture mandats all rice used to brew sake there must also be brewed there? What prefecture only allows for the production of Junmai sake?
Niigata / Hokkaido
when no additional water is added to sake what is it called?
Genshu (not diluted)
What is the most famous water for sake production, name it? What mountain is responsibile for it?
The most famous water is miyamizu, “shrine water” that runs down Mount Rokko in Hyogo Prefecture into the historical Nada area. This water is used for 25% of all sake in the country
Any sake released from the current brewing year is called
shinshu, or “new sake.”
what is the Zenkoku Shinshu Kanpyoukai?
new sake is submitted to a nationwide new sake competition since 1910, where the victor wins bragging rights for the year.
Sake can be categorized into three types of pressing, though it is not always separated or labeled as such.What are they?
**Arabashiri **(“first run”) is barely cloudy. Though it can be rough in texture, its flavors and aromas are delicate. It is occasionally sold on its own.
**Nakagumi **(or nakadori, meaning “taken from the middle”) is usually considered the best of the three stages, with the greatest balance and structure. When separated, it is often reserved for competitions.
**Seme **(“final run”) may be included in a batch of sake but never separated or sold on its own.
What two pressing styles would you expect from Junmai Ginjo or Daiginjo?
For this, a fune, or box press, is often employed. The box contains porous cloth filter bags (shibori fukuro) and is slowly hand-filled with sake from above before pressure is applied. Or the shizuki-shibori method.
in 1943, to control production, the Japanese government introduced a sake class grading system that divided sake into three categories: what were they?
Special Class (tokkyu),
First Class (ikkyu),
Second Class (nikyu).
What is the max amount of jozo that may be added to sake?
10%total volume
What are two GI’s of sake (name one from 2022)?
In 2016, the World Trade Organization gave geographical indication (GI) status to two prefectures: the entire prefecture of Yamagata in the north (Yamagata GI) and the breweries Tengumai, Kikuhime, Tedorigawa, Manzairaku, and Takasago in the town of Hakusan in the centrally located Ishikawa Prefecture (Hakusan Kikusake GI)
Niigata GI added in 2022
What is Nae? Ine?
. Rice paddies are primed with water and tilled soil to create an environment that welcomes infant seedlings, or nae,
the rice grains
What must a producer do to classify a sake as Tokubetsu-Junmai?
To be classified as Tokubetsu Junmai, sake must be polished to at least 60% seimaibuai or somehow diverge from the producer’s usual methods. If the latter, this distinguishing characteristic must be stated on the label. For the example, if a Junmai is produced by the traditional Kimoto method (described in the yeast section below) and this is outside of the brewery’s usual style, as long as this is noted on the label, the sake’s seimaibuai could be 70% and the bottle still labeled as Tokubetsu Junmai.
How long is rice first steamed for post soaking?
process called senmai 45-60 min
After steaming and a cooling period called ________________, batches are separated for their intended purpose. Most will be used for the day’s yeast starter, which is known as
karashi kikan
moto or shubo, and the rest (ranging from 20 to 40%) will be moved to the koji room, or koji muro.
To produce a single tank of sake, how many grams of koji will be used
100
How long does a batch of sake take to make?
The mash will run for 20 to 30 days, meaning that, depending on the methods employed, it will take just over 30 to more than 60 days to make one batch of sake.
Organize the following from coolest to warmest serving temprature:
Jo-on
Yuki-bie
Suzu-bie
Hana-bie
Yuki-bie 41 F- 49 F snow chilled
Hana-bie 50 F - 58 F flower chilled
Suzu-bie 59 F - 67 F cool chilled
Jo-on 68 F - 87 F normal room temprature
What are the names of the additions made to the Moromi? What day is no addition made?
Hatsu-Zoe (day 1)
Odori (day 2 - rest day no addition made)
Naka-Zoe (day 3)
Tome-zoe (day 4 - if making kikoshu this is the addition where sake is added in lieu of water)
What are the names of the rooms where rice is inoculated with koji after finishing Karashi Kikan
koji muro
What are the names of the bags used in the shizuku pressing?
sakabukuro
what is the name of the filter bags used in the fune-shibori method?
shibori fukuro)
what is the base distillate for jozo?
sugar cane
what is the term for pure rice alcohol
junmai
what term means loosely filtered
nigori
How is most shochu distilled
colomn / nice ones in pot or vaccum
What is Shuzo Kotekimai?
genus of sake rice most used
What term implies ‘cask strength’ in sake production?
Genshu
