Understanding

sal,e:Explaining
styleand quality
An accompaniment to

WSET® Level 3 Award

in Sake
,

Understanding
sal{e:Explaining
, styleand quality
An accompaniment to

WSET® Level 3 Award

in Sake

With a foreword by Kenichi Ohashi MW

Technical edit (Chapters 1-15) by the

National Research Institute of Brewing
Wine & Spirit Education Trust
39-45 Bermondsey Street, London SE13XF
ll?'illwset @wset.co.uk
wsetglobal.com

CJWine & Spirit Education Trust 2016

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system, without the prior permission in writing from the publishers.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 978 1 905819 49 2

..
PHOTOGRAPHIC CREDITS
17,19, 23, 27, 28, 30, 42 (bottom all 5 images), 77 (Rob Lawson); 38 (Images 5, 6, 7), 39 (images 1, 2, 3, 4) (Sekiya Brewery); 38 (image 8), 74 (Tim
Sullivan); 47 (both), 89 (National Research Institute of Brewing); 51 (image 8), 58 (left) (Akita Shurui Seizoh); 58 (right) (Daishichi Brewery); 86
(Natsuki Romano-Kikuya ;l,!i-fj-1,, 7 -()
WSET: 4, 5, 42 (top), 43 (both), 44 (all), 45 (top, bottom), 50 (images 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7), 51 (images 9, 10, 11,12, 13), 55, 59 (both), 63 (top), 67 (images 1,
2), 68 (top, image 1),69 (images 1, 2), 70, 73, 78 (Antony Moss MW illi"'t1,, 7 -( ); 45 (middle), 63 (bottom) (Nicholas King).

COVER PICTURE
(BloombergY[BloombergYGetty Images

LABELS
13 (top left) (Schicida Brewery); 13 (top right) (Taka Brewery); 13 (bottom, both) (lsojiman Brewery)

MAPS
Maps designed by Cosmographics Ltd

DIAGRAMS AND ILLUSTRATIONS

Diagrams and illustrations produced by CalowCraddock Ltd

Designed by Peter Dolton

Editing by Cambridge Editorial Ltd
Proofreading by Jo'e Coleby
Technical edit (Chapters 1-15) by the National Research Institute of Brewing (NRIB)
Production services by Wayment Print & Publishing Solutions Ltd
Printed and bound In the UK by Pureprint

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 iii

Contents

Foreword iv

Introduction vii

Section 1: An Introduction to Sake

1 What is Sake?

2 An Overview of Sake Production 3

3 Sake Labelling Terms 11

Section 2: Sake and the Consumer

4 The Systematic Approach to Tasting Sake ® 16

5 Storage and Service of Sake 27

6 Sake and Food 31

Section 3: Factors Affecting the Style and

Quality of Sake
7 Rice Cultivation 34

8 Rice Preparation 41

9 Preparing Koji 46
10 Water and Yeast 53
11 The Fermentation Starter (Shubo/Moto) 57

12 The Main Fermentation (Moromi) 61

13 Jozo Alcohol and Filtration 66

14 Finishing 72
15 Speciality Styles of Sake 76

Section 4: The Final Product and its Markets

16 Japanese Sake Labels and Kanji 80
17 The Global Sake Industry 85

Maps 94

Glossary of Japanese Words 96

Acknowledgements 101

Index 102
iv

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 V

Foreword

Hello, everyone. My name is Kenichi Ohashi MW, and I come from Japan - the home of sake.
I run the Tokyo-based wine and sake consultancy firm Red Bridge Co. Ltd, and also Yamajin
Co. Ltd, a distribution company for alcoholic beverages produced in Japan.
Japanese sake is one of the categories I am very deeply involved with, and I currently
preside as Sake Co-Chairman of the world's largest sake competition, which forms part of the
International Wine Challenge (London). I am also a Sake Expert Assessor of the National
Research Institute of Brewing (NRIB), and from these different positions I promote Japanese
sake on the world stage.
Through WSET's wine qualifications, I have learned much about wine from an objective
standpoint. As someone who has never left Japan, I studied wine in detail over many years
from a 'Japanese' perspective. However, when aiming to become a Master of Wine, I was told
by a friend, who is a Master of Wine, that I should study for the WSET Diploma. In doing so, I
discovered new viewpoints at every turn, and learned how to think from a broad-based, global
perspective. At the same time, the course enabled me to see Japan's very specific approach
in a new light.
Now, following careful proofreading by NRIB, WSET has added Japanese sake - our
national beverage - to its worldwide educational programme. This marks not only the
internationalisation of Japanese sake, but also signifies how WSET is one of the keys to its
promotion around the world. From a Japanese perspective too, being able to learn about
Japanese sake objectively through this programme has great significance in terms of the
international promotion of sake, and therefore this qualification is of great importance.
Together with Antony Moss MW and Natsuki Kikuya (a global educator of sake), I myself
am an examiner who assesses educators, and I am already a certificate holder, having passed
the Level 3 Award in Sake examination. This examination encompasses detailed knowledge
of Japanese sake, as well as the practical aspects, and I believe it is a wonderful programme.
I encourage you wholeheartedly to learn together with us about the Japanese tradition of
sake, both from a Japanese and international perspective!

Kenichi Ohashi MW
 vii

Introduction

WSET has only been actively involved with the world of sake since 2013. Nevertheless
in three years the WSET has been able to gain the support and trust of the global sake
community thanks to the passion and drive of our colleagues.
However, it takes more than desire to put together a qualification such as the Level 3
Award in Sake. It takes a huge amount of researching, planning and testing . It has been
a thrilling ride for our colleagues as they became immersed in the uniquely wonderful
world of sake that is now starting to get the global attention it so justly deserves . The
result of all this hard work is this new book Understanding sake: Explaining style and
quality which we are delighted has the support of the National Research Institute of
Brewing located in Saijo in Hiroshima Prefecture.
This book not only offers a very detailed and comprehensive overview of the
techniques used in the production of sake - it also explains how these techniques are
combined to produce the impressive array of different styles that brewers are able to
tease out of a humble grain of rice. This desire to explain and get under the skin of a
subject so that students can be equipped with understanding as well as knowledge is
what lies at the heart of our Level 3 qualifications.
We hope that you enjoy reading this book and if you are studying for the Level 3
Award in Sake then I wish you every success in the examination .

l
Ian Harris
Chief Executive, Wine & Spirit Education Trust
 WHAT IS SAKE?

Whatis Sake?This chapter explains in simple terms what sake is, and the ways in which it
differs from other familiar alcoholic beverages such as beer, wine and spirits.
Sake is an alcoholic beverage made from polished
(white) rice.
Because rice is a starchy solid, two other ingredients
(water and a type of mouldy rice called k/5}1)are used
together to transform the solid rice into a sugary liquid.
The fourth ingredient (yeast) converts those sugars into
alcohol using a process called fermentation, to make
an alcoholic beverage we can drink.
Before describing the details of how these
ingredients are used to make sake, it is helpful to
contrast sake with some other common alcoholic
beverages. This way it is possible to show why sake
is in a category of its own, and therefore cannot
accurately be considered as a special kind of beer,
wine or spirit.
HOW SAKE IS DIFFERENT FROM SPIRITS
Sake is a relatively strong alcoholic beverage (around
15-17% abv), but its alcoholic strength is closer to that
of wine (12-14% abv), rather than to that of spirits such
as whisky, vodka or brandy (around 40% abv). The
reason for this difference is simple.
After the yeast has fermented the sugars into alcohol,
spirits need to go through an additional production
process to concentrate that alcohol further. This process
is called distillation, and is typically achieved by heating
the fermented alcoholic liquid so the alcohol selectively
boils off, and then cooling the separated alcoholic
vapour so that it can be collected as a more highly
concentrated alcoholic liquid.
Most of the aromas and flavours are captured with
the alcohol, but most of the water and acidity is left
behind.
Sake is not a spirit because it is not distilled. As such,
it has moderate alcohol (around 15-17% abv, rather than
Table 1: A comparison between spirits and sake.
SPIRITS SAKE
Is it distilled? Always Never
Typicalalcoholicstrength(%abv) Around40%abv 15-17%abv
1
around 40% abv) and keeps its delicate acidity intact.
This makes sake more similar to wine and beer.
However, like some kinds of wine, certain kinds of
sake have a small amount of high strength distilled
alcohol added (see Chapter 13 Ji5zi5Alcohol and
Filtration for more details).
HOW SAKE IS DIFFERENT FROM WINE
Like wine, sake is a fermented beverage. It has an
alcoholic strength that is similar to wine. However,
the use of rice as a raw material, rather than grapes,
results in very different flavours and requires different
production processes.
Grapes contain high levels of acids and distinct
aromas and flavours that are expressed in the final
wine. Black grapes additionally contain colour pigments
(to make the wine red) and preservative tannins (that
give red wine a dry, mouth-drying texture rather like
black tea). Colour and tannins are absent in polished
{white) rice, and there is very little acidity and flavour.
The production process usually adds little or none of
these, so a 'typical' sake is almost colourless, lacks
tannins, is only delicately acidic and its flavours are
more delicate than those of wine.
HOW SAKE IS DIFFERENT FROM BEER
Like sake, beer is made from starchy, solid, cereal
grains but it differs in a number of ways.
Comparing beer and sake, the starch-to-sugar
conversion uses very different methods. In beer
production, whole unpolished grains (usually barley)
are encouraged to start germinating, and this makes
the grains produce substances (called enzymes) that
convert their densely stored starch into fermentable
sugar. This process is called malting. Once the enzymes
are released, the grains are heated to dry them out.
This halts the conversion process and stops the grains
growing into cereal plants, but leaves the chemicals
available for the brewer to use to break starch down
into fermentable sugar. These grains are called malt.
Sake is made from polished rice. It is not possible to
make polished rice grains germinate because the part

Table 2: A comparison between wine and sake.

WINE(grapejuice) SAKE(polishedrice)
Whatcanthe raw materialcontributeto the final product? • Colour(fromblackgrapes,if used) • No colour
• Intense,distinctaromasandflavours • Verylittle flavour
• Tannins(fromblackgrapes,if used) • No tannin
• Highlevelsof acids • Verylittle acid
Doesthe raw materialcontainfermentablesugars? Yes No
Isthe raw materiala solidor a liquid? Liquid Solid
2 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY

Table 3: A comparison between beer and sake.

BEER SAKE
Howis the starchbrokendowninto sugars? Maltedgrains Koji mould
Whenis the starchbrokendowninto sugar? Beforefermentation At the sametime as fermentation
Mainraw material(s) Variousgrains Riceonly
Arethe grainspolished? No. Theyare kept aswhole,unpolishedgrains Yes
Areother raw materialsadded? Almostalwayshops Never
Sometimesotherflavourings

that would grow into a plant is removed during the
polishing process (see Chapter 8 Rice Preparation).
Instead, a mould (called koji mould) is encouraged to
grow on steamed rice. In order for koji mould to feed on
the rice starch, it also needs to convert that starch into
fermentable sugar and it releases its own enzymes to
do this. The resulting mouldy rice is called koji.
In beer production, the starch-to-sugar conversion
happens first by mixing the malt with hot water, and
the sugar-to-alcohol fermentation follows when the
conversion has finished . In sake, the koji is added to
the fermentation so that these two processes happen
at the same time.
Sake can only be made from rice, never from other
cereal grains . Beer is most commonly made from
barley, but many different grains (wheat, rye, maize
and even rice) can be used separately or combined
together . The use of whole unpolished cereal grains in
beer production means many flavours can be extracted
into the final product. The drying process of malting
also makes it possible to toast, or char the grains,
adding extra flavours . By contrast, sake uses polished
rice that is then steamed (a process that avoids adding
any flavours). The koji also has very little flavour, other
than a delicate sweetness .
In addition to the flavours from the whole, unpolished
and malted grains, almost all beers are flavoured with
hops, which provide bitterness and aromas, and act as
a preservative. Depending on local laws and traditions,
some beers can be flavoured with other ingredients,
such as fruits and spices. Flavoured drinks are
sometimes made using sake, but once flavours are
added, the drink is no longer legally sake .

An Overviewof Sake ProductionIn the discussion of how sake differs from
how sake is produced were introduced. This chapter builds on these details to provide a full overview
of the sake production process.
INGREDIENTS OF SAKE
Steamed white rice is the main raw material for sake.
Rice is a solid with a starchy core that needs water
and koji to convert the solid starch into a sugary
fermentable liquid . Yeast is then needed to ferment the
sugars into alcohol to make an alcoholic beverage .
STEAMED RICE
Rice is an edible cereal crop, planted in spring , grown
over the summer and harvested in autumn . Once
harvested, it can be stored for a few months until it is
ready to use. Rice is grown across much of Japan ,
using flooded rice-paddies, but it can also be farmed
in dry fields (as is usual in the USA, for example) .
Asian rice has two main subspecies groups : long
grained (lndica) and short grained (Japonica), which
are further subdivided into sticky (glutinous) and non-
sticky (non-glutinous) types . Sake brewers only use the
non-sticky version of short-grained rice . Non-sticky
short-grained rice has many varieties that have been
developed for different purposes . Some are high-
yielding and easy to farm, and are grown in Japan (and
elsewhere) as table rice for eating . These high-yielding,
easy-to-grow table rice varieties are also suitable for
making sake, and in fact a lot of good sake is made
from table rice .
However, some special varieties have been
developed to be particularly suitable for sake brewing .
WASHING, SOAKING AND STEAMING
Note that the steamer is loaded in layers. This is explained in Chapter 8.
AN OVERVIEW OF SAKE PRODUCTION 3
spirits, wine and beer, some of the details of
2
Typically, they are harder to farm and give lower yields,
but sake brewers like these sake-specific rice varieties
for three main reasons, all of which make it easier to
separate cleanly the starch from the proteins and other
undesirable parts of the rice grain :
They contain less protein than table rice .
Most of the starch granules lie in a well-defined
almost pure starch core at the centre of the rice .
They are larger-grained, and therefore less likely to
crack when polished.
Polishing and Washing
Before being used in sake production, all rice must be
processed. The first step is polishing, which is done
mechanically in large rice-polishing machines . The
purpose of polishing is to remove the proteins, lipids,
vitamins and minerals that are concentrated in the outer
part of the rice grain, leaving just the starchy core . After
polishing, the amount of rice that remains is referred
to as the polishing ratio . This determines the final style
and category of sake (see the section Polishing Ratio
in Chapter 3). Whether table rice or sake-specific rice is
used, the rice starts off brown and becomes white only
after polishing . (The white table rice used in cooking is
polished the same way, but is less highly polished than
rice used in sake brewing .)
After polishing , the rice grains need to be cleaned to
remove any remaining fine rice powder. This powder
Steaminput
4 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY
must be removed because it is made up of tiny
fragments of the bits of rice that the polisher was trying
to remove. If they remained, they would make the sake
less pure, and more rough-textured and acidic . The
powder is removed by washing, either in small
containers, large vats, or a continuous rice polishing
machine , depending on the size of the brewery and
type of sake.
The amount the rice is polished (and the amount of
proteins , lipids, vitamins and minerals that remain)
affects the style and category of the final sake.
Sake made from highly polished rice - Sake made
from more highly polished rice tends to have purer,
fruitier flavours , and is lighter in body with lower acidity
and umami. Sake made from the most highly polished
rice can be used to make one of the ginjo styles of sake
(see Chapter 3 Sake Labelling Terms for more details) .
Sake made from less highly polished rice - Sake
made from less highly polished (coarsely polished) rice
tends to have more savoury and less fruity flavours,
with more body, more acidity and more umami. This is
a different style, not necessarily lower quality, though
the prices tend to be lower.
Soaking and Steaming
Once polishing and washing is complete, the rice is
soaked to alter the amount and distribution of water
within the rice grain. For the purest and most delicate
sakes, this has to be done very precisely for just a few
minutes; a stopwatch is used to perfect the timing, and
the rice is soaked in small batches. For other styles,
MAKINGKOJI
This shows an overview of koji making . Only some of the options are
shown . This subject is covered in more detail in Chapter 9.
Unloadingthe steamer
there is less need to be precise and so the soaking can
be done for a few hours in large tanks. After soaking,
the rice is steamed. Traditionally, this is done in batches
of approximately one tonne, and lasts about an hour.
Large sake brewers have rice steamers that are larger,
faster and can run continuously. The combined process
of soaking and then steaming has three purposes :
Raising the moisture level within the grain - Soaking
before steaming helps to ensure that the rice absorbs
enough water to be soft and moist on the inside.
Steaming (rather than boiling) means the outside of the
rice remains firm. This is the ideal distribution of moisture
for producing the best koji, and for making sure the
rice breaks up during the ferment at the right speed .
Changing the starch - The heat changes the structure
of the starch so that the koji enzymes are able to break
it into fermentable sugars . Without heat, the starch
remains in a form that the enzymes cannot break apart
into fermentable sugars .
Disinfection of the rice - Steaming kills microbes that
may be on the rice and reduces the risk of undesirable
microbes contaminating the fermentation.
Once the rice has been polished, washed, soaked and
steamed, it is ready to be used to make sake or turned
into koji .
KOJI
Starch can be thought of as a large molecule made up
of lots of sugar molecules all linked together in a chain.
Steamedrice
Coolingthe rice

Rice, a starchy cereal grain, needs something to break
up the starch into sugars, before the sugars can be
fermented by the yeast and turned into alcohol.
Chemicals that do this work are known as enzymes. An
enzyme is a kind of protein that helps chemical reactions
to take place without being used up in those chemical
reactions, so only small amounts of the right enzyme are
needed to convert large amounts of starch into sugar.
Fortunately, the natural world is full of sources of
enzymes that convert starch to sugar: any living thing
that can digest starch has them . Starchy cereal grains
also have them: they need these enzymes to convert
their space-efficient starch store back into sugar before
they can use that sugar to provide energy to grow into
a plant.
While beer uses whole unpolished grains that can
be malted to release the enzymes in each grain, sake
is made from polished rice; the bits that could have
grown into a plant have been removed, together with
any starch-converting enzymes. So, instead of malting
the grains, a mould which creates starch-converting
enzymes is allowed to grow on some of the rice. The
mould is called koji mould and the mouldy rice is
called koji.
About a fifth to a quarter of the rice used in sake
brewing is converted into koji . This provides enough
enzymes to convert all the starch into fermentable
sugar at the right speed. The ideal conditions for
koji mould to grow are high humidity and warm
temperatures of between 33°C and 38°C (92-100°F).
Koji is therefore made in a special part of the
brewery where the temperature and humidity can be
managed to speed or slow the growth of the mould,
Inoculatingthe steamedricewith mouldspores.
Initial mouldgrowth normallytakesplace
on largetablesin the warmestand most
humidpart of the koji room.
AN OVERVIEW OF SAKE PRODUCTION 5
achieving the perfect level of mould-growth for the
style of sake the brewery is making.
Making Koji
Koji production starts after the rice is taken out of the
steamer. There are four steps in koji making:
Cooling - The portion of steamed rice that will become
koji is cooled to the right temperature.
Inoculation - The cooled steamed rice is transferred to
the koji room and spread out thinly over a table. Koji
mould spores are sprinkled on it.
Initial mould growth - The warm and humid
conditions in the koji room encourage the spores to
grow into the mould. The mould spreads and grows
over all of the grains of steamed rice. The rice is
thoroughly mixed to ensure that the growth of mould
is even.
Controlling and stopping the mould growth - The rice
is then sometimes transferred to racks and moved to a
cooler, less humid location in the koji room. Whether it
is moved or not, the aim of the brewer is to control the
temperature in order to slow the mould growth so that
exactly the right amount of mould can be grown on
each grain. Ultimately the mould growth is stopped
when the rice is finally moved to the coolest and driest
part of the koji room.
The whole process takes about two days to complete.
The finished koji looks like polished rice, but has a
Kojiroom Controllingandstoppingmould
growth.Thisoftentakesplace
in cooler,lesshumidareasof
the k6ji room.
Koji
6 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY
crumbly texture and has a slightly sweet chestnut
flavour .
Styles of Koji
As with polishing , mould growth is a step that can be
precisely controlled. This is important because the
brewer needs to use koji with different amounts of
mould growth in order to make different styles of sake .
Koji with high levels of koji mould - Large amounts of
koji mould covering the entire grain means that large
amounts of enzymes are created . Therefore the starch
is more rapidly converted into sugar in the fermentation
tank . As a result, the fermentation is faster, and the
sake tends to have more flavour intensity, with more
acidity and umami.
Koji with low levels of koji mould - Tiny amounts of
koji mould, dotting the outside of the grain, means that
smaller amounts of enzymes are created . Consequently
there is a slower conversion of starch into sugar during
the fermentation . The fermentation is therefore slower,
and the sake tends to be lighter in flavour , with less
acidity and umami.
This style of koji requires extreme precision during
the rice polishing, washing, soaking and steaming, as
well as in the koji room . A brewer typically uses this
style of koji in order to produce the purest, most
delicate styles of ginjo .
WATER
While grapes come with a supply of water in their juice,
rice does not; therefore sake brewers need to add
water to the rice to make a fermentable liquid possible .
For sake, over 80 per cent of the final product is added
water .
As long as it is clean, and its iron concentration is
low, almost any water can be used . However, mineral
concentration affects the fermentation and therefore
the style of the sake .
YEAST
The final ingredient, which is needed to convert sugar
into alcohol, is yeast. Special yeast strains are required
to cope with the particular conditions found in sake
fermentations. They must keep working even when
the alcohol level is high. Alcohol levels in sake can be
over 20% abv. Also the yeast strains often have to
work in cold conditions. For example, the fermentation
temperatures for ginjo sake can be as low as 6°C.
Furthermore , ginjo fermentations can have very low
levels of sugar. Such a limited supply of food is
something only particular strains of yeast can tolerate .
For these reasons, the industry has identified certain
yeast strains that have been isolated and shared
between brewers. These strains are also chosen for
particular desirable properties (such as being very
reliable or for producing interesting aromas).
In the absence of distinct aromas and flavours from
the rice (or the koji or water), yeast contribute greatly
to the aroma in most sakes. Some strains have very
distinct characteristics , and are chosen because of the
particular aromas they provide.
INTRODUCTION TO SAKE PRODUCTION
Having prepared the sake ingredients, the brewer can
then begin to make sake. There are four key steps :
the fermentation starter
the main fermentation
jozo alcohol and filtration
finishing .
THE FERMENTATION STARTER
Before the fermentation can begin , it is first necessary
to mix all of the ingredients together. By mixing the
steamed rice, koji , yeast and water together, the koji
enzymes start to turn the rice starch into sugar, but it
takes time for a healthy yeast population to build up.
This is a risky stage, because other undesirable
microbes (yeast, moulds and bacteria) could settle in
the liquid and begin to consume the sugars and spoil
the flavour of the sake .
To avoid contamination, the brewer takes a small
portion of the ingredients, and makes a 'mini
fermentation ', usually in a separate small tank. This
is the fermentation starter. The most common way to
help ensure the starter does not become contaminated
is to increase the acidity of the water by adding lactic
acid. This is because sake fermentation yeast are bred
to be much more tolerant of this acid than any of the
other spoilage microbes are. Therefore the brewer can
be confident that the only microbe that thrives and
multiplies is the yeast they have chosen.
The fermentation starter is left until there is a
population of the brewer's selected yeast that is large
enough to dominate and prevent any other microbes
from being active . This takes about two weeks .
Other traditional methods that do not involve the
addition of lactic acid and that take longer to complete
are also sometimes used (see Chapter 11The
Fermentation Starter for more details).
THE MAIN FERMENTATION
The brewer is now ready to construct the main
fermentation . As previously mentioned, if all of the
ingredients are added together in one go, there is a risk
that the yeast and the acid that is helping them thrive
will become too diluted to protect the fermenting batch
from other undesirable microbes. The brewer does not
want to add any more acid because this would make
the final product too acidic . Instead, they build the
fermentation in stages to ensure that at each moment
there are enough yeast to protect the fermentation
against contamination from other undesirable microbes.
This takes place over a period of four days .

• Day 1 - About 1/6 of the total steamed rice, water
and koji are mixed together (including the small
portion used to make the fermentation starter) .
• Day 2 - Nothing is added. The yeast from the starter
need time to multiply and spread through the whole
mixture.
• Day 3 - About 2/6 (= 1/3 or twice as much as day 1)
of the total ingredients are added, and the yeast
continue to multiply to occupy the liquid.
Day 4 - The remaining 3/6 (=½or the same as day 1
and 3 combined) of the total ingredients is added,
and the now vigorous yeast population can multiply
to fill the whole tank.
Once the main fermentation has been built, the brewer
now has a liquid where two processes are happening
at the same time. The koji enzymes are breaking down
the starch into sugar to make food for the yeast and at
the same time the yeast are consuming the sugar and
creating alcohol, carbon dioxide (CO2 ) and heat.
It is important the brewer makes sure that these two
processes happen at the right speed. If there is too
much koji enzymes, too much sugar is created and
the yeast are not able to consume all of the sugar;
the resulting sake will become too sweet. If there is
too little, the yeast will run out of sugar and die . If the
brewer has managed the earlier stages correctly, there
will be just the right amount of enzyme producing sugar
and the right amount of yeast eating the sugar to keep
these processes in balance.
The main fermentation takes about three to five
weeks, depending on the temperature. The colder the
temperature, the longer it takes.
Once the fermentation has reached the desired level
of alcohol and sweetness, the brewer inteNenes to
stop the process by chilling the liquid to such a low
temperature that the yeast stop fermenting altogether.
The level of alcohol typically ranges from 17%abv to
20% abv, although it can be lower. Nearly all sakes
have some unfermented sugar.
Fermentation Temperatures
Overall, sake fermentations are relatively cool, ranging
from 6°C to 18°C (43-64 °F). By running the fermentation
at the upper or lower end of this range the brewer can
significantly affect the final style of the sake.
Warmer fermentation temperatures - In these
conditions the yeast work more quickly. The resulting
sakes tend to be fuller-bodied, with more rice/cereal
and spicy/earthy flavours .
Colder fermentation temperatures - In these
conditions the yeast work more slowly. The resulting
sakes are lighter-bodied, with more floral/fruity flavours.
Extremely cold, slow, long fermentations are used for
sake styles that are referred to as ginjo. In very cold
conditions, with very little food to consume, the yeast
AN OVERVIEW OF SAKE PRODUCTION 7
are put under great stress. In response to this, they
produce chemicals that have distinct aromas including
green apple and fresh banana.
JOZOALCOHOL AND FILTRATION
When the fermentation is stopped the brewer has
what looks like an alcoholic porridge because of the
rice solids that remain. The liquid also retains a large
population of yeast and these are inactive as they have
been chilled to a sufficiently cold temperature. To make
a clear, stable sake, the brewer must remove these
from the liquid by passing the liquid through a mesh
that holds back the solid parts. This process is called
filtration.
Just before filtration takes place some brewers add
a small amount of distilled alcohol calledjozo alcohol.
This is done because sake flavours dissolve more in
alcohol than in water. The extra alcohol helps ensure
more of the flavours go into the sake, and are not left
behind in the rice solids. Water is added later to reduce
the alcohol strength back down to around 15-17% abv.
Sakes where this technique is not used are labelled as
Junmai (see Chapter 3 Sake Labelling Terms for more
details).
There are a number of different techniques that
brewers can use to filter their sake. Some use more
traditional methods, for example, putting the fermenting
porridge into bags and hanging them up to let the clear
liquid drip out slowly, a method that just uses gravity.
This is labour-intensive, and so nowadays more
automated processes are used to speed up the
process (see Chapter 13 Jozo Alcohol and Filtration for
more details) .
The resulting filtered sake is clear with a pale lemon-
green or lemon colour. Many brewers choose to
remove this colour by using charcoal fining.
FINISHING
Some sakes are bottled immediately after filtration;
others are first rested in a tank. Either way, most sake is
stored at the brewery (in either bottle or tank) for a few
weeks or months to allow the flavours to become more
balanced before the sake is released.
However, filtered sake is not completely stable and
there are two things that can cause a sake to develop
faulty or unpleasant aromas:
Microbial Contamination
Filtering can be used to remove all of the yeast.
However, this is not always completely successful and
some brewers do not use such sophisticated filters.
Also, it is possible for bacteria and other microbes to
find their way into the sake. Some alcohol-tolerant
bacteria can feed on the remaining sugars and have
the potential to create faulty aromas .
Chemical Reactions
The koji enzymes are not removed by filtration.
8 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY

SAKE BREWING
This overview shows the key stages in sake brewing and the main choices available to the brewer .
The individual stages are covered in greater detail in Chapters 8-14.

KOJIPRODUCTION
RICESTEAMING

~
Koji

NOTSHOWN
t
~ Steamedrice

\,,
-====---=aa===---- i-==----
FERMENTATION
STARTER
RICEPOLISHING
, WASHING,
SOAKING
Yeast • buildsstrongyeast population
• highlypolished- lighterbody,fruity
, coarselypolished- fuller body,grain
, specificyeaststrains
flavours
chosenfor certainstyles

Water

FILTRATION Lactic acid

, removesomeor all of the rice solids
II' = majorityof sake

)( = kimoto or yomohoi

..
JozoAlcohol

, can be added beforefiltration

cloudysake II' = majorityof sake

)( = junmai styles

o\C~ o\C~ o\C~

c\A c\A c\A
AMOUNT
OFFILTRATION CHARCOAL
FINING PASTEURISATION STORAGE

• is the sakecompletely , removecolourand • destroysmicrobesand , sakeis storedfor a few

clearor not undesirablearomas enzymesto makesake months,typicallyin bulk,
stable to allow the flavoursto -
marry.
II' = majorityof sake V = majorityof sake V = majorityof sake

)( = nigori )( = muroka )( = nama

Note:Therearea numberof
options
forpasteurisation
. See
Chapter14for details.
 AN OVERVIEW OF SAKE PRODUCTION 9

BUILDING THE MAIN FERMENTATION

Day1 Add Total fill

fermentation starter
water
koji
steamed rice 1/6

Day2 Add Total fill

nothing 1/6

Water
•

..
Day3 Add Total fill

water
koji
steamed rice 1/2
MAINFERMENTATION

Parallelprocesses
• conversionof starchto sugar
• alcoholicfermentation(17-20%abv)
A Add Total fill

.................
V····
Fermentationtemperature Day4
• warmer- fuller bodied,grainflavours
• cooler- lighter bodied,fruity,floral water
koji
steamed rice Full

o,c~ o,c~
c~ BOTTLING c~ SALES
DILUTION EXTENDED
STORAGE
• reducesaketo a more • sakecan be agedfor
approachablestrength a numberof yearsin

~
15-17%abv a brewery
= majorityof sake t/ =koshu

)( = genshu )( = majorityof sake

Note:Mostsakesarepasteurised
for Note: Extendedageingcanhappen
a secondtimeat timeof bottling. in bottleor bulk. See Chapter15for
details.
10 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY
Therefore they remain active and can continue
converting any leftover starch into sugar and cause the
creation of unpleasant flavours.
One way to avoid these problems is to heat the sake to
a high enough temperature for a long enough period .
Heating kills the microbes and destroys the koji
enzymes, making the product more stable. Usually,
sake is heat sterilised twice, before tank storage and at
bottling . The second heating can be done just before
the sake is bottled (so the liquid is hot when it goes
into the bottle), or it can be done by heating up the
sake once bottled. Either way, the seal on the bottle
ensures that there is no further risk of contamination .
The process of heating is called pasteurisation.
The problems that can be caused by microbes and
enzymes can be avoided if the sake is chilled to a very
low temperature . However, such sakes are not stable
because when the temperature rises the microbes
and enzymes will become active again. Nevertheless,
many breweries release some unpasteurised (nama)
sake because they have a uniquely lively and fresh
character . Nama-zakes (unpasteurised sakes) generally
have a short shelf life. They must be kept refrigerated
to avoid rapid spoilage and to retain their fresh, lively
character until they are consumed.
It is also common to add a small amount of water at
the bottling stage to adjust the sake to its ideal
drinking strength of about 15-17% abv. After storage
and bottling, the sake is ready to be labelled and
transported from the brewery for sale (see Chapter 5
Storage and Service of Sake for more details).
 SAKE LABELLING TERMS 11

SakeLabellingTermsJapanese sake labels can be exceptionally beautiful, with

traditional images and calligraphy, but the lack of any English
script can make them frustratingly hard to understand. In many export markets, it is a legal
3
requirement to provide certain key information. In this chapter we will look at these terms as written
in the Roman alphabet. It is helpful to be able to recognise some of the Japanese symbols, which
indicate what category a sake belongs to and the style it is likely to be made in. Sake labelling terms
written in Japanese kanji are covered in Chapter 16 Japanese Sake Labels and Kanji.

CATEGORIESOF SAKE yeast under stress, causing them to produce fruity

Sake is divided into two categories: basic sake and
premium sake.
Premium Sake (Tokutel-meisho-shu)
Premium sake can only be made using rice, water, koji,
yeast and, for some categories, a small amount of high-
strength distilled alcohol. Koji must account for 15 per
cent or more of the rice that is used.
Premium sake is further divided into eight grades.
The six that are most widely used are defined
according to two aspects of production: the polishing
ratio of the rice, and whether any distilled alcohol was
added before filtration. The other two grades, which
share the name tokubetsu, are defined by the use of
a particular polishing ratio or the use of special
ingredients or production processes. The Japanese
term for premium sake is tokutei-meisho-shu.
Just over one third of Japanese sake is premium
sake. This proportion is increasing.
Basic Sake (Futsu-shu)
The remaining two thirds of Japanese sake is futs □ -shu.
This is less tightly regulated than premium sake and
producers are allowed to use some other ingredients,
such as amino acids (for umami), sugars and acids. The
Japanese term for basic sake is futsD-shu, but this term
rarely appears on the label. Instead, brewers tend to
label these sakes with a brand name that is unique to
them .
GRADES OF PREMIUM SAKE
Ginjo and Non-glnjo
The polishing ratio, together with the temperature of
the fermentation, has a distinct effect on the style of the
sake. If the rice is very highly polished (with 60 per cent
or less remaining), then there is little of the proteins,
lipids, vitamins and minerals left from the outer part
of the rice grains. The main ingredient is almost pure
starch, so the sake has very pure, delicate flavours,
with a light body and low acidity. This kind of sake is
fermented at extremely low temperatures. The cold
temperatures and low levels of yeast nutrients put the
flavours similar to green apple and fresh banana. This
style of sake is labelled as ginjo. A particularly extreme
version of this requires the rice to be polished so that
50 per cent or less remains . This style is labelled as
daiginjo.
By contrast, if the rice is polished more coarsely
(more than 60 per cent remains), then there will be
more flavour in the sake from the proteins, lipids,
vitamins and minerals that remain from the outer part
of the rice. These elements also provide more nutrients
for the yeast, so the fermentation is faster and warmer.
Under these conditions the yeast produce much lower
levels of fruity aromas, and the sake is fuller-bodied,
with more rice/cereal and earth/spice flavours. There is
no separate labelling term to indicate coarsely polished
rice, but if the sake is labelled as justjunmai or honjozo
(without mentioning ginjo or daiginjo) then it is likely to
be in this style. All eight categories of premium sake
must show the polishing ratio on the label.
The four ginjo grades together account for just
over a third of the premium sake made in Japan . This
proportion is increasing.
Junmai and Aruten
The use of high-strength distilled alcohol has very little
effect on the sake. It does not increase the alcohol,
because water is added later. It subtly enhances the
aromas, and can make the sake slightly lighter in body.
For futsD-shu, its use increases volume and helps
reduce the cost.
Distilled alcohol (jozo arukoru) is used for most
sake. There is no legally defined labelling term that
indicates that distilled alcohol has been used;
however, if used, distilled alcohol must be listed in
the ingredients on the label, and these sakes are
commonly referred to as aruten which is an
abbreviation arukoru-tenka (alcohol addition). Instead,
the term junmai has been created to identify sakes
where high-strength distilled alcohol is not added.
Junmai can appear on its own, or followed by ginjo or
daiginjo to indicate sake made from highly polished
rice, and with no high-strength distilled alcohol added.
12 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY
Ginjo and daiginjo can be used on their own to
indicate sake made from highly polished rice (50-60
per cent or less remaining), but with a small amount of
high-strength distilled alcohol added . Honjozo is a term
used for sake made from relatively coarsely polished
rice (70 per cent or less remaining), with a small amount
of high-strength distilled alcohol added . These sakes
tend to taste similar to junmai (rice/cereal and
earth/spice flavours) but incline towards being slightly
lighter in body.
Tokubetsu
Tokubetsu is a term used alongside honjozo and
junmai. It means 'special' and denotes a special kind of
honjozo or junmai. There are three ways for a sake to
qualify for this:
The rice is polished to below 60 per cent.
The sake is made exclusively from sake-specific rice.
It includes some other process that the brewer has
arranged to be legally recognised.
The first of these is by far the most common and means
that the sakes could be labelled as a ginjo or junmai
ginjo, but the brewer has decided to label them as
tokubetsu honjozo or tokubetsu junmai instead.
OTHER LABELLING TERMS INDICATING STYLE
Production Processes
There are some sakes that use variations on the
production process described in Chapter 2 An
Overview of Sake Production. These variations can
produce sakes with characteristics that are different
from a standard sake.
Table 4: The eight grades of premium sake.
POLISHING NO DISTILLED
ALCOHOL SMALLAMOUNTOF
DISTILLED
ALCOHOL
50% Junmai daiginjo Daiginjo
Junmaiginjo Ginjo
60%
Tokubetsu
junmai Takubetsu
honjozo
Junmai* Honjozo
70%
Takubetsu
junmai** Tokubetsu
hanjozo**
100%
• Forjunmai, the regulationsdo not stipulatea rice polishingratio; however,unpolished
rice is rarelyusedfor sakemaking.
••rokubetsujunmai and tokubetsuhonj6z6can only havea rice polishingratio of over
60 per cent or if there is someotherfactorthat qualifiesthem as tokubetsu.
••• A sakemadefrom ricewith a polishingratio of over70 per cent and madewith the
additionof distilledalcoholis not a premiumsake.
Kimoto - A sake made using an older, slower method
for the fermentation starter. This method produces
sakes with higher acidity and more depth and
complexity. See Chapter 11The Fermentation Starter
(Shubo/Moto) for more details.
Yamahai - A sake made using a simplified version of
kimoto. This method also tends to result in sakes with
higher acidity, and more depth and complexity. See
Chapter 11The Fermentation Starter (Shubo/ Moto) for
more details.
Muroka - A sake that has not been fined with active
charcoal to remove colour. These sakes typically
have a pale lemon-green or lemon appearance. See
Chapter 14 Finishing for more details.
Nama - A sake that has not been pasteurised . Note
that because Japanese people soften the 's' to a 'z'
when talking about nama-sake, it is usually spelled
nama-zake. Nama-chozo indicates sake that has been
stored without pasteurisation, but is pasteurised at the
time of shipment. See Chapter 14 Finishing for more
details.
Genshu - A sake that has not had water added before
bottling. These sakes tends to be slightly higher in
alcohol, but because the brewer can manage the
ferment so it finishes with an alcohol level in the normal
range of 15-17% abv, the alcohol is not always notably
high. See Chapter 14 Finishing for more details.
Of these terms, only nama, nama-chozo, and genshu
are legally defined.
Sakewith no added Sakewith smallamounts
distilledalcohol of distilledalcohol
"'
E
0
:;;
e
~
·o
"'
Q)
0
E
□ Tokubetsu
junmai L:>.Tokubetsu
honjozo
 SAKE LABELLING TERMS 13

FRONT LABELS
Front labels usually have a brand name or brewery name prominently displayed. The sake category and other
information that indicates style is also likely to be clearly visible . Sakes with no back label often include some
technical detail on the front label.
Yamahai- This is a type of fermentation
Brandnames starteroften associatedwith richerflavours
Theseare clearlythe mostprominentfeatureof the label. and textures.The symbolsin print are:
UJ~
a
,t.
iii

l..

Omachi- A type
of sake-specific
rice.
7 lie
lS/ltJ;.(J:16/J!*illl
r.om11Jts<C11i!l!l
JisC:-jL:(C!li!l!Jls)
ffl)l<:'];,&60%
Junmai- A gradeof premiumsake 11!11]'100%
whichtypicallyhaveprominentrice and l.8Liia
lacticaromas.Thesymbolsin print are:
!Jl!Jfi~J'l

till*
BACK LABELS
Back labels typically show technical detail.

A moreexport-friendly labelthat containsa lot

of informationthat is relativelyeasyto
AAA
Rice:Yamadanishltd grade
understand.
Junmai (iinjo Rice Polish Ratio:
KoJI55% Kake 60% Kake- Thisis a contractionof kake-maiwhich is

ISOJIMAN ~~:''1~ :1·3

1~:i_i:ve1 steamedrice not usedto makek6ji. Oncecooled
this rice is transferredto a fermentationvessel.

Shudo-This indicatesSMV. It is a compressionof

nihonshu-do.

Seimai-buai- Polishingratio.Thekoji
is polishedto 55% andthe other rice is
polishedto 60%.

San-do-Acidity scale.In this scale

mostsakefalls between 1 and 2.

K6bo- Yeast. This is informationabout

the strainof yeast used.

Nihon-shu- The officialterm for sake.

Theother term that can be usedis
sei-shu;• ~ -
14 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY

Speciality Styles of Sake junmai ginjo sake could also be either yamahai,
There are several styles of speciality sakes that are muroka, nama, genshu, nigori, sparkling or koshu, or
remarkably different from standard sake. Five of these even a combination of some of these speciality styles.
are discussed below and these styles are covered in
more detail in Chapter 15 Speciality Styles of Sake. NIHONSHU-DO (SAKE METER VALUE, SMV)
There is no legislation covering label terms for
Nigori - A sake that has been roughly filtered, or is a sweetness levels in sake. However, the information on
blend of clear sake and roughly filtered sake. This sake a sake label often includes a measure called Nihonshu-
is cloudy, because of the suspended particles of rice. do (translated as sake meter value, SMV). Strictly, this
is a measure of the density of the sake (relative to the
Sparkling - Sparkling sakes can be as fizzy as density of water), and is used by brewers when tracking
sparkling wines. Various techniques exist for ensuring the progress of their ferments.
there is dissolved carbon dioxide gas in the bottled For a given level of alcohol, the SMV can be a guide
sake. Note, there are Japanese terms for sparkling to the amount of sugar present, because sugar and
sakes, but we do not give them here because they alcohol are the main (though not the only) determinants
are not widely used outside of Japan. of density. For this reason, SMV is widely used as a
rough, but not particularly reliable, indicator of
Koshu - These sakes are aged for an extended period. sweetness and dryness. Most normal sakes are
These sakes are often gold or amber in colour and between about -2 and +8 on this scale, with the
have complex aromas of honey, toast, nuts, dried fruit average being about +4, corresponding to about 17 g/L
and pickled vegetables. sugar. Higher is generally drier. SMV values higher
than +10 are unusual, and such sakes will often be
Kijoshu - Nearly all sakes have some unfermented marketed based on their dryness. Sweet sakes tend
sugar. In the case of kijoshu this level of sugar is so to have SMV values of -30 to -100.
high that they are correctly described as either sweet
or luscious. LEGAL REQUIREMENTS FOR JAPANESE SAKE
LABELS
Taru-zake - A sake that has been matured in Japanese Sake brewed in Japan must comply with laws covering
cedar barrels. These sakes pick up distinct aromas what may or may not appear on the main label. The
from the cask. laws cover compulsory, and some optional, labelling
items. Sake brewed outside of Japan does not have to
Of these terms, only taru-zake is legally defined, comply with these (unless they are exported to Japan),
though legislation determines how age statements for but most non-Japanese brewers tend to follow similar
koshu can be expressed. conventions, depending on local laws. For example,
non-Japanese brewers would use the Japanese term
Terms from either of these two lists above can be ginjo only if the rice is polished to below 60 per cent,
applied to any grade of premium sake, or they can even though the term is not legally controlled in their
equally be applied to a futsO-shu. For example, a country .
These laws cover the main (front) label. In addition
Table 5: A comparison between western and Japanese calendars. to this, some sake back labels include highly detailed
technical information such as the SMV, total acidity
WESTERN
YEAR HEISEiYEAR BREWING
YEAR(BY)
and amino acidity (both using a Japanese scale), and
1Januaryto Year1= 1989yearwhen 1Julyto 31June. information about the specific yeast strains.
31December the currentemperor Thebrewingyeartakesits
cameto the throne numberheiseiyear on 1July
Compulsory Label Information
2011 23 2011-12= BY23 The label must state the following information:
2012 24 2012-13= BY24 the product category (Sei-shu is the Japanese legal
term for sake, and Nihon-shu is recognised as an
2013 25 2013-14= BY25
equivalent)
2014 26 2014-15= BY26 alcohol content by volume(% abv), and total volume
2015 27 2015-16= BY27 of the container
2016 2016-17= BY28
raw ingredients
28
date produced
2017 29 2017-18= BY29
brewery name and address (and country of origin if
2018 30 2018-19= BY30 not from Japan).
2019 31 2019-20 = BY31
'Date produced' is a translation of the Japanese term
2020 32 2020-21 = BY32
in the official legislation. In practice, this is not the date

the sake was brewed, but is generally the bottling date
(when the sake was packed and sealed in a container
for sale). However, for sakes with an age statement,
'date produced' can also be the release date (see the
section Optional Labelling Terms below) . So, although
'date produced' does not always tell you how old the
sake is, it generally indicates when it was released onto
the market by the brewery .
Many labels use the western calendar, but others
use the Japanese system for periods and years .
Japanese history is split into periods which , since the
mid-nineteenth century, have been aligned with the
reigns of individual emperors . The current emperor
came to the throne in January 1989 and his period has
been named Heisei. Therefore 1989 is Heisei year 1.
This makes 2016, Heisei year 28.
To complicate things slightly, brewers use their own
system that follows the 'Brewing Year' (BY), which runs
from 1 July to 31 June of the following year. Therefore
sake produced in the later part of the brewing season
(January onwards) is treated as being produced in the
same brewing year as sake made earlier in the season
(between July to December of the previous western
year). The number assigned is the Heisei year the
brewing year starts in. So, sakes produced in October
2014 and January 2015 would both be 'BY 26' in the
Japanese calendar , though if western calendar dates
are used these would be 2014 and 2015, respectively .
SAKE LABELLING TERMS 15
Optional Labelling Terms
There is some additional information that can also be
included on the main label:
rice variety/ies
age statement
production locality
terms indicating production method or style
medals and awards .
As noted above, of the terms that indicate production
method or style only nama, nama-choz/5, genshu,
taru-zake have a legal definition. In addition to these,
ki-ippon is a legally defined term indicating ajunmai
sake that has been produced entirely at a single site.
Although kimoto, yamahai, muroka, nigori, koshu or
kijoshu are not legally defined they can still be used on
a label. Other commonly used terms that are legally
undefined include some terms related to pasteurisation
(nama-zume, hiya-orosht) and filtration fractions
(arabashiri, naka-dori, naka-gumt) or methods (funa-
shibori , to-bin gakot) .
Production localities are not (yet) registered as legally
controlled Geographical Indications (Gls). The stated
location generally indicates the location of the brewery,
rather than where the rice was grown, though these are
sometimes the same. Some products state additional
information about the origin of the rice on the back
label.
16 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY
The SystematicApproachto TastingSake®The WSET Level 3
4 Systematic Approach to
Tasting Sake® (SAT) is a tool that allows you to write a complete and detailed description of a sake
and then use this information to make an evaluation of its quality. It is a structured and methodical
approach to tasting and is therefore not an approach that is suitable for every occasion. Nevertheless,
practising with the SAT will provide a disciplined and structured template that will remind you to
consider all of the important elements of a sake.
THEPURPOSEOFTHESAT
The SAT is a teaching aid and assessment tool that
was devised by the WSET to be used in conjunction
with its qualifications . It is designed to develop two
fundamental skills: the ability to describe a sake
accurately and the ability to make reasonable
conclusions based on these descriptions.
THE FORMAT OF THE SAT
The first part of the SAT consists of three sections
entitled 'Appearance', 'Nose' and 'Palate'. This is the
descriptive element of the SAT. Each section has its
own category headings, which appear in the left-hand
column. The right-hand column lists the terms that you
can select to describe each category heading . For
example, to describe the 'Appearance' of a sake you
might select 'clear' for the category heading 'Clarity',
'pale' for 'Intensity', and 'lemon ' for 'Colour' .
The second part of the SAT consists of one section
entitled 'Conclusions'. This is the evaluative part of the
SAT. It contains two category headings : 'Quality Level'
and 'Identity'. The right-hand column lists the terms that
you can select for each category heading. For example,
you might select 'good' in the 'Quality Level' category
and 'premium ,junmai , yamahai' in the 'Identity '
category.
The SAT is supported by a second document, the
Sake-Lexicon . This appears on the reverse side of the
laminated SAT card. The Sake-Lexicon is a list of
descriptive words covering some suggested aroma
and flavour terms that may help you to describe the
sake you are tasting.
USING THE SAT
The SAT is intended for use in many contexts, including
professional tastings and personal records . It is not
always appropriate to use the full SAT. For example ,
when tasting lots of ginjo sakes in order to select the
ones you think are the best for a restaurant or for a
competition medal, you might just mention the
elements where they differ, and avoid noting colour
unless it deviates from 'clear , water white, colourless '.
It is useful to practise using the full SAT to help develop
a discipline for systematically considering all aspects
of a sake, even if you decide to record only some of
them .
If your tasting notes are intended to persuade or
entertain, you may wish to add words and ideas that are
not included here. These might include words that to
your mind capture the 'personality' of the sake, or
express it using poetic analogies. Nobody can define
these kinds of term precisely, or agree when it is
appropriate to use them. This makes them inappropriate
for use in an exam, or for a setting where we are trying
to describe sake as objectively as possible and calibrate
people's palates as closely as possible. This is the main
reason these fun, but fanciful , terms are never included
in the SAT.
For the WSET Level 3 exam, the exam iner needs you
to demonstrate that you can use the full SAT accurately.
There are particular rules that apply in the exam
context that you must follow if you are to maximise your
marks. These are explained in the tasting chapter of the
Study Guide that the WSET has produced for the WSET
Level 3 Award in Sake.
PREPARING FOR TASTING
In order to taste sake effectively, you need to prepare a
suitable tasting environment, and you need to prepare
yourself.
The ideal tasting environment has good natural
lighting, for judging the appearance of sakes, and is
odour free, to avoid interfering with sake aromas. It also
has sufficient space for you to lay out your glasses, and
make your notes . Spittoons should be available near
where you are tasting.
To prepare yourself , you should have a clean palate,
free of toothpaste or the lingering flavours of strong-
tasting food . You should also be well-hydrated, because
dehydration may cause your nasal aroma receptors to
become dry and lose their sensitivity to aromas. Note
that it is easy to become dehydrated when tasting a
large number of sakes , as you will be losing saliva
every time you spit out. When smelling sake, the
alcohol will also dehydrate your nose.
You will need somewhere to record your notes . This
could be something as simple as a notebook and pen, or
a laptop or mobile phone with suitable software installed .
 THE SYSTEMATIC APPROACH TO TASTING SAKE" 17

You will also need suitable glassware, which should

be odourless, colourless and free of any residues,
such as detergent or dishwasher salts, or dirt left from
unclean glass polishing cloths. Brewers and judges in
Japan commonly use a 180 ml (6 US fl. oz.) opaque
white porcelain cup with two concentric cobalt blue
colour circles on the bottom. This vessel, called a kiki-
choko ('tasting cup'), is good for determining the clarity
and colour, and highlighting visual faults, but not very
good for displaying the positive features (especially the
aromatic features) that make each sake special. The
same is true for the various small drinking cups widely
used to serve sake.
The ISO glass is suitable for evaluating sake. The
important features are the rounded bowl (to aid swirling
the sake to release aromas) and the inward-sloping
walls (to capture the aromas).
When pouring your samples, you should try to ensure
you consistently pour the same volume into each glass.
We suggest a 5 cl (1.5 US fl. oz.) sample. This should
be sufficient to assess the 'Appearance', 'Nose' and
'Palate' of the sake, but small enough that you are able
to swirl the sample in the base of the bowl without
spilling it.

APPEARANCE
Clarity
Clear sake - For this line there is a three-point scale:
'clear - slightly hazy - hazy'. Many sakes are charcoal
fined to remove all traces of haziness, leaving them
perfectly 'clear'. Sake that has not been treated this
way may be 'slightly hazy'; it is still basically clear, and
not faulty, but on close examination the clarity is not
quite perfect. With the exception of deliberately cloudy
styles, anything more than this is likely to indicate
a fault. If a sake has an unusually high amount of
suspended particles then it can be described as 'hazy'.
This may indicate a fault, but the precise nature of the
fault can normally only be determined by assessing
the sake on the 'Nose' and 'Palate'.
Cloudy sake - While all sake must be filtered, some
are made in a deliberately cloudy style (by filtering
coarsely). The solid material is known as 'lees', and
nigori (cloudy) sakes vary widely in the amount of lees
solids. When assessing these you should ensure that
the lees are evenly distributed in the bottle before
pouring, otherwise the levels in each glass will vary and
will not reflect the true level in the sake. A typical level
of nigori cloudiness, 'medium lees', is enough to make
the liquid opaque, but with it still flowing easily. Some
nigori are made in a lighter style, 'light lees', where
there is enough space between the suspended
particles to see clearly through the liquid, even where
it is deepest in the glass. Others are made in a thick
style, with a porridge-like texture, coating the glass like
a paste when swirled. These are described as having
'thick lees'.
Intensity
Clear sake - Intensity is how much colour the sake has.
The level of intensity can be assessed by holding the
glass at a 45 ° angle and looking through the liquid from
above to see how far the colour extends from the core
(at the deepest part of the bowl) to the rim (where there
is the shallowest depth of sake).
Most sakes appear colourless right at the rim when
the glass is held at a 45° angle. The exceptions are a few
ancient, long-aged sakes, and some thick cloudy sakes.
Most clear sakes have at least a hint of colour observable
at the core, but some are sufficiently indistinguishable
from water that they can be described as 'water-white'.
If the sake has a broad watery rim, but some observable
colour at the core, it should be described as 'pale'. If
there is a distinct, easily observable colour spreading far
beyond the core, it should be described as 'medium',
and if this colour reaches almost to the rim, it should be
described as 'deep'.
Unless the sake is made in an aged or sweet style,
a 'medium' or 'deep' colour intensity is usually a sign of
a fault, such as poor storage or oxidation.
Cloudy sake - The lees in cloudy sake should be
'colourless' or at most be 'slightly coloured'. Anything
more than this is likely to indicate a fault such as poor
storage or bacterial spoilage.
Colour
Clear sake - Colour is the balance of levels of green,
yellow or brown found in a sake, and is independent of
the level of intensity.
The composition of the sake at the rim is the same as
18 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY
the composition at the core, so the colour does not
change when looking through different parts of the
sake in a tilted glass. However, because the depth of
liquid changes, the intensity of the colour changes .
Most sakes appear very pale, almost colourless at the
rim, so the colour is best judged where there is
sufficient depth of liquid for the colour to be easily
assessed: at the core.
When clear sake is freshly pressed, it has a slightly
'lemon-green' colour (like olive oil). This colour may be
removed by charcoal fining, or may be naturally so pale
that the sake is 'colourless'. As sake is stored or aged,
oxygen, amino acids and sugars react with each other to
produce brown-coloured compounds . These can also be
added by contact with wood (such as Japanese cedar or
oak). At an early stage, these are balanced by the sake's
natural green hint, and so the colour becomes first
'lemon' (yellow), then 'gold' (yellow with a slight hint of
orange or brown). As the brown components dominate,
the colour becomes 'amber', then fully 'brown'. With the
exception of sweet or aged styles, 'gold', 'amber' or
'brown' colours are usually a sign of a fault, such as poor
storage conditions, oxidation, or contamination with iron,
even when the intensity is 'pale '.
Cloudy sake - The lees in cloudy sake should be
'pure white', or at most, should have a slightly creamy
whiteness 'off-white'. Anything more than this is likely
to indicate a fault, such as poor storage (leading to the
colour turning 'yellow', then 'brown') or undesirable
microbiological activity (which can make the lees turn
an unappetising 'grey'), or both.
Note that although certain colours are more frequently
found at certain levels of intensity ('brown' is usually
deep, whereas 'lemon-green ' is usually pale), it is
possible to encounter all permutations of intensity and
colour . Thus 'deep lemon' differs from 'medium gold'
both in the intensity of colour and where it lies on the
green to brown spectrum .
Other Observations
There are a few other observations that can be made
about the appearance of a sake.
When served in a suitable glass, all sakes show
'legs/tears' (streams of liquid that adhere to the side of
the glass after the liquid has been swirled). Sakes that
are sweeter or higher in alcohol are more viscous and
have thicker, more persistent legs.
Some sakes show a slight carbon dioxide 'tiny
bubbles' (petillonce). This can be evidence of a fault,
such as refermentation in the bottle, or other microbial
activity. 'Tiny bubbles' can also be a sign of particularly
careful handling, especially in unpasteurised sakes,
where the 'tiny bubbles' contribute to the impression
of liveliness and freshness.
Bubbles are important to sparkling sakes. There are
a number of factors, in particular the cleanliness of the
glass, that can affect how the bubbles appear in the
glass and therefore their appearance cannot reliably
indicate anything about the quality of a sparkling sake,
which can be more reliably judged by the 'Nose' and
'Palate' .
There is a speciality style of sake that has 'red/pink
tints' (achieved by the use of particular rice, koji, yeast
strains or the use of ash). This is not mentioned as a
normal colour for sake because it is a unique and
deliberate style.
NOSE
A large part of the pleasure to be gained from tasting
sake comes from the aromas, and the differences in
character and complexity of the aromas account for
much of the difference between basic quality and very
high-quality sakes.
You should swirl the liquid to release the aromas
into the glass. Then, place your nose near the rim of
the glass and take a short sniff, noting the 'condition',
'intensity' and general 'aroma characteristics' of the
aromas you find. Some aromas are very delicate, and
you may gain some insight into the sake by taking a
quick sniff before swirling.
Condition
If the sake looks in good condition it may still show a
fault that reveals itself on the nose . With practice, you
should be able to detect the most common sake faults.
Most sake is brewed by people with considerable
experience and technical expertise, and the brewing
process can be controlled very tightly. For these
reasons, faults due to defective production are
very rare in commercial sakes, though some minor
errors may express themselves as slight, tolerable
imperfections. Much more common, especially
because of the delicacy of the product, are problems
due to poor storage, which can include too much light,
too much heat, or being open for too long .
Open too long (oxidation) - A bottle that has been
open too long loses its fresh aromas and after a few
days starts to gain stale aromas, such as caramel and
toffee, as well as deepening in colour.
Out of condition (Hine-ka) - A sake that is too old, or
that has been stored in bad conditions (especially at
inappropriately high temperatures) loses its freshness,
and tastes dull and stale. Ginjo sakes lose their delicate
fresh fruity/floral aromas, and sakes in general gain
off-aromas of oxidation (hints of caramel or toffee).
After six months to one year in the market, unpleasant
sulfur compounds can develop, reminiscent of pickled
vegetables and some of the smells more normally
associated with microbial spoilage (see below).
For sake stored for many years , these unpleasant
sulfur aromas can eventually develop into mellow
caramel-like aromas - but although this development
 THE SYSTEMATIC APPROACH TO TASTING SAKE" 19

is used by producers of koshu , cellaring of sake is

generally not recommended. Note that although some
sake bars (izakayas in Japanese) and some consumers
are experimenting with the effects of ageing sake after
release by the brewer, most sake is released ready-to-
drink and at the stage it is intended to be consumed.
Any changes in the bottle would generally be
considered undesirable by the brewer.

Out of condition nama-zake (Nama-hine-ka) - Enzymes

in unpasteurised sakes cause oxidation reactions and
degradation of amino acids. This leads to the
development of aromas reminiscent of malt, bacon,
geranium and spices. If alcohol-tolerant bacteria are
present, they can cause further unpleasant faults to
develop . These changes can be slowed by keeping
the sake cold .

Light damage - This is a particular kind of fault

associated with poor storage. Sake is very sensitive to
light, and often comes in boxes or opaque packaging
to avoid damage . Light causes a particular set of
unpleasant musky-animal sulfur compounds to
develop, smelling like burnt hair or burning flesh.

Microbial spoilage - Usually sake is pasteurised to Intensity

make it microbiologically stable, but when it is infected
by a microbial contamination, alcohol tolerant strains
of lactic acid bacteria will produce volatile acids and
diacetyl. This is most likely to appear in nama-zake
that is stored at room temperature. If microbial spoilage
occurs during sake brewing, it will result in unpleasant-
smelling sulfur compounds, with a wide range of
possible aromas, including rotting vegetables, compost,
sour milk, rancid cheese and even sticking plasters.
Other faults - Because cork and oak are very seldom
used, it is rare for sake to have taints that smell of
damp cardboard caused by trichloroanisole (TCA) or
other similar chemicals. However, some brewery
equipment (and many breweries) are made of wood,
meaning there is a risk of batches acquiring the
characteristic aroma of damp cardboard.
Precision in production means that other faults such
as tinned sweetcorn caused by dimethyl sulfide (DMS)
and volatile acidity (VA), giving aromas of nail polish
remover and coarse harsh acid, are rare, and taints
from brewery equipment (such as plastic, rubber, paper,
metal, wood) are extremely rare. Where present, they
are unlikely to be prominent features, and so can be
treated as tolerable defects rather than absolute faults.
Similarly, the evidence of bad production decisions
(such as letting some of the koji die due to excess heat,
or fermenting slightly too fast or slow) are things that
expert brewers and tasters might be able to spot and
comment on, but the effects are subtle, even to the
most expert consumers.
Some sakes are intensely aromatic, whereas others are
not, either because they lack much aromatic interest,
or because they are made in a deliberately subtle and
delicate style. As a general rule, if when you insert
your nose into the glass the aromas are immediately
apparent even without sniffing, then they are
'pronounced'. If, even after sniffing, you find the aromas
to be faint and hard to detect, the intensity is 'light'.
Otherwise, it falls into the 'medium' category;
'medium(-)', 'medium' or 'medium(+)'.
Aroma Characteristics
Describing a sake's aroma can be a challenging task,
especially if the sake is very complex or very delicate.
The Sake-Lexicon has been designed to help with this
part of writing a tasting note by offering a structured
approach to aroma identification and description.
As you develop your skills of description, you will
find it helpful to consider groups of aroma-types when
describing sake. The Sake-Lexicon provides some
common groups of aromas, and in some cases links
them to production factors, such as ginjo fermentation
or age . The presence of one of these aromas does not
automatically mean the sake is made using that
technique. However, if most of the aromas come from
those groups, then it is very likely that the technique
has been used.
Ginjo - These are fruity esters produced as a result of
yeast being stressed during the fermentation. The main
ones produced are isoamyl acetate (banana aroma) and
ethyl caproate (green apple or green melon aroma), but
20 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY

WSETLevel3 SystematicApproachto TastingSake®

Notesfor students:
APPEARANCE
For lineswherethe entries
are separatedby hyphens- Clarity clearsake clear - slightly hazy- hazy(faulty?)
Youmustselectone andonly cloudysake light lees - medium lees - thick lees
one of theseoptions. Intensity clearsake water-white - pale - medium- deep
cloudysake colourless- slightly coloured - coloured (faulty?)
For lines startingwith 'e.g.'
Colour clearsake colourless- lemon-green- lemon - gold - amber - brown
where the entriesare
cloudysake pure white - off-white - yellow - brown - grey (faulty)
separatedwith commas-
Theseare entriesthat you
Otherobservations e.g. legs/tears,tiny bubbles, bubbles, red/pink tints
shouldconsiderwhenwriting
your tastingnote.Youmay NOSE
notneedto commenton
eachentryfor everysake.
-------------------------------------------
Condition clean - unclean(faulty?)
Intensity light - medium(-)- medium- medium(+)- pronounced
Aromacharacteristics e.g. ginjo-ka,other fruity/floral, cereal/grain,lactic/dairy,sweetness,age, other

PALATE
Sweetness dry - off-dry - medium-dry- medium-sweet- sweet - luscious
Acidity low - medium(-)- medium- medium(+)- high
Umami low - medium(-)- medium- medium(+)- high
Alcohol low - medium- high
Body light - medium(-)- medium- medium(+)- full
Mousse delicate - creamy - aggressive
Flavourintensity light - medium(-)- medium- medium(+)- pronounced
Flavourcharacteristics e.g. ginjo-ka,other fruity/floral, cereal/grain,lactic/dairy,sweetness,age, other
Otherobservations e.g. balance,texture,finish
Finish short - medium(-)- medium- medium(+)- long

CONCLUSIONS
ASSESSMENT
OFQUALITY
Qualitylevel faulty- poor - acceptable- good - very good - outstanding
THESAKEIN CONTEXT
Identity Category:futsD-shuvspremium,ginjo vsnon-ginjo
Productionmethods:nama,kimoto/yamahai
Specialstyle:sparkling,koshu,kijoshu,nigori

a range of other aromas can also be produced and the
level present can also affect how they seem to smell.
These are generally fruity and floral aromas .
Fruit/floral (other than ginjo) - Even when ginjo
techniques are not used, fruity aromas can appear in
the sake. Like ginjo aromas, these are also mainly
created by the yeast. A very typical aroma is ripe
banana (or even brown banana), present in many
junmai and futsO-shu sakes, and not to be confused
with ginjo aromas, which tend to be fresher and purer
in character.
Cereal/grain - Although sake tends not to smell or
taste of rice, some sakes can have rice-derived aromas .
These tend to be sakes made from relatively coarsely
polished rice .
Lactic/dairy - Some of the fatty acids produced by
yeast can have aromas that suggest yoghurt, milk or
cheese . Usually these acids combine with alcohols to
make more pleasant fruity esters, but some sakes
retain some dairy-like aromas.
Yeast and bacteria can also produce diacetyl, which
has a buttery aroma. Bacteria can also produce
 THE SYSTEMATIC APPROACH TO TASTING SAKE" 21

WSETLevel3 Sake-Lexicon:supportingthe WSETLevel3 SystematicApproachto TastingSake

Noteto Students:
DESCRIBING
AROMA
ANDFLAVOUR
TheWSETLevel3 Sake-
Ginjo banana,apple,pear,melon,lychee,pineapple, cherry, strawberry,aniseed,bubblegum,
Lexiconis designedto be a
blossom,lily, rose
promptand a guidewhich
Fruity/floral ripe banana,bananabread,fig, you do not needto
(otherthanginjo) grape,nectarine,apricot,plum,lemon,orange memorise.Youcanpassthe
white flowers tastingexamination
with

Cereal/grain riceflour,bran,steamedrice, porridge,toastedcereal,malt distinctionif you usethe

descriptorsin the Sake-
Lactic/dairy milk, cream, yoghurt,butter,freshcheese(creamcheese,mozzarella),maturecheese(cheddar)
Lexiconbut you do not need
Sweetness cottoncandy,honey,sugarcane,brownsugar/molasses to limit yourselfto these

Age(koshu) honey,molasses,caramel,soy,driedfruits, coffee,chocolate,meatbroth,clove,cinnamon, termsandthe examinerswill

fenugreek,almond,walnut, pickledvegetables,soy sauce,bacon,compost acceptother descriptorsso

long as they are accurate.
Other nuts/beans coffee,chocolate,fresh hazelnut,freshalmond,chestnut,freshwalnut,roastednuts,
caramelisednuts
herbs mint, basil,lemongrass,grass
spices clove,cinnamon,nutmeg,pepper
other earthy,mushroom,hay
meat(broth,ham,roastmeat),
Japanesecedar,oak aromas

COMMENTING
ONTEXTURE,
BALANCE
ANDFINISH
Textureandbalance creamy,silky,velvety,rich,
vibrant,refreshing,crisp,dryness(tanreikarakuch1)
hintsof bitterness(nigam1) or astringency(shubum1)
Finish kire (clean,crispfinish)

FAULTS
Opentoo long staleness,oxidation,caramel,toffee
Nama-hine pickledvegetables,caramel,toffee, rotten vegetables
Nama-hine-ka malt, bacon,geranium,spices
Lightdamage burnedhair,sulfurous,musky
Microbiological
spoilage egg, rottingvegetable,compost,onion,sour milk, rancidcheese,sweat,sulfurous,
stickingplasters
Otherfaults dampcardboard(TCA) , tinned sweetcorn(DMS),volatile acidity(:JA)
taintsfrom productionequipment(plastic,rubber, paper, metal,wood)
Palatedefects unpleasantbitterness,astringency
, coarseness/roughness
, poor balance

compounds with yoghurt or cheesy aromas. Sake
brewers generally avoid all of these processes.
However, methods such as yamahai and kimoto
(relying on bacteria) can lead to the presence of such
aromas, and they can positively contribute to the
complexity of some junmai styles of sake.
Sweetness and age (koshu) - Both of these diverse
groups of aromas develop with time. They may also be
present at some level in sakes that are not labelled as
koshu, especially sakes with high levels of sugar. Note
that aromas that are often described as sweet do not
indicate that the sake has a sweet taste. Sugar has no
aroma.
In addition to these, there are several other types of
aromas that may appear in sake, including aromas of
nuts/beans and herbs/spices.
PALATE
Components such as sugar, acids and alcohol are
important because they contribute to the balance and
style of the sake, and are the most important factors in
pairing sake successfully with food. There are many
different components to consider on the palate and
22 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY
therefore it is often necessary to take more than one
sip of sake in order to assess it fully. In some cases,
the effect of one component can interfere with the
impression made by another; alcohol and fruit, for
example, add to the perception of sweetness, whereas
acidity can mask sweetness. As a trained taster, you
are aiming to assess the actual levels of these
components, not the apparent level, as objectively
as possible.
Sweetness
Sweetness is the taste of sugars present in the sake,
though alcohol and glycerol can also add a perception
of sweetness. Most sake has a noticeable level of
sugar, providing softness and sweetness.
'Dry' sakes (below 4 g/L of sugar) are almost unheard
of, but a few do exist. If a sake tastes basically dry, but
there is a tiny amount of detectable sugar (typically
about 5-9 g/L), then it can be described as 'off-dry'.
This 'off-dry' description covers almost all sakes that
have Japanese indicators for dryness prominently in
their name or on the label. These could include very
high nihonshu-do numbers (above 10), or Japanese
terms such as karakuchi ('dry taste')
Unless the sake has some indication of particular
dryness or sweetness on the label, the sake is probably
in the medium category ('medium-dry' or 'medium-
sweet'). With practice, you will be able to identify if the
sake is slightly on the drier side ('medium-dry') or on
the richer, sweeter side ('medium-sweet') of 'medium'.
Sweet sakes are a specialist style and require
specialist production techniques. Most sweet sakes
are simply 'sweet', but in a few exceptional cases the
dissolved sugar contributes significantly to the texture,
making it rich and syrupy. Such sakes can be described
as 'lusc:ious'.
Ac:idity
Acidity gives sake its freshness, but the levels present
are around one-fifth of the levels present in wine,
because rice contains no significant levels of acids. The
acids present in sake are mostly created by microbes
(lactobacillus in some types of yeast starter, ki5ji mould
activity or yeasts as a side-product of fermentation),
but small amounts may be added (the small amount of
lactic acid added to most fermentation starters, or the
acids that brewers are permitted to add to futsO-shu).
In all cases, the level is too low to provide protection
against microbial attack.
The main acids present in sake are lactic, succinic,
glutamic and malic (with glutamic contributing also to
the umami flavour). Unlike volatile acids, these acids
are odourless and can only be detected on the palate.
For most people, acidity is detected most strongly
at the sides of the tongue, where it causes a sharp,
tingling sensation, and makes their mouth water as it
tries to restore its natural acid balance. The more your
mouth waters, and the longer it waters, the higher the
level of acid in the sake. The acids in sake seem more
prominent when the product is warmed.
Traditionally, acidity was not desired by Japanese
sake consumers, and the techniques used for ginj/5-
style sakes, and the yeast types developed for this,
tended to lead to relatively 'low' levels of acidity. More
recently, there has been a trend to relatively 'high'
levels of acidity. These tend to be found in non-ginj/5
sakes, especially where yamahai or kimoto methods
have been used for the fermentation starter, or where
more vigorous ki5ji growth or acid-enhancing yeast
cultures have been used.
Umami
Umami is a primary taste sensation triggered by the
presence of some amino acids (molecules that link
together to make proteins). Learning to detect umami
and identify how much is present is especially
challenging, but the variations in umami levels are
an important part of the stylistic differences between
sakes.
Amino acids are created by ki5ji activity and the
breakdown of yeast. The taste can be described as a
savoury deliciousness, and is also found in high levels
in seaweed and fermented and aged foods, such as
mature cheeses and soy sauce. Sakes that are made
with the minimum amount of ki5ji enzymes and
fermented slowly at low temperatures (i.e. ginj/5 and
daiginj/5 styles) tend to be 'low' in umami (though still
with higher levels than typically found in wine). Junmai
sakes made with high levels of ki5ji activity, especially
those that use kimoto or yamahai methods for the
fermentation starter, tend to be 'high' in umami.
Alc:ohol
Alcohol contributes to the texture and body of a sake.
Alcohol is more viscous than water, and higher levels
make a sake seem heavier in the mouth. At low levels,
the sake can seem watery, unless there is another
component such as sugar to give body.
At high levels, alcohol triggers pain receptors, giving
a hot, burning sensation, especially after spitting or
swallowing. This burning sensation can be confused
with the tingling sensation caused by acidity. Therefore,
if you are trying to distinguish the two, consider
whether the sake is also mouth-watering (and therefore
high in acidity) or feels thick and viscous (and high in
alcohol). Remember that it may be high in both.
As a guide:
• low: below 14.0% abv
• medium(-): 14.0-15.4% abv
• medium: 15.5-16.4% abv
• medium(+): 16.5-17.4% abv
• high: 17.5% abv and above.
Note that because of water adjustment at bottling,
sakes made with added alcohol are not necessarily
higher in alcohol thanjunmai sakes.
 THE SYSTEMATIC APPROACH TO TASTING SAKE® 23

Sakes above 17%abv tend to be genshu (bottled

without the addition of water), but it is possible for
genshu sakes to be made to achieve a naturally lower
alcohol level.

Body
Body, or mouthfeel, is the textural impression created
by a sake. It is not a single component, but is an overall
impression of textural richness created by all the
structural components working together. For most
sake, alcohol is the main factor contributing to body.
Partially broken down starch molecules (such as
dextrins) provide much of the 'mouth-coating' texture
of sake, and sugar also increases textural richness
and therefore body.

Mousse
Mousse is relevant only in the discussion of sparkling
sakes. For most sparkling sakes, expect the mousse to
be 'creamy', in other words, enough to provide a lively
sparkle on the palate without seeming too frothy or
aggressive. Some sparkling sakes are extremely lively,
and seem to explode on the palate, then lose all their
bubbles in one quick blast. These would be described
as 'aggressive'. Other sparkling sakes (generally those
that are bottled at a lower than typical pressure of
dissolved carbon dioxide or have a higher level of
sugar) have bubbles that are very soft and fine. These
are described as 'delicate'.
Flavour Intensity and Characteristics
Generally, flavours on the palate should be the same
as the aromas detected on the nose. However, the
warming of the sake in your mouth can make some
characteristics appear more apparent than they were
on the nose. Savoury, earthy, spicy and toasty
characteristics tend to be more prominent on the
palate. Fruity and floral characteristics are sometimes
less prominent on the palate than they appear on the
nose.
Other Comments on Texture and Balance
As well as describing the level of components in the
sake and the aromas and flavours you find, you may
find it helpful to comment on other aspects too.
Texture words - In addition to assessing the level of
body, you may wish to describe the mouthfeel of the
sake using descriptive words, such as creamy, silky,
velvety or rich.
Tanrei karakuchi - A Japanese term for an overall
impression of vibrant, refreshing, crisp dryness. Niigata
sakes are especially noted for being made in this style.
Tanrei indicates lightness, cleanness and sophistication,
and karakuchi means dryness.
Nigami - A Japanese term for bitterness. Bitterness is
rarely found in sake and is generally undesirable.
However, it can contribute to the overall complexity of
aged sakes.
Shibumi - A Japanese word for astringency (textural
dryness). This can be a pleasant grippiness when it
occurs at a low level.
Zatsumi - A Japanese term for an unpleasant
roughness and lack of harmony.
Finish
The finish is the collection of sensations after you have
swallowed or spat the sake out. The length of the finish
is an indicator of style. What happens in the finish is
an indicator of quality, but the style of the sake needs
to be taken into account (see below). When assessing
the length of the finish you should only count the
persistence of the desirable sensations; how long the
sensations last will vary from taster to taster. If the
pleasant flavours disappear within a few seconds, the
finish is 'short'. This includes high-quality sakes with a
kire finish. For very intense, complex sakes, the flavours
can last for a minute or more, and the finish is
described as 'long'.
Kire is a Japanese term for a particular kind of clean,
crisp, cleansing finish. Sake with kire appears to vanish
entirely from the mouth, rather like vodka. On its own,
the sake has a short finish. When partnered with food,
the cleansing effect acts rather like a sorbet, removing
flavours and making the mouth feel clean again. A kire
finish takes great skill to achieve.
24 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY
CONCLUSIONS
In the Level 3 examination you will be expected to
evaluate a sake's quality and draw some conclusions
about how it has been made. In do ing so you will not
be expected to provide reasons for your choice but it
is helpful if you understand some relevant factors to
consider when making your decision.
Identity
In order to identify a sake correctly, you need skill,
knowledge and sometimes a little luck . Your tasting
skills can be used very effectively to identify the kind of
sake you have. It can be helpful to look at the following
aspects .
The quality level (see below) is the best clue
regarding whether the sake is premium sake or futsu -
shu . This is especially the case when it seems to fall
into a particular category of premium sake (e.g.
ginjo!daiginjo). Futsu-shu should be well made, but
lack the finesse and precision of premium sakes .
Ginjo vs. non-ginjo - Are there any ginjo aromas
present? These are generally fruity aromas , such as
green melon, apple and fresh banana, but can include
floral (apple blossom) and sometimes spices (aniseed).
Their presence usually indicates that the sake is made
using highly polished rice, and fermented slowly at low
temperatures. But note that yeasts, especially aromatic
yeasts, can lead to fruity aromas even in some non-
ginjo style sakes. Ripe-banana-like esters are quite
common in more basic sakes, for example. Also, some
ginjo sakes are made in a deliberately restrained, non-
aromatic style, because the producer wants to avoid
distracting, exaggerated aromas. Whether in an overt or
a restrained style, ginjo-style sakes tend to show purity,
clarity and transparency in their aromas . The ginjo-
character of these styles also expresses itself more on
the palate, which is likely to be finer-textured and lower
in acidity. The following, therefore, can suggest a ginjo-
style sake :
fruity/floral (rather than rice and savoury) aromas
pure and simple rather than complex and earthy
fine texture
medium to low acidity .
The difference between ginjo and daiginjo is more
difficult to identify, particularly as many producers'
ginjos could legitimately be labelled as daiginjo. Look
for exceptional purity and finesse as an indication of
daiginjo, but be aware that there are many exceptions .
Junmai vs. non-junmai - The difference between
junmai and non-junmai (alcohol-added) sake is very
subtle in most cases, because alcohol-addition is
usually carefully managed . Side by side, thejunmai may
seem richer-textured and more intense , whereas the
non-junmai sake may seem slightly more aromatic and
lighter-textured, with slightly lower acidity. Occasionally
the alcohol is a little more noticeable on the finish in
non-junmai sakes, but because of adjustments in
production, there are no systematic differences in the
levels of alcohol or sweetness when comparing the
two styles .
Pasteurised vs. unpasteurised sake - Do the aromas
suggest the sake could be unpasteurised? Young,
nama-zakes have a vibrant freshness, also expressed
on the palate and the long finish (which has a liveliness
due to dissolved carbon dioxide) . The aromas are less
precisely defined than in pasteurised sakes, and can
typically have a fresh chestnut aroma. Nama-zakes that
have been matured for a short period begin to show
complex aromas of malt, bacon, and (sometimes) hints
of geranium, with a lively palate and a long finish. Badly
stored nama-zake can show microbial faults , leading to
unpleasant nama-hine aromas such as sour milk and
rotting cheese .
Kimoto or yamahai - Noticeably high acidity, together
with more complex aromas and richer texture can
suggest the use of kimoto or yamahai methods for
starting the fermentation. Yamahai, in particular, can
also lead to rich, savoury , oxidised aromas , but this
does not have to occur. Both methods (but especially
kimoto) can be used to produce highly refined, silky
sakes, as well as powerful meaty styles .
Koshu - Are there any aromas suggesting deliberate
age (koshu)? This could follow evidence in the
appearance (a 'lemon' , 'gold' or ' brown' colour) .
Depending on the style of ageing, these aromas can
include sweet aromas (honey, caramel), complex 'stinky'
sulfur compounds (pickled vegetables, compost) and
savoury aromas (soy sauce, bacon). Badly stored sakes
can smell stale, or show signs of oxidation.
Sparkling and nigori sakes - Sparkling sakes are easy
to spot because of the bubbles . It is also common for
them to be cloudy. Nigori sakes are also easy to
identify, because of the suspended rice solids. Both
these categories can be made in a range of quality
levels and styles (including ginjo) .
Kijoshu - These sakes are also easy to identify . While
most sakes are medium-dry to medium-sweet, koijoshu
are sweet and in some cases luscious.
Identifying other features, such as regional origin or raw
ingredients (rice, water, yeast , koj1) can be difficult in
sake . In the case of regional origin , a brewer in any part
of Japan can take any style of sake and, assuming they
have the equipment, ingredients and expertise (all of
which are transportable), they can make that style . For
most regions, the differences between brewery styles
mean it is not possible to identify a typical regional
style, though there are some exceptions. In the case

of the ingredients, the effects of rice variety and water
are subtle. Certain yeasts can be distinctive, as can
alternative kinds of koji, on the rare occasions these are
used instead of yellow koji . It is the brewer's craft that
has the greatest influence on style and on quality, and
this tends to make the impact of the region and the raw
ingredients hard to read.
Quality Level
There are many different scales used to assess quality.
We use a descriptive scale, ranging from 'poor' to
'outstanding'.
Many criteria are commonly used when discussing
and assessing the quality of a sake. Although there
are instances when sake professionals disagree about
the quality of a sake, in most cases there is broad
agreement about both the quality level of a sake and
the reasons for its quality level . This is possible
because there are a number of criteria that are widely
used when it comes to assessing quality.
Balance - In sakes, balance can be thought of as a set
of scales, with fruitiness (from fermentation esters),
sugar and umami on one side, and acidity and
astringency on the other. An increase in fruitiness or
sugar can be brought into balance by an increase in
acidity (astringency is generally considered
undesirable) . With too little fruitiness or sugar, a sake
can seem angular, austere or thin. With too little acidity,
it can seem unstructured and clumsy.
Excessive astringency or bitterness can make a sake
seem unbalanced, though the presence of a low level
of astringency can provide a subtle, pleasant textural
grippiness and may sometimes be considered a
positive feature .
When assessing balance, you should also consider
how well integrated each of the separate components
are. For example, even if the fruitiness is balanced by
the acidity, the acidity could seem undesirably harsh
or aggressive. Alcohol should be well integrated,
whatever its level, and so should the aromatic
components, such as those derived from age. When
assessing a sake, ask yourself three questions: 'How is
the overall balance achieved?', 'Looking at the overall
balance, how well balanced is this sake?' and 'How well
integrated are each of the sake's components?'.
Length - This refers to how long the finish is. In other
words, how long the pleasant sensations linger after
the sake has been swallowed or spat out. Long length
is not always desirable. A short, clean finish is difficult
to achieve and should be admired (most notably in
ginjo and daiginjo styles). In some cases, the sake has
a cleansing quality called kire, which is particularly
desirable .
On the other hand, sakes that have a long finish can
also be admired, as long as the finish is pleasant, or
true to the style. This is true of nama-zake, many
THE SYSTEMATIC APPROACH TO TASTING SAKE'" 25
junmai (especially where kimoto and yamahai add
robustness and complexity), and also koshu, where the
finish can be especially multi-layered. Even some ginjo
styles can have a desirably juicy, lingering fruity finish .
Most undesirable are off-flavours in the finish,
including intrusive cereal or lactic notes in sake that
aims for purity and fruity/floral freshness .
Intensity- A sake that has very weak, dilute flavours
is seldom high in quality. But, beyond a certain level,
more intensity does not necessarily mean higher
quality. Some of the highest quality sakes are extremely
delicate in flavour. Generally, sakes that are intense
also have a long finish .
Complexity or purity - Complex flavours and aromas
are desirable features in some sakes but not all. For
ginjo styles, the brewer may aim for purity and the
absence of complexity, and this context should be
taken into account when making your assessment of
quality.
Desirable complexity in sakes tends to come from
the following sources:
Flavours contributed by the outer part of the rice,
when coarsely polished rice is used (for non-ginjo
styles).
The range of different fruity esters created by yeast
during fermentation (for ginjo styles).
Ageing, giving time for chemical reactions and
oxidation (in matured sakes).
Typicality - How well does the sake express the
characteristics expected of its category? Judging
whether a particular sake is an acceptable, good or
outstanding example of a ginjo (or honjozo, futsO-shu,
Niigata sake, or sake made from Yamada-nishiki rice)
requires an enormous amount of tasting experience
of each kind of sake, and is not required for the WSET
Level 3 tasting examination. However, it is useful to
take into account the brewer's intentions and an
educated consumer's expectations when trying to
judge a sake. If the brewer makes a daiginjo, it is
reasonable to have expectations of the style of this
sake that are different from those of the same brewer's
10-year-oldjunmai koshu, and these expectations can
be taken into account when justifying conclusions
about the quality of the sake. The following are things
that are considered desirable and undesirable for the
main kinds of sake you are likely to be assessing:
Ginjo and daiginjo - Pure aromas and fine texture
are desirable. The desirability of intensity and
complexity of aromas vary depending on the
producer; some deliberately make a restrained,
simple style while others seek to make intensely
perfumed sakes . Aromas other than fruity esters
are generally undesirable, as is any coarseness of
texture. Look especially for the clean, cutting kire
finish.
26 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY
Junmai ginJo and Junmai daiginjo - Similar to ginJo
and daiginjo, but likely to be more intense and less
likely to have such a short clean finish.
Junmai - Rich, rice-derived flavours are generally
desirable, as are high levels of umami. Ginjo-like
fruitiness is generally undesirable.
Honjozo - Similar to Junmai, but more likely to be
lighter in texture, with less intensity of flavour. As
with ginjo and daiginjo, be especially alert to a clean,
cutting kire finish.
While it is good to take these into account, it is wise to
avoid falling into the trap of 'judging against a template'.
Not all ginjo sakes should have strong ginjo aromas,
for example, so take other factors such as how fine-
textured the sake is before dismissing a very subtle
ginjo sake as merely 'acceptable' or 'poor'.
A 'good' sake has an appropriate balance of
integrated alcohol, acid and sugar. It is free of faults,
and shows some characteristics of its category
(perhaps typical aromas or typical levels of structural
components). If a sake is a little out of balance, dilute in
flavour or has a generic character that fails to express
any particular category, but is otherwise enjoyably
drinkable, then it is 'acceptable'. If the poor balance,
any minor faults or any dominant flavours of
components make it unpleasant, then it is 'poor'. If any
faults make the sake unsuitable to drink, then it is
simply 'faulty'.
A 'very good' sake displays particularly clear
expression of category. It may also show some elements
of elegance, concentration/delicacy, purity/complexity
or an especially clean or long complex finish that lift it
out of being merely 'good'. An 'outstanding' sake
should be almost entirely free of criticism. It should
precisely represent a classic category, be elegantly
balanced and well crafted, and may additionally express
characteristics of its regional origin or raw materials.

Storageand Serviceof Sake
THE STORAGE OF SAKE
Sake is easily damaged if it is exposed to heat or strong
light. The following points should be considered when
storing sake.
Keep it cool - Even for short-term storage, sake should
be kept cool (below 12°C, 54°F) and ideally refrigerated
(below 8°C, 48°F). Refrigeration is especially important
for nama-zake and for protecting the delicate freshness
of ginjo sakes.
Drink it young - Most sakes are intended to be
consumed within about a year after their shipment from
the brewery. Most nama-zakes lose their freshness in a
few months. Ginjo sakes generally have a shorter shelf
life than honjozo and junmai sakes and most should be
consumed within about ten months.
Store the bottle upright - Sake bottles are best stored
upright, to avoid contact between the liquid and the
closure, which is usually either a foil-lined stopper or a
metal screwcap.
Avoid bright light - Keep sake away from strong
sunshine and bright artificial light. As well as heating
the sake, light can induce oxidation reactions that
cause it to become old and stale before its time. Any
type of light could harm the sake. The amino acids and
vitamins in sake degrade on exposure to light, causing
the sake to discolour and to acquire unpleasant aromas
and bitter flavours . In terms of blocking out ultraviolet
rays, the most effective are brown-coloured bottles,
followed by green bottles, both of which are much
more effective than transparent bottles. Green or
transparent bottles packaged in boxes or wrapped in
paper should be stored in their protective outer
packaging.
Once opened, a sake bottle should be sealed and
stored in a refrigerator. Open bottles of sake generally
last two weeks, and sometimes even longer. The more
delicate ginjo styles remain fresh for about one week
after opening .
Storing Nama-zake
Nama-zake deteriorates especially rapidly and should
be refrigerated at no more than 5-8°C (41-48°F) . Most
nama-zake should be consumed within six months.
However, there are some exceptions. Storing nama-
zake for long periods results in a pungent aroma similar
STORAGE AND SERVICE OF SAKE 27
In order to get the best out of any sake, it is
important that they are stored correctly and
served at the correct temperature.
5
A kiki•choko. The blue
concentriccirclesare used
by sakeprofessionals
to
helpthemjudgethe clarity
and colourof a sake.
to the smell of hazelnuts, malt and bacon owing to the
action of the enzymes from the koji. This is called the
nama-hine fault. However, there is a small community
among sake fans who consider there to be such a thing
as 'good nama-hine' (they often call it 'nama-Juku'
meaning 'matured nama') with well-balanced oxidative
characteristics, developed textures and rich flavours.
These nama-zake are deliberately designed by
brewers to mature, and need to be handled by
experienced restaurant/bar staff and served at the
best moment of maturity .
SERVICE OF SAKE
Sake Faults
When serving sake, you should check that the sake is
free from faults. The most common faults are caused by
bad storage. There are four main faults to look out for.
Open too long (oxidation) - A bottle that has been
open too long loses its fresh aromas and after a few
days starts to gain stale aromas, as well as deepening
in colour.
Out of condition (Hine-ka) - A bottle that is too old, or
that has been stored at too high a temperature is also
likely to have lost its fresh aromas. Out of condition
sake develops stinky aromas of pickled vegetables.
Nama-zake that has not been refrigerated properly
(Nama-hine-ka) - Enzymes in nama-zakes create
28 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY
A selectionof sakeglasses
and o-choko.
aromas of malt and meat. Where they have
contaminated the sake, alcohol-tolerant lactic acid
bacteria can create extremely unpleasant flavours.
Light damage - Sake that has not been protected from
light can develop stinky aromas rather like burnt hair in
just a few days of exposure to daylight or artificial light.
Microbial spoilage - If microbial spoilage occurs during
sake brewing, it will result in unpleasant-smelling sulfur
compounds, with a wide range of possible aromas,
including rotting vegetables, compost, curdled milk,
stinky cheese and even sticking plasters.
Serving Sake
Sake can be served from the bottle, but it is also
common to decant it into a small sake carafe (tokkun).
Most sake bottles are closed with a stopper, or a
screwcap. Both of these are easy to remove. If you
wish to serve sake in an authentic Japanese way, you
may consider the following points.
Table 6: Recommended service temperatures for different styles of sake.
STYLE OF SAKE CHILLED
6-13°c
(43-55°F)
Futsii-shu,
junmai,honjozii Yes
Ginjo Yes
Sparklingsake Yes
Koshu,sweetandnigorisakes Thesesakesaregenerallybestservedlightlychilled,but somecanbe servedwarm.
Pouring etiquette - In Japan pouring etiquette is rather
specific. Try to pour sake with both hands by holding
the neck as much as you can. Using both hands shows
the most respect and care for the other person.
Pour for others - The main reason why the sake cups
are made so small is that by pouring each other's sake
cups, people will look after each other when sharing
sake. Pouring the other person's glasses has a very
important meaning in Japanese culture. However, let
the customers or guests serve sake by themselves if
they insist.
Sake Service Temperatures
As a lasting effect of the sudden growth in popularity of
ginjo sakes in the late 1980s and 1990s, some people still
consider hot sake as 'bad sake', and that the only 'good
sake' is a chilled aromatic ginjo sake. But it is a part of
the unique and appealing culture of sake that it can be
enjoyably served at a wider range of temperatures than
any other drinks. Warm/hot sake matches well with
ROOM TEMPERATURE WARM/HOT
1s-1s 0 c 40-so·c
(59-64°F} (104-122°F)
Yes Yes
Personalpreference No
No No

intensely flavoured and heavy-textured dishes such as
Japanese hotpot or grilled foods.
Sake can be served at a wide range of temperatures,
though not all styles of sake are suitable for serving
warm; warming sakes makes them seem more intense,
more full-bodied and higher in acidity. This can help
when pairing with food. However, ginjo style sakes lose
their aromas and flavours when heated and are best
served chilled. Generally the sakes that benefit most
from being served warm are:
sakes with high levels of sweetness, acidity, umami,
and relatively high levels of bitterness
sakes where much of the acidity is lactic and succinic
acid. These tend to be higher in sakes made using
yamahai or kimoto methods
sakes that have been matured, including many koshu.
Sakes that do not benefit from heating, and are
generally best served chilled are:
ginjo sakes, which generally lose their delicate
aromas and flavours when heated
nama-zakes, which also lose their delicate dissolved
carbon dioxide bubbles, so seem less fresh
sparkling sakes, which lose their bubbles and should
be served well chilled below 10°C (50°F).
There are poetic Japanese terms for the many service
temperatures used for sake, ranging from semi-frozen
to over 55 °C (131°F). Most of these are rarely used, but it
is useful to know the following two terms for specifying
the service of warm sake.
Nuru-kan (40°C, 104°F) - This is a comfortable, non-
burning warm temperature, slightly above body
temperature. It translates as 'the warmth of a relaxing
hot spring bath'.
Atsu-kan (50°C, 122°F) - This is very hot and almost
slightly burning. It translates as 'hot enough to warm
body and soul'.
Cooling Sake
Cold sake can be served straight from a bottle that has
been refrigerated. Alternatively, the sake can be kept
cold by placing the sake-filled carafe (tokkun) in a
container filled with ice and water.
Heating Sake
In order to avoid spilling hot sake do not to fill the
container the sake is being heated in to the brim. Water
heats at almost the same speed as sake, so you can
practise with water to get a good idea of how long your
method will take to heat sake.
There are two common methods for heating sake.
Hot water bath - Place the sake-filled carafe in a
container filled with water heated to about 80 °C (176°F).
When using this method, it is best to heat the water
STORAGE AND SERVICE OF SAKE 29
first, then turn off the source of heat before allowing the
sake container to stand in the water. The temperature
of sake should be carefully checked and monitored
with a thermometer in order to not overheat the sake.
The standard time for leaving a standard sake vessel
(180 ml) in the hot water is about two to four minutes.
Many bowls and pans are suitable containers for the
hot water, but there is also a specific utensil called a
kan-douko.
Microwave - It is also possible to use a microwave, if
the container you use is suitable for microwaving. This
is less gentle than the traditional method, but much
faster. Because sake is mostly water, it heats up at
about the same speed as water. It takes just 20-40
seconds to heat 180 ml of sake, depending on the
rating of the microwave and the initial and desired final
temperature of the sake. The shape of a traditional
tokkuri can result in uneven heat distribution when
using a microwave, but one way to avoid this is to
place the sake in a heat-resistant tumbler or mug for
heating and then transfer it to a tokkuri.
Sake Serviceware
Sake can be served in a range of vessels.
Wine glasses - Wine glasses are ideal for serving
premium sake either chilled or at room temperature.
The most suitable glasses are small enough that the
sake stays at the right temperature while it is being
consumed, and tulip-shaped to enhance the aromas.
O-choko - This is the Japanese word for a traditional
sake cup. These come in a range of sizes, shapes and
materials, but are typically about 5-8 cm (2-3 inches)
wide, with a capacity of about 60 ml (2 US fl. oz.). The
most common kinds are small pottery or glass cups that
have a flat base. Some are narrow and cylindrical, and
others are flatter and wider. The small size means that
they must be frequently refilled, reflecting a tradition of
Japanese hospitality. The notable exceptions are the
broad, flat, lacquered sake cups used in some Japanese
ceremonies. These can be up to 20 cm (8 inches)
across. The shape and the material of the service vessel
can seem to have an effect on the way the sake tastes.
Thicker pottery vessels can make the sake seem more
full-bodied and are especially ideal for serving warm
sake. Flatter, thinner vessels can make the sake seem
lighter and fresher. Vessels made of tin conduct
temperature especially well and give a fresh, cooling
feeling on the lips when consuming chilled sake.
A kiki-choko is a specific type of o-choko that is used
by brewers and judges and rarely in hospitality. Kiki-
choko are covered in the section Preparing for Tasting
in Chapter 4.
Tokkuri - This is the Japanese word for a sake carafe,
used for heating and serving sake. Like traditional cups,
30 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY

Table 7: Sake service measure. STANDARD MEASUREMENTS IN SAKE

720 ML BOTTLE 1.8 L BOTTLE The sake industry still follows the system of traditional
Japanese measurements. Originally these were used
60 ml (2 USfl. oz.)o-choko 12 30
in China, and they became unified in Japan during
180ml (6 USfl. oz.)smallcarafe 4 10 the Edo period (1603-1868). The system is based on
300 ml (10USfl. oz.)largecarafe 2 6 multiples of the sho (1.8 l, 3.8 pints), which is the size
of the large 'magnum' sake bottles. The various
Table 8: Japanese volume measurements with metric and US equivalents. measurements cover everything from service vessels
and bottle sizes up to the way brewers measure their
JAPANESE METRIC US CUSTOMARY
annual production. In addition to the sho, the main
MEASUREMENT UNITS
units you will encounter are go, to and koku.
1go ('ho of a sho) 180ml 6 fluid ounces A go is 180 ml (6 US fl. oz.), which is the size of a
1sho 1.8l 3.8 pints standard masu. A standard sake bottle is four go or
720 ml.
1 to (10sho) 18l 4.8 gallons
A koku is 180 l. This is the measure brewer's use
1koku (100sho) 180 l 47.5gallons when expressing their annual production of sake, and
is also used for measuring fermentation and storage
tanks. It is equal to 20 12-bottle-cases of wine.
These measurements are summarised in Table 8.

SAFE CONSUMPTION
When consumed in moderation, alcohol is not regarded

0 as being harmful to one's health. However, alcohol

A selectionof tokkuri. these come in many shapes, and many materials are
used. The most common are about 150-300 ml (5-10
US fl. oz.) and made of pottery. Glass tokkuri are
sometimes made with a small ice container to keep
the sake chilled.
Masu - A masu is the Japanese word for a small box,
usually made of Japanese cedar. It is not really a sake
service vessel because the wood taints the sake. These
boxes were historically used for measuring rice rather
than drinking sake. Most are a standard 180 ml (6 US fl.
oz.), but some are slightly smaller (144 ml). Despite their
disadvantages as a service vessel, sake is occasionally
drunk out of a masu at ceremonial occasions.
Sake Service Measures
It is useful to know how many measures you can get
from a standard 720 ml (24 US fl. oz.) bottle, or from
the larger 1.8 l (3.8 pints) bottles that are more widely
seen in Japan. The details are summarised in Table 7.
can significantly affect the behaviour of anyone who
consumes too much {often in very socially unacceptable
and dangerous ways). For some people it can be highly
addictive and, when consumed to excess, it can have
a negative impact on both short- and long-term health.
In some cultures alcohol is not considered socially
acceptable and its consumption is therefore banned
as a result.
In countries where alcohol consumption is permitted,
most governments control access to alcohol and limit
its potentially harmful effects.
Many governments also place limits on the marketing
and sale of alcohol. This can be through voluntary
industry codes, through direct legislation, or a
combination of both.
For the countries where there are no official
government guidelines, it is recommended that the
internationally recognised World Health Organization
low risk responsible drinking guidelines are followed.
Taking a unit as 12 ml pure ethanol {equivalent to
about 75 ml or 2.5 US fl. oz. of sake), these are:
Women should not drink more than two units a day
on average.
For men, not more than three units a day on average.
Try not to exceed four units on any one occasion.
Don't drink alcohol in some situations, such as when
driving, if pregnant or in certain work situations, and
abstain from drinking at least once a week.
Men or women who consistently drink more than these
recommended levels face increased risks to their
health.

Sakeand Food Sake does not just pair well with Japanese food: it can be enjoyably
consumed alongside many international dishes. Understanding the
principles behind successful and unsuccessful pairings will help you identify matches with dishes
from the widest range of cuisines.
Food that is consumed with any beverage has an effect
on the way that beverage tastes, and the beverage can
also have an effect on the taste of food. The purpose
of food and beverage pairing is to take advantage of
these effects, so that ideally both the food and the
beverage provide more pleasure than either would
when consumed separately. Knowledge of these
effects will also help avoid negative or unpleasant
interactions.
It is often said in Japan that 'sake does not fight
with food', and it is common practice for one sake to
be consumed with many different dishes. Equally, a
range of different sakes may be consumed in many
combinations with the dishes served during a meal.
This practice is different from the sometimes very
detailed attention given to pairing specific wines with
specific dishes, but the nature of sake lends itself to
this approach. Sake has low levels of the elements
(such as acidity or bitterness) that can cause problems
when consuming other beverages alongside food. This
makes it especially versatile and means that as long
as the guest likes drinking sake, it is unlikely that any
dish will make a good sake taste unpleasant.
In addition to understanding the basic taste
interactions between food and sake, it is important to
remember that people have different sensitivities to
various flavour and aroma components, meaning that
the same level of bitterness, for example, can affect
one person much more strongly than another (this is
different from a personal preference - some people
like strong reactions while others find them unpleasant).
Pairings should therefore take into account both the
preferences and the sensitivities of the individual, as
well as the basic interactions between food and sake.
PRIMARY FOOD AND BEVERAGE TASTE
INTERACTIONS
When you place food in your mouth, your taste buds
adapt so that the perception of levels of sugar, salt,
acid, etc. of the next item to be tasted can be altered.
An extreme example is when orange juice becomes
unpleasantly acidic when consumed immediately after
using toothpaste. In addition to this, some foods such
as chocolate or thick creamy dishes can have a mouth-
coating effect that impairs the sense of taste.
In simple terms there are two components in food
(sweetness and umami) that tend to make beverages
taste 'harder' (more drying and bitter, more acidic,
less sweet and less fruity), and two components (salt
SAKE AND FOOD 31
6
and acid) whose presence in food tends to make
beverages taste 'softer' (less drying and bitter, less
acidic, sweeter and more fruity). Generally, food has
more impact on the way a beverage will taste than the
other way round, and in particular is more likely to have
a negative impact. These interactions are summarised
in Table 9.
Umami in Food
Umami is a savoury taste, and is distinct from the other
primary tastes, although it can be difficult to isolate.
Whereas sweetness can be illustrated in isolation with
sugar, salt with sodium chloride and acidity with a
number of acids (e.g. tartaric acid), umami tends to be
present with other tastes (with saltiness in Monosodium
Glutamate (MSG)) or with other flavours (e.g. in cooked
or dried mushrooms). One of the simplest ways to
experience it is to compare the taste of a raw button
mushroom with one that has been microwaved for
30 seconds. The umami taste of the mushroom is
greatly increased by the cooking. Umami can also be
experienced by tasting MSG - either by eating a few
grains, or in a weak solution. Note, however, that in this
form, the umami taste is combined with a salt taste.
Many foods that are considered difficult to pair
contain high levels of umami without salt to counteract
the hardening effects on the beverage. These include
asparagus, eggs, mushrooms and ripe soft cheeses.
Other foods that are high in umami also tend to be high
in salt, which can counteract the impact of umami on
the sake (see below). These include cured or smoked
seafood and meats, and hard cheeses (especially
Parmesan).
Japanese cuisine is notable for using high levels of
umami in ingredients such as dashi (broth), dried bonito
flakes, seaweed, soy, miso, mushrooms and seafood.
This can make it delicious and satisfying even when
there is very little fat or oil. Japanese dishes also
tend to be high in salt. The low levels of acidity and
bitterness in sake mean that the high levels of umami
rarely cause problems when pairing with sake.
Bitterness in Food
Sensitivity to bitter tastes varies greatly from person to
person. Generally, bitter tastes add to each other, so
bitterness in the food alone may be at a pleasant level,
and the bitterness in the beverage may be balanced,
but together the bitter elements can combine to reach
an unpleasant level. Bitterness is found in certain
32 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY
Table 9: Summary of taste interactions between food and sake.
COM PONENT IN FOOD PRIMARY INTERACTIONS WITH SAKE
Sweetness Increasesperceptionof acidity
Decreasesperceptionof sweetnessandfruitiness slight increasein alcoholburningeffect
Umami(Savoury) Increasesperceptionof acidity
Decreasesperceptionof sweetnessandfruitiness slight increasein alcoholburningeffect
Acidity Increasesperceptionof sweetnessandfruitiness
Decreasesperceptionof acidity
Salt Increasesperceptionof sweetnessandfruitiness
Decreasesacidity
Bitterness
ChilliHeat
Japanese dishes, but the absence of bitterness in sake
means that it can be paired with these dishes without
problems .
Chilli Heat in Food
Chilli heat is a tactile (touch) sensation rather than one
of taste and levels of sensitivity can vary greatly from
person to person . Not only are some people more
sensitive than others, but there is also huge variation
in how pleasant or unpleasant this effect feels to the
individual. The intensity of the reaction and burning
sensation increases with the level of alcohol in the
beverage. Some people enjoy this effect.
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
Flavour Intensity - It is usually desirable for the flavour
intensities of the food and beverage to be matched so
that one does not overpower the other . However, in
some circumstances, an intensely flavoured food (such
as a curry) can be successfully partnered with a lightly
flavoured beverage - such as a simple honjozo sake.
Equally, some lightly flavoured desserts can be
successfully partnered with intensely flavoured sweet
sakes.
Acid and Fat
Most people find the combination of acidic beverages
with fatty or oily foods to be very satisfying. The pairing
provides a pleasant sensation of the acidic drink
'cutting through' the richness of the food, and cleaning
up the palate. This is a subjective effect. Most Japanese
dishes are low in fat or oil, and the low levels of acidity
in sake mean this effect is quite subtle, when it occurs.
Sweet and Salty
Also subjective is the pleasure of combining sweet and
salty flavours, but this is a combination many people
OTHER EFFECTS
Increasesperceptionof bitterness(wherepresent),
Decreasesbody
Increasesperceptionof bitterness(wherepresent),
Decreasesperceptionof body
Slightincreasein body
Slightincreasein perceptionof body
Addsto the perceptionof bitternessin the sake
(wherepresent)
Increasesperceptionof bitterness,acidityand
alcoholburningeffect
Decreasesperceptionof body,richness,sweetness
andfruitiness
enjoy , and leads to some very successful food and
beverage pairings , such as sweet sake and blue
cheese .
Sake and Fish
There are elements in sake that seem to reduce the
intensity of fish flavours . This effect is generally more
noticeable injunmai and honjozo than in ginjo styles
of sake.
APPLYING THE PRINCIPLES
The principles described above apply to any pairing of
food with any beverage - wine, spirits or beer, as well
as sake.
Because people vary in their sensitivities and
preferences, there is no simple answer to the questions
about which sakes go best with which dishes and the
host or sommelier should accept that their guests may
not agree about which pairings work.
When selecting sakes to partner dishes it can be
helpful to divide dishes and sakes into high risk and
low risk . Of course, most foods contain more than one
of the structural components listed below so there are
many possible permutations.
Other beverages are much more likely to contain
elements that can cause conflict with food . Wines are
higher in acidity and red wine has bitter tannins. Beers
have bitter flavours from hops. Spirits are high in
alcohol. Sake is low in acidity and slightly sweet, with
little or no bitterness or astringency, so tends to be
easy to pair - even with foods that are high in umami
or bitterness. Sake does not fight with food .
High-risk Foods
• Sugar - Dishes high in sugar should be paired with
a sake that has at least as much sugar, otherwise the
sake can taste too dry and thin.

Acid - Dishes high in acidity should be paired with
sakes that are also relatively high in acidity,
otherwise the sake can taste flat, flabby and
unfocused .
• Chilli heat - Dishes high in chilli heat should be
paired with sakes that are lighter in alcohol and
have some sweetness. Sweetness helps soften the
increased burning sensation that results from the
alcohol level in sake, wtiich is generally higher than
the level in wine or beer.
• Intense flavours - Dishes that are very intense in
flavour can easily overwhelm the delicate flavours
of most sake.
Low-risk Foods
Most foods are low risk, even if they have some level
of sugar, acid, chilli heat or flavour intensity .
• Salt - Dishes high in salt are especially good at
enhancing the flavours of sake .
SAKE AND FOOD 33
High-risk Sakes
The more structural components in the sake (and food),
the more possible taste interactions there will be. This
makes pairing more complicated but also provides
potential for more interesting results. Sake has low
levels of the components that make food and beverage
pairing challenging (or interesting!), but there are some
styles that need to be paired with care.
Many koshu sakes are very intense in flavour and
can overwhelm some dishes .
Some ginjo-style sakes are very del icate and can be
overwhelmed by some dishes.
Low-risk Sakes
Most other sakes are low-risk.
Other sakes that satisfy these criteria should also be
successful pairings .
34 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY
RiceCultivationRice is the primary and defining ingredient of sake, and no other grain
7 can be used to make sake. However, rice itself only has a relatively
subtle impact on the aroma and flavour characteristics of most sakes. Nevertheless, these effects are
important and the variety of rice, as well as how it is grown, are key concerns of the brewer.
RICE SUITABLE FOR SAKE
Rice is a type of grass, planted from seed each spring
and harvested in the autumn, leaving no viable part of
the plant behind. Rice plants are propagated by
planting seeds harvested from the previous crop. This
is the same as other cereals such as barley and wheat,
and in contrast to fruit crops such as grapes or apples .
This growing cycle affects how plant material is
selected and propagated, as well as how it is grown.
There are broadly two types of Asian rice (Oryzae
sativa):
lndica (long-grained)
• Japonica (short-grained).
Each of these can further be categorised as being more
or less glutinous (sticky). The stickiness of the rice once
cooked is related to the shape of the starch molecules.
Japanese sake is brewed fromjaponica rice varieties
that have been bred to be particularly non-sticky . The
most important reason to use non-sticky rice is that it is
easy to handle, whereas sticky rice sticks together . The
starch in non-sticky rice has the additional advantage
that it is easier for the koji enzymes to break down into
sugar (see the section Starch in this chapter) .
Sake-specific Rice (Shuzo koteki mai)
Most sake uses rice varieties that are also suitable for
eating called 'table rice'. However, the proteins, lipids,
vitamins and minerals that give table rice its flavour are
undesirable when trying to make refined and elegant
styles of premium sake. For this reason most premium
sakes use specially-developed types of sake-specific
rice (Shuzo koteki mat) that are better suited to
brewing. They have the following features :
a low protein content
a well-defined shinpaku (the white, opaque section
at the centre of the rice kernel, made up of starch
granules) that is ideally flat and disc-shaped
large grains (25-30 g/per 1000 grains)
resistant to cracking when being polished
good water absorbency and is broken down easily
by enzymes during the brewing process.
The low protein content ensures that the sake made
from this rice contains less amino acids and peptides.
Having large grains and being resistant to cracking
ensures that the small amounts of undesirable
components can be completely removed. Grains that
are larger at the start of the polishing process remain
larger (and easier to continue polishing) once a high
percentage has been polished away. If the rice cracks
during the polishing processes, this will lead to a less
effective removal of undesirable components .
Good water absorbency ensures the water can
penetrate deep into the grain during washing, soaking
and steaming. The high water content in the rice grain
also helps the rice break up more easily during the
fermentation. As a rice grain breaks up during
fermentation its starch dissolves into the liquid, making
it available to be converted into sugar for the yeast to
feed on.
In 2015 there were just over 100 registered sake-
specific rice varieties in Japan. Nearly half of these
were registered after 2000 , and new varieties are
added most years. The two most popular varieties
(Yamada-nishiki and Gohyakuman-goku) combined
make up over half of all sake-specific rice production.
Yamada-nishki, Gohyakuman-goku and Miyama-
nishiki have been the top three sake-specific rice
varieties for over a decade.
After these three, there are a number of rice
varieties, each of which currently account for about 1-2
per cent (2015) of total sake-specific rice. Some are
becoming more popular with farmers and brewers;
others are in decline . In some cases the changes are
rapid; the fourth most widely grown rice varieties 10
years ago and 15 years ago are no longer in the current
top 10. On the other hand, the current number four
(Dewa-sansan) is rising rapidly, after being registered
as a sake-specific rice as recently as 1997.
RICE CULTIVATION
For historical reasons, it is very unusual for a brewer
to grow their own rice , although it is no longer illegal
to do so (as it was in the second half of the twentieth
century). Rice is cultivated by farmers, often on a small
scale, and the most common procedure is for sake
brewers to purchase rice from Prefectural Brewers
Associations (who can provide loans to purchase the
rice). The Prefectural Brewers Associations then source
rice from Agricultural Co-operative Associations, who
in turn are supplied by the rice growers. As the market
trend is shifting towards the integration of growing and
brewing, there are now a few breweries growing their
own rice, or collaborating with local farmers to support
local ingredient sources for sake production, but this

YAMADA-NISHI
Kl
• Mainregion- Mainlyin Hyogoprefecture
(about80 per cent),and in the south-west.
Production- About30 per cent of the total
sake-specificrice.
GOHYAKUMAN-GOKU
Mainregion- Niigataprefecture,but also
popularin prefecturesthat neighbourNiigata
in the west coastof Japan.
Production -About 25 per centof the total
sake-specificrice.
MIYAMA-NISHIKI
Mainregion- Naganoprefecture,but alsothe
mountainousnorth-east(Tohoku).
• Production- About10 per centof the total
sake-specificrice.
DEWA·SANSAN
Mainregion- Yamagataprefecture(almost
noneis grownoutsidethis prefecture).
Production- About2 per cent of sake-specific
rice.
J !"'~
OMACHI
• Mainregion- Okayamaprefecture,with some
alsogrownin neighbouringHiroshimaand a
few other south-westernprefectures.
~roduction- About2 per cent of sake-specific 1
ore. ~ Omachisakestend to be particularlyrich-textured,earthyand
RICE CULTIVATION 35
Yamada-nishiki is knownas the 'king' of sakerice varieties.It
hasbeenaroundsincethe 1930s,and remainspopularfor many
reasons.Its exceptionallylargegrainsand large,well-defined
shinpakumakeit idealfor polishingdownto extremelylow rice
polishingratios,idealfor ginjo and daiginjostyles.
Thesesakeshavethe potentialto havegreatdepthof flavour
with a generous,full, soft texture,combinedwith purityand
precision.Aromatically,it is light in intensity,allowingyeastto
expressthemselves.
Althoughthe grainsare slightlysmallerthan Yamada-nishiki,
Gohyakuman-goku alsobehavesverywell whenpolished.It is
especiallygoodfor makingkoji. Its namemeans'five million
koku' (or '900 millionlitres'),which celebratesan anniversary
whenthe total rice productionin Niigataexceededthis level.
Thesesakestend to havevery light aromas,texturesand
flavours,makingthis varietyespeciallysuitablefor the styleof
sakethat Niigatais mostknownfor: light, simple,delicateand
dry with a shortclean(kire)finish.
Miyama-nishikiis well adaptedto growingin cool, mountainous
conditions.Grainsare a similarsizeto Gohyakuman-goku, i.e.
slightlysmallerthan Yamada-nishiki.
Miyama-nishikisakestend to be rich and robust,sometimes
evenwith somegrip andgraininessin their texture.Thiscould
reflectproductiontraditionsin Naganoas muchas the difference
betweenMiyama-nishikiand Gohyakuman-goku, but when
competingin the Tokyomarket,Naganosakes(fromMiyama-
nishik1)differentiatethemselvesfrom Niigatasakes(madefrom
Gohyakuman-goku) by beingsweeter,richerand morerobust.
Thearomastend to be restrained,moreso than Yamada-nishiki.
Dewa-sansanhasbecomea specialityof Yamagataprefecture.
Junmaiginjo sakesbrewedfrom localrice, water,yeastandkoji,
and usingthe Dewa-sansanricevarietycan,if they passa strict
tastingtest, brandthemselvesas 'Dewa33'.
Dewa33sakeshavepurityanddepthof flavour,typicallywith
a subtleherbalelementin their aromas.
Omachiis oneof the oldestsakevarieties,havingbeenregistered
as a sakerice in 1866.It hasverylargegrains;Omachiand
~ Yamada-nishiki arethe two largest-grained
majorsake-specific
ricevarieties,andlike Yamada-nishiki
the shinpakuis alsolarge.
However,the shape(fat,ratherthan disc-like)andtexture(soft)of
the shinpakumakesOmachiverydifficultto polish.Despitethis,
manyginjo anddaiginjosakesare madefromOmachi.
spicy,with higherumamiandlesspuritythanthe otherfour
leadingsakevarieties.Thesecharacteristics
meanOmachi-based
sakesareoftendeliciousservedwarm.
36 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY

INSIDE THE RICE GRAIN

STARCH for life and therefore it makescompletesensethat living things

Starchfeaturesin a numberof chaptersin this section.
Thereforeit is helpfulto bring this informationtogether in one
placeso that the role playedby starchcan be seen from start
to finish.
What is Starch?
Plants,fungi and animalsrely on sugar moleculesto give them
energyso that they can live, grow and reproduce.Sugaris vital
shouldwant to have reservesof sugarto supportthem in the
event of shortages.It is not very practicalto store sugar
becauseto do so would be very spaceinefficient.Thereare
manysolutionsto this problem and the one that is commonly
found in plantsis starch.
Starchis madeup of sugar moleculesthat are bonded
together into long chains.Whenextendinga starchmolecule
by adding anothersugar molecule,there are two waysthis can

THE STRUCTURE OF A RICE GRAIN

This diagram is a simplified cross section of a sake-specific rice grain.

Husk Shinpaku
Thisis a hardoutercoveringthat is Thisis a particularfeatureof sake-
designedto protectthe grain.It is specificricethat is missingin table rice.
removedimmediatelyafter harvesting. Theshinpakuis a clearlydefinedsection
Oncethe huskis removedwhat at the centreof the endospermthat is
remainsis brownrice,which hasa madewith round-shapedgranulesof
polishingratio of 100%. starchthat are held in placeby the
surroundingendosperm.Theshinpaku
looksopaquelike frostedglass.It is
particularlygoodat absorbingwater
and is very suitablefor koji making.

Bran
The browncolouredbranis made -----t ~
up of a numberof individuallayers.
Thereis a lot of starchin the bran
but there are alsonotablyhigh
levelsof proteins,lipids,vitamins
and minerals.Thebranis removed
during polishing,changingthe
grainsfrom brownriceto white rice.
Ricewith the branon can in theory
be usedto makeajunmai sakebut Endosperm
this is extremelyrare. Thewhite layersbelowthe branare
collectivelyknownas the endosperm.
Theyare very high in starchbut the
Germ outer layersof the endospermalso
Thisis the part of the grain containsomeof the other components
that will grow into a new rice of rice (proteins,lipids,vitaminsand
plant.Thisis removedduring minerals).The levelof these
polishing. componentsis muchlower in sake-
specificricethan it is in table rice.
 RICE CULTIVATION 37

still represents a very small proportion of premium

sake .
Unlike most of the rice grown in Asia and Europe,
where rice is generally cultivated in dry fields, all
happen. The simplest way is for a sugar molecule to be added Japanese rice is produced in irrigated rice fields
at the end to make the starch chain longer without changing its {paddies), using techniques imported from China over
shape. The more complicated way is that it can be added to a thousand years ago.
create a side branch to the starch molecule, which can then The target for producing sake-specific rice is
be extended in a line or by further branches. Becauseof the different from table rice. Table rice grains can remain
presence of branching, the structure of these chains is small but sake-specific rice growers need the rice
complex. The former structure with an almost straight chain of to grow fully to produce large grains with a large
glucose is called amylase, while the latter structure with a lot shinpaku, and these take longer to ripen. In order
of branches is called amylopectin. to help with this sake-specific rice, growers only use
fertiliser in a limited way. This is a very different
If the starch molecules in a rice grain are made up of 100 per approach from how farmers grow table rice. These
cent amylopectin then the rice is said to be sticky or glutinous. farmers use increasingly large amounts of fertiliser as
If a rice grain contains about 80 per cent amylopectin and the growing season progresses in order to increase
20 per cent amylase then the rice is called non-sticky or non- yields and increase the flavoursome components in the
glutinous. Regardlessof their structure, rice grains store starch rice grain {proteins , lipids, vitamins , minerals). If a sake-
in the same way. Starch molecules are rolled up into extremely specific rice grower were to take a similar approach
tight balls surrounded by a protective shell that makesthem there would be a significant risk that the extra flavour
both insoluble in water and incredibly space efficient. component would result in undesirable flavours and
a coarse texture in the sake.
Starchto SugarConversion
in Sake
It is these balls of starch that a sake brewer has to break down The Rice-growing Year
into sugar. In order to be able to do this the brewer first needs Okinawa is the only part of Japan with a long enough,
to break open the tight balls of starch. One way of doing this is and hot enough growing season to ripen two crops of
to heat them in the presence of water and in sake brewing this rice a year. Rice cultivation in the rest of Japan follows
heat comes from steam. The heat breaks the bonds that hold the cycle below, but precise dates vary due to the
the balls together and the starch molecules are able to differences in climate, and the differences in rice
unravel. This change in the starch structure is called varieties used .
gelatinisation, which means that raw starch has been cooked The key dates of the rice growing year are:
and softened. transplanting seedlings into the field {late April to
Once the starch is gelatinised, the next step is to break it mid-June)
up into its constituent sugar molecules using enzymes.A rice appearance of the ears of grain {August to early
grain could supply these enzymes only if the germ had not September)
been polished away, and so instead sake brewers use harvesting, drying and removing the husks {late
enzymes produced by koji mould. The enzymes cut up the September to October).
starch molecules into increasingly smaller pieces until sugar
molecules are produced. However, yellow koji mould cannot The rice-growing year is shown in more detail on
produce all the enzymes present in the rice germ and, as a pages 38-39. However, here it is worth noting that
result, in sake brewing the starch is not completely broken most farmers do not grow the rice from seeds . Typically
down. The koji mould enzymes are able to cut up the chains they buy seedlings that are ready to be transplanted
that make up the straight parts of various branchesof the from growers that have had them certified by the
starch molecule. However, where the chains branch, the Japan Agricultural Co-operatives Group, known as JA.
chemical structure is different: the koji mould enzymescannot
cut up this part of the starch molecule. These branching Ideal Soils for Sake-specific Rice
sections that remain intact are called limit dextrins. They Rice paddies are ideally located in areas where there
cannot be fermented by the yeast and are present in the final is a natural basin in the land so that it is easier to flood
sake. These dextrins have no flavour but give sake its unique and drain the field in a controlled way. The soil should
mouthcoating texture. be deep enough so that any bedrock does not disrupt
The dissolving of the starch, and the breaking up of the rice root growth. Growers need soils that:
grain are related, but different, processes that happen during benefit from gluey substances, deposited by both
the fermentation. To simplify discussions, sake professionals plants and small animals, that help retain water
sometimes refer to the combined effect as 'melting', 'digesting' contain a high percentage of clay particles {clay
or 'dissolving' of the rice. particles are very small and help retain water and
fertilisers)
are rich in nutrients {especially nitrogen)
38 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY

THE RICE-GROWING YEAR

This diagram shows and describes the key stages in the rice-growing year and when they typically happen.

8: Drying, and Removing the Husks (late September to October)

After harvest,the rice is dried until it hasa moisturecontentof 14-15per cent. The rice
grainsare then readyto be threshed(to removethe husks)and stored.Dehuskedrice
is morecommonlycalled brownrice.
At a moisturelevelof 14-15per cent,the grainscan be storedfor long periods.
Abovethis level,the moisturecan leadto rot. Belowthis level,there is an
increasedrisk of the grainscrackingwhenthey are handled.As well as
makingit possibleto store the rice safely,this moisturelevel is an
agreedstandardfor definingthe weightof rice whentradingit.

7: Harvesting (late September to October)

Typicallythe harvesttakes placewhen the vast majorityof the rice
ears haveripenedfrom greento gold.
If the farmerharveststoo early,there is a higherproportionof
green,unripegrains,whichcan give undesirableflavoursto the
sake.If the farmerharveststoo late,the grainstend to be drier,
leadingto an increasedrisk of crackingwhenthe rice is
harvested,stored,polishedor soaked.
Farmersnormallydrainwater from the field aboutten days
beforethe harvestto completethe ripeningand to loosenup the
roots.Dryingout the soil also makesaccessto the field easierfor
harvestingthe rice.The rice harvestis usuallydone by a
machine,choppingthe stemwith the grainsoff at the base.The
grainsare then separatedfrom the stem.

6: Ripening (late September to October)

Afterfloweringandthe developmentof the grains,severalripening
stagestake place.Duringthese stagesthe internalstructuresof the
grain developand the grainsfill with starch.Thepotentialqualityand
ripenessof a crop can be assessedby:
, the colourof the earsof grain(evenand glossygolden,ratherthan green)
• the numberof leavesleft on each plant (threeleavesis ideal)
• the numberof stemswith an ear of rice (15-20 ears per plant
is ideal, and eachear containsabout90 rice grains)
• the plant havinga strongdeep root when pulledout.

5: Appearance of the Ears (August to early September)

Theearsare structuresthat are commonto all grains.Theygrow on the end of a long stem.Flowers
appearon the ears.Thesebloomfor just two hoursand, once pollinated,developinto rice grains.
Thetiming of the appearanceof the earsdependson the climateand the ricevariety.
 RICE CULTIVATION 39

1, 2: Growing Seedlings (March to May)

Beforesowingthe rice seedsthat havebeensavedand storedfrom the previousyear,growersmust
selectseedsof a suitablequality.Theselectedseedsare washedto removedirt and fungal
sporesthat cancausedisease.Theyare then soakedin waterto encouragegermination.
Forwet rice cultivation,the seedsare not plantedin fieldsstraightaway.Theyarefirst
sownin containersholdingfertilisedsoil, creatingsmall'mats' of seedlingsthat can
be plantedlater.Theyare grownin a protectedareasuchas a greenhouseuntil
they are 15-20 cm long.Thenthey are transplantedinto a rice paddy.
Meanwhile,the farmerspreparethe rice paddy.

3: Transplanting Seedlings into the Field (late April to mid-

June)
Transplantingis usuallydonemechanicallyby a small,swimming
tractorthat plantsthe seedlingsin evenlyspacedstraightrows.This
helpsencourageeven growthand makesweeding(whenneeded)
as easyas possible.If the fields are overcrowdedthey couldyield
morerice grainsbut eachricegrainwould be smaller,and if the
plantsare too widely spaced,the rice qualityand growthcan
becomeinconsistent.
Thetransplantingseasonvariesdependingon the ricevariety
and regionalclimates.Formostof Japan,the plantingout
generallyoccursearlier(earlyto mid-May)in the coolernorth-
eastregionsand later (earlyto mid-June)in the warmer
south-westregions.
Goodsunnyweatherafter transplantingis essentialto create
strong,healthyrice plants.Normallyfarmersflood the field with
water,up to three-quartersof the lengthof the seedling,andtreat
it with herbicideto protectthe rice plantsfrom havingto compete
with weeds.

4: Draining and Re-flooding the Paddy (late June to late

September)
Throughoutthe growingseasonthe paddieswill be regularlydrainedand
re-flooded.Thereare a numberof reasonsfor this.
If the rice paddyremainsconstantlyflooded,vegetationthat is submerged
without oxygencreatespoisonousacidsand gasesas it rots.Thesedisruptthe healthy
growthof the rice plants.Dryingthe fields givesthe rottingvegetationaccessto oxygen,
enablingit to decomposein a waythat helpsprovidenutrientsfor the rice plant. These
nutrientssoakinto the soil as the field is drained.
Alsothe drier periodsencouragethe rice plantsto grow as required.Duringthe dry periods
verticalgrowth slowsandthe plantsput moreenergyinto creatinglargegrains.Furthermore,the rice
plantsdevelopstrongerroot systemsso that they are better ableto supportthemselvesas the grainsripen.
40 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY
are free of volcanic ash, which can disrupt rice
growing.
In order to maintain their soil, farmers need to work it
before the seedlings are transplanted . In the spring
the soil is broken up into fine particles and mixed
thoroughly with the water . The resulting sludge holds
water well and allows the paddy to be flooded. Water
slowly drains away and can be replaced via irrigation
channels . The advantage of flooding the fields is that
it is very difficult for weeds to grow; seeds sink and
cannot access the oxygen and light they need to grow.
Topping-up the level of nutrients in the soil is the
other key concern of the farmer. The most important
components of fertilisers (either organic or synthetic)
used in the cultivation of sake-specific rice are nitrogen
compounds . Rice needs very high levels of nitrogen to
grow successfully and develop large grains with large
shinpaku . The other nutrient that is very important in
the formation of a large shinpaku is calcium .
The level of nitrogen needed means that sake-
specific rice can rarely be grown without the use of
fertilisers . Fertiliser is generally added three times :
when the seeds are sown, when they are planted out,
and when the plant begins to grow rapidly before the
ears of grain appear .
Farmers do use organic fertilisers either from manure
or composted parts of the rice plant. However, sake-
specific rice is rarely grown organically. The rice plant's
demand for nitrogen is so high, synthetic , nitrogen-rich
fertilisers are nearly always used.
Ideal Weather Conditions for Sake-specific Rice
Between transplanting the seedlings and the
appearance of the ears the farmers want sunny and
warm weather. The ideal daytime temperature is about
22 °C (72°F), with high levels of sunlight and cool nights.
During the ripening stage between the appearance
of the ears and harvesting, the farmers continue to
need warm daytime temperatures (about 20-25°C ,
68-77 °F) with long hours of sunshine . There should be
a marked cooling during the night and ideally night -time
temperatures should be about 9.5°C (50°F) cooler than
the days . At this time high winds present a significant
risk. Windy weather during flowering can disrupt
fertilisation, leading to fewer grains . High winds,
especially typhoons, later in the season can damage
the rice plants.
If the temperature is too cool during ripening, the
starch molecules in the rice grain become very
branched, rather than straight, and therefore
increasingly glutinous. This leads to the rice being less
favourable for sake production (see section Starch in
this chapter).
If the weather stays too hot during ripening, or if the
nights are too warm, or if there is a lack of sunlight ,
then the rice grains struggle to ripen . They will
therefore contain proportionally more protein and are
more prone to cracking . Climate change means this is
increasingly a problem.
ASSESSING AND GRADING THE QUALITY OF
SAKE RICE
The most common way for brewers to source rice is
for them to buy it from local (prefectural) sake brewers'
associations, who in turn buy rice from agricultural
co-operatives, who in turn buy it from the individual
farmers. These transactions require standardised
measures of quality.
Quality grades are defined by the Japanese
government , and government-employed inspectors
grade rice before sale. Premium sake (tokutei-meisho-
shu) must, by law, be made from rice that has passed
inspection. Uninspected and ungraded rice can be
used for sake, but only for non-premium sake (futsO-
shu). Listed with the highest quality grade first, the
quality grades are:
Above special (toku-jo)
Special (toku)
First Grade
Second Grade
Third Grade .
The first two of these are only used for grading rice
destined for sake . The other grades apply to both sake
rice and table rice. There are rice grades below the
Third Grade , but these cannot be used for premium
sake . The official government quality classification is
based on the following criteria :
moisture content (too much risks rot, and too little
increases the likelihood of cracking during polishing)
the percentage that are broken , cracked or under-
ripened (the smaller the percentage the better) .
Grain size is also important (larger is better) but this is
not included in the criteria of rice quality grading .
Unsurprisingly, the price of sake-specific rice
depends on the quality, and varies depending on the
availability and demand each season. Sake-specific rice
costs more than table rice. Yamada-nishiki costs more
than most other varieties, and the best yamada-nishiki
can cost more than three times as much as standard
sake-specific rice .

RicePreparationRice goes through a four-stage process to prepare it for brewing. The
brewer starts with hard and dry brown rice and ends up with white
steamed rice. The choices that are made throughout these four stages can have a significant impact
on the style of sake that can be made from the steamed rice.
THE AIMS OF THE BREWER
Rice has the great advantage that it can be stored for
weeks or even months without rotting or severely
degrading, as long as it has been dried to a moisture
level of 15 per cent. This means that the stored rice can
be steadily processed in small batches, day by day,
throughout the brewing season. However, rice has the
disadvantage that its energy is stored as solid starch,
rather than fermentable sugar.
In order to make this starch available , the rice needs
to go through four processes: polishing, washing,
soaking and steaming . These processes help the brewer
in other ways too . Altogether there are three things the
brewer is looking to achieve during rice preparation .
Reduce the levels of proteins, lipids, vitamins and
minerals in the rice grain {when their levels are too
high, these lead to faster fermentations and add
flavour, texture and acidity to the sake, when this is
not usually desired) .
Adjust the amount and distribution of moisture within
the rice grain (helping koji mould to penetrate to the
centre and helping the grains to break up more
easily during fermentation).
Gelatinise the starch so that the koji mould enzymes
can break the starch into sugar.
PREPARING THE RICE
Each of the individual processes used to prepare the
rice (polishing, washing, soaking and steaming) need
to be considered as one part of a wider set of choices
a brewer makes in order to achieve the desired styles
of sake .
For example, if a robust and flavoursome style of
sake is sought, then faster ferments at higher
temperatures and higher levels of koji activity may
be desirable. Rice suitable for this style of sake does
not need to be so highly polished, and the water
absorption rate does not need to be so limited or
precise. On the other hand, if the producer seeks to
make a delicate, light-textured daiginjo, then merely
polishing the rice to the required degree is not
sufficient. Careless washing, or excessive, or uneven
soaking or steaming, could lead to high levels of koji
enzyme, koji flavours, and the rice breaking up too
quickly, all of which will result in a fermentation that is
too fast to create a daiginjo-style sake.
Polishing
When the rice is ready to be used to make sake, the
RICE PREPARATION 41
8
stored rice is polished . Rice polishing is one of the
criteria in the grading system of premium sake. The
maximum rice polishing ratios (seimai-bua,) are defined
for most grades . Although the main component of
rice grains is starch, the bran and outer layers of the
endosperm contain proteins, lipids, vitamins and
minerals. All these nutrients are important for the
growth of koji and yeast. However, an overabundance
accelerates the koji propagation and the fermentation.
High levels of sugar and very active, warm
fermentations would make it very difficult to achieve
the precise and elegant flavours that need a relatively
long and cool fermentation in order to develop . Rice
proteins are also one source of the umami taste of
sake, but too much rice protein results in rough and
heavy textures .
The rice is polished mechanically using a high-speed
rotating roller. This process has to be done slowly and
gently, otherwise the rice grains dry out and become
cracked due to the heat and friction from polishing.
Some rice varieties, such as yamada-nishiki, are
particularly good at surviving long periods of polishing
without cracking or completely crumbling.
Before the widespread adoption of mechanical rice
polishing in the first half of the twentieth century, the
polishing process was done by hand or by watermills,
limiting the level to which rice could be polished; ginjo
levels below 60 per cent seimai-buai were impossible.
The first ginjo-style sakes became possible when the
modern vertical rice-polishing machine was developed
around 1930, but these were initially limited to
competition sakes. It took until the 1980s before this
technology (and the required brewing techniques)
were widespread enough to support the 'ginjo boom'
as this new style became popular.
The structure of a vertical rice-polishing machine is
rather simple . From the rice tank on the top, brown
(unpolished) rice is dropped into the polishing column .
This normally consists of a vertical barrel with an
abrasive rock grinding roller (whetstone) inside. Usually
the polishing has two different stages. Initially, a coarse
grinding roller rapidly removes the bran and outer grain
of rice. Later, it switches to a finer-textured grinding
roller with a slower speed for the later stage when the
rice gets smaller and more sensitive to the shock of
friction. Although it is an automated process, the exact
timing of when to switch the roller layers and polishing
speed tends to be changed depending on the
characteristics of the rice variety . Below the polishing
42 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY

RICEPOLISHING

A number of rice- polishing

machinesin a large
brewery. Theactual
polishingtakes place in the
cone shapedstructures.
Ricebeing stored in large
bags can be seen on the
right of the image.

Grainsof riceshowing
differentpolishingratios.
The indentationon the
bottomof the unpolished
grainof riceis wherethe
germusedto be.

100% 70% 60% 50% 35%

column, on the bottom of machine, there is a screen to Washing

retain the rice powder that has been removed (which
is called nuka) . The rice grains go back to the top tank
by a bucket conveyer to travel through the polishing
tube repeatedly until the rice is polished to the ratio
that has been decided. To polish 600 kg brown rice,
it takes:
roughly 10 hours to reach 70 per cent seimai-buai
(honjozo level)
roughly 45 hours to reach 50 per cent seimai-buai
(daiginjo level)
increasingly longer to reach each further 10 per cent.
When the target seimai-buai is achieved, the rice is
rested to allow it to cool down and reabsorb some of
the moisture lost during polishing. This reduces the
risk of cracks appearing on the rice caused by an
immediate temperature change when it is later washed
in cold water. Depending on the climate, it can take
between three to four weeks for the polished rice to
first cool and then absorb the correct amount of
moisture.
After the rice has finished resting, it is washed to
remove any remaining nuka, which is made up of
undesirable components that the producer has
attempted to remove by polishing. The ideal is to
remove all of the dust without allowing the rice to
reabsorb too much water, and for the water that is
absorbed to be absorbed evenly by all of the grains.
Hand-washing in small batches is the traditional way
and is still carried out for premium sakes. However,
recent improvements made to rice-washing machines
have made it possible to wash rice as perfectly and
thoroughly as the hand-washing method. These new
machines blow fine air bubbles through the water
replicating hand stirring, which brings all the rice in
contact with the water and gets the dusts off the rice.
For mass production, especially for futsO-shu, brewers
use large scale washing tanks.
Soaking
After washing, the rice is soaked to increase its water
content to the optimal level before steaming. The

overall moisture level is typically raised to around
30-35 per cent, but varies depending on the type of
rice and the polishing ratio, and whether the rice will
be used for koji.
If it is soaked for too long, the outside of the grains
absorb too much water. There are two reasons why
this is not good for sake quality. First, if the rice is
destined to become koji, the mould will grow too
quickly without producing the appropriate levels of
koji enzymes. Second, if over-moist rice is used in the
fermentation, it breaks up too quickly during the
fermentation. This results in the yeast having access
to high levels of sugar, causing them to ferment too
quickly and the required flavours do not develop. This
would be a particular problem for ginjo and daiginjo
styles of sake.
Many factors affect the ideal rice soaking time:
The more the rice is polished, the less time it takes
to absorb the water.
Colder water is absorbed by the rice more slowly.
Water temperatures typically range from s•c to 15°C.
The brewer must consider the initial and the target
moisture level, of the rice .
These factors can vary day by day, batch by batch.
Therefore the ideal time for washing and soaking rice
has to be estimated (there is no rigorous formula). The
brewer starts with a few trial batches, experimenting
with adjustments, visually checking the rice and
measuring the water absorbed each time until the
target water-absorption is achieved.
Rice that is less polished (to 70 per cent seimai-buai,
for example), starts off with more moisture, absorbs
water more slowly, and the rate of water absorption
RICE PREPARATION 43
LEFT:Handwashingrice.
The riceis in the metal
containerbeingheldbythe
breweryworker.
RIGHT:Handsoaking.
slows with time. After a couple of hours, when the level
of absorption reaches about 30 per cent, hardly any
more water is absorbed. This is the ideal moisture level
before steaming. Because of this, sake made from less
polished rice does not need to be precisely managed
during the soaking stage, and therefore the rice can
even be left overnight to soak in large batches.
However, more highly polished rice (polished to 50
per cent seimai-buai, for example) is drier and more
porous and therefore absorbs water more quickly. If
left to soak, it will continue to absorb water far beyond
the ideal ratio of about 30 per cent. Additionally, the
ginjo styles of sake made from highly polished rice
tend to require greater precision in the exact levels and
distribution of moisture . This applies equally to both
steamed rice and the rice that is destined to become
koji. This is covered in more detail in Chapter 9
Preparing Koji and Chapter 12 The Main Fermentation
(Moromi).
As well as running regular trials, brewers use a
number of techniques that allow them to be as accurate
as possible and to achieve the correct moisture levels .
The techniques include:
soaking the rice in very small batches
using cold water to slow down absorption
timing the soaking using a stopwatch .
After soaking, the rice must be drained completely,
and is usually left to rest for several hours or overnight
before steaming. Soaked rice is more fragile than
unsoaked rice because of the increased moisture
level in the grains . Therefore, soaked rice needs to
be handled carefully and it is typically steamed less
than 24 hours after soaking has finished.
44 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY
STEAMING
1. Ricebeing loaded into
a traditional batch
steamer.
2. A close up showing
that the rice is loaded
in layers.
3. A traditional steamer in
operation.
Steaming
Steaming has two purposes: it sterilises the rice and,
more importantly, it alters the structure of the starch
molecules, see section Starch in Chapter 7 Rice
Cultivation. It also has the effect of further increasing
the moisture level from the 30 per cent added during
soaking to around 40 per cent.
Rice steaming is typically the first task of the brewing
day. Some large brewers use continuous steamers,
but traditional rice steamers that can only process one
batch at a time are widespread.
When using a traditional steamer, the rice has to
be well drained. It is placed in the steamer either the
night before or the morning of the steaming. Steaming
a 700 kg batch of rice takes about 40-60 minutes.
The rice is loaded into the steamer in layers
separated with cloths. This makes it easier to load and
unload the steamer quickly but it also allows the brewer
to separate easily the batches that are for different
destinations (e.g. the ki5Jiroom and different starter and
main fermentation tanks) after they have been steamed
together .
The aim is for the grains to be evenly cooked and all
to be firm on the outside and soft on the inside but the
level of moisture that is required depends on what the
rice will be used for after steaming .
Rice that is destined to be used in ki5Jiproduction
requires a lower level of moisture compared with rice
that will be added to either the starter or the main
fermentation. The lowest moisture level in a steamer
is found in the top layer of rice, which is the furthest
from the steam inlets. Therefore rice in this top layer is
always used for ki5ji production. As a further means of
controlling the moisture level of this top layer of rice ,
a thick cloth is placed over it to prevent the water
condensation from surfaces above dripping back onto
the rice and making it wet.
The rice from the layers below is added to either
a fermentation starter or a main fermentation . The
highest moisture levels are found at the bottom of the
steamer, but sometimes these levels can be too high.
This is a particular problem if highly polished rice is
being prepared for a ginji5 style of sake. Therefore, in
order to counter this problem, some brewers lay bags
of fake rice, made from polypropylene, on the bottom
of the steamer in order to raise the rice away from the
steam inlets. This prevents the rice on the bottom layer
from becoming too moist.
Some brewers have adopted a technique of using
a special heater to blow dry hot steam just before
finishing the steaming process. The pressure heater
reduces the quantity of water droplets carried in the
steam, and means that the steam can add more heat
and leaves less water on the outside of the rice, to
make it firm on the outside and soft on the inside.
When brewing on a larger scale, continuous
steamers are usually used . The most common type
consists of a conveyor, with an inlet for rice at one end
 RICE PREPARATION 45

A continuoussteamer.
Riceis movedthroughthe
machineon a conveyor
belt.

and an exit for steamed rice at the other. In the first A brewerformsa ricecake
part of the conveyor, nozzles force high-pressure steam with steamedriceto test
into the rice from below. In the second part, the rice is whetherit is ready.
cooled. Whereas traditional steamers take time for the
full mass of rice to warm up and come into contact
with steam, continuous steamers put the rice into
contact with a precisely controlled amount of steam
immediately on entering the steaming chamber . This
makes it possible for the entire steaming and cooling
process to take place more quickly (in 30-40 minutes),
and many tonnes of rice can be steamed in a day.
To decide whether the rice has been perfectly
steamed, master brewers (toj1)shape a small amount of
steamed rice into a round cake using the palm of their
hand. Some brewers liken the optimal steaming level
of rice to the toughness of a hard tennis ball when they
squeeze the rice cakes. Some also check by chewing
A rice cake that has been
it with their front teeth.
formed from steamedrice.
After steaming, the rice is cooled. Traditionally this is
done by spreading the rice out on mats on the brewery
floor. Modern continuous steamers are able to cool the
rice they have steamed. Once the rice has reached the
target temperature it is sent immediately to the next
stage in the brewing process. It will either be sent for
koji production or it will be added to a fermentation
starter or a main fermentation . Rice that is added to a
fermentation and not used to make koji is called kake-
mai .
46 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY
Koji is a culture of special kinds of filamentous fungi grown on cereal
PreparingKoji
9 grains. Koji has been a foundation for the food cultures of Japan and koji
mould is called a 'national fungi'. Mould cultures grown on whole or powdered cereals have also been
used in Korea and China for many centuries. There are several species and strains of this beneficial
mould used for miso, soy sauce, mirin, rice vinegar and the Japanese spirit shochii, as well as sake.
Koji is the Japanese term for steamed rice (or other
types of grain) that has been cultivated with koji mould
(koji-kin). For most sake, about 20 per cent of the rice
that is used during fermentation is treated this way.
Japanese law states that 15 per cent of the rice used to
make a batch of premium sake must be koji. Sake can
be made entirely from koji but this speciality style is
made in tiny quantities by just a few brewers.
The main purpose of koji is to provide enzymes that
break down rice starches into fermentable glucose
sugars (the same function that malted barley plays in
most beer production). It would be possible to malt rice,
using germination to activate the rice grains' own
starch-to-sugar enzymes. However, this would require
whole unpolished rice grains to be used, and the
flavours from the outer part of cereal grains, while
desirable in beer, are undesirable in most sake.
Polishing removes the germ (baby rice plant) from the
outside of the rice grain, so polished rice cannot be
malted. For this reason, sake brewers need to use
other means of providing conversion enzymes.
KOJIMOULD
Koji-kin is the Japanese term for the type of koji mould
(called Aspergil/us oryzae) that is widely used in Japan.
The brewer starts by spreading spores of the koji
mould over steamed rice. The spores are in effect
seeds from which the mould grows. In order to grow
and thrive, koji mould requires warm temperatures and
high levels of water in the grains of steamed rice. If the
temperature becomes too cold and the water content
drops the mould will stop growing. In order to achieve
the ideal conditions for mould growth, every sake
brewery has a special koji room (koji-muro). This is a
special temperature- and humidity-controlled room. The
inside of the walls of the koji room were traditionally
covered with Japanese cypress wood (hinok1) but
because this is expensive and can be difficult to
maintain, most modern koji rooms are now covered in
stainless steel.
The mould grows by sending feeding tubes (hyphae)
into the rice grain. These tubes secrete enzymes that,
among other things, break down the rice starches into
glucose. The glucose is absorbed into the mould's
feeding tubes and then used by the mould to support
further growth.
Koji mould does not just produce enzymes that
convert starch to sugar; they also provide other
components that affect the style and quality of sake,
either by contributing directly to the sake's aromas and
flavours or by providing nutrients for the yeast. These
other components include:
amino acids and peptides, which are created when
enzymes (proteinases) secreted by the mould break
down larger proteins in the rice. They are important
yeast nutrients and contribute to the umami and very
slightly to the acidity of the sake
vitamins, which are important yeast nutrients
lipids and proteins
other subtle aroma/flavour molecules, in particular a
chestnut aroma.
Note that Aspergillus oryzae produces very little acid.
The main acids in sake (succinic, malic and lactic) come
from the fermentation starter and the yeast.
Varieties of Koji Mould
There are three main varieties of koji mould: yellow,
black and white. The colours refer to the appearance of
inoculated rice grains. The variety used for almost all
sake is yellow koji (Aspergillus oryzae). This is because
yellow koji mould produces very low levels of citric acid
compared with black and white koji mould. Acidity has
for a long time been regarded as undesirable by many
Japanese sake drinkers.
A few sake brewers are experimenting with black
and white koji mould. The higher level of citric acid
produced by black and white koji mould can result in
a sake with a structure and balance that is more similar
to that of wine than traditional sake. There has been a
demand among sake enthusiasts for this style, and this
has led to a few producers choosing to make these
unusual sakes using black or white koji.
Formats of Koji Mould
Koji mould is usually purchased from one of a small
number of suppliers. There are two formats of koji
mould used by brewers to inoculate rice:
Powdered, which is simply mould spores.
Granulated, which is rice that has koji mould with
spores growing on it.
Most brewers use the powdered koji mould. This format
is a newer product. Since it has no rice grains, it is
suitable to inoculate continuously at a constant density
of spores.
 PREPARING KOJI 47

Some brewers still choose the traditional granulated

type especially for ginjo sake. There are fewer spores
available owing to the presence of rice in the
granulated format and this can make it easier to
achieve a light, even covering of spores over the rice -
something that is needed for the production of tsuki-
haze.

STYLES OF KOJI: SO-HAZE AND TSUKI-HAZE

Broadly speaking, koji styles can be classified
according to the level and pattern of growth of the
koji-mould . The two extremes are called so-haze and
tsuki-haze, but there is a continuum in between. For a
particular type of sake, the most appropriate style of
koji might lie somewhere between the extremes.

So-haze
In so-haze, the koji mould covers the entire rice grain
sending many feeding tubes into the centre of the rice
grain. This is encouraged by using rice grains with a
higher moisture content, though if the moisture level
is too high this leads to undesirably uneven mould
growth (called nuri-haze) . In this style, the koji has high
levels of enzymes, vitamins, sugars, amino acids and
peptides, all of which are produced by the koji mould.
Koji made in the so-haze style ensures there is a more
rapid starch to sugar conversion and it is typically used
to support a faster and warmer fermentation, giving
more body and flavour to the final sake. So-haze koji is
ideal for:
futsO-shu to boost the flavour intensity and
compensate for some of the dilution that occurs
whenjozo alcohol is added
premium sake with intense flavours, full body, high
acidity and high umami.

Tsuki-haze
In the tsuki-haze style, the koji mould grows in a lightly
spotted pattern over the rice grain . A cross section of
the grain shows places where well-developed mould
feeding tubes have grown into the centre of the grain
and others where there are no tubes at all. It takes a
great deal of skill to create this style of koji. The brewer
needs to ensure that:
the level of moisture in the grains is controlled and
tsuki-haze is ideal for achieving the very slow, controlled Kojimouldgrowthat day
cold fermentation that is needed for the development one (top)and daytwo
of ginjo aromas. Lipids produced by koji can also inhibit (bottom)showingthe
the formation of ginjo aromas, if the level of lipids is too spreadof the mouldgrowth
high . Thus, it is important to restrict the fungal growth overthe surfaceof the rice.
to keep lipids at a low level. The levels of vitamins and Note,this picture,kindly
proteins produced by the mould are also lower, leading supplied by the NRIB,

kept at a low level to a more lightly textured and delicate style of ginjo. shows white koji but the

the amount of koji mould spores used is restricted Tsuki-haze is ideal for: effect would be very similar

the koji room is relatively warmer and less humid . ginjo and daiginjo sakes, where purity and delicate tor yellow koji.

texture are desired, together with ginjo aromas, low

Grains with less moisture are required because the
mould finds it harder to grow on the surface of the
relatively drier grains. Also, the grains have a slightly
firmer exterior that is harder for the mould to penetrate
with its feeding tubes.
This very light mould growth means that only a limited
amount of enzymes are produced, which are released
slowly as the rice breaks up during the fermentation . As
long as there are enough yeast nutrients in the water,
acidity and low umami
honjozo made with a lean texture and restrained
aromas .
MAKING KOJI
Traditional koji making is a very labour-intensive
process because the temperature and humidity need
to be checked every two hours and the rice needs to
be constantly worked by hand. Partially and fully
48 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY
automated koji-making machines have now been
developed. Their use was once confined to large scale
and lower-quality sake production. However, because
of the improvements in the technology, more young
and artisan sake makers are starting to adopt the use
of these automated koji machines to achieve a more
consistent production while improving the quality
potential long-term by collecting and compiling
databases of the results of different production
decisions.
Whether done by hand, or partially or fully
mechanised, koji production follows the following
seven stages. The English names for these stages that
are given below are approximate translations of the
Japanese terms that appear in brackets.
Bringing In (Hikikomi)
Carried out at hour 0.
The temperature of the rice is reduced from the
steamer temperature down to 32-35°C (90-95°F).
Steamed rice is transferred to the koji room, once it
has reached the right temperature.
The newly steamed rice needs to be cooled to an
appropriate temperature for koji inoculation. For
hand-made koji, the cooling is often done on mats
immediately outside the koji room , taking advantage of
the cold conditions in the brewery . Once at the right
temperature, it is laid out in the koji room on a large
shallow bed called a toko.
For machine-made koji, cooling can be done on a
cooling conveyor linked to a continuous steamer, from
where the grains are transferred by tubes or conveyors
to the koji-making machine.
Spreading the Spores (Tanekiri) and Initial Mould
Growth
Carried out at about hours 1-3 after bringing-in, and
the initial mould growth lasts until hours 10-12.
The temperature of the rice begins around 30-32°C
(86-90 °F) and is allowed to rise to around 33-35°C
(92-95 °F).
The aim is to inoculate the rice grains with koji
spores and encourage mould growth .
For hand-made koji, this is done on a large bed-like
table (toko) inside the koji room . Koji spores are applied
using hand shakers. Different brewers use different
techniques: some shake high, some low, some fast,
some slow . Whichever technique is used, the aim is to
apply the appropriate amount of spores, and ensure
they are spread as evenly as possible. After inoculation,
the rice grains are formed into a mound on the bed
and covered in blankets to retain the warmth and
moisture, to encourage the mould to germinate and
grow . Because the mould creates heat as it grows,
the temperature is monitored so that the brewer can
inteNene if it falls too low (leading to slow mould
growth) or rises too high (which risks killing the mould).
It is left like this for about 8-12 hours.
For machine-made ki5Ji, the steamed rice grains are
inoculated by spraying them with spores while they are
being transferred by a pipe from the steamer to the
koji-making machine . The most common design for an
automatic koji machine is a large drum with a circular
base. Rice grains are laid out to cover the base. A
rotating roller moves the rice, and the temperature and
humidity inside the drum can be controlled , usually
following a pre-set program. The machine creates a
high temperature, high humidity environment to mimic
the effect of the blanket to promote growth of the
mould.
Re-breaking Up (Kirikaeshi)
Carried out at about hours 10-12.
The temperature of the rice has risen to about 33°C
(92°F), and is reduced to about 31°C (88°F), it then
rises back after a few hours to about 33 °C (92°F).
The aim is to ensure even growth of mould, and
avoid 'hot spots' occurring.
At this stage, the mould has started to grow across the
rice, but with some uneven patches (no matter how
careful the brewer was at the 'spreading seed' stage).
The mould growth has created heat raising the
temperature of the rice slightly to around 33°C (92°F),
but with some hotter and cooler parts. Re-breaking up
helps to ensure that the mould growth happens evenly
throughout the rice. It also allows heat to escape from
any warm spots where the risk is that the fungus will
grow too much (fungal growth can continue up to about
50 °C (122°F) and heat in the hot spots does not reach
these temperatures). Overall, the result is a drop in
temperature from about 33°C (92°F) to about 31°C (88°F).
For hand-made koji, the brewer unwraps the rice,
spreads it back out over the bed and meticulously
works through the rice grains, breaking up any
clumps . The rice is then wrapped back up again, and
the ambient temperature and humidity in the koji
room helps the mould to continue to grow for another
8-12 hours .
For machine-made koji , the rice is broken up by the
rotating rollers, and the temperature and humidity is
automatically set high enough to continue encouraging
the growth of the mould.
Mounding (Mori)
Carried out at about hours 20-23 (i.e. about half way
through) .
The temperature of the rice has reached around 33°C
(92°F), and continues to rise to over 35°C (95°F).
The aim is to manage the level of and distribution of
the mould growth. The rice is unwrapped and spread
out. If the rice is to be moved to a less humid part of
the ki5Jiroom, to help with this process, it will happen
at this stage.

Mounding is the mid-point in koji production. At this
stage, the mould should be well established and evenly
spread throughout all of the rice grains, but the growth
pattern within each individual grain {so-haze, tsuki-haze
or something in between) has not yet been determined .
The brewer's goal now shifts from encouraging mould
growth to managing the level and distribution of that
growth. In order to achieve the appropriate pattern
of mould , the brewer now needs to consider the
distribution of temperature and moisture at the level of
the single rice grain, rather than the whole mass of rice.
Depending on the level of precision required {tsuki-
haze requires more precision than so-haze), the brewer
has several options . For hand-made koji there are three
main options.
Bed koji (Toko-koji) - Rice is kept on the bed used for
all the previous stages, and the entire koji-making
process is completed on the bed. This method creates
much bigger batches of koji (100-300 kg) than the
other hand -made methods, but the most precise control
of koji growth is not possible. This makes it most
suitable for futsO-shu, honjozo,Junmai and even some
ginjo, though it is unsuitable for daiginjo.
Box koji (Hako-kojl) - Rice is transferred to medium-
sized boxes called hako . The boxes typically contain
15-40 kg of rice, and often incorporate a divider so the
brewer can slide the rice from one half to the other,
allowing accurate control of mould growth . This method
can be used for a wide range of sake , though it is too
labour intensive to be worthwhile for futsO-shu, and not
accurate enough for the best daiginjo.
Tray koji (Futa-koji) - Rice is transferred to tiny
containers called futa, each containing just 1.5-2.5 kg
of rice . This allows the most precise control of
temperature and water content in the rice, but working
each box is very labour intensive. This method is
optimal for the best daiginjo sakes.
Following the transfer {or not) of the rice , the newly
directed mould growth is allowed to continue for a
further 7-10 hours . Trays and boxes are often arranged
in racks. If the rice is transferred to trays or boxes, they
are checked and rearranged every few hours to avoid
differences in mould growth occurring between the
trays/boxes at the top {where it is warmer) and those
at the bottom (where it is cooler).
The stages that follow mounding are the most
labour-intensive stages of hand-made koji production,
and there are options to partially mechanise these
stages. For example, the boxes or trays can be put on
racks that are rearranged mechanically rather than by
hand .
For fully machine-made koji, the rice simply remains
in the drums . The level and pattern of mould growth are
determined by adjusting the temperature and humidity
PREPARING KCJI 49
or the machine, and by using rollers to move the rice
around. So far, it is not possible to mimic mechanically
the very precise control needed to make good hand-
made tsuki-haze.
Middle Work (Naka-shigoto)
Carried out at about hours 30-33.
The temperature of the rice is reduced from around
36°C {97°F) to around 33°C {92°F), after which it
continues to rise again to about 38°C {100°F).
The key aims are to encourage the release of heat ,
and to start drying out the rice grains.
During the middle and final work, the rice is worked
so that its surface area becomes increasingly larger,
by flattening the shape of the mound and drawing
patterns into the surface. The larger surface area that
this creates helps the heat to escape and water to
evaporate from the surface of the rice grains. This is
important because the period following mounding is
the time when the koji mould growth is at its most
vigorous, and when the most heat is generated . The
greatest danger is that excess heat can kill the mould.
This would then stop the mould growth at an earlier
stage than the brewer wants. Dying koji also creates
undesirable aromas and flavours (slightly reminiscent
of sweat) that taints the final sake.
With box and tray koji, the rice starts as a mound
{after mounding) and, following the middle and final
work, ends up distributed as widely and as shallowly as
possible across the whole box or tray. The patterns are
generally made by hand, and the precise pattern varies
from brewer to brewer . For bed koji , it is common to
use a large serrated wooden 'plough', as wide as the
bed, to plough the rice from one end of the bed to the
other.
For machine-made koji, the rotating rollers steadily
redistribute the rice and draw furrows {patterns) to
allow heat and water to escape, while the temperature
and water content inside remain high enough that koji
on the surface is not significantly cooler or drier than
the koji in the centre of the pile .
Final Work (Shlmai-shlgoto)
Carried out at about hours 36-38.
The temperature of the rice remains higher than 38°C
{100°F). Importantly, it should avoid exceeding 43°C
{110°F) so as not to start stressing the koji mould.
The aim is to continue drying out the rice grains, and
to continue releasing the heat created by koji activity.
The process of increasing the surface area of the rice
continues, but the focus shifts from removing heat, to
removing moisture {though both are important
throughout middle and final work).
Final work, together with middle work, is especially
critical for achieving good tsuki-haze koji . By making
the surface of each grain drier than the centre, the
50 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY

MAKINGKC>JI
Ki5jimaking is complex and most brewers have their own individual approaches. Therefore, it is important to
remember that these images can only offer an impression of the key stages in ki5ji making and cannot hope to
show all of the nuances.

1 Bringing In

1. Thesteamedrice is movedquickly
from the steamer.Hereit is being
done by handbut it can also be
done mechanically.

2. Therice is spreadout on matsto

cool down.

2 Spreading the Spores

and Initial Mould Growth

3. Therice sporesbeingspreadon
steamedrice laid out on a
traditionallargeshallowbed.

4. Therice is wrappedup for the

initial periodof mouldgrowth.

3 Re-breaking Up

The wrapped up piles of rice

are broken up to ensure an
even mould growth.

5. A k6ji makingmachine.Rotating
rakesbreakup the rice.

6. Thecompactedrice being broken

up by hand.

7. Thebreweryworkershaveto
completelybreakup the rice.

Therice is normallywrappedup
againbefore the nextstage of the
process.
 PREPARING KOJI 51

4 Mounding
El
At this stage the rice can stay
on a large bed or be moved to
a smaller container.

8. Ricebeing moved to make tray

koji.

9. Rice being moved to make box

koji.

10. Machine-madek6ji stays in the

machinethroughout and
continues to be turned by the
mechanicalrakes. Note the
Archimedesscrew to the right
which will be used to movethe
rice out of the machine.

5 Middle and Final Work

At this stage the koji is being

constantly turned to control
mould growth and dissipate
heat.

11. Bed k6ji.

12. Boxk6ji.

6 Sending Out

Once the mould growth has

reached the required level
the rice is chilled to stop the
mould from growing any
further .

13. Here, machine-madek6ji is being

moved away from the machine
by conveyor belt.
52 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY
mould is encouraged to seek the moisture at the centre
of the grain rather than continuing to cover the surface.
But even for so-haze koji, the grains must start to dry
out.
For machine-made koji, the rotating roller continues
to reshape the rice to increase the surface area, and
the temperature and humidity inside are managed to
encourage evaporation.
Sending Out (De-koji)
Carried out at about hours 44-48.
The temperature of the rice is reduced from around
38°C (100°F) to ambient temperature in the brewery.
The purpose is to stop the koji mould growth by
cooling down and drying out the grains.
Once the desired level and distribution of mould has
been reached, the brewer needs to stop it growing any
further. The brewer cannot starve or poison the mould;
these are not practical options. Heating would kill the
mould, but the heating process would also cause off-
flavours and de-activate enzymes and vitamins created
by the mould. Chilling the rice on the other hand stops
the mould from growing without killing it and causing it
to release any off-aromas.
For hand-made koji, the vessels (tray, box, or bed)
are commonly transferred to a separate part of the koji
room that is maintained at a cool ambient temperature.
Beds often have fans that make it possible to speed the
cooling process by blowing cool air from below.
For machine-made koji, the temperature inside the
drum is automatically reduced .

WaterandYeast Water and yeast are the two sake ingredients not derived from rice.
Water is part of every major process of sake making, and makes up over
80 per cent of the finished product. Almost all of it is added during the various stages of the brewing
process. Yeast create alcohol when they eat sugar but they also create many of the signature aromas
that define the different styles of sake.
WATER
Historically, Japanese sake makers built breweries in
locations with access to a constant and reliable supply
of good-quality water. Japan receives abundant rainfall,
so access to such water is rarely a problem. Most
breweries use natural subsoil sources but some prefer
to use filtered tap water for consistency. Whatever
the source, breweries can filter and alter the mineral
content and acidity of the water they use, to make it
more suitable for their purposes .
The water used to make sake must comply with
specific standards applying to water for use in the
manufacture of food products. There are strict upper
limits on the permitted level of organic substances,
and the level of iron is less than a tenth of the level
permitted in tap water. Too much iron gives sake a
reddish-brown colour and spoils the aroma and taste.
Within these limits there is much scope for different
mineral and nutrient balances in the water that is
used, with the main effect being on style rather than
quality.
Water 'hardness' and 'softness' strictly refers only to
the level of calcium and magnesium dissolved in the
water. In most cases, the dominant metal present in
hard water is calcium, though in sake brewing it is the
magnesium that is important because magnesium
enhances the metabolism of the yeast. Potassium and
phosphorus also aid the healthy growth of yeast and
koji, but these are entirely ignored when measuring
water hardness. For this reason, it can be misleading
to use water 'hardness' as a defining characteristic of
water when discussing sake. However, calcium and
magnesium tend to occur together, and are often
present with other metals, so it is not a totally invalid
approximation . Water hardness throughout Japan is
generally low compared with levels of water hardness
found internationally.
Brewers once preferred to use mineral-rich waters
that were relatively high in the yeast nutrients
magnesium, potassium and phosphorus. This type of
water promoted a fast, stable fermentation with less
risk of the fermentation becoming contaminated or
stopping prematurely as a result of weak or starving
yeast. This kind of mineral-richness is most famously
found in the miya-mizu water of the Nada area near
Kobe (Hyogo Prefecture). This water is one reason why
this area became the largest producer of sake. The
faster, more complete fermentation tends to restrict the
WATER AND YEAST 53
10
development of floral ginjo aromas, leading to more
restrained and drier styles of sake.
The lower mineral content of the Fushimi water near
Kyoto leads to less vigorous fermentations and partly
accounts for the softer style of Kyoto sakes.
Magnesium, potassium and phosphorus are also
present in rice and at sufficient enough levels to meet
the nutrient needs of the yeast and the koji . Therefore
it is possible to have a successful fermentation using
water with a low mineral content. However, in order for
these yeast nutrients to become available, the rice
needs to break up during fermentation. This takes time,
during which there is a risk of contamination or of the
yeast completely running out of nutrients. In order to
offset this risk, brewers can use so-haze koji. The larger
quantity of rapidly released enzymes results in the rice
breaking up more quickly ensuring that the yeast have
a sufficient supply of nutrients. Alternatively, the brewer
can adjust the mineral content of the water . This is done
when making ginjo sake using tsuki haze koji in regions
with low mineral water, such as Saijo (Hiroshima
Prefecture).
YEAST
From the brewer's point of view, yeast have three very
important roles to perform:
They make alcohol from sugar.
They create aroma compounds.
They create organic compounds, including acids.
Compared with the subtle impact of the rice and koji,
yeast play a critical role in determining the style of a
sake. Different yeast strains lead to distinct differences
in aromas, but they can also affect the texture and
acidity of a sake. Together with the lactic acid in the
fermentation starter, malic and succinic acids created
by yeast are the major acids found in sake.
Sake yeasts are the same species as the yeast
widely used for making wine and top-fermented beers
(Saccharomyces cerevisiae). In common with all yeast
their activity is controlled by temperature. At higher
temperatures they ferment faster and at lower
temperatures they ferment more slowly . If the
temperature reaches 3-5 ' C (37-41' F) then they stop
fermenting altogether although they become active
again when the temperature rises. However, they
behave differently in high-alcohol conditions . Alcohol
is a poison to yeast, so when the level becomes too
54 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY
high , wine and beer yeast tend to become dormant in
an attempt to preserve themselves until conditions
become more hospitable . Due to mutations that have
been preserved by selective brewers, sake yeast
continue to work, creating more alcohol even when
the level is toxic enough to start killing them. Where
wine yeasts typically stop working once the alcohol
level reaches around 15-16% abv, sake yeast continue
fermenting sugars even when the alcohol level reaches
above 20%: up to 22% abv in extreme cases. If it went
over 22% abv, the product would cease, legally, to be
sake.
Traditionally, sake was made using ambient brewery
yeast (yeast attached to surfaces in the brewery).
Brewing this way leads to variable results depending
on which strain of yeast completed the fermentation . As
brewing science improved , brewers looked for greater
consistency by selecting their yeast.
Initially brewers would take yeast from the foam of a
successful fermentation and use it to inoculate the next
fermentation . This technique overcomes some of the
variation but flavour production remained inconsistent
because of microbial contamination or changes in a
yeast population when it is reused in one fermentation
batch after another . These kinds of ferments typically
contain many strains of yeast, and their ratio changes
in successive fermentations . As brewing science
advanced , brewers were able to isolate individual
strains of yeast. This meant that they could propagate
batch after batch of yeast from the same original strain
and avoid the problems caused by mutations. As a
result they could achieve a level of consistency that is
not possible using any other technique . Isolating and
maintaining strains of yeast is a specialist skill and so
today nearly all brewers choose from a relatively small
range of yeast strains that they buy from suppliers such
as the Brewing Society of Japan .
Brewing Society Yeast
Since 1906, yeast selected for their desirable
characteristics have been distributed widely by the
Brewing Society of Japan as Brewing Society Yeast
(Kyokai kobo) . The Brewing Society manages the
multiplication of yeast so that the brewing
characteristics of the strains are kept. This means
they are a trusted source of the yeast types they
supply. Today, Brewing Society Yeast are numbered
and packed in ampules to avoid contamination. Many
of the numbered yeast strains were first isolated by a
particular brewery, but where some are improvements
on earlier numbered yeasts, others are developed by
different organisations, such as regional research
institutes or tax bureaus . Brewers sometimes refer to
yeast by their number (e.g. 'number 9', or 'kyO-go' in
Japanese) and sometimes by their origin (e.g.
'Kumamoto yeast' , or 'Kumamoto kobo' in Japanese).
There are many numbers, with many subtly different
characteristics, but one way of understanding them
is to consider the brewers' priorities at the various
moments in history when the yeast were isolated .
Reliable fermenters - Initially the number one priority
was a successful, complete fermentation. This was
important to brewers (because they did not want to
lose sake batches) , but also important to the Japanese
government (because sake accounted for a very large
proportion of tax revenue) . This was the main purpose
of numbers 1 (released in 1916)to 8 (released in 1963).
Of these only two remain in general use, but some of
the others are still used by the brewery that isolated
them. The two in general use are :
number 6 (isolated at Aramasa brewery in Akita city,
released in 1935) and
number 7 (isolated at Miyasaka brewery (Masumi
brand) in Suwa city, released in 1946).
Both of these ferment extremely reliably and strongly.
They produce more acidity than yeasts developed more
recently, and produce more muted aromas (they predate
the ginjo boom , see Chapter 17 The Global Sake Industry
for more details). The aromas produced by number 7 are
generally felt to be slightly more attractive (sweeter and
fruitier) than number 6, which is why it (rather than 6) has
become the industry standard, used for a lot of futsO-shu
and some honjozo andjunmai . Number 7 can also be
used for ginjo, if the brewer is specifically seeking to
avoid overt ginjo aromas . Number 11 is a variant bred
from number 7, with most of the same characteristics ,
but is especially good at fermenting through to dryness
in high-alcohol conditions. This makes it ideal for dry,
non-aromatic sakes.
Early ginjo yeast - The next major drive for new yeast
types was for the pursuit of better aromas. The first
successful examples of these were :
number 9 (Kumamoto yeast, isolated at Koro-
Kumamoto Sake Research Center, released in 1968)
and
number 10 (Meiri yeast, isolated in Northern Japan
and screened at Meiri brewery, released in 1977).
These both followed the development of ginjo sake
originally developed as a competition style, but predate
the period when ginjo became more widely available
commercially. Like the earlier yeasts, these produce a
higher level of acidity than more recently developed
yeast , though not quite as high as 6 and 7. Both
produce prominent, pure ginjo aromas, and number 9
for many years was the standard yeast for ginjo sake.
It is still very widely used .
Low acid ginjo yeast - Following the ginjo boom in
the 1980s, and the desire to produce extreme versions
of this style for competitions, the next target was to
develop yeast with pronounced ginjo aromas and low
acidity . Notable examples are :

number 14 (Kanazawa yeast, isolated by the
Regional Taxation Bureau of Kanazawa, released in
1995) and
, number 1801 created by crossing 9 and 1601,
released in 2006 (the use of '01' is explained below) .
These are sometimes referred to as 'modern yeasts',
in contrast to the 'classic yeasts' 6, 7, 9 and 10. Sake
made using these yeasts have performed well in
competitions, and these yeast strains are used for
commercial junmai ginjo and junmai-daiginjo, as well
as ginjo and daiginjo. Even though sakes made by high
aroma producing strains are accepted in the market
as one of many widely enjoyed sake styles, there is
sometimes criticism that these sakes can also be bitter
on the palate.
Yeast strain number 1901 became available in 2014.
Low-foaming yeasts - One other factor that has driven
the development of new yeast strains has been the
desire to produce low-foaming yeasts that behave
more like the yeasts that are used to make wine and
beer: with some froth but not the extreme stickiness
that was typical of sake yeasts .
All wine, beer and sake yeasts form some foam at
the surface of the fermentation, but wine and beer
yeasts form relatively little foam. Until around 1970,
the yeasts developed for fermenting sake all tended
to attach themselves to carbon dioxide bubbles
produced during the fermentation. This resulted in
enormous amounts of sticky, yeasty foam (sometimes
as much as half the fermentation tank). This also meant
extra space was needed in the tank to avoid the risk
of it overflowing. It also made the job of cleaning the
WATER AND YEAST 55
sticky foam from the tanks much harder, and if this
was not done very thoroughly there was a risk of
contamination .
Simply using wine and beer yeasts was not a
practical option, because they were not adapted to
the high-alcohol, low-temperature conditions that sake
yeast have been bred to survive. Instead, existing
strains of sake yeast were used to carry out the
fermentations, but as the yeast multiply, mutations
occur. Some of the mutated yeast cells remain in the
fermenting liquid, rather than clinging to rising bubbles.
By repeating the process of removing the foam (with
the attached yeast) and keeping the yeasts that remain
in the liquid, low-foaming versions of existing strains
can be isolated, even though the mutation rate is
extremely low. These also have to be tested to
ensure that, despite the mutation, they have the same
desirable characteristics of the original strain . Low-
foaming variants of many Brewing Society Yeast types
have been developed, and these are distinguished
from the original foaming version by adding '01'
afterwards. So, for example, 9 (foaming original version)
becomes 901 (low-foaming version released in 1975).
Some recent yeast strains never had a foaming version,
for example 1501 to 1901.
Other Yeasts
The Brewing Society of Japan is the main supplier of
yeasts to the sake industry, but there are other options:
Ambient yeast - These are the yeast populations
present on surfaces (walls, floors, ceilings, fermentation
tanks, etc .) in wineries and breweries. They are
sometimes called 'wild' yeast. Compared with many
Thefoamcreatedbyyeast
duringa fermentation.The
spinningdevicein the
centreknocksthe bubble
backhelpingto keepthe
foamundercontrol.
56 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY
producers of fine wine (where expression of the raw
materials is an aim of the winemaker), sake brewers
are more likely to seek a specific final product ,
leaving as little as possible to chance . Ambient yeast
fermentations with wine are much less risky, due to
the high acidity of the juice protecting it from microbial
contamination during the period when yeast population
is multiplying . Sake fermentations have little protection
in the early stages . For these reasons, it is almost
unknown for brewers to risk fermentations that rely on
ambient yeast, but there are a few sakes made this way.
Proprietary yeast - Some brewers continue to
isolate yeast samples, sometimes from successful
fermentations and sometimes from other sources in
nature (such as flowers or trees). This can lead to the
development of brewery-specific versions of more
widely available strains, and even to new variations in
yeast. Some brewers use their unique yeasts as a point
of difference, for example, using 'flower yeasts' (yeast
derived from flowers).
Prefectural and regional yeast - Where a brewer or
organisation has isolated a specific yeast strain, they
may decide to sell or share it. Sometimes the yeast
contributes to a successful regional style, as has
happened in Shizuoka Prefecture (where a yeast strain
producing very soft isoamyl acetate banana aromas
and soft textures with low acidity has contributed to
the reputation of the region) and Akita and Nagano
Prefectures (where very successful ginj/5 yeast strains
were developed in the 1990s).
Blending Yeasts
If a brewer is seeking yeast that combine features that
already exist (such as a strong fermentation, interesting
aromas and/or low acidity), developing new yeast is not
the only option . It is becoming increasingly common to
blend yeast. A brewer might, for example, gain some of
the aromatic advantages of modern yeast, such as 1801,
while using a classic yeast strain, such as 901, to fill out
the palate and reduce the level of bitterness .
There are several ways that brewers can use multiple
yeasts in one sake :
Add a mix of yeast strains to the fermentation starter .
Create multiple fermentation starters, each with a
different single yeast strain, and combine these when
starting the main ferment.
Create multiple batches of sake, each using a single
yeast strain throughout , and blend these at some
stage after the fermentations are complete .
Brewers are still experimenting to decide which of
these methods provides the best results .

The FermentationStarter(Shubo/Moto)Fermentation starters are
of many fermented alcoholic beverages. All of these producers use fermentation starters for the same
reason: to produce a healthy population of their selected yeast. Achieving this aim is particularly
challenging for sake brewers and, as a result, fermentation starters are a vitally important part of the
brewing process.
THE AIM OF THE BREWER
Before the main fermentation occurs, the fermentation
starter, called shubo or moto is created. Both Japanese
words are widely used for this stage. The purpose of
the shubo is to create an acidic environment using
lactic acid so that a sufficiently concentrated population
of fermentation yeast can develop. A strong, healthy
population is needed in order to carry out the main
fermentation.
AN OVERVIEW OF THE SHUBO
The shubo is created in a small tank, approximately
six to ten per cent of the size of the main fermentation
tank. To this, rice, koji and water are added, with a
relatively high proportion of koji to encourage rapid
starch to sugar conversion. Typically as much as 30-33
per cent of the rice used at this stage is koji, compared
with about 20-23 per cent of the rice used across the
whole of a typical fermentation batch. The shubo takes
between 14 and 28 days to complete, depending on
the method used, at which point the yeast are actively
fermenting the sugars that are being created by the
koji mould enzymes. In order to get to this point
successfully, the brewer must carefully manage the
temperature and the acidity of the shubo.
Temperature Control
The temperature must be controlled to ensure that
yeast are able to multiply at a suitable pace so that they
do not outpace the starch-to-sugar conversion carried
out by the koji mould enzymes and run out of food . To
control the temperature of the shubo, a bucket-like tool
called a daki can be used. These used to be made of
wood but today are usually made from aluminium or
stainless steel. They can be used for heating or for
cooling; either hot water or ice cubes are poured inside,
the top is closed and the daki is immersed directly into
the shubo. Alternatively, devices using pipes or jackets
of hot or cold water can be used to adjust the
temperature as required .
Raising the Acidity
In order to ensure that their yeast thrive, the brewer
must ensure that the fermentation starter is sufficiently
acidic. Sake yeast can thrive in an acidic environment
but , importantly, other microorganisms that can spoil a
sake, in particular certain bacteria, cannot. Therefore
THE FERMENTATION STARTER (SHUBO/MOTO) 57
widely used in the production
11
the acid protects the fermentation starter and allows
the yeast to become the dominant microorganism.
The challenge for the brewer is that when steamed
rice, koji and water are mixed together, the resulting
mixture is not very acidic and offers the yeast little
protection. The shubo is a very attractive environment
for a large number of microorganisms. Also, because
the sugars are created slowly by the action of koji
mould enzymes on rice starch, there is less food
immediately available to facilitate the rapid growth of a
healthy yeast population. Bacteria multiply much more
rapidly than yeast, so in order for the yeast to have a
chance to become the dominant organism, the brewer
needs to combine obsessive antibacterial hygiene
with a way of making the fermenting liquid acidic and
therefore hostile to undesirable bacteria .
By far the most common method of creating a
suitably acidic environment is to add lactic acid directly
to the shubo (a method called sokujo-moto). Older
methods (yamahai and kimoto) use the action of
populations of lactic acid-producing bacteria to achieve
a similar effect. Although they take longer and are
vulnerable to spoilage, these older methods are still
used by some breweries.
These three methods are described below, but they
are not legally defined and there are variations within
each technique.
OPTIONS FOR PRODUCING THE SHUBO
During the period of Japan's isolation (from the early
1600s to the mid 1800s), kimoto, a technique that
reliably created a shubo, was copied by successive
generations because they knew it worked. The brewers
lacked the scientific understanding to know why the
method worked. The more open, questioning attitude
that developed after Japan began to open up and
industrialise in the later 1800s led to many scientific
discoveries, including the reason why the traditional
kimoto method of preparing the shubo helped stop the
fermentation going bad; it was the protective levels of
lactic acid that were created during the process. This
discovery ultimately led to the development of the
sokujo-moto method that is now the industry standard.
Sokujo-moto
Sokujo-moto literally means 'quick fermentation starter'.
It was perfected in the early 1900s, and then became
58 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY
LEFT:Sokujo-moto
. the most widely used method . It is used for almost all
Breweryworkers sake production today .
thoroughlymixingthe The insight that lactic acid was the key to a
ingredients
. successful shubo led a brewing scientist to experiment
with simply adding lactic acid directly to the shubo .
RIGHT
: Kimoto. By this stage, brewers had also discovered that the
Breweryworkerspounding extraction of enzymes from koji into the liquid
the rice into a paste. increased when the water was warmer . This led the
brewing scientist to start the sokujo-moto at 20-25 °C
(68-77°F) - a good temperature for enzyme extraction
and ideal for yeast multiplication - rather than the 6-7°C
(43-45°F) that had been used for centuries. The result
was a success. This simplification has many desirable
effects :
It is much quicker than the traditional methods ,
taking about 14 days rather than 28 days.
The process can be controlled more precisely , in
particular the level of acidity (which can be lower
than the amount typically produced in the kimoto or
yamahai method) .
The shorter time and avoidance of the need to rely
on bacteria to create lactic acid, means there is less
risk of variation or anything going wrong.
The flavour profile is purer, with less umami present.
More recently a 'fast sokujo' or 'medium temperature
sokujo' has been developed, starting at an even higher
temperature to encourage more rapid extraction of
enzymes . This method can reduce the total shubo time
from 14 days to just 10 days .
Kimoto and Yamahai
The traditional method of creating the shubo is kimoto .
This method's prototype was developed in Nada (an
area in Hyogo Prefecture) some time before the late
1600s when it was first recorded in literature . Brewers
found that by starting with a small batch, and
laboriously pounding the rice and koji in this batch into
a smooth paste using wooden poles, they could
achieve the desired result reasonably reliably . This
pounding with poles or paddles (yama-oroshi in
Japanese) technique was later refined to include the
amount of pounding and mixing required, for how long
and how often. The kimoto method spread across
Japan and became the standard way to start the
fermentation. It was still the main method until new
techniques were discovered in the early 1900s .
In the first few days of kimoto, the temperature is
kept very low (6-7°C (43-45°F)) to ensure that only
the right kinds of bacteria develop . During this stage,
starch-to-sugar conversion takes place before the
growth of almost all microorganisms . The exception
at this stage is certain bacteria that convert nitrates to
nitrites . After this, cold-tolerant species of lactic acid
bacteria grow and produce lactic acid. The resulting
combination of nitrites, high concentration of sugar, low
pH due to lactic acid and low temperatures together
inhibit the growth of undesirable yeast and other
spoilage microbes . This is a very risky time because
until the level of acidity is high enough it is possible for
undesirable bacteria to take hold and spoil the shubo .
The pounding process speeds up the breaking up of
the rice and increases the amount of contact between
the rice starch with koji enzymes . As a result, the
conversion process speeds up too. This is the reason
why the pounding process is, and was, necessary .
As the level of acidity rises and the temperature
rises gradually, yeast are able to begin to establish
themselves and multiply into a healthy population .
Traditionally, ambient yeast would begin the
fermentation process, but today brewers using the
kimoto add yeast about 14 days after the start of the
process . Once the yeast population has started actively
to multiply it takes a further 14 days until the kimoto is

ready (the same period that yeast take to establish
themselves fully in a sokujo-moto).
In 1909, a scientist conducted experiments to see if
it were possible for koji enzymes to work on rice that
had not been turned into a paste. To ensure that starch-
to-sugar conversion took place, koji and water were
first mixed to extract enzymes into water, and then
steamed rice was added. The rest of the process
proceeded in the same way as kimoto - with certain
bacteria converting nitrates to nitrites, and then lactic
acid bacteria creating lactic acid . He discovered that a
shubo could be made this way, and the method came
to be called yamahai, a contraction of yama-oroshi
haishi, meaning the end (haisht) of the laborious
pounding with poles (yama-orosht).
Yamahai is just as reliable as kimoto but it requires
less work. However, both of these techniques rely on
lactic acid bacteria to raise the acidity . As a result, both
techniques although reliable remain equally vulnerable
THE FERMENTATION STARTER (SHUBO/MOTO) 59
TEMPERATURE
CONTROL
1. Equipmentusedto coola fermentationstarter.Dakion the rightand
pipingon the left.
2. Pipingbeingusedto coola fermentationstarter.
to spoilage while the acidity rises and they can produce
variable results both in terms of the level of acidity and
the tastes and flavours created . This is why most
brewers moved to sokujo-moto, which is more reliable,
more consistent and faster.
Despite the hard work, extra time and risk involved,
some producers use the kimoto or yamahai methods
for some or all of their sakes, for a number of reasons:
The microbial populations that are active while the
lactic acid is being created can create interesting
flavours that add to the complexity of the final sake .
Kimoto and yamahai tend to have rich flavours
(though analysis does not show any increased levels
of amino acids or umami, compared to sokujo-moto).
Kimoto and yamahai sakes tend to have higher
acidity than sokujo-moto sakes, but it would be
possible to produce sokujo-moto sakes with more
acidity if the producer desired .
Especially for yamahai, but for some kimoto sakes
60 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY
too, some brewers deliberately aim for complex nutty
and caramel flavours that are the result of deliberate
exposure to oxygen. This is a brewer choice (both
yamahai and kimoto can lead to very pure, clean,
elegant results too), but the oxidative flavours can
complement the higher umami and acidity.
Other Ways of Creating the Shubo
Kimoto, yamahai and sokujo-moto are not the only
methods that brewers use. Innovation and
experimentation continues in a number of areas.
New techniques - A notable example is ko-on toka
moto, which uses very high temperatures early on to
sterilise the mixture and accelerate the breakdown of
starches. This was developed for sake brewing in warm
regions, but is becoming more widely adopted and is
especially suitable for very pure, clean styles of
premium sake.
Improving existing techniques - As has been
explained above, starting a sokujo-moto at higher
temperatures, the process can be accelerated and the
shubo can be completed in just ten days. Another
example is the use of mechanical mixers to replace
the manual labour when carrying out the pasting and
mixing stage of kimoto.
Revivals of ancient techniques - Some producers
have revived bodai-moto (a method from the twelfth
century that uses sour water to play the role of the
lactic acid used in sokujo-moto. The sour water is
created by letting bacteria decay rice that is mixed into
the water).
Avoiding the shubo - If white or black koji moulds are
used, the higher level and different acid they create
(citric acid) can be enough to start a ferment with a
small yeast population without risking microbial
contamination. These are a different species of koji
mould, and are normally used for making the traditional
spirit, shochO.

The Main Fermentation(Moromi) The main fermentation
that have been prepared together in order to make sake. This is a critical time for the brewer because
a significant number of the flavours that make the different styles of sake so unique and distinct are
created at this point.
THE AIMS OF THE BREWER
Once the fermentation starter is well established, it can
be used to create the main fermentation . The aims of
the brewer at this stage are:
to avoid problems such as contamination or a
fermentation stopping early
to achieve the correct balance between the two
parallel processes of starch-to-sugar conversion
(by koji enzymes) and sugar-to-alcohol fermentation
(by yeast)
to achieve the desired aromas and textures for the
style of sake .
AN OVERVIEW OF THE MAIN FERMENTATION
The main fermentation (moromt) can be considered
as happening in three stages . The first is the building,
where most brewers use a method called 'three stage
addition' to avoid contamination and set the levels of
rice, water and koji enzymes . The second stage is
when most of the fermenting occurs, and temperature
needs to be controlled to achieve the correct balance
between the processes and the correct style . The final
stage is the ending of the ferment.
The majority of sakes are fermented at around
12-18'C (54-64'F) and the main fermentation takes
around 21-28 days. The ferments produce a liquid of
around 17-20% abv, with approximately 15-25 g/L
unfermented residual sugar. Ginjo styles of sake are
an exception . They must be fermented at much lower
temperatures (around 10-12'C, 50-54'F) and take
much longer (30-35 days). As the alcohol concentration
increases, the fermentation speed becomes slower .
At the last stage of fermentation, the temperature is
lowered to slow the rate at which the yeast die , and
the fermentation stops without further inteNention .
When the fermentation has ended, the alcoholic and
(usually) slightly sweet liquid is full of rice particles
and yeast cells. These suspended solid particles are
referred to as kasu, and are removed at the filtration
stage.
A sake fermentation is unusually complex . In most
other fermented beverages the producer starts with a
fixed amount of sugar, whereas in a sake fermentation
the sugar is being produced at the same time as it is
being consumed . Despite the challenges this presents,
sake brewers are able to achieve a remarkable degree
of consistency from one batch to another by using two
key controlling mechanisms:
THE MAIN FERMENTATION (MOROMI) 61
is the point where
the brewer brings all of the ingredients
12
the relative proportions and timing of the ingredients
as they are added
temperature, speed and time .
Building the Main Fermentation
The standard ratios (by mass) of steamed rice, koji
and water placed in the main fermentation tank are
approximately :
80 parts steamed rice
20 parts koji
130 parts water .
These ingredients are not all added at once . Instead,
they are added in three stages over a period of four
days . This is to ensure that the yeast population does
not become too diluted, and that there are always
sufficient quantities of conversion enzymes from the koji .
The earlier additions and the shubo generally contain
a higher proportion of koji , to help get the fermentation
off to a strong start. If the entire amount is added to
the tank at once, there is a delay before yeast reach a
population large enough to balance the conversion
of starch to sugar by the koji enzymes. During this
delay, there would be an increased risk of microbial
contamination, which could interrupt the fermentation
process and spoil the liquid. This risk could be reduced
by adding more lactic acid but the amount of acid that
would be required would result in a sake that would
taste far too acidic .
The three-stage addition (sandan jikom1) is not a
legal requirement for sake production, but it is widely
used for all styles of sake, for everything from futsD-shu
to daiginjo .
Day 1: First addition (Hatsu-zoe) - The shubo is
transferred to a larger tank . More water, koji and
steamed rice are added to the shubo so the total
volume at this stage is roughly equal to 1/6 of the final
total amount of mixture . The temperature at this stage
is about 12-15'C (54-59 ' F), which is a good
temperature for yeast to multiply.
Day 2: A day off (Odori) - Nothing is added on the
second day in order to let it 'dance' (odori in Japanese)
and allow the number of yeast cells to multiply . Giving
the yeast population time to build up is an essential part
of achieving a balanced fermentation . The temperature
is allowed to rise very slightly as the yeast multiply.
62 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY
Day 3: Middle addition (Naka-zoe) - Double the
previous total amount of water, koji and steamed rice
are added, so the total volume at this stage is now
about 3/6 (half) of the final total.
Day 4: Final addition (Tome-zoe) - The remainder
(about half) of the water, rice and koji is added and the
three-stage addition is now complete. During the
middle and final additions, the temperature is lowered
to reach the starting temperature for the main ferment.
This is typically about 6-10'C (43-50'F). To achieve this
cooling, some brewers replace some of the added
water with ice.
When building a fermentation, a brewer must be very
accurate so that the amount and type of koji is correct
to deliver the quantity of enzymes that is right for the
target temperature and style of sake. If the ratios of
ingredients are wrong on day four when the last
addition is made, the brewer will struggle to keep the
fermentation to the required temperature. If there are
insufficient enzymes for a warmer fermentation then
the yeast will run out of sugar if the temperature
target is achieved. If there are excess enzymes for a
lower temperature fermentation, then if the target
temperature is achieved there will be a build-up of
unfermented sugars leading to a sake that is too sweet.
Managing Fermentation: Temperature, Speed and
Time
Enzymes and yeast activity both increase when the
temperature goes up and decrease when the
temperature goes down. However, as temperatures
rise the enzymatic creation of sugar increases more
slowly than the rate at which yeast consume that sugar.
Therefore, if the brewer's target temperature is
between 16' C and 18'C (61-64'F) then a notably high
quantity of koji enzymes is needed in order to keep up
with the demands of the yeast. Whereas, if the target
temperature is between B'C and 12' C (46-54'F) then
the quantity of enzymes needs to be considerably
lower in order to prevent sugar production outstripping
yeast consumption . Brewers spend a huge amount of
time and effort making their koji in order to ensure the
amount of mould, and therefore enzymes, is exactly
what is needed to balance the fermentation it will be
used in.
If a fermentation speed lags behind the rate of
starch conversion into sugar, the sake will become too
sweet. In extreme cases, higher sugar concentrations
in the ferment inhibit further starch conversion and
result in a higher kasu ratio due to inefficient
conversion of starch. In these extreme cases, the
higher sugar concentration can also lead to higher
levels of unpleasant volatile acidity. The addition of
water during fermentation is a technique that can
alleviate this problem, but adding excess water can
lead to a dilute, flat taste in the final sake. Furthermore,
low yeast densities will lead to the slowing and
stopping of fermentation too early during the later
stage of the main fermentation.
If the fermentation speed races too far ahead of the
starch conversion into sugar, the reduced sugar levels
become a limiting factor of fermentation. In such cases,
the main cause is that enzyme production by the koji
mould was insufficient. Furthermore, in such situations
the enzymatic conversion of protein into amino acids
and peptides is often also slower due to lower levels
of the enzymes which break down proteins that are
also created by the koji. The resulting sakes will
have a thin taste and low umami due to the lower
concentration of amino acids and peptides.
Temperature control - There are a number of options
for controlling the temperature of the main fermentation.
For traditional and small scale sake making, foamed
resinous mats or traditional woven mats (called
mushiro) that wrap around the tank are used to help
maintain a steady temperature. When a brewer needs
to cool the ferment, ice is inserted into the space
between the mat and the tank. More modern sake
breweries use jackets on the outside of the tank or heat
exchangers that are submerged into the fermenting
mass. These devices achieve a change in temperature
by circulating cold or warm water. The most modern
brewers manage the temperature with computer
systems to control the water circulation.
In sake fermentations, precise temperature control
can be critical. The fermentation tanks need constant
attention and small adjustments may be made regularly
to keep the liquid as close as possible to the target
temperature.
Temperature and style - The brewer must also
ensure that the fermentation takes place at the correct
temperature for the style of sake being produced. In
order to make a rich junmai, the fermentation should
be at the top end of the standard temperature range
for sake fermentation, typically 16-18'C (61-64'F). On
the other hand, in order to make a daiginjo, the peak
temperature must be at the other end of the scale,
which can be as low as 10-12'C (50-54'F). If the
fermentation temperature is wrong it is not possible to
make the required style because the desired aromas
and flavours are not created .
Ending the Fermentation
Brewers generally have target levels of both sugar and
alcohol that they aim to achieve. They manage all the
earlier stages of production so that these both reach
the desired level at the same time, and they make the
decision when to bring the fermentation to an end.
High temperatures and/or high alcohol concentration
would make stressful conditions for yeast and increase
the rate at which they die. Dying yeast create tastes
and aromas that are considered to be undesirable in

sake . For this reason, the temperature is generally
lowered at the late stage of the ferment for all styles of
sake. This lowering of temperature stops yeast activity
and ends the production of alcohol.
OPTIONS FOR THE MOROMI
Rich, High-umami Styles
Typically, these styles of sake are fermented at the top
end of the temperature range and are made using rice
with higher polishing ratios (70% or higher) as well as
so-haze koji . There are a number of reasons for this:
Rice with a higher polishing ratio contains higher
levels of protein, which can be broken down into
amino acids that increase the umami taste of the sake.
THE MAIN FERMENTATION (MOROMI) 63
FERMENTATION
TANKS
1. Small FermentationTanks. Thesetanks are
located in a small brewery. The tanks are
coveredwith plastic sheeting to stop objects
falling into the fermenting liquid.
2. LargeFermentationTanks.Thesetanksare
in oneof the verylargebreweries.Theyare
so largethat a floorlevel hasbeeninstalled
nearthe top of the tanksto facilitateaccess.
Steamedriceandkojiare beingmovedby
pumpsthroughthe largewhite pipes.
So-haze koji has higher levels of enzymes , which are
needed to ensure that the yeast are provided with
enough sugar and other nutrients during the faster,
more vigorous fermentations .
When the yeast population grows rapidly at higher
temperatures , it leads to vigorous fermentations , higher
acid production and lower aroma production . In
addition, higher temperatures lead to lower kasu ratios
(higher utilisation of all elements in the rice) and higher
concentrations of amino acid and peptides, which
means richer tastes . These conditions are favourable
for futsu-shu and certain styles of junmai .
64 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY
Glnjo Fermentations
In order to produce a ginj/5 style of sake, extremely low
fermentation temperatures of 8-12°C (46-54 °F) are
required . At these temperatures, fermentations can last
for as long as 30 to 35 days.
Extremely cool conditions are used for ginj/5 making.
Rice with lower polishing ratios (60% or lower) and
tsuki-haze koji combine to provide a slow release of
a low total level of amino acid nutrients, and a slow
release of sugar. This limits the growth of yeast. Low
fermentation temperatures keep the yeast activity in
balance with the slow production of sugar, and lead to
slow fermentations, low production of acids by yeast,
and low degradation of proteins. Together, these
result in light and smooth tastes and textures. These
fermentation conditions also enhance the production
of esters (aroma substances), and low temperatures
reduce the loss of esters by evaporation.
This combination of cold temperatures and a
shortage of nitrogen (or amino acids that can act as
sources of nitrogen) puts the yeast under a great deal
of stress and causes them to create increased levels of
a particular group of higher alcohols (the precursors to
ginj/5 aromas). All yeast will respond in this way under
these conditions. For example, yeast number 7, which
was not selected for its aroma-creating abilities, can
be used to make restrained styles of ginj/5. What is
notable about 'ginj/5 yeast', such as number 9, is that
they produce more of these alcohols - especially
isoamyl alcohol. Other high-aroma ginj/5 yeast produce
larger quantities of a compound called caproyl-coA,
which is another important aroma precursor .
In a complex sequence of enzymatic chemical
reactions, yeast combine the various alcohols with
acetyl, caproyl-coA and other chemical groups to
produce the highly fruity or floral aromatic compounds
called esters . In ginj/5 sake, the most notable of these
esters are:
• isoamyl acetate (aromas of banana)
• ethyl caproate (aromas of green apple or melon).
Other esters can be created too and they generally
have various fruity and floral aromas.
It is essential for brewers to manipulate the ginj/5
fermentation by controlling the temperature precisely
and adjusting it delicately (only 0.3°C to 0.5°C (32.5-
32.9°F) a day) to seek the ideal balance of aroma,
structure and texture. This requires a lot of attention
over the condition of yeast and degree to which the
rice breaks up, as well as the temperature. If the level
of yeast nutrients (other than sugar) is too high, the
fermentation can progress more quickly than desired .
With a normal fermentation, the brewer can lower the
temperature to bring things back in balance , but a ginj/5
fermentation is already close to the temperature below
which yeast stop working, so they can make only small
adjustments . This is why it is so important to polish as
much of the nutrient-rich outer parts of the rice grains
away when attempting to make ginj/5 sake. The outer
parts would also contribute undesirable flavours, acidity
and a coarse texture.
On the other hand, if the levels of yeast nutrients are
too low, or the levels of ki5ji enzyme are too high, then
when sugar starts building up faster than it can be
fermented, the normal option of raising the temperature
is not available to the brewer producing a ginj/5 style.
They need the low temperatures to stress the yeast so
that ginj/5 aromas can be produced, and limit the
breaking up of the rice, keeping the texture fine and
smooth. This is why it is so important to manage the
growth of the ki5ji that is destined for ginj/5 sakes.
During such long fermentations at lower
temperatures, rice does not break up as much, leaving
more rice solids remaining in the tank. This means
there are lower levels of other flavour and texture
components, such as amino acid or organic acids, that
would otherwise be extracted, creating a very smooth
texture and clean delicate taste.
Main Fermentation Batch Sizes and Yields
The total amount of rice placed in a single fermentation
tank ranges from less than one metric tonne to more
than 30 tonnes.
Opinions differ, but it is widely believed that if quality
is the only factor, the ideal size of brewing ginj/5 styles is
between 600 kg to 1500 kg of polished rice per batch,
plus about 800-2000 L of water. Using the normal ratio
of 80 parts steamed rice, 20 parts ki5ji and 130 parts
water, this makes a total of about 720-1800 L of sake.
One kilogram of polished rice makes about 2.5 L of
junmai ginj/5 sake, once water is added to adjust the
alcohol to about 15 per cent, though the quantity can
be even lower than this in an especially cold slow
fermentation where even less of the rice breaks up
and only a little liquid is extracted at the end. See
Chapter 13 Ji5zi5 Alcohol and Filtration .
For honji5zi5 andjunmai, the tank could be double
this . The ratios of 80:20:130 for steamed rice, ki5ji and
water will be similar to that for junmai ginj/5, but the
higher temperatures and more active ki5ji enzymes
lead to a more complete breaking up of the rice and
a greater liquid extraction of sake. About 2.6 L of
junmai sake per kilogram of rice is typical. The yield
for honji5zi5 is higher due to the small amount of jozo
alcohol added.
Most futsD-shu is brewed in batches that are 20-30
times bigger than this, in order to achieve much lower
production costs . The more complete the rice-
dissolving, the higher the levels of extraction at the
filtration stage, and the permitted use of larger amounts
of ji5zi5 alcohol mean about 5 L of futsD-shu sake can
be made from each kilogram of rice .
 THE MAIN FERMENTATION (MOROMI) 65

PUTTING THE OPTIONS TOGETHER

The options suggested in this table are not the only ways these categories and grades of sake can be made.
Indeed sake brewing is hugely varied, but it is helpful to see how some well-establ ished approaches deliver the ir
different stylistic results. Note , this table includes information cover ed in Chapt ers 13 J/5z/5 Alcohol and Filtration
and Chapter 14 Finishing .

Ginj6 Glnj6 Junmai Junmai Honj6z6 Futsii-shu

Elegant,restrained Intensejuicy-fruity Tasty,medium Veryfull bodied Light,simple, Inexpensive,

stylewith low acidity stylewith some bodiedstyle complexstylewith elegantdrinkabledry tastysake
acidity highacidityand stylesake
high umami

Ricetype Yamada-nishiki
, Yamada-nishiki Yamada-nishiki, Omachi Gohyakuman-goku Tablerice
Gohyakuman-goku Miyama-nishiki Omachi

Ricepreparation Lowseimai-buai. Lowseimai-buai. Mediumseimai-buai. Highseimai-buai. Mediumseimai-buai. Highseimai-buai.

Precisely,in small Precisely,in small Mediumbatchsizes Mediumbatchsizes Precisely,in small In largebatches,
quantities quantities quantities and precisionnot
needed

Water Mediumhard Soft Mediumhard Mediumhard Mediumhard Mediumhard(adjust

mineralcontent)

K6jlstyle Extremetsuki-haze Tsuki-haze Slightlyso-haze So-haze Tsuki-haze Veryso-haze

Fermentation Sokujo-moto, Sokujo-moto, Kimotoor Kimoto, Sokujo-moto, Fastsokujo-moto,

starter ko-ontoka moto ko-ontoka moto sokujo-moto yamahai ko-ontoka moto ko-ontoka moto

Yeast Blendof modern 9, 10,modernyeast, 6 or7 6 (especiallyfor full 7 or11 701

yeastwith low-aroma or blendof these,or bodiedsakesmade
yeastsuchas certainprefectural usingkimoto or
number7,or certain yeastsuchas Alps yamaha1)or 7
prefecturalyeast (Nagano)
suchas HD1

Fermentation Verylow Verylow Medium Mediumto high Mediumto low High

temperature

Fermentation Veryslow Veryslow Mediumspeed Fast Slow Fast

speed

Useof Yes(a little) No (junmai) No (junmai) No (junmai) Yes(a little) Yes,andconsider

j6z6 alcohol addingglucoseand
organicacidsand
flavourenhancers
too

Filtration method Fukurofor the most Fukuroor centrifuge Yabuta,with medium UsuallyYabuta Yabuta Yabutawith high
premiumdaiginjo, for the mostpremium pressure pressure
take middlefraction junmai daiginjo,
and/orfune or takingmiddlefraction
Yabuta and/orfune or
Yabuta

Kasu-bua
l Veryhigh High Mediumto low Mediumto low Mediumto high Verylow

Pasteurisation Yes,twice (or rarely Yes,twice (or rarely Yes,twice Considernama, Yes,twice Always,twice
onetime, in bottle) onetime, in bottle) or nama-chozo

Additionof water Yes Yes Yes No (genshu) Yes Yes

Charcoalfining Yes No,or very little Yes,a little No Yes,a lot Yes

Ageingbefore Short Short A few months, in A year or more, Short As little as possible
release bulk beforebottling eitherin maturation
vesselsor bottle
66 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY
JozoAlcoholand Filtration
13
When the brewer stops the fermentation, the liquid
is white, opaque and full of rice solids. This is not a
viable commercial product not least because the law requires that the liquid must be filtered before
it can be called sake. By the end of this stage in production most new sake is clear, with a pale lemon-
green colour.
THE AIMS OF THE BREWER
At this point the brewer has a number of objectives:
To stop the fermentation at the required level of
alcohol and unfermented sugar.
To ensure as much as possible of the desirable
components {alcohol, water, sugar, aroma and
components that enhance texture) get into the sake.
To ensure as much as possible of the undesirable
components {rice solids, yeast particles, and
components that lead to coarse texture) stay behind.
To extract as much sake as is appropriate to the style
being produced .
The techniques available are:
temperature control
adding high strength distilled alcohol Uozo alcohol)
to selectively extract the most desirable parts {for
non-Junmai sake)
using a filter, of which there are various different
kinds, that vary from very gentle to very efficient.
STOPPING THE FERMENTATION
The fermentation is stopped when the sake has reached
the desired levels of alcohol and unfermented sugar.
In order to stop the yeast activity, the fermentation
temperature is usually lowered to 3-S'C {37-41' F) to
halt the yeast without killing them. Dead yeast can add
interesting complexity to wine and beer, but the flavour
they would add is considered undesirable in sake.
However, the sake should not be filtered too early
otherwise it retains green and sour smells.
JOZOALCOHOL, THE FOURTH ADDITION AND
OTHER ADDITIVES
For all sake, the only permitted additive after filtration
is water. Before filtration, distilled alcohol can be added
in limited quantities, and it is still permissible to add
more rice, water and koji.
For futsO-shu only, brewers are also permitted, until
filtration, to adjust:
sweetness {increased by adding glucose or other
permitted sugars)
acidity {increased by adding permitted organic acids)
umami {increased by adding permitted amino acids).
JozoAlcohol
For daiginjo, ginjo, honjozo and futsO-shu {i.e. all non-
Junmai sake), some high-strength distilled alcohol Uozo
alcohol) is added to the fermentation tank before
filtration . Although the Jozo alcohol can be rice-based
and locally made, it can also be imported . A common
source is Brazil, where it is made from molasses and/or
grains. It must be distilled from an alcoholic beverage
fermented from raw materials of agricultural origin .
The alcohol is distilled like vodka to over 95% abv to
remove all flavour, before being sold to the brewer,
and stored by the brewer at 30-40% abv to reduce the
risk of fire. It is added to the sake at 30-40 % abv. The
Japanese government sets a maximum amount of Jozo
alcohol that can be added .
For Junmai, none can be added.
For Premium {non-Junmm) sakes, 10% can be added.
For FutsO-shu, 50% can be added {including any
other flavour improving additives).
These percentages are the mass of pure alcohol {at
95% abv) expressed as a percentage of the mass of the
polished rice used to make the sake.
The goal {at least, for premium sake) is not to increase
the volume, so brewers use the amount of Jozo alcohol
that is appropriate to their desired style, and within the
required limit. The main possible effects on style are:
increased expression of aromas, especially for ginjo
sakes
lighter palate profile {lower sugar, acidity and umami,
lighter body, and a shorter more cleaning, crisper
finish, called kire) .
Note that the use of Jozo alcohol does not generally
increase the alcohol level of the bottled sake, so it is
incorrect to consider these as 'fortified' . Water is almost
always added after filtration to bring the alcohol level
back down to the desired bottling strength, as is the
case with all non-genshu sake.
Many aromatic compounds in sake are more soluble
in alcohol than in water, so raising the alcohol at the
filtration stage means more of these are carried into the
sake, and fewer are left behind in the rice solids. This is
especially the case for the fruity esters created during
ginjo fermentations.
lf}ozo alcohol is added at 30-40% abv before
filtration , and the water is added after filtration, the
overall effect is dilution. Sweetness, acidity and the
dextrins that contribute to body are all diluted, as are
some aroma and flavour elements, though others are
increased due to the increased solvent effect of the
 J0Z0 ALCOHOL AND FILTRATION 67

higher alcohol. The result is a lighter, leaner, purer,
more elegant style of sake .
Sake with addedjozo alcohol is referred to as aruten,
an abbreviation of arukoru-tenka {alcohol addition) , but
this is not used as a labelling term . The usage of jozo
alcohol has been decreasing as the current markets
increasingly prefer junmai styles . The technique is also
becoming less necessary owing to improvements in
brewing technology and the development of new yeast
strains, expressing intense ginjo aromas without the
need to enhance them usingjozo alcohol.
The Fourth Addition
The fourth addition is a technique use to control the
level of sweetness in a sake. The addition is made
towards the end of the ferment of aruten sakes . This
fourth addition is mainly water , dissolved sugars and
small amounts of dextrins . It is created by adding koji
enzymes directly to a mix of steamed rice and water .
The enzymes rapidly convert the rice starch into sugar,
and leave some starch fragments as dextrins .
The brewer decides the level of sweetness they wish
the final sake to have, and calculates the volume of fourth
addition needed to achieve this , taking into account the
volume increase due to jozo alcohol and water.
OPTIONS FOR FILTRATION
When the brewer considers that it is time to remove the
remaining rice solids, the sake will undergo filtration.
Filtration is the closest translation to the term used in
the Japanese legislation, although this process is widely
referred to as 'pressing', because it occurs at the
equivalent stage to pressing for red wines, and the
equipment that is most widely used looks similar to a
wine press . However, it is more accurate to describe the
process as filtration . This is because the idea is not to
press the liquid from the solids, but rather to use a mesh
to separate and remove the solid parts, called sake-kasu.
There are currently three main methods of separating
the sake liquid from the solids, but innovation continues
in this area.
Yabuta-Shibori (Assakuki)
This is the modern industry standard filtration method
using an accordion-like machine called an assakuki,
though the machines are most commonly referred to
by the name of the major brand {Yabuta). Most sake is
filtered through this kind of machine. The porridge-like
sake from a recently finished fermentation is pumped
into vertical pocket panels . Next to every sake-filled
panel there is another pocket that can be mechanically

Freshlybrewedsake Air in: inflatingthe bags YABUTA·SHIB0RI

filling the filter
\,\, \,\ \,\,
1.A brewery worker
ensuringall the
sake-kasuis out of
Steelsupport a yabuta after it
Deflated~----► 1141+--
air bag for structural has been used.
integrity
2. Sake-kasufrom

---------► ~
➔
a yabuta.The
pressurethat
Kasuremains can be applied
in bagbetween
squeezesthe kasu
inflatedbags
L..,ti---a---+-- Bagholding into compacted
the freshly
sheets.
brewedsake
Filteredsake
coming out
FILLING
THEYABUTA FILTERING
68 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY

Freshlyfilteredclear inflated with air. As the air pockets expand , they apply
sake. pressure to the adjacent sake-filled pockets, squeezing
the liquid through the fabric, while the fabric holds the
solid sake-kasu. A strong metal frame holds everything
in place.
Yabuta exist in various sizes, and the largest ones
can extract large volumes of liquid very rapidly; filtration
takes just a few hours. The mechanically applied air
pressure, and the strong frame, means it is capable of
efficiently extracting large volumes of sake from the
kasu. Although strong pressure can release coarse
components from the lees into the sake, it is possible to
lower the air pressure in the Yabuta and produce high-
quality sakes. The very best sakes are made when little
or no pressure is applied and this is also possible when
using a Yabuta. Very low or no air pressure means that
the extraction is slow enough for the brewer to carefully
separate the filtration fractions and select the very best
parts (see Filtration Fractions below). Compared with
the other traditional methods, Yabuta are also good at
minimising oxidation.
This is the industry standard method for futsD-shu,
junmai and honji5zi5. Almost all ginj/5 and daiginj/5 sakes
are now filtered this way too.

FUNA-SHIBORI

FILLING
THEFUNE

Bagsfull of freshly Jl1'.'.:i;::::::::::::::=::=:-:::-~

brewedsake

Pressure
allied
machanically

FILTERING

Kasuremains
in bags
__ :-,

1.A fune filled with cloth bagsthat havebeenfilled with freshly

fermentedsake.
Thehydraulicmechanismthat will applypressurefrom above
Filteredsakecomingout is clearto see.
 J0Z0 ALCOHOL AND FILTRATION 69

Funa-Shibori
FUKURO-SHIBORI
This is the traditional way of separating the liquid from
the rice solids, but is now limited to some premium sakes
because the Yabuta is more appropriate for almost all
sake . In this method, the sake ferment is poured into
long individual cloth bags made of a synthetic fabric
or cotton . These bags are laid horizontally in a large
wooden or metal tub called a fune. Pressure is then
applied from above, usually mechanically . This causes
the sake to run out of the bags through a hole in the
bottom of the tub, while the solids remain inside. -I--'-'.&-- Freshlybrewedsake
Fune filtration takes about two days, which is much suspendedin bags.
longer than Yabuta filtration, but the lower pressures Sakedripsout leaving
kasu in the bag
that can be applied means the resulting sake is
generally finer in texture. The slower the extraction,
and the smaller scale, makes a more precise separation
of filtration fractions possible.
, Filteredsakecomingout
This method is mainly used for ginjo,junmai ginjo,
and some daiginjo andjunmai daiginjo.

Fukuro-Shibori (Drip Separation)

This is a traditional method that uses no external
pressure, instead relying solely on gravity . Newly
fermented sake is poured into small cloth bags (about
five to ten litres each), which are hung up to allow the
liquid to drip through, while the bag holds back the
solids. Sake is normally collected in 18-litre (four-gallon)
glass bottles called to-bin.
This is the slowest method of filtration and takes
place on the smallest scale, allowing the most precise
separation of filtration fractions. Compared with using
a fune, this process is even gentler and leads to even
finer textures.
Because it is such a highly labour-intensive and time-
consuming process, its use is limited to super-premium
sake like daiginjo andjunmai daiginjo, especially for 1. Clothbags
sakes destined for entry into the Annual Japan Sake suspendedin a
Awards each spring. Some breweries call sake filtered metalcontainer
this way shizuku-zake (drip sake). that will catch
After the fukuro-shibori process, there remains some and collectthe
liquid mixed in with the solids in the bags. The contents drippingsake.
of the bags can be filtered again using either funa-
shibori or yabuta-shibori in order to ensure none of the 2. Sakethat has
liquid is wasted. dripped out of
the cloth bags is
Other Methods of Filtration collectedin a
In addition to these main methods, brewers and glassto-binvia
engineers are exploring other methods of separating the green pipe.
sake liquid from solids. Some of these are aiming at
speed and efficiency (though the Yabuta will be hard
to improve on). Others are looking at better ways to
minimise oxidation and any loss of aromatic freshness.
Both funa-shibori and fukuro-shibori lead to a great
deal of exposure to the air, and possible damage by
oxygen. Chemical analysis of ginjo sakes show the
presence of chemicals indicating high levels of
oxidation - which is perhaps surprising for a drink that
is so pale and delicate. This helps make sake stable
70 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY
Glassto-binthat havebeen
usedto collectsakefiltered
usingfukuro-shibori.
once opened, but some producers are wondering what
could be achieved if oxygen exposure were avoided.
During the fermentation, yeast scavenge oxygen, so
the most critical time is during the filtration stage, after
which the sake can be stored in sealed tanks. An
example of a method to filter with minimal oxygen
exposure is a centrifuge separator , currently used by
just a tiny number of quality-conscious breweries.
These are fast, and avoid the risk of evaporation of
ginjo aromas and contact with oxygen. Also, being
stainless steel, there is no risk of tainting the sake.
FILTRATION FRACTIONS
Whatever the method used, there are some differences
between the sake that is released first (the free run)
and the sake that is released later, as more pressure is
applied or more time passes.
If a producer is seeking to maximise quality, they can
take advantage of these differences, especially if they
are using funa-shibori or fukuro-shibori.
Arabashiri
The free-run liquid that emerges from a filter before
pressure is applied is called arabashiri. It tends to be
livelier, with more dissolved carbon dioxide (which
dissipates over the course of the slow filtration process
if it is not captured), and the first parts can even be a
little cloudy and rough-textured. It has an extreme,
almost assertive freshness . Some brewers release this,
generally as an unmatured, unpasteurised, seasonal
product (to maximise the fresh character). This is
labelled as arabashiri. When not bottled separately,
this rough and lively fraction is generally blended as a
component in less expensive sakes.
Naka-dori/naka-gumi
The middle fraction produces the highest-quality sake,
with the silkiest texture and the purest aromas. With
funa-shibori sake, this middle fraction can be labelled
as naka-dori or naka-gumi. There is no legal definition
of this; it is the brewer's decision to decide how much
to reject from the start and end of the filtration process.
With fukuro-shibori sake, the middle few 18-litre to-bins
may be selected and bottled separately, and to-bin
gakoi is the term for this. As with naka-dori!naka-gumi,
the brewers use their judgement regarding how much
to include.
Seme
The final fraction is called seme. It is coarser in texture
than the middle fraction and tends to have less aromatic
freshness because of the liquid's longer exposure to
air, and the increased contact time between the solids
and the liquid. At this stage if a funa-shibori is being
used, pressure is increased. As pressure is increased,
proteins, lipids and unconverted starch fragments can
be extracted from the sake-kasu, leading to increased
bitter flavours, astringency and a coarse texture. In a
tune, it is common to rearrange the bags to press and
extract a little more liquid through another filtration. This

sake may still be of acceptable quality. It is generally
blended as a component in less expensive sakes.
SAKE-KASU AND KASU-BUAI
The solid cake left over from the filtration process is
called sake-kasu . In addition to undissolved rice and
yeast, it also contains about 8 per cent alcohol. Sake-
kasu is highly nutritious and can be eaten as it is or
used as either a raw ingredient for making shochO, or
for cooking and pickling vegetables.
Kasu-buai is the term given to the ratio of the mass
of sake-kasu expressed as a percentage of the mass
of polished rice used to make the sake. For example,
if using 100 kg of rice to brew sake and 25 kg remains
as sake-kasu after filtering, its kasu-buai is 25 per cent.
The ratio is related to which filtration method is to be
used, and to the brewing method used. It tends to be
higher when:
low levels of koji enzymes and low temperatures limit
the extent to which the rice breaks up (as is the case
with ginjo ferments)
JOZOALCOHOL AND FILTRATION 71
very gentle filtration methods are used (such as
fukuro-shibon).
Conversely, the kasu-buai is lower when:
larger amounts of koji enzymes and higher
fermentation temperatures result in the rice breaking
up more completely
very efficient filtration methods are used (such as
yabuta with high pressure).
A producer might be very proud of a high kasu-buai
when making super-premium sake and, as such, the
number is sometimes stated on the back label. For
daiginjo class, the percentage of kasu-buai is typically
40-60 per cent, and a little less for ginjo class. The
kasu for these sakes is wet and spongy. Achieving a
low kasu-buai is an objective when trying to make large
volumes of affordable sake . For futsO-shu, the kasu-
buai is typically below 30 per cent, and the resulting
kasu forms thin, hard sheets.
72 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY
Once a sake has been filtered, the brewer could simply package it and put it on
Finishingsale.
14 Indeed some sakes are sold like this in limited numbers as a seasonal product.
Most sakes do undergo a number of processes in order to ensure the clarity and colour of the sake as
well as level of alcohol and its stability are as the brewer and consumers require.
THE AIMS OF THE BREWER
After filtration , the sake is an almost clear liquid, but
there are options available to the brewer to adjust the
final product ahead of bottling and shipping. The
producer may want to choose from , or do all of, the
following processes .
Subtracting - After filtration, there may be suspended
particles in the sake as well as proteins and undesirable
colour, which the producer can remove if they choose .
Significant subtractions such as the removal of alcohol
(as happens in some wine and beer) are not permitted
in sake brewing .
Pasteurisation - Koji enzymes are still active and there
may be viable microbes that can spoil the sake. The
majority of sakes are pasteurised . Unpasteurised sakes
are called nama-zake .
Storage and Maturation - Chemical reactions between
the different components can lead to the development
of desirable aromas and te xtures . Sakes are typically
stored at the brewery for a few months before they are
put on sale. Sakes that undergo an extended period of
maturation are a speciality style of sake called koshu .
Additions - For all sake, the only addition permitted
after filtration is water .
SUBTRACTING
Sedimentation
Even after filtration, some haziness and colour remain
in the sake liquid, generally due to small particles of
rice or yeast. Given enough time , these particles fall out
due to gravity and then the layer of clear liquid can be
separated from the layer of solids. After filtering the
sake, brewers normally leave the sake for up to a week
to settle the remaining sediments . The clear sake can
be pumped off the sediment. However , the sediment is
not very compact and contains a lot of sake. This liquid
can be recovered by passing the sediment through a
filter .
Protein Fining
With the passage of time, during storage, proteins
present in the sake may cause some additional
haziness to develop in it. Unlike the rice and yeast
particles, these proteins, although suspended in the
liquid, are too small to be removed by filtration without
removing other desirable parts of the sake . Fining
agents are substances that cause these tiny suspended
particles to clump together . The larger clumps fall out of
suspension due to gravity, or they can be filtered out.
Charcoal Fining
Active charcoal is also used as a fining agent to reduce
the amount of colour and remove undesirable aromas,
flavours and textures . Charcoal powder is added to the
tank, and the undesirable components are adsorbed on
its surface. The powder is then removed using a filter .
This process also affects the way sake ages, slowing
the development of the colour and the aged aromas .
This process is called roka . The practice of using
charcoal fining dates back to between 1911and 1923.
It was originally used to clean up sake to be submitted
for sake contests : this was a period when any trace
of colour in sake led to lost marks in the sake
competitions. The practice later spread into the wider
market of commercial sakes especially after the growth
in popularity of the light , crisp, dry and (most
importantly) water-white style of Niigata sakes that was
developed in the late 1980s.
Even though charcoal fining removes the undesirable
characteristics in the sake, in recent years more and
more breweries have started to believe that it also
removes some of the positive characteristics and
makes the sake too thin and characterless , especially
when over-used. In extreme cases , it is possible to
smell and taste the carbon itself. This means that
today 's market is shifting towards a muroka (un-carbon
fined) style of sake, which is considered a more natural
style of sake with richer and less manipulated flavours .
Final Filtration
The filters that brewers use at this stage are very
different. They have filters with pores that are small
enough to be able to remove very small objects,
including yeast and bacteria . There are two main
reasons why a brewer may choose to use these filters :
to produce a crystal clear sake (sedimentation does
not always achieve th is result)
to remove yeast and bacteria in order to improve the
stability of the sake .
PASTEURISATION (HI-IRE)
After sedimentation , and any fining or filtration (where
 FINISHING 73

used), the sake is not a stable product and is at risk of

deteriorating rapidly or even going off. There are a
number of reasons for this . Sake:
has koji enzymes and starch fragments that can
continue being broken into sugars
generally has sugars that have not been fermented
and the yeast and any other microorganisms will feed
on these sugars if the temperature of the sake rises
has relatively little acidity, which means that
microorganisms can easily live in it
cannot legally have preseNatives such as sulfur
dioxide (SO2 ) added. Even if this were allowed, SO2
depends on acidity to be effective and would be of
little use with sake's low levels of acid.

Special filters with a very small pore size can be used

to remove yeast and even (much smaller) bacteria that
might later cause spoilage. The most problematic of
these is a strain of lactic acid bacteria called hi-ochi kin.
When hi-ochi kin is active, the sake becomes cloudy,
oxidised and develops an unpleasant odour. However,
filtration does not produce a fully stable sake because
it cannot remove the koji enzymes. They remain active
and they can increase the level of sweetness in a
sake as well as accelerate oxidation leading to loss
of freshness. These enzymes can continue to cause
problems until the sake is consumed unless it is kept
very cold - storage conditions that temporarily slow
the enzyme activity.
Filtering to remove the enzymes is possible, using a
molecular filter, and some large brewers use this kind
of fine filtration to produce unpasteurised sakes that
do not need to be kept cold . However, the equipment
is costly. For almost all sake, producers use heat to
deactivate the koji enzymes as well as to kill any yeast
and bacteria that may be present in a sake immediately
after filtration .
very well, it typically takes the sake in a large tank one A filter usedto remove

Pasteurisation Techniques or two days to cool down . This can harm ginjo aromas charcoalfiningpowder

Most sake undergoes pasteurisation twice. On both and freshness in general. froma sake.

occasions the sake is heated to a temperature of

60-65 °C (140-149°F). This is done immediately after
filtration (before storage) and a second time before
shipping out (after storage).
There are two methods of pasteurisation . The more
efficient method is to pasteurise in bulk, while the more
labour-intensive way is to pasteurise bottled sake in
hot water.
Bulk pasteurisation - This method is called theja-kan
method, which is named after the coiled tube that is
used to pasteurise the sake . The tubes are heated up
to 60-65°C (140-149°F) and the sake runs through
them. Once pasteurised, the sake is transferred to a
large tank for storage and will usually go through a
second pasteurisation before bottling. Althoughja-kan
pasteurisation is very efficient for treating large
quantities quickly, sterilising and stabilising the sake
Bottle pasteurisation - This method is called bin hi-ire
or bin-kan. Sake is bottled first and then the bottles
are put into hot water to raise the sake to the required
temperature. It is then usually cooled down immediately
by showering cold water onto the bottles or putting the
bottles into ice-cold water after pasteurisation. Some
brewers believe it is gentler to let the bottles cool
naturally, but even if the cooling is natural it happens
fairly quickly because of the cool ambient temperatures
in the brewing season and the small size of the bottles.
The process can be carried out by hand or by machine.
Since the sake is already bottled, there is no need for
a second pasteurisation.
Although it is more labour intensive than bulk
pasteurisation, it is a quick and gentle process
exposing the sake to the least heat, for the shortest
amount of time. This method is therefore used for ginjo,
74 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY
Bottlepasteurisation.
Thebottlesare submerged
In hotwater.The
thermometersare there to
monitorthe temperatureof
the sakebeingpasteurised.
Junmai ginjo, daiginjo andjunmai daiginjo sakes. Some
brewers even prefer to use this method for their Junmai
and honjozo sakes.
Unpasteurised Sake (Nama-zake)
Just filtered sake has an extremely fresh and expressive
taste with a lingering finish. Brewers sometimes sell
these, unpasteurised, as special seasonal products.
These are released right after the first press has been
completed, around mid-November to early December ,
and are categorised as nama-zake ('raw sake') or
simply nama . Many nama-zake are labelled as shinshu
('new sake '). These seasonal products will be available
until early summer at the latest, since nama-zake is
extremely sensitive to the heat and maturation occurs
much more rapidly compared with pasteurised sake.
In addition, it is at risk of spoilage by hi-ochi bacteria.
Over-maturation or incorrect storage conditions
cause a degradation of nama-zake as a result of
enzymatic action. The fault is called nama-hine-ka,
and the distinctive aromas range from malt and bacon,
through to rancid cheese . A few sake enthusiasts enjoy
these aromas and like to experiment with ageing
nama-zake (see Chapter 4 The Systematic Approach
to Tasting Sake ®for more details).
In addition to 'true' nama-zake (which is never
pasteurised), the following three options are also
available to brewers wishing to maximise freshness and
minimise the impact of pasteurisation while ensuring
that the product is stable once released.
Nama-chozo - Legally defined as a sake that is
pasteurised just once, after storage in bulk . The first
(pre-storage) pasteurisation is avoided. This is a way of
providing some of the character of 'true' nama-zake,
but with a slightly lower risk of the product being
damaged because of poor storage in the supply chain .
Nama-zume - This term is not legally defined, but
generally means a sake that is pasteurised once,
before storage in bulk and later bottled without a
second pasteurisation. Hiya-oroshi is nama-zume that
is released as an autumn seasonal product once the
heat of the summer has passed.
'Once-pasteurised' - This term is sometimes seen on
sake that is pasteurised just once (using bin hi-ire)
before storage in bottle. Because the sake is already
bottled, the second post-storage pasteurisation is
unnecessary. This avoids the distinct aromas of nama-
zake, which can develop in bottle, while keeping the
sake as fresh, stable and unmanipulated as possible.
STORAGE AND MATURATION
The heating of sake during the pasteurisation process
alters the aroma and leaves it with an unrefined taste.
Freshly filtered sake is also relatively rough in texture
and lively in flavour. For these reasons it is normal to
rest sake for between six months to one year to settle
and balance out the flavours. Sake that is brewed
between autumn and winter following the harvesting

of the rice is stored during spring and summer and then
shipped the following autumn. Brewers mature sake in
various ways. Temperature can range from between
freezing to ambient temperatures that can vary
considerably between summer highs and winter lows .
The normal temperature is cool and steady (about
10-20 ' C, 50-68'F). This pre-released storage is usually
carried out in sealed tanks, but some sakes especially
ginjo styles are stored in bottle.
Any sake matured for longer periods is categorised
as aged sake or koshu ('old sake') . Even though there
is no legal rule for its minimum maturation length,
brewers tend to use this term only for sake that has
been matured for two years or more (see Chapter 15
Speciality Styles of Sake for more details).
ADDITIONS
Adding Water
After filtration and during storage in bulk, the alcoholic
content of sake is typically 17-20% abv. As this alcohol
level is considered to be too high for enjoyable
consumption with meals, brewers often adjust the
flavour and alcohol content by adding water and
reducing the alcohol level by 1-2% abv. Sake that has
not had water added at bottling is categorised as
genshu ('original sake'). Genshu sakes tend to have
more concentrated and rich flavours, with higher
alcohol. However, it is possible for brewers to manage
the fermentation to achieve a final alcohol level of
15-16% abv (or even lower) even without water addition.
FINISHING 75
BLENDING
Sake can be blended for volume and stylistic
consistency. Not all sakes are blended. In some cases,
brewers go to extreme lengths (such as collecting
filtration fractions separately) to produce tiny volumes
of sake with different styles. But for most sakes,
blending is the last stage where different components
can be combined to achieve the desired style. Different
components that could be used in blending include
sakes with:
different polishing ratios (the blending component
with the highest polishing ratio limits the sake grade)
different rice types or yeast types
different press fractions
different ages or made using different storage
methods
(for nigori-zake only} higher and lower amounts of
sake lees.
BOTTLING AND LABELLING
Usually, breweries filter and pasteurise sake again at
the bottling stage.
Sake bottles come in various colours, but black,
brown or dark green bottles are often used because
they limit the sake's contact with light. Light increases
the speed of sake colouring and causes unpleasant
aromas to develop .
Depending on the scale of production, the bottling
and labelling may be done by hand, or by using a
mechanised bottling line.
76 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY
SpecialityStylesof Sake Beyond the styles produced by variations of the
15 standard sake-production process, there are other
unique speciality categories in sake. Some have a long historical background but others are relatively
new categories created by young sake brewers seeking new markets. These categories are still
evolving and new developments are reflecting the perceived demands of sake markets within
Japan and abroad.
NIGORI-ZAKE
Nigori-zake is cloudy or opaque owing to the presence
of sake lees, which also provide a white or creamy
colour. Note that like nama-zake, the 's' of sake
becomes a 'z' for the sake pronunciation .
According to Japanese legislation, sake must be
filtered, so even though some English-language texts
describe nigori as 'unfiltered sake', this is incorrect.
Nigori-zake is made by partially filtering using a coarse
mesh and allowing an amount of the rice solids to
remain in the final liquid .
The method was pioneered by a brewer in Kyoto in
the 1960s, after working with local legislators to agree
a filter size that would allow them to state that the
product was filtered, while still allowing lees to pass
through.
Nigori-zake can have different degrees of lees,
and can be made in many styles (futsO-shu,junmai or
daiginjo, and it can be nama or sparkling as well). The
stylistic extremes are:
thick lees, making the sake richly textured and full-
bodied with higher acidity content
usu-nigori , or sasa-nigori , which have a small amount
of lees remaining to give some texture.
Because sake lees fall to the bottom of the bottle,
when serving nigori-zake it is essential to tilt the bottles
to mix the lees gently with the liquid. The exception is
sparkling style nigori-zake, where the carbon dioxide
bubbles will mix the lees when the bottle is opened.
As sake with lees tends to have a shorter shelf life
than clear sake, nigori-zake should be stored carefully
at a cool temperature . Its lees can develop orange,
brown or greyish colours when it is stored for too
long or at temperatures that are too warm. Normal
clear sake can sometimes become cloudy as a result
of an infection by hi-ochi bacteria (see the section
Pasteurisation (Hi-ire) in Chapter 14) or misstorage of
nama-zake . Any sake with cloudiness or a deposit
should be white or slightly creamy in colour, and
should smell and taste pleasant.
SPARKLING SAKE
Sparkling sake (happ-oshu in Japanese) is relatively
new. Carbonated and bottle-fermented sakes began to
be marketed in the 1990s, when sake brewers were
trying to attract new consumers to a category that was
increasingly seen as outdated in Japan. Sparkling sake
is still an evolving category .
The production method of sparkling sake is not
tightly defined or regulated , and no standard label
terms exist, therefore, different producers create
various styles of sparkling sake with various levels of
alcohol, sediment and sweetness, ranging from off-dry
to sweet.
Sparkling sake can be unofficially grouped into three
styles .
Carbonated Sparkling Sakes
The simplest method of making sparkling sake is simply
to inject carbon dioxide under pressure once the sake
is made and filtered . Sparkling sake made by this
method tends to be clear, water-white and colourless
in appearance . Most are sold pasteurised .
Bottle-fermented Sparkling Sakes
Bottle-fermented sparkling sake is initially made the
same way as regular sake, but fermentation is halted
earlier than is usual when the alcohol is only around 5-
10% abv, as opposed to the 18-20% abv of normal sake.
The sake is then filtered and bottled. Within the bottle,
fermentation continues and produces carbonation, as
well as adding an extra 1-1.5% abv. In order to continue
fermentation, a significant amount of sugar and yeast
is needed, hence these sparkling sakes tend to be
cloudy . It is not common to disgorge (remove the yeast
from) this style of sparkling sake because sake yeast
do not flocculate (clump together), so are difficult to
remove . The flocculating yeast that are bred for easy
disgorgement in sparkling wines struggle to ferment
sake , and the small scale sparkling sake industry means
there are fewer resources to invest in developing
suitable yeast. Depending on how much further the
fermentation progresses, the balance of alcohol and
residual sugar can vary in the final product. Most of
the sake made with this method is sold nama
(unpasteurised) and sold as premium-priced products
in Champagne-style bottles.
'Live Nigori'
The 'live nigori' method is the most traditional style of
sparkling sake. It is a seasonal style, released in the
winter, around Christmas time, when shinshu ('new
sake ') comes onto the market. The production method

is similar to the bottle-fermented sparkling sakes,
except that these are bottled with only a very coarse
filtration. The product is unstable because koji enzymes
and yeast continue to produce sugar and alcohol in the
bottle. This instability means these products have very
limited distribution. Because the alcohol level changes
day by day, it is not possible for these to comply with
labelling legislation in most export markets. Generally
they are available in a small, local market for a limited
time of year. Great care is needed when opening these
sakes, because it is easy for as much as a third of the
contents to rush out when the pressure is released.
KOSHU
Koshu is also knownjukusei-shu ('matured sake').
Ageing sake brings a well-rounded texture with greater
integration of the various flavours as well as the
development of new flavours. These are the result of
reactions between sugars and amino acids. This is a
very varied category because brewers have a lot of
options to choose from in their production. Different
styles of sake can be aged and the vessels used to age
the sake are varied not only in their size but also the
material they are made from. Finally, the temperature of
the maturation conditions can have a significant impact
on the style of the koshu.
SPECIALITY STYLES OF SAKE 77
Sake with higher sugar and acidity content is
believed to have more ageing potential than regular
sake. In order to make this style of sake, producers
make their koji with a much thicker covering of mould
than koji used for regular sake. It is an extreme style of
so-haze. Also the brewer adds a higher proportion of
koji to provide faster starch-to-sugar enzymatic activity
within the ferment. It is also common to add acid
during the sake-making to balance the sweetness and
intensity of the final flavours. Blending enables the
brewer to control the flavour profiles to maintain
consistency. Some brewers blend different styles and
vintages.
In general, rougher polishing ratios and ageing at
higher temperatures, in larger vessels with more
access to oxygen, yield more drastic changes. The
colour develops to medium or deep gold, amber and
even to brown. Age creates richness and complexity
and aromas such as caramel, toffee, molasses and
nuts. Some earthy/vegetable notes of mushrooms, soy
sauce, pickled cabbage and radish can also develop.
Finely polished rice made in ginjo styles and matured A line upof speciality
at colder temperatures in small, tightly sealed inert sakesfrom:(lefttoright)
vessels, produce less noticeable and more subtle sparklingsake,koshu,
variations in aged sake flavours. Colours develop to nama-zake,nigoriand
pale or medium lemon or gold and aromas can remain kijoshu.
78 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY
Sakethat will ultimatelybe
soldas koshubeingagedin
smallsealedcontainers.
remarkably fresh with a subtle nuttiness. The texture
becomes fine and silky.
Some unusual ageing options for koshu include
maturation in caves or in the ocean where the ageing
temperature is low and stable. A few breweries mature
sake in whisky, sherry or wine oak barrels to add
unique characteristics to the flavour.
Most of the koshu in the market is aged for at least
two years but there is no legally required minimum
period of ageing for this style. If there is an age
statement, this legally must refer to the number of years
that the youngest component has been in its storage
container, rounding down for any fractions of a year.
There is a 'Long-term Matured Sake Research Group',
which involves 45 breweries. This group states that
koshu made by its members must be aged for at least
three years before it is released.
Bottle-aged sakes (whether labelled 'koshu' or not),
are the main exception to the general rule that the
'date of manufacture' on the bottle indicates the
bottling date. Some indicate both the year of brewing
(BY) and the 'date of manufacture' (release date),
allowing the consumer to see how long the product
was aged in bottle at the brewery, and how long it has
been in the supply chain since release.
KIJOSHU
Kiji5shu is a sweet style of sake that is typically full-
bodied and complex. The name means 'noble ferment
sake'. Kiji5shu was created to be comparable with
premium noble-rot wines such as Tokaji and Sauternes,
to be enjoyed by VIP guests visiting Japan.
During the production of kiji5shu, water additions to
the moromi are partially replaced with sake. Typically
this substitution happens on the fourth day. The regular
sake ratio of rice and water is 100:130. Kiji5shu typically
replaces the 130 parts water with 60 parts water plus
70 parts sake. The sake that is added to the moromi is
of the same grade as the kiji5shu that is being made.
Any grade of sake can be made in a kiji5shu style but
most have a polishing ratio between 60 and 70 per
cent.
This addition of sake raises the alcohol level at the
start of the fermentation. The yeast are not stopped by
this addition and continue the fermentation. However,
they are not able to ferment all of the sugar created
by the ki5ji enzymes by the time the fermentation is
stopped. This technique therefore results in a sake
that is sweet and viscous.
Kiji5shu also has higher levels of malic and lactic acid
than regular sake. Because of its high sugar and acid
content, kiji5shu has commonly been aged to benefit
from the flavour developments that come from the
reactions between the sugar and amino acids.
The brewing process for kiji5shu was invented in
1973 by Dr Makoto Sato at the National Research
Institute of Brewing (NRIB). His inspiration came from
a very old legal document. Enoki Shuzo in Hiroshima

Prefecture was the first brewery to make kijoshu for
consumers in 1974. In recent years more producers
have developed new styles of kijoshu, including fresher,
unaged styles.
Kijoshu is good to serve as a digestif or as an
alternative to dessert wine. Some producers recommend
pouring kijoshu over vanilla ice cream or serving it on
ice.
TARU-ZAKE
Until the fifteenth to sixteenth century, sake was made
in small batches close to where it was consumed. It was
stored in jars or pots made from glazed or unglazed
pottery. The introduction of wooden vessels such as
casks and barrels made it possible to ferment sake in
larger batches, and also to transport sake over large
distances within Japan. This coincided with the start
of the Edo period (1603-1868) when Nada (in Hyogo
Prefecture) had become the main sake production
region and large amounts were transferred by boat
to the new capital Edo (the old name for Tokyo). The
vessels used for transporting sake were made of
Japanese cedar. The wooden vessels are highly
fragrant, and added intense spicy flavours to the sake.
This practice continued to some extent until the 1920-
30s, by which time glass bottles became the standard
container for sake.
Taru-zake is a style of sake that has been stored in
SPECIALITY STYLES OF SAKE 79
casks of Japanese cedar to recreate this effect. Taru-
zake can be any style, but honjozo,Junmai and
futsO-shu are the most common. This is because ginjo
styles of sake lose their delicacy under the woody
aromas. Taru-zake comes in two forms:
matured and shipped in the traditional cedar barrel
matured in cedar barrels and transferred and
shipped in glass bottles of various sizes.
The typical size of a barrel is 72 L (4 to, in Japanese
units of volume), but 36-litre and 18-litre barrels are
also used. Because Japanese cedar transfers its strong
scent quickly, sake is usually stored for just one to
two weeks in the barrel. It is then blended for flavour
consistency. In Japanese legislation, taru-zake must
be matured in Japanese cedar vats. Therefore, the use
of cedar planks, staves, chips or any oils or extracts to
add woody aromas without using barrel is prohibited in
Japan. Most of the barrels are used about three times
before being discarded.
The most common place you would encounter
taru-zake in barrel is at celebratory events, such as
weddings, New Year and other Japanese festivities.
Once the decorated barrel is filled, a loose wooden lid
is placed on top so that the host and selected guests
of the party can use wooden hammers to knock and
'open' the barrel together. The sake is then served to
all of the party participants to share the celebration.
80 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY

JapaneseSakeLabelsand Kanji Manyofthebottlesofsakethatareexported

16 have back labels in English, providing
information about the producer, the style, and often very detailed information about the chemical
composition and production methods. But this is not always the case. To someone unable to read any
Japanese, the labels can seem impenetrable. However, by learning to recognise a small number of
these Japanese characters and particular terms in which they are used in combination, you can
gather a lot of information about the product, even if no English translation is given.

UNDERSTANDING WRITTEN JAPANESE
Written Japanese is a complex arrangement that uses
three different writing systems in combination: the
symbolic system of kanji and the two syllabaries called
hiragana and katakana.
Kanji
Japanese evolved as a spoken language long before it
was written down. The oldest surviving examples of
written Japanese use symbols imported from China via
Korea in the fourth century AD, and these characters
continue to be used for the core of Japanese writing.
They are called kanji in Japanese and originated as
writing symbols ('Ji') coming from the 'Han' (Chinese)
people.
Right from the oldest surviving written records
(around 700-800 AD), Japanese writers used Chinese
kanji in two ways.
Sound - In this case the Japanese used the way the
characters were pronounced in Chinese but not the
Chinese meaning. These pronunciations are often, but
not always, close to the pronunciation in modern
standard Chinese.
as two syllables: 'sa-ke'), which means any alcoholic
beverage (exactly the same as its Chinese meaning).
Kanji can also be combined to make up other
Japanese words. For example, Shu (;illi)can be combined
with other kanji to make, for example Ni-hon-shu ( E3
lilli)where it is pronounced the Chinese way, which
*
literally means 'Japanese alcoholic beverage', and
refers to the drink we know outside Japan as 'sake'.
The following are common kanji that you will encounter
very frequently on sake bottles.
5~ B *;j~*1'.
The seven kanji below are also seen quite frequently
and are useful for deducing the methods used to make
the sake, or its style.
LlJ ~ ~ ~ji tt 5:llj i:5°
Hiragana and Katakana
In addition to the 4000+ Chinese kanji used for writing
Japanese, there are two other smaller sets of simpler
characters that are unique to Japanese. They were
developed from various forms of shorthand over a
thousand years ago. These are:

Meaning - In this case the Japanese used the Chinese
meaning of the kanji but used the Japanese
pronunciation for the object or idea being portrayed.
Because of the two ways that kanji are used in
Japanese, for almost all kanji there are at least two
pronunciations: one derived from Chinese sound,
and one derived from the Japanese for the idea or
meaning the kanji conveys. Some kanji have just
one pronunciation (usually the Chinese one, but
occasionally the Japanese one), and a few characters
have multiple Chinese and/or Japanese pronunciations.
This means you need to see the context in which a
kanji is used before knowing how it should be
pronounced.
For example, ;illj is a kanji and represents the idea
'alcoholic beverage'. Its 'Chinese-derived' pronunciation
is 'shu', meaning any alcoholic beverage. However, in
modern standard Chinese, this symbol is pronounced
'jiu', for example, as in the spirit bai-Jiu (Bli!li).Its
'Japanese-derived' pronunciation is 'sake' (pronounced
Hiragana - Simpler, rounded symbols usually
combined with kanji on the back label. For example,
(::.;::: L) (nigon) is a common label term that is written in
hiragana.
Many brand names use ancient or obscure kanji that
even educated Japanese would not necessarily
recognise. To help Japanese readers, hiragana often
appear next to the kanji to indicate the correct
pronunciation. This is sometimes done with technical
words like kimoto and koji, where the kanji characters
are not widely recognised.
Katakana - Simpler, more angular-looking symbols
generally used for words imported into Japanese from
other languages. Katakana are used very little on sake
bottle labels. Two that appear frequently on back labels
are:
7 JI, ::::i-JI, (arukoru, or alcohol).
7 ::. / (amino), followed by the kanji lit (san,
meaning acid) giving a measure of the level of umami
present in the sake.

Each sound in Japanese (loosely equivalent to a
syllable) has a single, unique hiragana and a single
unique katakana. It would therefore be possible to
write the whole Japanese language equally well in
entirely hiragana or in entirely katakana . But, apart
from the link with tradition, the kanji have the great
advantage of being very visually distinct, so when
reading a sentence , the core ideas can be seen
immediately (by someone who recognises the kanjt).
Reading Japanese
On top of this complexity there are a couple of
additional challenges when reading Japanese . First,
written Japanese generally does not leave gaps
between words, so learning that daiginjo, honjozo and
nihon-shu are written with three different kanji (dai-gin-
jo, hon-jo-zo and ni-hon-shu) whereasjunmai, seishu
and ginjo use just two (jun-mai, sei-shu and gin-jo) is
not always much help when these terms appear in the
middle of longer, unbroken strings of symbols . It is best
to learn them so you recognise the kanji separately as
well as when combined. The good news is that, most of
the time, these words are prominent and are separated
on a front label.
The final challenge is that labels are sometimes
written in beautiful, but almost illegible, calligraphy. But
a familiarity with the core labelling terms will help even
in these cases, at least , most of the time .
PRONOUNCING JAPANESE WORDS
In contrast to reading or writing Japanese, pronouncing
the Japanese words is very easy. The number of
sounds in Japanese is small , and they can be
represented very accurately using the Latin alphabet. In
fact, the chances are that if you are an English speaker
and pronounce the Japanese word the way it is spelled,
you will pronounce it correctly, or at least closely
enough that you would be understood. Of course,
English speakers from different regions pronounce
these English words differently, but this will be a good
guide unless you have a very strong regional accent.
There are several similar systems for writing
Japanese using the Latin alphabet. This means you
may see slight differences in the way words are written .
This can affect:
use of hyphens and spaces (dai-ginjo , dai-gin-jo, dai
gin jo, dai ginjo)
how long vowels are written (daiginjoh, daiginjou,
daiginjo)
how consonants are written (daiginjyo) .
JAPANESE SAKE LABELS AND KANJI 81
The various conventions aim at making it simple for an
English speaker to read the word as it is written and for
the way they pronounce it to be close to the correct
Japanese pronunciation.
Vowels
In Japanese, there are five vowels that are almost
identical to the way they are pronounced in Italian or
Spanish, and for English speakers are close enough to:
a = as in 'pat'
i = as in 'peat'
u = as in 'put'
e = as in 'pet'
o = as in 'pot' .
If you see a line above an 'o' or a ' O', this indicates that
the vowel is lengthened to around double the length
(for example, Tokyo and kojt). Long versions of 'a', 'e'
and 'i' are written by simply doubling the vowel (for
example, Niigata) .
Consonants
Japanese consonants are limited to eh, d, f, g, h, j , k, m,
n, r, s, sh, t, w, y and z. If you pronounce these exactly as
you would in English, then you will be correct enough.
Just remember that the sound of the letter 'j' is always
written as a 'j', so 'g' is always pronounced as hard 'g '
as in 'gate', and never as in 'ginger '. (Remember this
when pronouncing ginjo and daiginjo .)
The only other likely trap for English speakers is to
forget that Japanese words are made up of syllables,
not letters . Every syllable in a Japanese word is
pronounced separately and distinctly. So that, whereas
in English an 'e' at the end of a word is silent, but
changes the vowel sound that precedes it, a final 'e'
in a Japanese word is a part of the word that is
pronounced. For example, sake is pronounced as
'sa-ke' (with two syllables) .
There are some other subtleties that you could learn
if you really want to tackle the language in detail, but
with this start , if in doubt , pronounce any Japanese
word the way it is written. You will be close enough to
be understood, and will avoid most of the risk of saying
something that has a completely different meaning .
COMMON KANJI FOUND ON SAKE LABELS
The tables overleaf provide the pronunciation and
meaning of individual kanji that is most commonly
found on Japanese labels . You do not need to
memorise these meanings, but you may find they help
you remember the sake labelling terms in which they
are used .
82 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY

Kanji Pronunciation(s) Meanlng(s) Used in

shu, alcohol, Ni-hon-shu

)~ sake sake B* 5~ Japan(ese) alcohol(ic) beverage

nama-zake
~ )~ raw (unpasteurised) sake

ko-shu
o 5~ old (aged) sake

ni sun Ni-hon,
B (can also mean 'day') B* Ni-ppon
sun origin, i.e. Japan ('land of the rising sun')

~
hon origin Ni-hon-shu
8 * )~ sun origin (Japanese) sake

hon-jo-zo
* g~ origin{al) fermentation production

'.=E. sei clear, ~.:E ..~ Sei-shu

iF.I clean, iF.Ji refined (clear) sake (the official term for
refined sake)

*ii!
jun pure

~* jun-mai
pure rice

* *ii!
*
mai rice jun-mai
pure rice

~ ~g
gin examine, gin -jo
scrutinise scrutinise(d) fermentation

• jo ferment(ation),
brew(ing) ~g
*g~
gin-Jo
scrutinise(d) fermentation

hon-Jo-zo
origin(al) fermentation production

dai great(ly), dai-gin-jo

7':~M
*
la
~& zo
large

produce,
production hon-jo-zo *g ~
Also,
great(ly) scrutinise(d) fermentation

hon-jo-zo
origin(al) fermentation production

~~ "ti::. shu-zo
I J.E. sake production ('sake brewery')
 JAPANESE SAKE LABELS AND KANJI 83

KanJI Pronunclatlon(s) Meanlng(s) Used In

~t toku special
fl ~IJf.lt!*
toku-betsu jun-mai
special selection pure rice

toku-betsu hon-jo-zo
fl ~IJ*B~ special selection origin(al) fermentation
production

betsu distinguished, toku-betsu jun-mai

~lj selected separately fl ~IJ
f.lt!* special selection pure rice

toku-betsu hon-jo-zo
fl ~IJ
*B~ special selection origin(al) fermentation
production

~ ~ ;~
ki, life, nama-zake
nama live, raw (unpasteurised) sake
living ,
raw k/-moto
~ ~it living fermentation-starter
moto fermentation starter, ki-moto
ijJI: fermentation origin ~ ~it living fermentation-starter
yama mountain yama-hai
LI.J (but in this context Ll.J
fi This is an abbreviation of yama-oroshi hai-shi
yama-oroshi refers to the 'Pounding with poles' abolition.
poles used for pulverising
and mixing rice in the
Kimoto method)

~
hai become outmoded yama-hai
(hai-shi means abolition) Ll.J
fi This is an abbreviation of yama-oroshi hai-shi
'Pounding with poles' abolition .

0
ko old,
aged o5~ ko-shu
old (aged) sake
84 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY

These kanji enable us to read the following common terms on sake bottles :

Kanji Pronunciation Literal Meaning

Nihon-shu Japan(ese) alcohol(ic) beverage

Sei-shu refined (clear) sake

(the official term for sake)

Junmai pure rice

ginjo scrutinise(d) fermentation

daiginjo great(ly) scrutinise(d) fermentation

Junmai ginjo pure rice scrutinise(d) fermentation

Junmai daiginjo pure rice great(ly) scrutinise(d) fermentation

honjozo origin(al) fermentation production

tokubetsu Junmai special selection Junmai

tokubetsu honjozo special selection honj6z6

yamahai 'pounding with poles' abolition

(abbreviation of yama-oroshi haish1)

kimoto living fermentation-starter

nama-zake raw (unpasteurised) sake

koshu old (aged) sake


The sake industry is in a state of change. Until recently,
The GlobalSake Industry sake was mainly brewed and consumed in Japan.
Decline in the local market and interest in the product by people outside Japan is leading brewers
increasingly to export, though the proportion exported remains small. It is also leading to breweries
being set up outside of Japan.
The sake industry consists of just over a thousand
active breweries in Japan, and a few breweries in other
countries, together with various suppliers of ingredients,
equipment and expertise, and various organisations
involved in the distribution, sale and promotion of sake.
SAKE PRODUCTION IN JAPAN
The number of sake breweries in Japan has halved,
from around 3500 in the 1970s to around 1500 in
2014-15, but not all of these 1500 are producing sake.
Production has also decreased, reflecting a decline in
domestic sales; 447 487 kl (2.49 million koku) were
produced in 2014-15, which is less than a third of the
volume produced (and sold) in the early 1970s. The
sake industry reports volume using the traditional
Japanese measurement of koku. As a comparison,
1 koku = 180 L = 20 x 9 L cases .
Of those remaining breweries, the industry is split
between a small number of giant producers and a
large number of smaller producers, with very little in
between . This means the industry 'average' (mean)
production of about 1500 koku does not represent the
reality of most breweries. The median is less than 500
koku. Over 80 per cent of sake breweries are tiny or
small (producing less than about 1000 koku each year).
Fewer than 3 per cent of brewers are considered large
or giant (over 10000 koku) and the largest 1 per cent of
breweries together make more than half of all the sake
produced in Japan. These giant companies are led by
Hakutsuru, Takara and Gekkeikan, each producing
approximately 250 000 koku. That is as much as the
combined production of the smallest 80%.
Factors Affecting the Price of Sake
A product's price is ultimately determined by what a
consumer is prepared to pay for it. Strong, effective
branding can lead to the price of something far
exceeding the costs of production. While this happens
in other alcoholic beverages (such as Champagne and
vodka), the price differences between sakes tend to be
closely correlated with the costs of raw ingredients and
production. This means that the following main factors
account for differences in price:
rice type (top grade yamada-nishiki is more
expensive than third grade table rice)
rice polishing (polishing to 30 per cent takes longer
and yields less sake than polishing to 70 per cent)
sake category (premium sake cannot be bulked out
THE GLOBAL SAKE INDUSTRY 85
17
with ji5zi5 alcohol and corrected with flavour
enhancers)
sake style (ginji5 sakes must be made with great
attention to detail, in small quantities, and the slow
ferment takes up space in the brewery)
other methods used (kimoto and yamahai take
longer and need greater expertise than sokujo-moto,
and koshu sakes require space and finance for the
time they are aged) .
In addition to the cost of producing the liquid, there
must be a gross profit for the brewery (to pay wages,
enable investment in equipment, and pay taxes and
levies to brewers associations) and there must be
margins for the distributors (including importers) and
retailers . At each stage there are usually further taxes to
pay, which also need to be included in the final price.
Location and Regionality
The chain of islands that forms Japan spans 20 degrees
latitude; similar to the span from Portland (Maine) to Key
West (Florida), or from Paris (France) to Timbuktu (Mali).
The country is divided into eight regions, which are
further subdivided into 47 prefectures. Although some
prefectures are more recognised for sake production,
there are sake breweries in all eight regions and almost
all of the 47 prefectures.
The two leading prefectures (Hyogo and Kyoto)
combined, account for approximately half of all sake
production, simply because the largest breweries are
located there . Niigata is third by volume, but has the
largest number of breweries.
In 2015, 'Nihon-shu' became a Geographical
Indication {GI) reseNed for sake brewed in Japan and
made from rice haNested in Japan. Sake does not yet
have a more detailed system of Gls, referring to a
product's region or place of origin within Japan, though
some groups of breweries have developed local
schemes . For example, the Dewa33 label in Yamagata,
and the Hakusan GI in Ishikawa Prefecture . There are
some trends in regional styles, but these are quite
limited. There are two broad underlying reasons for
this: ingredients and business trends.
Ingredients:
Rice can be sourced from anywhere in Japan, and is
widely traded. Even when local rice is used, it has a
subtle effect on sake flavour .
86 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY
Water can have its mineral and nutrient content
adjusted. Even when this is not done, the impact of
water is subtle.
Yeast and koji-kin spores are generally sourced from
suppliers. The Brewing Society of Japan (BSJ)
supplies most of the brewery yeast used, and there
are only a few specialist suppliers of koji-kin outside
of the BSJ.
Business trends:
Where once brewers tended to learn their skills from
local guilds, technical expertise and methods are
now shared throughout the country by universities
and organisations such as the National Research
Institute of Brewing (NRIB).
Where sakes were once made with local markets
and local cuisines in mind, brewers are increasingly
seeking national or international markets . The local
food specialities are also now much more widely
available.
The result is that a brewer in any location in Japan can
A sakesamurai make any style of sake, if they so choose . This is
inaugurationceremony. provided they have the money and the desire, and they
can source the rice, water, koji-kin and yeast, brewing
equipment and brewers, with the required expertise.
There is no reason why sake from Hokkaido Prefecture
has to taste different from sake from Kyushu Prefecture.
However, there are some trends in local styles that
can still be identified. There is a rough trend for lighter
and drier sakes to be made in the north-east (especially
Niigata) and sweeter and more intensely flavoured
sakes to be made in the south-west (especially
Hiroshima and Saga). There is also a tendency for
eastern-coastal breweries (such as those in Miyagi and
Shizuoka) to make lighter, purer sakes ideal for local
cold-water seafood. In central mountain locations (such
as Nagano, mountainous parts of Akita and Fukushima,
Tochigi and Gunmai) the sakes tend to be heavier and
more complex, to partner foods that rely more on
preserved meat and vegetables. Sakes made from
breweries on the warmer west coast also tend to be
richer and more intense.
Understanding these trends, and the limits of how
applicable they really are, requires a deep
understanding of recent events in sake history as well
as recent trends and developments at individual
breweries. As a simplification, the list below shows

some of the main influences underlying current
differences in regional style.
Iwate Prefecture (and Tohoku Region) - The Nanbu
Toji guild has nurtured high levels of technical expertise,
supporting local research and the sharing of ideas.
Most members seek to avoid heavy and rich flavours
so the sakes are pure, clean and light. Members of the
Nanbu guild are influential throughout Tohoku and
parts of Kanto.
Niigata Prefecture - The Echigo Toji guild promotes a
style of sake known as tanrei-karakuchi. Light, dry and
very pure, with a short clean kire finish. This influence
extends to neighbouring prefectures .
Nagano Prefecture - This mountainous region to the
south of Niigata has promoted an intensely flavoured,
rich and slightly sweet style of junmai sake, the exact
opposite to the Niigata style. It developed a local yeast
strain ('Alps yeast') and a local rice (Miyama-nishikt) to
support this style.
Kyoto Prefecture - Of the two largest production
prefectures, Kyoto sakes are the most delicately
aromatic, and tend to be elegant and refined. The style
developed as a partner to the sophisticated fine Kyoto
cuisine . The low-mineral water helps produce this style .
Hyogo Prefecture - Of the two largest production
prefectures, Hyogo sakes traditionally avoid perfumed
aromas (because they are locally considered
distracting), and are firmer-textured sakes with more
intense flavours and higher umami. The two main local
toji guilds promote this style (using so-haze koji as part
of their technique). The mineral and nutrient-rich local
water also promotes a faster fermentation and helps to
avoid the development of aromas.
Hiroshima Prefecture - This is the location where
ginjo techniques were first developed, together with
techniques for reliably fermenting sake using extremely
low-mineral water. So-haze ki5ji was used with slow,
cold fermentation to keep the parallel processes in
balance. The so-haze koji resulted in a higher acid style
of sake. Nowadays, the mineral content is adjusted to
reliably produce ginjo sakes using tsuki-haze koji, but
the higher acid juicy, fruity style retains its appeal.
The influence of Hiroshima and its techniques
extends to much of the Chugoku region where it is
located, as well as to the neighbouring regions of
Shikoku and KyOsh0.The exception in Shikoku region is
Kochi Prefecture, which makes the driest and lightest
sakes reflecting a local tradition for consuming large
volumes. Although the island of Ky0sh0 is really better
known for shochil distilleries than sake breweries, Saga
Prefecture is becoming known for making sakes that
balance sweetness with high acidity .
THE GLOBAL SAKE INDUSTRY 87
JAPANESE SAKE INDUSTRY ORGANISATIONS
A number of organisations influence the production
and sale of sake in Japan. They have various roles,
ranging from helping brewers to purchase ingredients,
equipment, labour and expertise, through to
researching techniques to help improve sake and
develop new styles, lobbying governments, promoting
sake and gaining a better understanding of the
commercial opportunities .
Toji and Toji Guilds
Toji is the name given to the head brewer, responsible
for the quality of the product and also for managing the
team of kurabito ('brewery workers'). Traditionally the
toji was also responsible for recruiting and even paying
the production team - tasks that the kuramoto (brewery
owner) delegated and traditionally had little interest or
involvement in.
Ti5ji guilds came into being in the early Edo period
(1603-1868) at a time when the seasonal system of
brewing sake was developed. Farmers travelled,
leaving their families, to work in the sake breweries
during the cold season from autumn to spring. They
then returned home for the rest of the year to tend their
crops .
Regional guilds formed, and were named after the
areas from which their members came. The guilds were
organisations in which members shared techniques and
educated the next generation of toji and kurabito. Later,
the guilds also served as an informal employment
agency, introducing brewery owners looking for
suitable staff to work for them.
These days, it is becoming increasingly common for
the kuramoto or their family members to be closely
involved in production, and some even take on the role
of toji . There is also a trend to employ kurabito locally,
directly and permanently, rather than as a team of
seasonal itinerant workers paid by the toji. These
workers and the kuramoto-toji now often learn their
craft from brewing courses or simply on the job, rather
than through apprenticeships with the guilds. These
three trends mean kuramoto are less dependent on
the guilds for sourcing managers, brewing expertise
and staff. With dwindling numbers of traditional, guild-
linked toji, exacerbated by the decline in young people
seeing sake brewing as an attractive career prospect,
there have had to be big changes and there is now
much more flexibility in the way the kurabito and toji
are recruited, trained and organised.
Whereas guilds traditionally made introductions to
brewery owners in need of a toji and kurabito, many
breweries now employ a brewer who is trained up by
the current toji to replace them when they retire. In a
few breweries, including all of the big breweries, the
staff might brew throughout the year, rather than
seasonally. In some cases they may help to grow rice
for the brewery or do other jobs around the brewery ,
including sales among other roles. This makes sake-
88 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY
brewing a more attractive career. As a result of these
trends and the general decline in brewing , many of the
guilds have either disappeared or are struggling to
continue. Currently there are approximately 25 guilds
left of which three (Nanbu, Echigo and Tanbu) are
especially important. These three guilds are often
referred to as sandai or the 'big three '.
Nanbu (Iwate Prefecture) - The Nanbu Ti5ji Guild is the
pre-eminent guild , whose membership has not dropped
in recent years . Its influence extends beyond its base in
north-eastern Japan, and currently accounts for about a
third of all toji and kurabito. The Nanbu Ti5ji Guild has
an excellent reputation for offering brewing education
and regularly holds training for active members .
Echigo (Niigata Prefecture) - The Echigo Ti5ji Guild's
production method emphasises the use of tsuki-haze
koji, lending itself to a lean, dry style (tanrei-karakuch1).
There are many breweries (more in Niigata than any
other Japanese prefecture), and many of these were
started by Echigo Ti5ji breaking away from an existing
brewery . This led to the widespread use of Echigo
Guild 's methods throughout Niigata and some
neighbouring prefectures too. The spread of Echigo-
trained toji partly accounts for the consistency of the
Niigata regional style.
Tanba (Hyogo Prefecture) - The Tanba Ti5ji Guild
tradition is for brewing sakes with intense flavours and
relatively high umami levels achieved through koji with
high levels of enzymatic activity (i.e. so-haze). This
influenced the style of some of the largest sake
breweries.
You do not necessarily need a qualification to become
a toji although there are courses available; Tokyo
Agricultural University brewing college is the most
popular . Kyoto University runs a similar course . The
Japan Brewing Society has also produced a
correspondence course in sake brewing. Generally
time must be spent watching and working alongside
and with other kurabito and toji first, experience being
highly valued . Being a member of a guild also does not
require you to hold a formal qualification, although the
Nanbu Guild is highly regarded for its brewing
education, regularly providing training for active
members and has an exam that must be taken to
qualify as a (Nanbu) toji .
National Research Institute of Brewing (NRIB)
The National Research Institute of Brewing (NRIB) was
established in 1904 as part of the Ministry of Finance
(MOF), coming under the control of the National Tax
Agency in 1959. It was set up to conduct scientific
research into and improve modern brewing techniques,
develop new technology and help implement safety
standards and quality control. The NRIB aimed to
improve sake brewing to ensure the sake trade
continued to bring in revenue for the government
through taxes, hence the ties to the MOF. Its research
also covers the production of beer, wines and spirits.
NRIB provides technical training for brewers,
covering both production techniques and sensory
evaluation of sake.
Recent and ongoing areas of research include :
understanding and explaining aspects of how sake
tastes. For example, how sugar and acidity levels
relate to how sweet or dry the sake seems to be, or
identifying and investigating the origin of sake
aromas
investigating and learning how to minimise the risk of
faults and defects. For example , the development of
unpleasant off-flavours in aged sake
gaining an improved understanding of sake
microbiology, including the behaviour of yeast and
koji strains used in its production
gaining an improved understanding of the factors
that determine the suitability of rice for sake
production , including the effects of weather during
the growing season .
New National Sake Contest (Zenkoku Shinshu
Kanpyoukai)
In 1911,the NRIB started up the New National Sake
Contest (Zenkoku Shinshu Kanpyouka1) enabling
entrants to get feedback on their sakes from NRIB
experts, in turn raising the quality of sake. The quality
rankings used to be used to grade sake, with the higher
grades being more heavily taxed. This system was
phased out in 1992 and replaced with the current
system of premium sake grades.
Although no longer used for determining tax rates,
the contest has continued, funded in part by the
Ministry of Taxation . The judges for the New National
Sake Contest today are now members of the NRIB,
others appointed by them and the National Tax Agency.
Each spring, when the brewing season is over, the
contest is run, and gold and silver medals are awarded
to the best sakes . Every brewery can enter one sake for
each brewing licence they hold. (Very few breweries
have more than one licence.) The sake brewed for this
competition is often referred to as 'competition sake' .
It is generally brewed specifically for the New National
Sake Contest and is often unavailable for actual sale
and extremely expensive if it is. The purpose of the
contest is therefore not so much to give guidance of
quality to consumers, but to show the skills of the
brewer .
The contest helps identify trends and the impact of
that year's rice harvest, and NRIB publishes a report
after the contest.
Brewing Society of Japan (Brew. Soc. Japan)
The Brewing Society of Japan was established in 1906
and was authorised as an incorporated foundation in

1915.Thereafter, for over 110years, the society has
supported the progress and development of Japanese
brewers by supplying pure yeast cultures, publishing
books on brewing and performing other related duties.
The Society offers information on brewing
technology through research and investigation into the
brewing industry. For the purpose of publicity and
sharing their research, they publish a monthly bulletin
(Journal of the Brewing Society of Japan). This journal
has been published continuously since the
establishment of the society. All articles of the journals
are available on its website.
The Society carries out the following activities:
Research and technological development related to
brewing.
Helping its members through their brewing studies,
understanding technological developments and
promoting their practical use.
Collecting and stocking the genetic resources of
microorganisms and distributing them.
Honouring brewing researchers and skilled
technicians.
Issuing a bulletin and books about brewing.
Sale of sake treating materials.
Inspection of the standard norm of sake treating
materials.
Requested research and analysis.
THE GLOBAL SAKE INDUSTRY 89
Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association (JSS) The NationalResearch
The JSS, sometimes referred to as chOokai, is a non- Institute of Brewingwhich
profit organisation . It was created in 1953 to promote is locatedin Saijoin the
the sake and shochO businesses and to act as a liaison prefectureof Hiroshima.
between brewers and the Japanese government.
ShochO is a Japanese spirit made from a variety of raw
materials including rice and sweet potatoes. The JSS
advises on laws related to the sake industry. These
include laws defining the criteria for the different
grades of sake and definitions for terms used to
describe styles and production techniques , labelling
rules and taxation .
JSS also lobb ies the Japanese government on behalf
of the sake business . For example, the JSS persuaded
the government in 2013 to extend a tax break for
brewers producing less than 1300 kilolitres a year. This
had a significant impact, as over 1100 breweries were
then eligible for exemption.
The JSS receives annual subsidies from the
Japanese government, though this in turn is raised by
taxes on sake production and sales. The subsidy covers
the operational costs of JSS, but is also used to provide
agricultural loans to small brewers .
The majority of brewers in Japan are members of the
JSS. To join they must first join an affiliated regional
sake brewers' association.
90 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY
The Japan Sake Brewers Association Junior Council -
The Junior Council is part of the JSS. It was formed in
1955 and since 1970 they have received funding from
the JSS, with whom they collaborate . It currently has
around 800 voluntary members . The Junior Council
seeks to influence government policies and actions
affecting the sake industry. Through its activities, it
actively promotes sake.
The Sake Samurai Association - The Sake Samurai
Association was established by the Junior Council in
2004. It aims to raise the profile of sake both in Japan
and internationally . Since 2006, they have awarded
annual Samurai titles to individuals for their outstanding
contribution to the understanding, appreciation or
promotion of sake, most significantly collaborating with
the International Wine Challenge to introduce a sake
category in 2007.
Japan Agriculture (JA)
Japan Agriculture (JA), also known as Nokyo, is a
national network of local farm co-operatives with
central offices in Tokyo. It was created by the Japanese
government after the Second World War to stabilise
food production and prices . It covers all agricultural
crops, but rice is the most important.
During the Second World War, the government had
taken control of rice production by passing the 1942
Staple Food Control Act. This prevented corporate
entities from cultivating crops, and put in place
agricultural reforms giving tenant farmers ownership
of farmland . This meant that sake breweries could
no longer grow their own rice. The land reform
redistributed land from large landlords to tenants, with
an average plot size of around three hectares. These
small plot sizes continue because laws make it hard to
sell the land on and many farmers hold on to it as an
asset with development potential. Before this, sake
brewers grew their own rice and tended to be wealthy
landowners, originally setting up breweries to process
the surpluses .
JA was created at this time to stabilise food
production and prices. Sake brewers wanting to buy
rice had to buy from JA, rather than directly from the
farmers . JA negotiated the sale of rice on behalf of its
members, mainly part-time farmers working on tiny
parcels of land. This did not change until 1995, when
the Staple Food Law was passed, allowing sake brewers
to buy rice directly from farmers. In 2004 and 2008,
there was further deregulation with the Revised Staple
Food Law enabling brewers to grow their own rice
again, and making it easier to buy directly from farmers.
Roughly half of sake brewers still buy their rice
through JA. Brewers place orders for rice through
prefectural sake brewers' associations who in turn
obtain the rice through JA. Brewers can specify what
rice variety, quality grade and region they want it from
(although they are not able to specify the producer).
Generally these orders are fulfilled, although in 2013
there was a shortage of yamada-nishiki rice resulting in
some breweries not being able to obtain the rice they
needed through JA.
More and more brewers are now choosing to buy
rice directly from individual farmers with direct contracts
with the growers. The advantage of this is that brewers
can then obtain rice grown to their exact specifications .
This works well for those who need specific kinds of
rice, such as regional varieties, or organic rice. If
farmers are local, it also enables the brewers to monitor
the quality , be involved in the cultivation itself (if they
wish) and be more aware of the conditions in which the
rice has been grown, which might affect how the sake
will be brewed.
A small, but growing number of brewers have started
to grow their own rice for brewing their sake . However,
as it has been several generations since this was the
norm, most breweries do not currently have the skills,
tools or land needed to grow their own rice.
Many sake brewers source their rice from a mix of
any of the three sources: JA, directly from individual
farmers and even cultivating some themselves.
JA has a large membership and retains close links to
the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the agriculture
ministry . Therefore, despite recent changes , it
continues to have a lot of political influence . It is one
of Japan's most powerful lobby groups, campaigning
to keep high import tariffs on farm goods , with rice
generally being considered the most important of these .
This keeps rice prices for sake brewers in Japan high .
MARKETS FOR JAPANESE SAKE
The Japanese Market
Sales of sake in Japan were in fairly sharp decline
from the 1970s until 2012. In 2013, sales started to rise
again for the first time from 583 000 kl to 587 000 kl
(3 231 874 to 3 254 048 koku). This small increase is
reportedly due to a trend for people in their 30s,
particularly in Tokyo, for drinking premium sake.
Over the last ten years, the greatest decline has been
with the lowest quality grades of sake (especially futs a-
shu, but also honji5zi5). The only categories that have
shown growth arejunmai sakes (includingjunmai ginji5
andjunmai daiginji5, showing the greatest growth) .
Ginji5 and daiginji5 sakes were in decline but have
started to increase again .
Export Markets for Japanese Sake
In 2014, Japan exported just 16 316 kl (90 448 koku)
of sake, representing about 3.5 per cent of production .
However, this is nearly double the volume exported
ten years previously , and the trend is for exports to
continue to increase . The tiny percentage exported
means its growth has not offset the decline in the local
market, but brewers hope that this will change.
In descending order of volume, the main export
markets for sake in 2014 are:

• USA - Also number 1 for value. The USA has been
an important export market for many years, and
continues to grow. The US market is oriented
towards premium sake.
Korea - Number 3 for value . It has recently grown
rapidly. Exports are mainly large volumes of
inexpensive sake , although there is some premium
sake exported here.
Taiwan - Number 5 for value. It has declined over
the last 20 years, but is showing some signs of
recovery . Exports are mainly large volumes of
inexpensive sake , although there is some premium
sake exported here.
• Hong Kong - Number 2 for value. An important
market that continues to grow. In the last 20 years it
has moved from inexpensive to super-premium sake.
• China - Number 4 for value. It has recently grown
rapidly and shifted from inexpensive to more
premium sake.
These top five markets accounted for three quarters of
exports in 2014, both in volume and value . Other
important markets include Canada, Singapore,
Thailand, Australia, Germany and the UK.
SAKE PRODUCTION OUTSIDE JAPAN
Although rice-based beverages have been brewed
outside of Japan for many centuries, sake was
developed during a period when Japan chose to
isolate itself from the rest of the world. The first sake
breweries were set up outside of Japan not long after
the borders reopened in the 1860s, but none of these
early breweries now survive . In terms of their business
objectives, most modern breweries fall into one of the
following categories :
The desire to make the product fresher and more
affordable by brewing in the Japanese style, but close
to the location of the market. (This is true of the large
breweries in the USA and China.)
The desire to make a premium product with a local
flavour . (This is true of many of the craft breweries in
the USA, Canada and Europe .)
As an extension of homebrewing, almost as a hobby
that pays for itself. (This is true of some of the smallest
brewers outside of Japan .)
The USA
Sake is likely to have come to the USA around the end
of the nineteenth century, when Japanese immigrants
came to work on plantations in Hawaii, eventually
settling there, and elsewhere in the USA, though
particularly on the West Coast. However, sake imports
dropped drastically around 1898, when a 600 per cent
import duty was imposed . This led to a gap in the
market for more affordable, domestically produced
sake and some of the first sake breweries outside of
Japan, including the short-lived Japan Brewing
Company of Berkeley, California.
THE GLOBAL SAKE INDUSTRY 91
Around this time , The Honolulu Sake Brewery, the
longest continuously running sake brewery in the USA,
opened up (although it closed in 1992). The brewery
survived difficult times through innovation: using
Californian rice instead of Japanese (as US producers
do today), using refrigeration and stainless steel tanks
to produce sake in an otherwise unsuitably hot climate
(techniques later adapted by the Japanese to enable
year-round brewing), and making other products such
as ice (using its refrigeration systems) and soya sauce
when it was not possible to make sake .
From 1920 to 1933, the US sake industry was hit hard
by Prohibition . Before Prohibition, there were around
20 sake producers in the USA, but many closed as a
result. When Prohibition was repealed, a number of
sake breweries started up in California, Washington
and Hawaii , but the US sake industry was again hit
hard by the Second World War. All sake production
was stopped to conserve rice to support the war effort.
Many sake breweries went out of business at this time .
In 1948 sake production started up again with new sake
breweries opening up in Denver, San Francisco and
Hawaii. From the late 1970s and 1980s there was a
surge in the popularity for Japanese cuisine such as
sushi and including sake .
In 1979, Ozeki (a major Japanese sake producer) set
up a brewery in Hollister, California . Before this, US
sake styles had been rather rustic . Ozeki produced a
cleaner , fresher, product using Californian Calrose rice.
This marked a change in the styles made, opening up
sake to a wider market. Ozeki remains one of the
largest US sake producers and continues to make sake
today, using local water, softened due to its hardness.
Their sake is sold both domestically and outside of
the US.
Following Ozeki's success, other large, established
Japanese sake producers set up in California, seeing
it as a good base due to the plentiful supply of rice
produced there that was also suitable for brewing.
Takara (Berkeley, CA) started up in 1982, Yaegaki
(Vernon, CA) was set up in 1987 and Gekkeikan
(Folsom, CA) was set up in 1989. All use Calrose rice
and local water. They target mainly the US market, but
also export products to Canada, South America, Europe
and Asia. Ozeki, Takara, Yaegaki and Gekkeikan
continue to be the largest sake producers in the US,
and their success has encouraged smaller breweries to
start up too . Although they are about one tenth of the
size of the parent breweries based in Japan, their scale
of production around 15 000-25 000 koku (about
3000-5000 kl a year) would be considered large in
Japan .
In 1997, SakeOne set up a brewery in Oregon, a
joint venture between a Japanese sake producer,
Momokawa Brewing, and a US sake importer. They
make their sake using Calrose rice, which comes to
them polished to 90 per cent. SakeOne then polish it
down further using their own rice polisher . SakeOne
92 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY
took a slightly different approach to the larger
breweries, concentrating only onjunmai ginjo sakes,
and including nama-zake in their range . Their
production is smaller than the California giants, but they
would be considered as a medium-sized brewery in
Japan {in the top 10 per cent for production volume) .
Their intention is to continue to grow to meet demand
as US and International sake consumption increases .
More recently there has been a growing sake micro-
brewing scene developing across the US. Many of
the brewers have a micro-brewing or home-brewing
background, with the craft-beer boom as an influence,
wanting to make a local American, fresh product using
local water and local rice. Many make nama -zake,
enabling people to try this style in areas of the country
where it was not easily available . Generally these target
local regional markets, with some holding ambitions to
expand in a similar way to SakeOne, others wanting to
remain small-scale.
Most sake breweries in the US today use local water
and US-grown rice, the majority being Californian
Cal rose. Calrose is a tropical-adapted strain of japonica
{also calledjavanica) and is medium-grained . It is
generally dry-farmed in large fields, rather than labour-
intensive rice paddies . Using local rice farmed this way
is much more cost-effective than importing rice from
Japan . In addition, US farmers are also beginning to
grow versions of Japanese sake-specific rice varieties
such as yamada-nishiki.
Canada
Canada's sake-brewing history also started with
Japanese immigrants seeking work, with Vancouver
becoming the centre of the Japanese community who
were reported as illegally brewing sake . The first
recorded legal and commercial sake brewery was the
Vancouver Malt & Sake Brewing Co., which was set up
by a Japanese immigrant in 1923.
Today, Canada has three micro-scale sake breweries,
founded between 2007 and 2013. Artisan Sake Maker
and Y3K are in British Columbia and The Ontario Spring
Water Sake Company is in Ontario . Artisan Sake Maker
uses a form of ginpD rice {a sake-specific rice strain
from Hokkaido) , farmed on two hectares {five acres)
of rice paddies . The others use Calrose .
Brazil
Brazil's sake-brewing also started in order to provide
sake for Japanese immigrants . The first Japanese
immigrants arrived in Sao Paulo in 1908 to work on
coffee plantations . Brazil has the largest Japanese
population outside of Japan, living mainly in Sao Paulo
and Parana.
Tozen sake brewery was established in 1934 in
Campinas, Sao Paulo. Tozen initially went through some
difficulties in production due to the warm climate and
lack of raw materials during the Second World War. In
1975, the Japanese beer brewer Kirin acquired a
portion of the company , renaming it Azuma Kirin and
providing new expertise and equipment. Sakeria
Thikara was set up around 2007 in Sao Paulo with the
aim of launching premium sake in Brazil. They make
honjozo sake using imported Japanese rice . Some
other local Brazilian sake brands exist, including low-
quality products that are not made from rice .
Australia
Sun Masamune {Penrith, New South Wales) was started
in the late 1980s by a syndicate of Australian rice
growers and Japanese businessmen who wished to
take advantage of lower production costs to export a
competitively priced product to Japan. It was then
purchased by a Japanese sake producer, who invested
in a state-of-the-art brewery and installed a Japanese
toji . Having started commercial production in 1996, like
SakeOne in Oregon, they are now a medium-sized
brewery . Most of their production is exported to Japan,
but some is sold in Australia and some is sent to other
export markets in Asia, Europe and North America .
East Asia
The People's Republic of China - Tianjin Nakatani
Brewing Co. {Tianjin, China) was started in 1995 by the
Japanese owner of a brewery in Nara. The location in
China was chosen because high-quality rice grows
well there and the region 's cold winters make it ideal
for brewing the high grade , ginjo styles of sake the
brewery focuses on . The company also exports sake
from their Japanese brewery, along with sakes from
other breweries . The company accounts for a quarter
of all sake sold in China . They sell their sake mainly to
Japanese restaurants in China. The brewery also
produces sake for the Japanese and other international
markets . The cost of rice and labour in China is cheaper
than in Japan , enabling them to charge a lower price
for ginjo sake . China has several other brewers of sake,
making products for the local market.
Taiwan - The history of sake-making in Taiwan dates
back to 1901.Taiwan was ruled by Japan between 1895
and 1945. When the Japanese were repatriated in 1946,
they left behind their sake-drinking and sake-making
customs . A monopoly law was introduced in 1922 so
that The Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Bureau became
the sole producer of Taiwanese sake . The law was
abolished in 1987 when Taiwan joined the World Trade
Organization . The Bureau, now privatised , is still the
major player in the sake market. Wu Feng Farmers'
Association Distillery started up in 2005. They use
short-grain sticky Japanese rice, grown locally and
polished by Wu Feng. They concentrate on premium
categories and production is small. Their target market
is the domestic market in Taiwan, particularly young
professionals with higher than average incomes, to
drink at home and in restaurants.

Korea - Like Taiwan, Korea was ruled by Japan for many
decades, ending in 1945. During this time, Japan had a
large influence on the style of beverages produced in
Korea. There are traditional Korean beverages that use
a multi-microbial solid cereal cake called nuruk, instead
of koji, for fermented cereal-based beverages, as well
as spirits such as traditional soju . Nuruk can add strong
flavours to the resulting products , which generally have
more flavour and more acidity than Japanese sake .
One Korean speciality is makgeolli, which is unfiltered,
thick with rice particles, and sometimes served 'live'
(mid-ferment) . As well as the traditional Korean drinks,
there are some producers of clear sake, following the
Japanese model of production.
There are also companies brewing sake in Thailand
and Vietnam .
THE GLOBAL SAKE INDUSTRY 93
Europe
Craft-beer brewery N111gne0 (Grimstad, Norway)
started to make sake in 2010. Their sake is made from
ginpa sake rice, imported polished and frozen (for
freshness) from Hokkaido, North Japan. They make
very small quantities of sake . They target the local,
international and Japanese market to drink at home, in
restaurants and bars.
There are plans for opening sake breweries in the
UK, Italy and Spain.
94 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY

JAPAN REGIONS & PREFECTURES

• HOKKAIDO • KANSAI
1 Hokkaido 24Mie 0 200 400 600 800km
25 Shiga 100 200 300 400 500 miles
• TOHOKU 26 Kyoto
2 Aomori 27 Osaka
3 Iwate 28 Hyogo
4 Miyagi 29 Nara
5 Akita 30 Wakayama
6 Yamagata
7 Fukushima CHUGOKU
31 Tottori
KANTO 32 Shlmane
8 lbaraki 33 Okayama
9 Tochigi 34 Hiroshima
10 Gunma 35 Yamaguchi
11Saitama
12 Chiba • SHIKOKU
13 Tokyo 36 Tokushima
14 Kanagawa 37 Kagawa
38 Ehime
• CHUBU 39 Kochi
15 Niigata
16 Toyama KYUSHU & OKINAWA
17 Ishikawa 40 Fukuoka
18 Fukui 41 Saga
19 Yamanashi 42 Nagasaki
20 Nagano 43 Kumamoto
21 Gifu 44 Oita
22 Shizuoka 45 Miyazaki
23 Aichi 0 46 Kagoshima TOHOKU
47 Okinawa

I
..
.
• 46
.,.

OKINAWA
·~
47
.,
.
 MAPS 95

RELIEF MAP OF JAPAN

01---'~ 00___ 20~0__ ~ 30_0 ___ 400
~--~ ~o~
et
o m = =- N

TOPTHREEPREFECTURES
FORPRODUCTION
HYQGO Sea of Japan
KYOTO
NIIGATA

CITIESWHERE YEAST WEREISOLATED

40°N 40°N
No.6 AramasaBreweryin Akita City
No.7 MiyasakaBrewery(Masumibrand)in Suwa
No.9 Koro-kumamoto SakeResearchCenterin KumamotoCity
No.14 RegionalTaxationBureauof Kanazawa

TOPTHREE TQJIGUILDS
NanbuToji Guild- IwatePrefecture
EchigoToji Guild- NiigataPrefecture
TanbaToji Guild - HyogoPrefecture
1'll

35°N

PACIFIC OCEAN

• /l

KEY 2000 m+ 1000-2000 m 500 - 1000 m 200-500 m 0-200 m

96 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY

Glossaryof JapaneseWords
This is a glossary of the Japanese words and names that are covered in this book. This list is included for reference
purposes only. Students should refer to the Level 3 Award in Sake Specification for guidance with regards to which
terms and names they need to know . The kanji, hiragana and katakana are included for interest only. The only
Japanese writing that students need to know is covered in Chapter 16 Japanese Sake Labels and Kanji.

Japanese word Kanji, hiragana Simple definition

orkatakana
Akita f.:l!IE A prefecture in northern Japan. The capital city of the prefecture has the same name.

amino-son TUM Amino acid.

amino-son-do 7::. I M.13t A scale for measuring the level of umami (amino acids) in a sake.

arabashiri ifLjE LJ The free run liquid that comes out of a filter.

aruki5ru-tenka 7Jl,::J-Jl,~1.J□ The addition of high-strength distilled alcohol to a sake after fermentation and
before filtration.

aruten 7Jl,~ Sake made with the addition of high-strength distilled alcohol.

assakuki J±~~ A type of modern filtering machine. They are typically referred to as yabuta, the
name of the leading brand.

atsu-kan F.Jl'.if'ill Term used to describe sake heated to 50°C, 122°F. Literally means, 'hot enough
to warm body and soul'.
bin hi-ire *E.!kA;h, Bottle pasteurisation.

bin-kan *Hg1 Bottle pasteurisation.

bodai-moto ~tHit A fermentation starter method that predates kimoto.

choko ffilJ A traditional sake cup .

Chugoku cp~ A region in southern Japan.

chDi5kai cp9i!:~ 'Association'. An informal name for the Japan Sake and Sh5ch0 Makers Association
(JSS),abbreviating its full name (Nihon Shuz/5 Kumiai ch0i5km).

daiginj/5 j;:~iffl A category of premium sake made using rice with a polishing ratio of 50% or less
and the addition of a small amount of high-strength distilled alcohol.

daki af~ 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.

de-ki5ji tf:j~ Sending out. The last stage in ki5ji production .

dewa-sansan tf:jijij~~ The number 4 variety of sake-specific rice.

doburoku iffiljij 'Unfiltered sake', similar to a thick nigori, but doburoku is not legally a kind of sake
because it has not been passed through a filter.

Echigo ~~ An old province of Japan, corresponding closely to Niigata Prefecture. It gives its
name to a famous ti5ji guild .

Edo ms A period of Japanese history that runs from 1603 to 1868. Edo was also the name for
Tokyo during this period. It was the seat of power although not the formal capital city.

fune ffl The container that holds the cloth bags that are pressed during funa-shibori.

funa-shibori ffl~ LJ A filtration method that involves applying pressure to a number of cloth bags filled
with fermented sake.

fukuro-shibori ~~LJ A very traditional form of filtration. Cloth bags full of fermented sake are hung up and
the clear sake drips out to be collected.

Fukushima miJ A prefecture in northern Japan. The capital city of the prefecture has the same name.

Fushimi «~ A ward in Kyoto, famous for having a reliable supply of good-quality water, which
helped the city become a major centre of production for sake.

futa E Small trays used in the second half of ki5ji making.

futa-ki5ji E~ Tray ki5ji. Ki5ji that was transferred to futa part way through production.

futsu-shu ~iffijij Non-premium, basic sake .

genshu m(jij A sake that has not been diluted with water prior to bottling.
 GLOSSARY OF JAPANESE WORDS 97

Japanese word Kanji, hiragana Simple def init ion

orkatakana

ginj/5 ~!ffl A category of premium sake made from rice with a polishing ratio of 60% or less and
the addition of a small amount of high-strength distilled alcohol.

ginpO ~Jil. A variety of sake-specific rice.

A
g/5 A traditional sake measurement equivalent to 180 ml or 6 US fl. oz.
"'
gohyakuman-goku 3isn:o The number 2 variety of sake-specific rice.

Gunma ff.~ A prefecture in central Japan.

guinomi <·~
,;a:Jj. Traditional sake cup (larger than an o-choko).

hako ffl Medium sized trays used in the second half of ki5ji making.

hako-ki5ji ffl~ Box ki5ji. Ki5ji that was transferred to hako part way through production.

happ-oshu ~;~;ffi Sparkling sake.

hatsu-zoe f)J;ij;t First addition, when building the moromi using the 'three stage addition' method.

Heisei 3¥/ill: The current period of Japanese history that started in 1989 when the current
emperor came to the throne .

hi-ire .!kA:n Pasteurisation.

hikikomi 51~u:,_Jj. The first stage in ki5ji production.

hine-ka ~~ The aromas of an out-of-condition sake .

hi-ochi .!kiits A sake fault that occurs when hi-ochi bacteria spoil unpasteurised sake .

hi-ochi kin .!kii"t:i~ A strain of lactic acid bacteria that can spoil unpasteurised sake.

hinoki ~ Japanese cypress or hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa), traditionally used for
ki5ji rooms.

hirogana ,P:{&~ A Japanese writing system used for Japanese words. It is often used alongside
obscure kanji to help with pronunciation.

Hiroshima ft. §f, A prefecture in south-west Japan. The capital city of the prefecture has the same name.

hiya-oroshi U-{->;IS0~ A nama-zume sake that is sold as a seasonal autumn product.

honji5zi5 ;;f;-lffl~ A category of premium sake made using rice with a polishing ratio of 70% or less
and the addition of a small amount of high-strength distilled alcohol.

Hyogo ~i. A prefecture in southern Japan. One of the two leading prefectures for sake production.

isshi5bin -ft-Jffi: A 1.8 L bottle. One sh/5 is 1.8 L or 3.8 US pints.

Iwate =6"-'F- A prefecture in northern Japan.

izakaya ~;ffi~ A Japanese sake bar.

ja-kan !UH, A bulk method of pasteurising sake.

ji5zi5 aruki5ru lffl~7Ji.,::::J-JI., Alcohol produced by distilling a wash that is made by fermenting products of
agricultural origin. This is used in non-junmai sakes.

jukusei-shu ~ /ill:;ffi Aged sake.

junmai
flli* A category of premium sake made without the use of high-strength distilled alcohol.

There are no polishing ratio requirements for rice used to make junmai.

junmai daiginj/5
t.ili
**~• A category of premium sake made using rice with a polishing ratio of 50% or less
and without the use of high-strength distilled alcohol.

junmai ginj/5
*ill*~• A category of premium sake made using rice with a polishing ratio of 60% or less
and without the use of high-strength distilled alcohol.

kake-mai
UI-* Steamed rice that is directly transferred to a fermentation vessel and not used to
make ki5ji.

kan-douko '.il'H,
C ? ;:_ A specific type of waterbath used to heat sake carafes.

kanji it~ A symbolic writing system used in Japan that originated in China.

Kanta
00* A region in central Japan immediately to the south east of Tohoku.

kan-zake '.ll'Hilffi Heated sake.

karokuchi $□ A dry taste.

kasu *B The rice particles left after the fermentation has finished.

kasu-buai *a~g The ratio of the mass of sake kasu expressed as a percentage of the mass of
polished rice used to make the sake.
98 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY

Japanese word Kanji, hiragana Simple definition

orkatakana

katakana 1J'} 1rJ- A Japanese writing system typically used for words imported into Japanese.

ki-ippon ~-;$: Ajunmai that has been made entirely on one site.

kij/5shu ft ifflj@ A sake with a high level of sweetness.

kiki-choko fl] ~ffilJ A specific type of sake cup that is used to assess sake. It is white with concentric blue
circles painted on the inside base.

kimoto ~ffiii An old and time-consuming form of fermentation starter notable for the pounding of
the steamed rice into a paste.

kire l;JJn A short clean, crisp, cleansing finish.

kirikaeshi l;JJLJ~L The third stage in k/5ji production.

k/5-on toka moto ~;M..~it.ffii A new fermentation starter method that involves using high temperatures to speed up
the process.

Kobe flllj=i A city in Hyogo prefecture in southern Japan.

k/5bo M-63: Yeast.

k/5ji ~ Steamed white rice on which koji-kin has been grown .

k/5ji-kin ~ii" Specific strains of the fungus Aspergillus oryzae used to make koji.

k/5ji-muro ~~ The temperature and humidity controlled room where koji is made.

koku 1:l A traditional sake measurement equivalent to 180 L or 47.5 US gallons.

kome-k/5ji *~ Rice-koji. Sometimes it can be helpful to use this term to clarify that you are referring
to koji rather than to koji-kin.

koshiki t!Ji A traditional rice steamer.

koshu oi@ An aged sake.

kura ill Brewery .

kura-bito ill.A. A brewery worker.

kura-moto ~ji; A brewery owner.

ky/5kai t~~ Literally 'society'. Informal name for the Brewing Society of Japan, an abbreviation of
Nihon joz/5 kyokai.

kyokai k/5bo ~~M-63: Brewing Society Yeast.

Kyoto Jli:ffll A prefecture in southern Japan. One of the two main prefectures for sake production.

kyil-go 9% Number 9, with reference to yeast.

Ky□sh □ f1j•N A region of Japan that comprises the large island of the same name on the south end
of the Japanese archipelago.

masu ffl A small open square box made of Japanese cedar. Used to measure rice and
occasionally as a drinking vessel.

Miyagi 'g~ A prefecture in north-east Japan . The capital city of the prefecture is Sendai.

miyama-nishiki ~UJ!i:il The number 3 variety of sake-specific rice.

miya-mizu 'g7]< The 'miracle water' of Nada (Hyogo Prefecture), which is rich in nutrients and helps
ensure reliable fermentation.

mori iME
L) The fourth stage in koji production.

moromi Im The main fermentation .

moto ffiii The fermentation starter.

muroka 1!!ti
lt ~ Term used to describe a sake that has not been fined with charcoal.

mushiro ii Woven mat that surrounds a fermentation tank . Traditionally this was used for
temperature control by packing ice between the mat and the tank.

naka-dori $Jfll LJ The middle fraction produced during filtration.

naka-gumi g:ij.&,Jj. The middle fraction produced during filtration.

naka-shigoto {ljl{±• The middle work. The fifth stage in k/5ji production.

naka-zoe {ljl~~ Middle addition, when building the moromi using the 'three stage addition' method.

Nada ;II A ward in Kobe city (Hyogo Prefecture) that is a major production area for sake.

Nagano :&ff A prefecture in central Japan. The capital city of the prefecture has the same name.

nama ~ Unpasteurised.
 GLOSSARY OF JAPANESE WORDS 99

Japanese word Kanji, hiragana Simple def inition

orkatakana

nama-hine 1:.~ An out-of-condition nama-zake.

nama-hine-ka 1:.~~ The aromas of an out-of-condition nama-zake.

nama-choz/5 1:.ll'ril A sake that has been stored without pasteurisation but is pasteurised at the time of
shipment.

nama-zake 1:_jffi An unpasteurised sake.

nama-juku 1:.~ An unpasteurised sake that has been deliberately matured.

nama-zume 1:.~s A sake that has been pasteurised once before bulk storage.

Nanbu ififfll A samurai clan that once ruled part of what is now Iwate Prefecture, and gives its
name to a famous toji guild.

Nara ~& A prefecture in southern Japan. The capital city of the prefecture has the same name.

nigami =t,s=P* Bitterness.

-~
nigori ill LJ A sake that has been roughly filtered and therefore remains cloudy.

nigori-zake ill LJjffi A nigori sake.

N5ky5 Japan Agriculture (JA). A national network of local farming co-operatives.

nihon -shu l3:.$;;ffi One of the two official Japanese names for sake.

nihonshu-do 13;;t;;;@f.t Sake meter value. A measurement of the density of sake compared with water.

Niigata ¥.lr~ A prefecture in north-east Japan. The capital city of the prefecture has the same name.

nuka

nuru-kan
•
jJll',\tf'ii'I
The rice dust generated by rice polishing.

Term used to describe sake heated to 40°C, 104°F. Literally means, 'the warmth of a
relaxing hot spring bath'.

nuri-haze ~LJ~~ Uneven mould growth in ki5ji making.

o-choko 1ftllffi
IJ A traditional sake cup.

odori llffiLJ The second day of the four taken to build a main fermentation during which nothing
is added.

Okayama !li'ilLl.J A prefecture in southern Japan.

omachi

roka

Saga

saka-gura

sake-kasu

sandan jikomi
~-
1':IBT
jJt~

jffijl
;@*s
.::$:i±iM1-
The number 5 variety of sake-specific rice.

Charcoal fining used to remove colour from filtered sake.

A prefecture in south-west Japan. The capital city of the prefecture has the same name.

Sake brewery.

The solid cake of rice particles left over after filtration.

The three stage addition used to build the main fermentation.

san-do Mf.t A scale for measuring the level of amino acid in a sake .

sasa-nigori ~~illLJ A nigori with a small amount of sake lees remaining.

seimai-buai ~*~ii Polishing ratio.

sei-shu j~jffi One of the two official names for sake in Japanese.

seme ftd.) The final filtration fraction.

shibumi ;~Jj. Astringency.

Shikoku 11:!l~ A region in southern Japan that has the same name as the large island it occupies.

shimai-shigoto iUf~'i±$ Final work. The sixth stage in keiji production.

shinpaku ,1)8 A well-defined starch core at the centre of grains of sake-specific rice.

shinshu ¥.lriffi 'New sake'. An unpasteurised sake that is released in the early summer.

Shizuoka ff!li'il A prefecture in central Japan . The capital city of the prefecture has the same name.

shizuku-zake ~jffi Sake made using the drip method of filtration.

sho 71- A traditional sake measurement equivalent to 1.8 L or 3.8 US pints.

shi5ch0 ~lM A traditional Japanese distilled spirit made from either rice or sweet potatoes.

shubo jffif!J: The fermentation starter.

shuz/5 ;ffiil'i: Brewery.

shuzei ki5teki mai Jffiil'i:HiM* Sake-specific rice.

100 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY

Japanese word Kanji, hiragana Simple definition

orkatakana
A traditional Japanese measurement equivalent to 1.8 L or 3.8 US pints.
sho

so-haze
*t.tMi~ A style of koji. The mould covers the entire grain.

sokujo-moto iil!Hit A technique for the fermentation starter that involves adding lactic acid.

sugi ~ Japanese red-cedar (Cryptomeria japonica). Used to make masu, the barrels for taru-zake.
and also sugidama.

sugidama ~.:Ii Ball of sugi branches hung over the entrance to breweries during the brewing season.

tone-kiri ~i;J] LJ The second stage in koji production.

tanrei-karakuchi ;JUii $ □ A style of sake promoted by the Echigo Toji guild. Light, dry and very pure, with a
short clean kire finish.

taru-zake tt,:;@ A sake that has been matured in Japanese cedar barrels.

to -4 A traditional Japanese measurement equivalent to 18 L or 4.8 US gallons.

to-bin -il-llE 18 L glass jars that are used to collect sake filtered using the drip method.

to-bin gakoi -il-llHIL' The name given to a bottling that only uses the middle filtration fraction taken from a
drip filtration.

Tochigi Wi* A prefecture to the north east of Tokyo.

Tohoku ~~t The region that covers the north of the main island of Japan.

toji tt.1£ Master brewer, head brewer.

toko ~ A large shallow bed that is used to make koji.

toko-koji ~~ Bed koji. Koji that has stayed on the toko throughout its production.

tokkuri ffiflj A carafe used for serving sake.

toku i~ The second grade of sake-specific rice.

tokubetsu honjozo mi11*1m~ A special honjozo made from either: rice polished to 60% or less; only sake-specific
rice; a process the brewer has had legally recognised.

tokubetsu junmai ~,JIJ*ili* A special junmai made from either: rice polished to 60% or less; only sake-specific
rice; a process the brewer has had legally recognised.

toku-jo i~...t 'Above special'. The highest quality grade for rice used to make sake in Japan.

tokutei-meisho-shu i~:JE:~f/1;;@ Premium sake.

Tokyo ~* The capital city of Japan.

tome-zoe il~x Third addition, when building the moromi using the 'three stage addition' method.

tsuki-haze ~~~:ffl A style of koji. The mould grows only in a lightly spotted pattern over the rice grain.

usu-nigori jW;ljLJ A nigori with a small amount of sake lees remaining.

Yabuta -'<?,5~f=- A leading brand of the modern filtering machines using in sake brewing.

yabuta-shibori -\?,5~f=.}~
LJ Filtration using a yabuta.

yamada-nishiki LlJEBjlil The number 1 variety of sake-specific rice.

Yamagata LlJJft A prefecture in northern Japan where nearly all of the dewa-sansan sake-specific rice
is grown.

yamahai Lll~ A development of the kimoto method of fermentation starter that did away with the
pounding of the steamed rice into a paste.

yama-oroshi Lllffn 'Pounding with poles·. The technique that is central to the kimoto fermentation starter.

yama-oroshi haishi Lllffn~.Jt 'The end of the laborious pounding with poles'. The descriptive phrase that got
contracted into yamahai.

zatsumi $IP* A word used to describe unpleasant roughness and lack of harmony in a sake.

Zenkoku ~ OOf.li;@irn
1~ New National Sake Contest that is run by the National Research Institute of Brewing
Shinshu (NRIB).
Kanpyokai
 101

Acknowledgements

A book of this size and complexity requires a collaborative approach. The WSET would
like to thank the following people for their contributions.
Toshie Hiraide was instrumental in encouraging the WSET to expand into sake and
has worked tirelessly with the sake industry in Japan to secure their support and
understanding. Without her unique contribution this project could not have achieved so
much so quickly.
The material that forms the kernel of this book was originated by Natsuki Romano-
Kikuya m~ .b..5 4 (Sake Samurai) and, from WSET, Antony Moss MW 5'@-lj- .b..5 4 (Sake
Samurai) in 2014. Further important contributions from WSET colleagues have been made
by Harriet Furze, Nicholas King and Pauline O'Connor. Other vital contributions have come
from Melinda Joe, Anna Greenhous, Honami Matsumoto, Hitoshi Utsunomiya and Kenichi
Ohashi MW.
The WSET would also like to acknowledge the very generous support of the staff at the
National Research Institute of Brewing for providing a technical edit of Chapters 1 to 15.
We would also like to than Kenichi Ohashi MW for graciously agreeing to write the
Foreword.
With regards to production thanks are due to Debbie Wayment, Rosalind Horton,
Bev Zimmern, Jo'e Coleby, Pete Dolton, Robert Calow , Ruth Coombes and Alan Grimwade .
102 UNDERSTANDING SAKE: EXPLAINING STYLE AND QUALITY

Index
This index is not designed to be comprehensive but as a simple navigational aide for those studying for the Level 3
Award in Sake. Entries are limited to terminology and key processes that are listed in the Specification. For each
entry, the page selected reflects the point in the text where it is explained or described in the greatest detail.

Additions Heated sake 29 Premium sake 11

acidity 66 Hiroshima 87 Protein fining 72
ji5zi5 alcohol 66 Hanji5zi5 11-12, 84 Rice cultivation
sweetness 66 Hyogo 87 Ideal soil conditions 37
umami 66 Initial mould growth 48, 50 Ideal weather conditions 40
water 75 Japan Agriculture 90 Rice grading 40
Appearance of the ears 39 Japan Sake and Shoch0 Makers Association Rice-growing year 38-9
Arabashiri 70 89 Ripening 38
Assakuki 67 Japanese domestic market for sake 90 Re-breaking up 48, 50
Atsu-kan 29 Ji5zi5alcohol 66 Sake kasu 71
Basic sake 11 Junmai 11-12, 84 Sake specific rice 34-5
Batch steaming 44-5 Junmai daiginjo 11-12, 84 Sedimentation 72
Bed keiji 49, 51 Junmai ginjo 11-12, 84 Sei-shu 14, 84
Black keiji 46 Kasu 71 Seimei-buai 41
Blending sake 75 Kasu-buai 71 Seme 70
Blending yeast 56 Kijoshu 14, 78 Sending out SO,51
Bottle pasteurisation 73 Kiki-choko 17,29 Service temperature 28-9
Box koji 49, 51 Kimoto 12, 58-9, 84 Shubo 57-60
Brewing Society of Japan 88-9 Koji aroma and flavour 46 Shinpaku 36
Brewing Society Yeast 54-5 Koji mould 46 Soaking 42-3
Bringing in 48, 50 Koji production 47-52 So-haze 47
Bulk pasteurisation 73 Kojiroom 46 Sokujo-mato 57-8
Charcoal fining 72 Kaku 30 Sparkling sake 14, 76
Commercial factors 85-93 Koshu 14, 74, 84 Spreading the spores 48, SO
Continuous steaming 44-5 Kyoto 87 Starch 36-7
Daiginjo 11-12, 84 Other yeast 55-6 conversion 37
Dewa-sansan 35 Proprietary yeast 55 gelatinisation 37
Dilution with water 75 Regional, prefectural yeast 56 Steaming 44-5
Draining & re-flooding the paddy field 39 Machine washing 42 Stopping the fermentation 66
Drying and removing the husks 38 Main fermentation 61-5 Storing sake 27
Enzymes Masu 30 Table rice 34
protein to amino acid 46 Maturation 74-5, 77-9 Taru-zake 14, 79
starch to sugar 37 Middle work 49, 51 Temperature control:
Export markets for sake 91-3 Miyama-nishiki 35 Fermentation starter 57
Faults Moromi 61-5 Koji making 46-52
Hine-ka 18, 27 Mato 57-60 Main fermentation 62
Light damage 19, 28 Mounding 48, 51 Soaking 43
Microbial spoilage 19, 28 Muroka 12, 72 Steaming 44-5
Noma hine-ka 19, 27 Naka-dori 70 Temperature and style 62
Open too long (oxidation) 18, 27 Naka-gumi 70 Three stage additions 61-2
Fermentation starter 57-60 Nama-chozo 12, 74 Toji guilds 87-8
Filtration 67-9, 72 Nama-zake 12, 74, 84 Tokebetsu honjozo 12, 84
Final filtration 72 Nama-zuma 12, 74 Tokebetsu junmai 12, 84
Final work 49, 51 National Research Institute of Brewing 88 Tokkuri 29
Fourth addition 67 Nigori 12, 76 Transplanting seedlings 39
Fukuro-shibori 69 Nihon-shu 14, 84 Tray keiji 49, 51
Funa-shibori 69 Niigata 87 Tsuki-haze 47
Fune 69 Nuka 42 Washing 42
Futsu-shu 11 Nuru-kan 29 Water 53
Genshu 12, 75 O-choko 29 White koji 46
Ginjo 11-12, 84 Omachi 35 Yabuta-shibori 67
Gohyakuman-goku 35 Once pasteurised 74 Yamada-nishki 35
Growing seedlings 39 Pairing sake and food 31-3 Yamahai 12, 58-9, 84
Hand washing 42 Pasteurisation 72-4 Yeast 53-5
Harvesting 38 Polishing 41-2 Yellow koji 46
Health issues 30 Polishing ratio 11
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