Sake is an ancient beverage, produced for over 2,000 years in Japan. Despite this long history, the industry's lack of standardization often leads to conflicting definitions and confusion. Yet a focus on regionality, Jizake (microbreweries), and improved regulation are improving sake's worldwide reputation. Today, it is clear that there is a place for sake in a wide variety of beverage programs, well beyond Japanese restaurants.
Although it has a similar alcohol by volume to wine, sake isn’t made from grapes, and the process is not a single-step fermentation from sugar to alcohol, so it is technically incorrect to call it rice wine. Though brewed, sake isn’t like a beer, either. Rice doesn’t get malted the same way as barley, and sake often achieves a much higher potential alcohol by volume. Sake is entirely unique: in a single tank, starch converts to sugar and yeast consumes sugar to produce alcohol (and CO2) simultaneously in what is called multiple parallel fermentation.
Sake production has been passed down over centuries of practical application, blurring the lines of tradition and innovation. Today, technological advances and modernization have changed the industry. With at least one sake brewery (kura or sakagura) in each of Japan’s 47 prefectures, it is becoming harder for brewers to keep their secrets. While sake is often made with minimal intervention, breweries do have their techniques—and some are “cleaner” than others.
The number of sake breweries in Japan is a fraction of what it once was. There were upwards of 30,000 sake producers during the Meiji era (1868-1912), and after World War II, over 4,000 remained. Now, there are only about 1,500 breweries with licenses, with just three-quarters of them
it used to be 70% but got changed to no milling regulations if the % is labelled
On the Expert quiz a question asks coldest to warmest for yukihie-kan, jo - on, hinata- kan, and tobikiri-kan. The answer lists jo- on (room temperature) as. 2 and yukihie- kan as 1 coldest,. Is this correct? While yukihie- kan isn't on the table here it looks like everything with the kan suffix is warmer than jo-on.
Ichi-go is 180ml. Go is a measurement unit (180ml) and ichi means 1. That's why 1 bottle of sake is 720ml or a yon-go-bin (4-go bottle).
Hey Ericka! Confirming this answer is correct per John Gauntner's "The Sake Handbook." Hypothetically, Tokutei Meishoshu requires a Minimum of 70% seimaibuai for classification and white table rice sees around 7-10% polishing, therefore the range of 70-93% is where polished rice for futsu-shu lands.
There is an Intermediate Sake Review question that asks "What is the range of seimaibuai for Futsu-shu" with the correct answer of "70-93%". My guess is that this answer is no longer correct. ??
Thanks for mentioning this Keith. As GS didn't produce these graphics, we have a limited ability to edit them, but we'll see what we can do!
It would also appear that steps 13 (second pasteurization) and 14 (bottling) have been reversed in the graphic above, as even in the graphic it is sake that has already been bottled that is being second-pasteurized in step 13.
The ordering of soaking (step 3) prior to washing (step 4) in the graphic above seems to conflict with the text above (as well as sources elsewhere, such as here and here) that would suggest that the milled rice is first washed to remove debris before being soaked.
Thanks, Keith. I've made the update.
"Although it has a similar alcohol by volume to wine, sake isn’t made from grapes, and the process is not a single-step fermentation from starch to sugar, so it is technically incorrect to call it rice wine." I'm thinking this should read as follows: 'Although it has a similar alcohol by volume to wine, sake isn’t made from grapes, and the process is not a single-step fermentation from sugar to alcohol, so it is technically incorrect to call it rice wine.'
Martin is correct. I'm not exactly sure where 80% came from (GS did not produce these graphics), but I'm guessing that this may be a practical minimum, as in you rarely find junmai below 80% on the market. I'm going to do a little digging and will report back if I find an explanation.