Sake

Question 1

Sake - What is sake?

Answer 1

• Sake is fermented rice beverage. Its origins go back 2500 years ago when rice-growing became prevalent in Japan.

Question 2

Sake - Primary Ingredients of Sake

Answer 2

• Water: specific mineral properties of the water source
• Rice: there are over 50 types of sake rice and they are different from aberage table rice
• Koji-Kin: a fungus native to Asian countries that converts the rice starches into sugar for fermentation
• Yeast: performs the fermentation creating alcohol
• Brewer’s Alcohol: added neutral distilled alcohol. Cheap sake often has copious amounts of distilled alcohol added to increase yields. Quality sake can have a very small amount at the final stages of brewing to increase richness and boost aroma and flavor.
• Rice Miling/Polishing: Rice gains for sake production are milled, polishing the kernels to get to the pure flavors at their core. In general, the higher the rate of milling, the cleaner, more refined and more fragrant the flavor of the resulting sake.

Question 3

Sake - Premium Sake Quality Grades

Answer 3

• Junmai: 30% of the grains is milled away.
  
  • Pure rice sake. Nothing is used in its prooduction except rice, water, yeast, and koji-kin.
  • No additional alcohol was added.
• Honjozo: 30% of the grains is milled away.
  
  • A small amount of alcohol is added at the end of fermentation enhancing aroma and flavor.
• Ginjo: 40% of the grains is milled away.
• Daiginjo: 50% of the grains is milled away.

Question 4

Sake - Other Styles of Sake

Answer 4

• Namazake
  
  • Unpasteurized sake that requires refrigeration
• Nigori
  
  • Milky, unfiltered sake, usually off-dry

Question 5

Sake - What is Koji-Kin?

Answer 5

• A fungus used to convert starches to sugar in sake rice

Question 6

Sake - What type of sake is Nigori?

Answer 6

• Unfiltered
  
  • Filtered
  • Oaky
  • Unpasteurized

Question 7

Sake - What type of sake is Namazake?

Answer 7

• Unpasteurized
  
  • Unfiltered
  • Filtered
  • Oaky

Question 8

Sake - If label saya Junmai Daigingo what can be said about: How much of the rice grains is polished away?

Answer 8

• 50% of rice grains is polished away

Question 9

Sake - If label saya Junmai Daigingo what can be said about: How much of the rice grain is remaining?

Answer 9

• 50% of the rice grain remains

Question 10

Sake - If label saya Junmai Daigingo what can be said about: Is alcohol added?

Answer 10

• Nope

Question 11

Sake - Order the following polish levels from highest to lowest in quality

Answer 11

1. Daigingo
2. Ginjo
3. Honjozo