Terms Flashcards
tanrei-karakuchi
A style of sake promoted by the Echigo Toji guild. Light, dry, and very pure with a short, clean kire finish.
Yamagata
A prefecture in northern Japan where nearly all of the dewa-sansan sake-specific rice is grown.
Hine-ka
the aromas of an out-of-condition sake.
to-bin gakoi
The name given to the bottling that only uses the middle filtration fraction taken from a drip filtration.
Kyū-go
Number 9, with reference to yeast
Nagano
A prefecture in central Japan. The capital city of the prefecture has the same name.
nuru-kan
Term used to describe sake heated to 40C, 104F. Literally means ‘the warmth of a relaxing hot spring bath.’
Masu
A small open square box made of Japense cedar. Used to measure rice and occasionaly as a drinking vessel.
bin hi-ire
Bottle pasteurisation
tokubetsu junmai
A special junmai made from either: rice polished to 60% or less; only sake-specific rice; a process the brewer has had legally recognised.
Koshu
This is a sake that has undergone an extended period of maturation
Yabuta
A leading brand of the modern filtering machines
Izakaya
An informal Japanese bar that serves alcoholic drinks and snacks. Izakayas are casual places for after-work drinking, similar to a British Pub or Irish pub, Spanish tapas bars, and American saloons and taverns.
The Japanese word izakaya (居酒屋) is made up of three kanji with the meaning, in order, “stay-drink-place.”
Edo
A period of Japanese history that runs from 1603 to 1868. Edo was also the name for Tōkyō during this period. It was a seat of power, though not the formal capital city.
kōji-kin
A type of filamentous fungus that has been a foundation for the food cultures of Japan, Korea, and China.
Nakadori
Middle press
also known as Nakagumi
Kuro-kōji
Black kōji
Kantō
A region in centra Japan immediately to the south east of Tōhoku.
Koshiki
A traditional rice steamer
Nigorizake
A cloudy sake that has been lightly filtered.
nama-juku
An unpasteurised sake that has been deliberately matured.
Sei-shu
One of the two official names for sake in Japan
Kome-koji
Rice prepared for sake brewing that contains the enzymes to convert starch to sugar.
Miyamizu
Well water drawn from a particular area beneath Nishinomiya City and is one of the reasons Nada sake became nationally famous. The “miracle water” of Nada.
Miyamizu is rich in calcium, cholrine, phosphate, and potassiom but contains hardly any iron.
Amino-san
Amino acid
Nihon
Japan
Nanbu
A samurai clan that once ruled part of what is now Iwate Prefecture, and gives its name to a famous toji guild.
kura
Sake brewery
Bran
Beneath the husk on a grain of rice, made up of several individual layers. Removed during polishing, changes brown rice into white rice.
Shikomi
Main fermentation tank
Daiginjō
Premium sake made with rice that is polished to 50% or less. These sakes typically have fruity aromas.
Ja-kan
A bulk method of pasteurising sake.
Fermentation starter. Means the same as shubo.
Moto
To
A traditional Japanese measurement equivalten to 18L or 4.8 ga.
Gokousui
Spring water in Fushimi, the spring is on the grounds of the Gokonomiya-jinjya shrine in Kyoto
toji
head or master brewer
Hiragana
A japanese writing system used for Japenese words. It is often used alongside obscure kanji to help with pronunciation.
nama-hine-ka
The aromas of an out-of-condition nama-zake.
Jizake
This could be considered sake from a local small or artisanal producer.
Ki-ippon
A junmai that has been made entirely on site.
Guinomi
A traditional sake cup, larger than o-choko.
Awamori
A distinctive Sochu made in Okinawa area. It is made with kuro-kōji
Funa-shibori
A flitration method that involves applying presusre to a number of cloth bags filled with fermented sake.
Niigata
A prefecture in north-east Japan. The capital city of the prefecture has the same name.
Hako
Medium sized trays used in the second half of sake making.
toko
A large shalow bed that is used to make kōji
Endosperm
The white layer below the bran in a grain of rice. High in starch, however the outer layer includes other components that can give a sake extra acidity, umami, and cereal flavours.
Kiki-choko
A specific type of sake cut that is used to assess sake. It is white with concentric blue circles painted on the inside base.
to-bin
18L glass jars that are used to collect sake filtered using the drip method.
Hinoki
Japanese cypress, or hinoki cypress, traditionally used for koji rooms.
Assakuki
A type ofmodern filtering maching. They are typically referred to as yabuta, the name of the leading brand.
Ginpū
A variety of sake-specific rice.
Tochigi
A prefecture to the north and east of Tōkyō
Sakagura
Sake brewery
also kura
Tsuki-haze
A style of kōji where most of the growth is in the center of the grain, and just a few spots appear on the outside. This slowly provides small quantities of kōji enzymes.
Ideal for brewing the delicate, crisp and fruity/floral Ginjo and Daiginjo style saké.
Kyūshū
A region of Japan that compromises the large island of the same name on the south end of the Japanese archipelago.
Nuka
The powder left after polishing. The Nuka, along with the bran, contain unfermentable acids and fats.
toku-jō
“Above special.” The highest quality grade for rice used to make sake in Japan.
Futa-koji
‘Lid’ koji, one of tools used in the Mounding stage. Futa are small boxes, like trays.
Karakuchi
A dry taste.
Kōbe
A city in Hyōgo prefecture in southern Japan.
tome-zoe
The third addition, when building up the moromi using the ‘three stage addition’ method.
Nara
A prefecture in southern Japan. The capital has the same name.
Chūōkai
Association. An informal name for the Japan Sake and Sōchū Makers Association (JSS), abbreviating its full name - Nihon Shuzō Kumiai chūōkai.
Kōbo
yeast
Fukuro Shibori
Also called shizuku-dori (drip sake) this method of pressing involves hanging the bags of mash to allow natural pressure to separate the sake from the lees.
A cloudy sake that has been lightly filtered.
Nigori
sugidama
A ball of vibrant green cedar leaves that is hung over the entrance to the brewery when newly harvested rice first arrives.
Naka-dori
The middle portion of filtration. Also known as naka-gumi.
Kyokai-kobo
Brewing Society yeast
Sakamai
saké rice
Namazake (Nama-shu)
A sake that has not been pasteurised.
Arabashiri
First run
Happ-oshu
Sparkling sake
Nuri-haze
Uneven mould growth in kōji making.
Okayama
A prefecture in southern Japan
Toko-koji
Bed koji. Koji that has stayed on the toko throughout its production.
De-kōji
Sending out.
Kake-mai
Steamed rice that is directly transferred to a fermentation vessel and not used to make koji.
Moromi
the fermenting mass made by mashing shubo, steamed rice, koji and water together.
Namazume-shu
Sake that has gone through the first pasteurization process but Not the second.
Katakana
A Japanese writing system typically used for words imported into Japanese.
toku
The second grade of sake-specific rice.
Kire
A short clean, crisp, cleansing finish.
Sandan jikomi
The three-stage addition used to build the main fermentation.
on Naka-gumi
The middle portion of fitration, also known as naka-dori.
nihonshu-do
Sake meter value. A measurement of the density of sake compared with water.
yama-orishi haishi
“The end of the labourious pounding with poles.” The descriptive phrase that is contracted to yamahai.
Junmai daiginjō
A category of premium sake made using rice with a polishing ration of 50% or less and without the use of high-strength distilled alcohol.
Nama-chozo-shu
Initial pasteurization omitted, and is stored unpasteurized and undergoes sterilization once at the time of shipment.
Fushimi
A ward in Kyōto, famous for having a reliable supply of good-quality water, which helped the city become a major centre of sake production.
tane-kiri
The second stage in koji production
usu-nigori
A nigori with a small amount of sake lees remaining.
Fukushima
A prefecture in northern Japan. The capital city of the same name.
Shikoku
A region in southern Japan that has the same name as the large island it occupies.
Heisei
The current period of Japanese history that began in 1989 when the current emperor came to the throne.
Gohyakuman-goku
The number 2 variety of sake-specific rice.
Yamadanishiki
A variety of sake rice
Moromi
The main mash.
Koku
A traditional sake measurement equivalent to 180L or 47.5 gal.
Hyōgo
A prefecture in southern Japan, one of two leading prefectures for sake production.
Hiroshima
A prefecture in south-west Japan, with a capital city of the same name.
Echigo
An old province of Japan, corresponding closely to Niigata Prefecture. It gives its name to a famouse tōji guild.
Gunma
A prefecture in Central Japan
tokebetsu honjōzō
A special honjōzō made from either: rice poished to 60% or less, only sake-specific rice, a process the brewer has had legally recognized.
A sake that has undergone an extended period of maturation
Koshu
yama-orishi
Pounding with poles. The technique that is central to the kimoto fermentation starter.
shinshu
New sake. An unpasteurised sake that is released in the early summer.
Fune
The container that holds the cloth bags that are pressed during funa-shibori.
What are rice paddies?
Small, flooded fields of arable soil used for semiaquatic rice cultivation.
Honjōzō
Grade of premium sake, where rice is polished to 70% or less and a small amount of high-strength distilled alcohol can be added before filtration.
The term ‘large grain’ denotes any rice weighing what?
26g or more per 1000 grains.
Sō-haze
A style of kōji where large amounts of kōji mould cover the whole outside of the rice grain, and rapidly provide large quantities of kōji enzymes.
Produces a table-grade Futsu-shu saké or a full bodied, high acidity and umami-rich premium style. It is the high vitamin, protein and organic acid content that creates these qualities.
kura-bito
brewery worker
Ki-kōji
Yellow kōji
Polishing ratio
The amount of polishing that is required in order to make one of the premium styles of sake. Expressed as a percentage, if the law requires a ratio of 60%, then only 60% or less of the original grain remains.
Shinpaku
The white opaque section at the centre of the rice kernel formed by a matrix of starch granules pocked with voids. This is a feature specific to sake rice.
Tōkyō
The capital city of Japan
Kyōkai
Society. Informal name for the Brewing Society of Japan, an abbreviation of Nihon jōzō kyōkai.
nama-hine
An out of condition nama-zake
Nadagogo
The five areas coverd by modern-day Nishinomiya and Kobe cities in Hyogo prefecture.
shō
A traditional sake measurement equivalent to 1.8 L or 3.8 pints
Kyōto
A prefecture in Southen Japan, One of the two main prefectures for sake production.
Multiple parallel fermentation as it occurs in sake
The conversion of starch to sugar and sugar to alcohol takes place in parallel all in the same tank.
Sakona
Dishes to accompany sake
zatsumi
A word used to describe unpleasant roughness and lack of harmony in a sake.
Muroka
This is a sake that has not been charcoal fined.
Choko
A traditional sake cup.
The sake has not been charcoal-fined.
Muroka
shiro-kōji
white kōji
Kimoto
An old and time-consuming form of fermentation starter notabe for the pounding of the steamed rice into a paste.
Jōzō arukōru
Alcohol produced by distilling a wash that is made by fermenting products of agricultural origin. Used for non-junmai sake.
Nigori
This is a cloudy sake that has been lightly filtered.
Seimai-buai
The polishing ratio
Hiyaoroshi
Namasake that has been pasteurized once in the winter and then allowed to mature over the summer
Nihon-shu
Japenese Sake, one of two official names.
Doburoku
unrefined sake
どぶろく or 濁酒
濁: voiced, uncleanness, wrong, nigori, impurity
shimai-shigoto
Final work. The sixth stage of kōji production.
Nōkyō
Japan Agriculture (JA) A national network of local farming co-ops.
Ginjō
Premium sake made with rice that is polished to 60% or less. These sakes typically have fruity aromas.
Iwate
A prefecture in northern Japan.
Mori
the fourth stage in Koji production
Junmai ginjō
A category of premium sake made using rice with a polishing ration of 60% or less and without the use of high-strength distilled alcohol.
Zenkoku Shinshu Kanpyōkai
New National Sake Contest that is run by NRIB
Ine
Rice grain
The sake has not been diluted with water.
Genshu
Saga
A prefecture in south-west Japan, The capital city has the same name.
Tokutei meishou shu
Special designation
Junmai, Ginjo, Daiginjo are all special designations.
Kanji
A symbolic writing system used in Japan that originated in China.
shōchu
A traditional Japanese distilled spirit made from rice or sweet potatoes.
Gō
A traditional sake measurment equibalten to 180mL or 6 oz.
Kasu
The unfermented rice solids left over when sake is separated from the main fermentation mash after brewing.
Kan-zake
Heated sake
Nae
Infant rice seedling.
Hi-ire
Pasteurisation
Fruity aromas resulting from fermenting at low temperatures and using rice polished to below 60%.
Ginjō-ka
Kōji
Steamed white rice on which a mould, kōji-kin, has been allowed to grow.
Aminosan-do
Amino acid value
Aruten
The opposite of junmai. It is not a label term, but used to describe sakes made with the addition of distilled alcohol.
Nigami
Bitterness
Naka-shigoto
The middle work. The fifth stage of koji production.
Husk
The outer protective layer of a rice grain removed after harvesting.
Miyagi
A prefecture in north-east Japan. The capita city is Sendai.
Shu
Sake (or Zake)
Akita
A prefecture in northern Japan, also the captial city.
Tōhoku
The region that covers the north of the main island of Japan.
odori
The second day of the four taken to buid a main fermentation during with othing is added. Let it dance.
kura-moto
brewery owner
seme
The final filtration fraction
A sake that has not been pasteurised.
Nama-zake
Koji-muro
Temperature and humidity controlled room for inoculating steamed rice with the koji-fungi.
shuzō kōteki mai
Sake-specific rice.
Bodai-moto
A fermentation starter method that predates kimoto.
sasa-nigori
A nigori with a small amount of sake lees remaining.
sokujō-moto
A technique for the fermentation starter that involves adding lactic acid.
Alternate term for Arokouru Tenka
Aruten
Hyphae
The strands that grow from the koji into the kernel of rice.
Naka-zoe
The middle addition, the second of the three stages of building moromi.
Hi-ochi kin
A strain of lactic acid bacteria that can spoil unpasteurised sake.
Arukouru Tenka
Sake that has been fortified with Brewer’s Alcohol
tane-kōji
The seed starter, also called moyashi
Kirikaeshi
The third stage in koji production.
shizuku-zake
Sake made using the drip method of filtration.
o-choko
A traditional sake cup.
sake-kasu
The solid cake of rice particles left over after filtration.
Taru-zake
this is a sake that has been stored for a few weeks in barrels made of Japanese cedar
Savouriness
Umami
Umami
A primary taste (like sweetness, sourness, saltiness and bitterness), we taste this when proteins in food are broken down into amino acids.
San-do
Acidity (acidity value)
sugi
Japanese red-cedar used to make masu, the barrels for taru-zake, and sugidama.
Junmai
‘Pure rice’, sake that has not had any high-strength distilled alcohol added.
shibumi
Astringency
Japonica
A term for varieties of short grain rice
Kasubuai
The percentage of sake kasu left over after pressing the sake mash compared to the weight of the original rice used. A higher Kasubuai percentage (e.g. 50%) generally means more volume of left over kasu and that the mash was not squeezed as intensely, and generally indicates a higher quality sake.
Jukusei-shu
Aged sake
Daki
A bucket-like tool, typically made of metal that can be filled with warm or cold water and submerged into a fermentation starter to control the temperature.
Tezukuri
Junmai-shu or honjozo-shu brewed in a traditional method.
Amakara
The sweetness or dryness of sake.
Sake meter value
The S.M.V. (Sake Meter Value) measures the density of sake relative to water, and this is the barometer for gauging the dryness or sweetness of the sake. The higher the S.M.V., the drier the sake The median value of S.M.V. is +3.
Indica
A broad term for varieties of long grain rice
Shizukoa
A prefecture in central Japan. The capital city has the same name.
Genshu
Undiluted sake. Genshu has a high alcohol content and strong taste due to no addition of water after the mash filtration.
Hikikomi
The first stage in koji production.
Yabuta shibori
Pressing with an accordion-like machine called an assaku-ki or Yabuta.
Aspergillus oryzae
The fungul mild used for sake. It is also used for soy sauce and miso.
Mushiro
The woven mat that surrounds the fermentation tank. Traditionally this was used for temperature control by packing ice between the mat and the tank.
tokkuri
A carafe used for serving sake.
Zake
Sake
Moto
The fermentation start
shuzō
Brewery
Roka
Charcoal fining used to remove colour from filtered sake.
Jōzō
A high-strength distilled alcohol which has a neutral flavour, added to some sakes before filtration.
Kan-douko
A specific type of waterbath used to heat sake carafes.
Nama
This is a sake that has not been pasteurised.
Germ
The part of a rice grain that will grow into a new plant. It is removed during polishing.
Traditional method of making the fermentation starter where lactic acid is created by bacteria. Older than yamahai.
Kimoto
Futa-kōji
Tray kōji, kōji that was transferred to futa part way through production.
Hako-koji
Hako are larger boxes used in the Mounding stage. The box is split with a divider that slides the rice from one side to the other to control the release of temperature.
Chūgoku
A region in southern Japan.
omachi
The number 5 variety of sake-specific rice.
Kō-on tōka moto
A new fermentation starter method that involves using high temperatures to speed up the process.
Morohaku sake
Sake made using polished rice both for koji and steamed rice.
Miyama-nishiki
The number 3 variety of sake rice.
Sei
Clear
What is an enzyme
A kind of protein that helps chemical reactions take place.
Dewa-sansan
The number 4 variety of sake-specific rice.
Hi-ochi
A fault that occurs when hi-ochi bacteria spoil unpasteurised sake.
Isshōbin
A 1.8 bottle. One shō is 1.8 L or 3.8 pints.
Tokutei meisho-shu
Special Deisgnation or Premium, sakes that must be made with one of the five grades of premium rice.
Nada
A ward in Kobe city (Hyogo prefecture) that is a major production area for sake.
bin-kan
Bottle pasteurisation
Futa
Small trays used in the second half of kōji making.
Futsū-shu
Basic sake, less tightly regulated than premium sake.
Kijōshu
Sake with a level of sugar so high they are described as either sweet or luscious.
shubo
Fermentation starter.
