What is Sake and how is it made? Flashcards
What are the 4 essential ingredients of sake?
What is a 5th optional ingredient?
- Steamed White Rice
- Kōji
- Water
- Yeast
- High-Strength Distilled Brewer’s Alcohol (100% abv!)
What does rice look like before it’s made into sake?
What are the 3 main components of a rice grain?
Hard and brown
- Brown outer layers (hull/husk)
- White middle layers (endosperm)
- Starch core (‘shinpaku’)
What is the fermentation starter?
A small portion of steamed rice, koji, water and yeast that is separated out in order to cultivate a healthy population of yeast.
What is yeast?
Tiny microorganisms that breakdown sugar to make alcohol
What are the basic steps of Alcoholic Fermentation (5)?
Step 1: Sugar dissolved in water Step 2: Yeast is added to sugary liquid Step 3: Yeast eats sugar Step 4: Sugar is turned into alcohol Step 5: CO2 is produced
What is Starch Conversion?
Enzymes (from koji)
–> break down long chains of bonded sugar molecules (starch)
–> into individual sugar molecules
Post starch conversion, what are the 3 main steps of sake making?
- Fermentation
- Filtration
- Bottling
What are 3 optional steps of sake making?
- Adding distilled brewer’s alcohol
- Adding water
- Pasteurization
How + why do you make a Fermentation Starter?
Small amount of steamed rice, koji, water and yeast are mixed together.
This creates a healthy yeast population
What is Main Fermentation?
After a few weeks the starter is incrementally mixed in w/ bigger batches of the 4 main ingredients.
Why is sake filtered (3) ?
- all sake must be filtered by law
- to remove unwanted rice solids
- to make a clear liquid
What is most Sake packaged in?
Nearly all sakes are packaged in glass bottles
When + why is extra alcohol added (3)?
- In between fermentation and filtration
- Originally done to increase production volumes when breweries couldn’t afford more rice.
- Now it is done to make a lighter bodied sake and extract fruit/floral aromas.
When + why is water added?
- After filtration and before bottling
- Dilution is necessary to lessen the abv from ~20% to 15-17%.
What is Pasteurization?
Why is most sake pasteurized?
When does pasteurization occur?
- Flash heat treatment
- Kills pathogens and prevents faulty aromas
- Can be done either before or after bottling
What is Multiple Parallel Fermentation?
The process by which starch is broken down by enzymes to make sugar (Starch Conversion) at the same time as sugar is eaten by yeast to make alcohol (Alcoholic Fermentation)
