Shochu Flashcards
List the standard shochu production methods (3)
- Using shochu koji (mold) to saccharify the starch in rice, barley, and other cereals, or in sweet potatoes
- Fermenting moromi (fermentation mash) using shochu kobo (shochu yeast)
- Distilling the moromi in a pot sill
What is the part of the pot still where the alcohol-rich steam rises and move towards and then is water-cooled and liquefied in the cooling pipe, called?
Lyne Arm (watari, ワタリ)
What role Citric Acid plays in the first stage moromi in shochu production?
Like wine mash, it is an environment where microbes other than yeast such as lactobacillus do not thrive
Who mentioned shochu in Kyushu in his 1546 report?
Jorge Alvarez, Portugeuse merchant and captain
“An orraqua made from rice” (Orraque, meaning a spirit from araq in Arabian)
What was discovered that is dated 1559 in Koriyama Hachiman Shrine in Isa City, Kagoshima Prefecture?
A graffiti, the oldest existing piece of writing that mentions the word “shochu”
(Sweet potato shochu was created in the 18th century)
What type of sweet potatoes contains the same anthocyanin pigments found in red wine grapes and produce shochu with a diacetyl odor similar to that of yogurt or red wine?
- Aya Murasaki
- Murasaki Masari
(purple varieties)
What is the part of the distiller where the moromi is place called?
The pot still (jyoryu-kan, 蒸留缶）
When the Amami Islands were reverted back to Japan after WWII in 1953, their liquor made from brown sugar was categorized as rum, with a higher liquor tax than shochu. How was it allow to be a shochu?
- The tax was revised to make the Shochu only if rice koji was used and only limited the production within the islands (as well for histroical context that sugar cane was grown on the Amami Islands starting in Genroku era around 1690)
- “Amami Kokuto Shochu” is a registered regional collective trademark
What year did a spirit called “awamori” was presented to the Tokugawa Shogun?
1671
Describe Direct heating of the shochu distillation
- Steam is blown directly into the moromi
- This agitates and ** increases the moromi**
What is Awamori?
- A traditional Okinawan shochu, using only rice koji made with black koji mold and water as its ingredients.
- it has a unique one-step mashing process where all the koji is added at once
Describe Indirect heating of the shochu distillation
- Steam passes through a dedicated steam pipe in the pot still and heats the moromi through the metal of the piple
- This decreases the moromi
What type of rice tends to work well in rotation drum?
Non-sticky varieties are more suitable
What was the method that mashed yellow koji and the primary ingredient at once used until around mid-Meiji period?
Donburi-shikomi (one-pot mashing)
What is Hanazake (花酒, Hanadaki ハナダギ in Yonaguni dialect)?
On Yonaguni Island in Okinawa’s Yaeyama Islands on the westernmost tip of Japan, Hanadare the first drops of the shochu distillate are collected and sold as a product called Hanazake
(Under Japan’s Liquor Tax Act, single distillation shochu’s alcohol content is fixed at 45% or lower and alcohol that exceeds this is categorized under the Liquor Tax Act as raw material alcohol)
Where was Tsuburo style of still used?
Satsuma
Name methods of production of Sake-kasu Shochu
- Kasutori (粕取り)
- Kasumoromitori (粕醪取り)
Where can Kokuto Shochu only be made?
Amami Islands (Oshima Regional Tax Bureau jurisdiction)
What spirit was drunk by commoners around the time “awamori” was presented to the Tokugawa Shogun in 1671?
A homemade distilled spirit made from sweet potatos using soild koji
What is the requirement for designated GI “Ryukyu Awamori”?
Only Awamori produced in Okinawa can be labeled “Ryukyu Awamori”
What and in what year is the current shikomi method was developed after the nidan-shikomi?
- Niji-shikomi (two-stage mashing method, 二次仕込み法）
- １９０３
Since the Meiji and Taisho eras(1868-1926), what has been used as. the main ingredient for Awamori?
Indica Rice
Why is the steamed sweet potatos crushed to 1 cm or smaller using a crusher before transported for the second-stage moromi?
If the steam potatos are processed as is, only a few millimeters of the sweet potatoes’ surface will dissolve in the moromi
What does the niji-shikomi method consist of?
- A first-stage mash using koji and water and the addition of sweet potato after adequate yeast is propagated
- Alcohol fermentation occurs in a short time because of the high volume of yeast and the moromi is naturally agitated by the resulting gas,
- The combination of two-stage mashing and the use of black koji made stable fermentation possible
Which distillation method is the following:
This distillation occurs at a higher temperature (evaporation from boiling occurs when the temperature of the moromi in the post still is 85 - 95 C), more components are extracted and chemical reactions like high-temperature decomposition and synthesis occur, giving the distilled liquid fragrant flavors
Atmospheric Distillation
What type of sweet potatoes are sometimes called carotene potatoes. are abundant in carotene, and produce shochu with aromas like boiled carrot or pumpkin, tea, or tropical fruit like papaya?
- Beni Hayato
- Aya Komachi
The distinct flavor component β-ionone, which comes from carotene, clearly plays an important role
What type of koji mold is used often for Imo Shochu/Satsumaimo Shochu?
White koji mold
(a recent increase in products using black koji mold as well)
How is Sake kasu shochu made?
By distilling the sake kasu (sake cake) from refined sake
In Asia, distillation techniques are thought to have spread to where?
Yuan Dynasty of China (13th - 14th century) via land or sea Silk Road
Describe shochu “boom” by decade: Early 1980s
Early 1980s: A milder vacuum distilled brand of barley shochu became widely accepted by consumers who weren’t familiar with shochu in part because of its clever commercial
List four GI Single Distillation Schochu with its year of designation and geographical area
- Iki: June 30, 1995, Iki City Nagasaki Prefecture
- Kuma: June 30, 1995, Kuma District and Hitoyoshi City, Kumamoto Prefecture
- Ryukyu: June 30, 1995, Okinawa Prefecture
- Satsuma: Decembe 22, 2005, Kagoshima Prefecture (excluding Amami City and Oshima District)
Where is considered to be the birthplace of mugi shochu and why barley?
- Iki
- The island’s traditional staple was exempt fromland tax, and the homemade shochu using barley has been produced there since the late Edo period
What century and where distillation techniques landed in Japan?
- Beginning of the 16th century
- Satsuma and spread to Hyuga in southern Miyazaki Prefeture and Higo in Kumamot Prefecture
What was the second shochu shikomi method developed after donburi-shikomi to mash rice koji and then mashed water and the primary ingredient based on sake production?
Nidan-shikomi (two stage mashing method, 二段仕込み法）
(this method reduced rice shochu spoilage but the risk of spoilage remained for sweet potato shochu because agitation was difficult due to the moromi’s low fluidity)
Define desginated Geographical Designation of “Kuma”
Only single distillation kome shochu made in the Kuma District of Hitoyoshi basin using rice koji and Kuma River-bed groundwater can be labeled ‘Kuma”
To prevent oil odors, how are they being removed?
- Skimming
- Filtration
(When the alcohol content is low, or the filteraing temperature is low, oil components do not dissolve easily in the shochu, making them easier to remove
According to records from around 1913, what were the percentages of shochu made from the following primary ingredients and then from 1967:
* sake cake
* sake or sake moromi
* sweet potatoes
From 1913:
* sake cake: 25.9%
* sake or sake moromi: 25.9%
* sweet potatoes: 28.1%
From 1967:
* sake cake: 3%
* sweet potatoes: 56.7%
How does shochu alcohol content to lower down 20% or 25%, the commercial standard of shochu, before the shipment after the storage?
Water is added
What is the following process in shochu making called:
“Although the first few batches of moromi for shochu prodution use pure-culture yeast, many shcohu distillaries, part of a separate first-stage moromi that is three to four days old (plenty of healthy yeast has been propagated) is used in place of pure-culture yeast”
Sashi-Moto （差し酛）
What is the risk and benefit of using Sashi-moto ?
- Increases the risk of contamination by wild yeast
- Prompts fermentation and improves alcohol yield
What is Seiro?
It is a rice steamer type still used to distill fermented sake cake in Kasutori method of Sake-kasu Shochu making
What type of shochu is used for Hashira Shochu?
Saketori method Sake-kasu Shochu
Define designated Geographical Indication “Satsuma”
Only single-distillation shochu made in Kagoshima Prefecture (excluding Amami City and Oshima District) using sweet potatoes growin in Kagoshima as the main ingredient can be labeled “Satsuma”
What the shochu called using the continuous distillation method initially?
Shochu Korui (焼酎甲類）
Sometimes called “white liquor (white liquor 1)
What are classified as:
* Alcohol content: 36 - 45%
* Alcohol content: Exceeding 45%
- Alcohol content: 36 - 45%: Spirits (not shochu category)
- Alcohol content: Exceeding 45%: Ingredient for alcoholic beverages
At what century production of barley shochu started in what is now Iki Island, Nagasaki Prefecture?
The beginning of 19th century (late Edo Period) as barley was exempt from land tax
Around what year the continuous distillation method using to make grain whiskey was introduced to Japan?
Around 1900
Generally what is the ratio of rice to sweet potato for Im Shochu/Satsumaimo Shochu Koji?
Rice:Sweet Potato=1:5 by weight
How long does the standard distillation for shochu production take?
3 hours
As far as aging is concerned, what is the main difference between shochu and awamori?
There is a culture that prizes KUSU (aged awamori, 古酒)
List the second day of koji-making
- At some distilleries, the mixture is transferred to a semi-automatic koji-making machine called Sankaku-dana (triangular shelf, 三段棚). At others the koji-making process continues without this process
- Koji layers are spread out in a rectangular shape. The temperature reaches 40 C in a relatively short time in the second half of this process the mixture is cooled to a target of 35 C or lower, a temperature zone where abundant citric acid is produced
- Within the koji making process, the portion using Sankaku-Dana process is completed in a little less than a day.
In shochu production, state the role of “pressing” process
None. Shochu does not go through pressing process
What else is done for sweet potatoes after trimming before steaming?
- Sliced in half
- Sorted by checking the insides for nematodes or frost damage
- Many shochu distillers remove the tail ends
When was mugi shochu production in Oita Prefecture started and which decade production of mugi shochu rom 100% barley started?
- 1951
- 1970s
What is a key difference between shochu and sake?
Shochu goes through a distillation process
Which method of Sake-kasu will have elegant flavor and fragrant like ginjo sake when vacuum distilled using ginjo-sake cake?
Kasumoromitori Sake-kasu Shochu
What is the storage period of shochu generally?
Often shipped within one yer of distillation
What are products that blend single distillation shochu and continous distillation shochu generally called and labelled as?
- Ko-otsu konwa shochu (ko-otsu mixed shochu, 甲乙混和焼酎)
- Labeled : shochu korui otsurui konwa (焼酎甲類乙類混和) or shochu otsurui korui konwa (焼酎乙類甲類混和）(the shochu with the higher poportion is listed first)
What is a method similar to that of the solera system for sherry in which Kusu are stored in unglazed earthenware pots and maintained?
Shitsugi (replenishing, 仕次ぎ)
How much of the outer layer of barley must be polished like rice?
30% must be removed as the exterior part of barley has more oil than rice
Who introduced sweet potato cultivation in the Izu Islands after he was exiled from Akune, Kagoshima Prefecture for the crime of smuggling in the mid-19th century?
Shoemon Tanso, a merchant
