Sake glossary

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Japanese
Reading
Definition

甘口
Amakuchi
Sweet in flavor

普通酒
Futsu-shu
Normal sake — anything without a special monicker

原酒
Genshu
Undiluted sake (most are slightly diluted)

吟醸酒
Ginjo-shu
Sake brewed with rice milled so that no more than 60% of the grain remains

火入れ
Hi-ire
Pasteurization

本醸造
Honjozo
Sake to which a small amount of distilled alcohol is added

地酒
Jizake
Sake from smaller kura — originally, sake from the boonies

純米酒
Junmai-shu
Sake brewed with only rice, water, and koji — no additives

辛口
Karakuchi
Dry in flavor

Kasu
The lees remaining after the sake has been pressed from the fermenting mixture

Koji
Rice onto which koji-jin has been propogated (see FAQ page, Q14)

麹菌
Koji-kin or Koji-kabi
Aspergillus Oryzae — a starch dissolving mold

Kura
A sake brewery — also known as a sakagura

蔵人
Kurabito
A brewery worker

蔵元
Kuramoto
Head of brewery

銘柄
Meigara
The ‘brand name’ of a sake

諸味
Moromi
Fermenting mixture of rice, water, koji, and yeast which yields sake

Moto
The yeast starter of a batch of sake — also, shubo

日本酒度
Nihonshu-do
The specific gravity of a sake — an indication of dryness or sweetness (see FAQ Page, Q16)

精米
Seimai
Rice polishing (milling)

精米歩合
Seimai-buai
The degree to which rice has been polished before brewing

清酒
Seishu
The official name (as far as taxes are concerned) for sake

焼酎
Shochu
A traditional Japanese distilled beverage

酒母
Shubo
The yeast starter for a batch of sake

杜氏
Toji
The head brewer at a kura

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