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Obsolete Sake Classification System: Ye Olde “Kyubetsu Seido”

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Fall-in-JapanThese days, we know how to pick our sake. There are classes or grades of sake that are legally defined that exist to help us. And we know these well: Daiginjo and junmai daiginjo, ginjo and junmai ginjo, tokubetsu honjozo and tokubetsu junmai below these, then honjozo and junmai-shu, and futsuu-shu below that. They are all legally defined, even if those definitions can be vague in areas. And while these grades are legal definitions, when it comes to indications of quality, “they’re more like guidelines” as they say in “Pirates of the Caribbean.”

In other words, while daiginjo is technically a top-grade sake, you might prefer junmai or honjozo sake in general. And no one – no one – can always identify the grade of a sake on taste and aroma alone. Often? Yes. Always? No. There is too much overlap between the grades.

DSC_0809But still they serve a great purpose and fill a need – making selection easier for the consumer. But while these grades have been around as law since about ’91, and as industry self-regulated agreements since the 80’s or so, there was a system of grading sake that was in place before the current one.

It is now defunct, and has been since about ’90. It served its purpose but became outdated and even irrelevant. But it is part of the history and culture of sake, and has not yet been totally eradicated from some folks’ minds.

That system was known as the “Kyubetsu Seido,” which simply means “Classification System” and was in existence from 1943 to 1989, from which time it was phased out in favor of the current system. The Kyubetsu Seido was wonderfully simple: all sake was graded as Tokkyu or Special Class (the top), Ikkyu or First Class, or Nikyu or Second Class, which was the default for sake that did not make the cut for First or Special Class.

Note, the seimai buai (degree of rice milling) and whether or not it was junmai or added-alcohol, were irrelevant. With only three terms to know, no vagueness or hidden meanings involved, and with a good degree of reliability, what was the problem with the system? What as the catch? In short: price and excessive homogeneity.

ChiyonosonodgThe way it worked was that brewers that wanted their sake officially ranked as First or Special Class would submit samples to the government. They would taste it and asses that yes, it was good enough for that rank, or no it was not. Those that passed the blind tasting assessment of a team of well-trained government sake tasters (great work if you can get it) were permitted to put Ikkyu (First Class) or Tokkyu (Special Class) on the label. And, of course, the tax on such ranked products was higher.

So it cost consumers more, but it did assure a certain level of quality. Consmers did not need to worry about brands so much, or grades, or milling rates or added alcohol or nihonshu-do or anything else: just buy Ikkyu or Tokyu and one would be assured of at least a certain degree of quality.

It was very useful in its time, since there were 5000 sakagura back then, and it helped consumers wade through all that. And of course, it helped the government too, since it led to more tax revenue from sake. And those that sought but a buzz need only seek Nikyu-shu (the default Second Class products) to ensure price performance. To a degree, it was win-win.

blog-backgroundBut it began to unravel and wane in relevance and usefulness as smaller brewers began to come out with better and better sake, both in reputation and in sheer enjoyability. Not able to compete with the larger companies in national distribution, they kept things local. And as such, there was no reason to make their loyal customer base pay the extra tax for a Ikkyu or Tokkyu stamp on the label.

The loyal locals knew what was good, so the smaller brewers would not even bother with submitting sake for certification, and simply sell their fine brews as Second Class sake, saving their fans that extra cost. This tendency gathered momentum that lead to critical mass, and was a big factor in the elimination of the system.

Certainly there were more reasons. The fact that the curently-used system developed and came into use, albeit with no legal base but a strong de facto significance, had much to do with the change as well. There were also reasons that were related to how imports of other premium alcoholic beverages were taxed, somewhat unfairly due to the former system, and some say Japan was pressured externally as well.

Another problem was that since the judges were all looking for the same thing – a lack of flaws – that many brewers sacrificed some character and uniqueness that could conceivably be perceived as idiosyncrasies for which the sake could be faulted. As such what came to be known as premium sake was less character-laden and more homegeneously predictable.

For a combination of the above reasons, the Kyubetsu Seido was eliminated in 1989, being phased out so brewers could use up their stocks of Ikkyu and Tokkyu sake, and was subsequently replaced by the current system, replete with its own shortcomings.

While it may seem we just exchanged one imperfect system for another, that is likely best in the end, since we all need to make our own decisiosn anyway. If they were made for us, the fun would be taken out of sake, now wouldn’t it? 😉

酒　酒　酒

JG_SPC-18The next Sake Professional Course will take place in San Francisco on December 8 to 10. Learn more here.

Meanwhile, the next Sake Professional Course in Japan will take place January 26 to 30, 2015. Learn more here.

Feel free to email me with questions about either!

 

 

Yields from Fields: How much sake from a parcel of land?

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chikurin20080711_1Have you ever looked over a golden brocade of ready-for-harvest rice andand wonder how many bottles of sake could be made from it? Maybe not. Regardless, it is not an easy question to answer, because there are so many variables involved.

The first of these variables is the typical yields a given strain of rice will provide versus another. Some varieties might yield only 450 kilograms of rice per hundred-square meters, whereas another might yields as much as 600 kg or more. That alone is a 33 percent difference.

Next consider milling. If a sake is made with rice milled down to only 88 percent, i.e. discarding but 22 percent of the rice, it has a big-ass head start on yields over a sake made with rice milled down to 35 percent, wherein 65 percent of the raw material is cast aside.

Then there are the steps of the brewing process. For example, how far is fermentation allowed to proceed? Fermenting until every last starch molecule has been converted to sugar, and that subsequently to alcohol, will lead to much more sake for a given amount of rice than stopping fermentation earlier. Furthermore, we need to ask how hard was the fermenting mash compressed to squeeze out the resulting sake after fermentation.

toji-mixing-it-upFermenting further and pressing it harder will lead to more sake! But fermenting to the bitter end and then squeezing out every last drop of yield takes a huge toll on quality. Also, whether or not alcohol is added – and if added, how much – has a huge affect well. Yields for cheap sake in which copious amounts of alcohol are added can be double what they are for premium sake.

With all this compounding error, it is very difficult to say how much sake can be brewed from, say, a ton of rice. Still, it’s an interesting question. So let’s see . . .

To do this, we have to set up a few boundary conditions. Let’s say the size of the batch is one metric ton of rice, and that we are brewing junmaishu, so no alcohol has been added. Let’s also say that the seimai-buai is 60 percent, so that the outer 40 percent of the rice has been ground away.

Finally, let’s assume (huge jump in the analytic process here) that the moromi (the fermenting mash, one ton of rice) was allowed to ferment to the extent that, when the sake was separated from the leftover rice solids, there were 2200 bottles of sake. (A number supplied by a brewer as typical.)

Now, on to the land. Rice is sold by farmers in 60-kg units called hyo. A basic unit of farming land is 10 meters by 100 meters, and is known as a tan.

Since every rice strain is different, and since things vary from place to place due to weather conditions, we are starting to compound errors again. But for much good sake rice, like Yamada Nishiki, one tan yields eight hyo of rice. (Got that?) In other words, you can get about 480 kg of Yamada Nishiki from a plot of land ten meters by one hundred meters.

But wait! Keep in mind that this is brown rice, and we are using rice milled to 60 percent. So, to get one ton of our polished rice, we need to start with 1.66 tons of brown rice.

YamadaFiring up the calculator again, we see that we need about 3.5 tan to yield the 1.66 tons of brown rice. So, in the end, an area of 35 x 100 meters (about the size of a football field) will yield about 2,200 wine-bottle-size bottles of sake. But note that this is genshu, i.e. undiluted. So adding a bit of water to lower the alcohol content from 18 or 19 down to 15 or 16 will bring it to about 2500 bottles of sake, 720 ml each, from our one ton of polished rice that came from a field the size of a football field. About.

Please allow me to reiterate that the assumed degrees of accuracy throughout these calculations is appalling from an engineering standpoint. But still, it’s kind of neat to be able to glance out over a golden field of rice, and think, “Now let’s see . . .”

* * * * * * * * *

3For those that are interested, rice fields in Japan are measured in traditional units of area with unique names. And they are very close to metric measurements. Interestingly, this ties in to room measurement sizes, which in turn ties into tatami mat sizes.

Two tatami mats together measure 3.3058 square meters.

P1020588-99This unit is one tsubo. Three hundred tsubo is (300 x 3.3058) about 1000 square meters, which is also equal to one tan (10m x 100m). Ten tan, or a 100 x 100-meter plot, make up one cho. One cho is very close to one hectare. LIke, within one percent. Now you know.

************

JG_SPC-18The next Sake Professional Course will take place in San Francisco on December 8 to 10. Learn more here.

Meanwhile, the next Sake Professional Course in Japan will take place January 26 to 30, 2015. Learn more here.

Feel free to email me with questions about either!

 

 

Sake FAQ

Q1: What is sake? Is it a beer? Is it a wine? Is it a spirit?

Sake is a beverage fermented from rice, which is a grain. This would make it more of a beer than a wine. Yet, sake is not carbonated, and flavor-wise is closer to wine than beer, although it is indeed uniquely different from wine. Sake is not a distilled beverage, and is not even remotely related to gin, vodka or other spirits.

Q2: What is the alcohol content of sake?

Sake is generally between 15% and 17% alcohol.

Q3: How long does it take to brew sake?

Basically about a month. It can be a bit longer for ginjo-shu, including all the steps. Also, this does not include the ( usually) six-month period sake is “aged” before release.

Q4: Is sake aged like wine ? Is there such a thing as “vintage” sake?

In general, sake is not aged (beyond the six month period mentioned), and is meant to be consumed soon after purchase. If kept cold and dark, it will last six months to a year without degradation in flavor. There are exceptions, as some sake is deliberately aged. There is no such thing as a vintage year in the sake world. Be sure, then, to notice the bottling date on the label. If the sake was brewed in Japan, note that the year 10 (for Heisei 10) is 1998. So a sake with 9.4.23 would have been bottled on April 23, 1997. Avoid! Try to buy a sake bottled within the last year, at least. If you found it refrigerated, take one more sigh of relief. If not, it may not be totally fresh.

Q5: How should sake be stored?

Sake should be stored away from light and kept cool. Refrigeration is best, although not absolutely necessary unless the sake has not been pasteurized.

Q6: Is sake better than other alcoholic beverages for your health?

Beyond the normal pros and cons of alcohol consumption, note that sake is free from sulfites. It is also light and comparatively free of hangover-causing congeners. Premium sake is free from additives and preservatives.

Q7: How many types of sake are there?

From a production point of view, there are five basic types (see Types of Sake for details). Note that there are several other less-common types as well.

Q8: What are some good brands you can recommend?

How much time do you have? The best thing to do is to see John Gauntner’s Top 100 Sake Picks on his Sake World homepage.

Q9: What price range should I expect?

First of all, where are you? Although the sky’s the limit, more expensive (= better = more desirable) is definitely NOT the case. Good sake is not cheap, but it doesn’t need to be excessively priced. If you are in Japan, 2500 to 5000 yen for a 1.8 liter bottle, or 1200 to 2500 for a 720ml bottle, is a good range. In the US, that might come out to $35 to $70 for a 1.8 liter bottle, or $18 to $37. Unfortunately the price about doubles when it gets imported and goes through the system. Naturally, there is some fine US-produced sake for about half the above prices that are great values.

Q10: How can one tell a good sake from a bad sake?

If you do not have a chance to taste it, begin by trying to buy something with the words Junmai-shu, or Honjozo-shu, or Ginjo-shu or Daiginjo-shu on it. If you do have the chance to taste it, look for balance. Nothing should be cloying or pushy in the flavor profile. A sake can be quite dry or quite sweet and still be in balance. If it is lethargic and/or dull, and cloyingly sweet or gratingly harsh, avoid it. (Unless you like it that way!)

Q11: What is the proper color for sake?

Sake is generally almost transparent, which is often due to filtering at the kura (brewery) before shipping. This can be excessive at times, stripping a sake of its character. Often a sake has a light amber or gold color to it. This is often the case in full-flavored sake. This can be quite pleasant and add a new dimension to the sake experience. Beware: if a sake has been left in the light or allowed to age, it will turn a darker color, almost a lusterless brown. Sake that has degraded to this level is best avoided.

Q12: How many sake brands, or labels, are there?

There are about 1800 sake breweries (called kura in Japanese) in Japan, a number which is sharply decreasing each year. So there are 1700 brands, but most kura make several grades or types of sake, which are significantly different. So there are likely as many as 10,000 different sake among these breweries. In the US, there are presently seven breweries, most of which make more than one product.

Q13: How does US-brewed sake stand up to sake from Japan?

The breweries in Japan have a 1000 year head start, not only in terms of brewers and craftsmen, but in terms of special rice that makes great sake. It is understandably a richer and more diverse world, and the sake reflects that. There is good sake and bad sake being brewed in the US — just as there is in Japan. While in general the sake from Japan (assuming it has been cared for properly) is more flavorful, alive and character-laden, there is plenty of very drinkable sake being brewed in the US. Plenty. Also, as the cost of raw materials is significantly less in the US, sake brewed in the US can present quite a value to the consumer.

Q14: What is koji?

Koji is steamed rice onto which koji-kin (which means koji mold) has been cultivated. This mold is known in English as Aspergillus Oryzae. It is used in sake brewing to break down the starch molecules into sugar molecules that can be used as food by the yeast cells. Since rice is milled, there is no husk and therefore no enzymes, so malting (as in beer brewing) is not possible. Koji provides those enzymes to create the sugars for fermentation. This cultivation of koji-kin mold onto steamed rice to create koji itself is the heart of the sake brewing process.

Q15: Where can I get good sake near me?

Stay tuned to the Sake Pubs and Restaurants pages for detailed information on which restaurants near you carry premium sake.

Q16: What is the nihonshu-do, or Sake Meter Value?

This is a measure of the density of the sake relative to water. It is a very general reference to the sweetness or dryness of a sake. Note, however, that acid content and water hardness and temperature and other factors also contribute a great deal to the concept of sweet and dry.

Q17: What is the ideal temperature for serving sake?

In spite of the words of the venerable James Bond, most decent sake tastes best slightly chilled. In short, there is no one ideal serving temperature, but cool to chilled brings our the best in most good sake, with subtle differences presenting themselves at each temperature range. A lot of good sake goes well warmed, but not too hot! Piping hot sake is a carryover from decades ago when sake was not at the level it is now, and heating it was the best way to go. Times have changed, but in Japan as well as in the US, a lot of cheap sake is served very hot.

Q18: Can sake be served with food like wine is?

Absolutely. Naturally, this calls for experimentation, but in general sake is a wonderful accompaniment to fish and other light dishes. Also, premium sake also does well with strong or curiously flavored snacks taken in small morsels.

Q19: Are different kinds of rice used to brew sake, as grapes are for wine?

Yes, indeed. There are about 65 varieties of rice designated as sake rice, and naturally some are more prized than others. Like grapes, different rice strains grow best in particular regions. Some famous examples are Yamada Nishiki, Gohyaku Mangoku and Omachi.

Q20. Warming Sake. If you do not recommend heating Premium Sake, then can you recommend a fine sake that WILL heat well for our customers who wish it warm/hot?

I heartily recommend Kamo no Izumi and Sake Hitosuji, both of which are in the US, for gentle warming. See the archived newsletters for more such recommendations. Also, you are opening a Pandora’s Box here, as there is no simple answer to your question. It is all about personal preference, but more often the sake that is suited to gentle warming is earthier, richer and less fruity. Often the brewer will recommend this on the label, but more often you need to trust your tasting experience and preferences.

Q21. Where can I buy kasu (sake lees), or learn kasu recipes?

Outside Japan, we are unsure where you can buy sake lees, or kasu, but you might try both searching the net for sake “kasu” and shopping at Japanese grocery stores (if there are any near your location).

Q22. Where can I find sake with a snake in the bottle?

That is not sake. It is called “habu-shu” and is not available in the US. I believe customs will not let it in, something to do with a dead snake in the bottom of the bottle. By the way , it is made with Awamori, a strong distilled Okinawan beverage, not sake.

Q23. What should I do with my old sake? Is it drinkable? Does it get better with age?

Try it at least but do not have expectations. Sake does not age well, it was not really meant to be aged.

Q24. Where can I buy a nice tokkuri and guinomi sake set?

Japanese pottery guru Robert Yellin offers numerous articles and photos on tokkuri and guinomi, and his online gallery sells them. Please visit JapanesePottery.com, then use the estore search feature to find sake flasks or cups. Our site, eSake.com, offers a review of the various vessels used for drinking and pouring sake.

Q25. Could you identify this old bottle of sake I found in the basement of my grandfather?

No, unfortunately, I do not do appraisals for free.

Q26. Where can I buy KOJI?

One major producer is Akita Konno Shoten, but they do not have a site, or ship overseas that I know of. Try the below contact: Recently, several brewers are experimenting with koji obtained from SakeOne Corporation in Oregon, with apparently significantly improved results. This koji can be purchased from F.H. Steinbarts for about $8.00 for a 2.5 lb. Batch. For more information call Steinbarts, at 503-232-8793. Also, koji spores (as opposed to completed koji) are also available from Vision Brewing in Australia. According to proprietor Brendan Tibbs, the product is available online for anyone, and is particularly suitable to the home brewer.

Q27. Where Can I Learn More About Home-Brewing Sake?

If you have even a passing interest in brewing sake at home, you must check out The Sake Digest, a mailing list on sake home brewing maintained by Jim Liddil at jliddil@vms.arizona.edu. On this list, issues both stylistic and technical, detailed and general, are discussed by enthusiastic and knowledgeable home brewers. Fred Eckhardt, easily the most experienced sake home-brewer in North America, regularly generously imparts his experience and wisdom to readers. A message is generated perhaps twice a week, so one in not inundated with information and countless emails. It is quite interesting to follow along with the apparently successful efforts of these brewers from a cyber-distance.

Q28. Where Can I Buy Organic Sake?

Not sure where to buy it but about 15 Japanese companies sell organic sake and one is Yuki no Bosha, which a Google search should bring up. It is in Akita Prefecture, Japan. They do export it to the US. Another is Dewatsuru. And recently it is being produced by SakeOne in Oregon, USA.

Q29. If I host a sake tasting party, and I intend to serve various different sake, how can one “clear the palate” between tastes?

First, get buckets to spit into. Most professional tasters do not DRINK the sake; they pour just a little into their tasting cup (any type of guinomi will do), sniff it carefully, then sip it, swirl it around in their mouth, then spit it out into the bucket. Then they write their tasting notes. Second, have plenty of bottled water available. In between tasting different sake, many professional tasters simply drink water to cleanse their palette.

Q30. Vegetarian Sake. As a sake lover and a new vegan, I need to find sakes that do not use any animal product in their brewing and refining. Can you give me any information on how to double check a sake as “vegan-friendly?”

Most sake does not use gelatin finings, although we cannot determine what does and what does not, and there is no way to know from the label. Powdered active charcoal is used for fining of most Japanese sake . This is made from (as far as we know) wood and plants, but we cannot be sure about all stuff at all places. Sake called “muroka” is unfiltered and unfined so that would be a safe bet.

Q31. What is the sugar content of sake, and how many calories are there in a typical serving of sake?

There are between 180 and 240 calories, or 20 to 27 grams of carbohydrates, in 5.5 oz glass of sake. Protein and fat are negligible. During the brewing of sake, the yeast cells eat the natural sugar created by the starches in the rice and give off alcohol and carbon dioxide. The starch-to-sugar conversion, and the fermentation of that sugar, take place simultaneously in the same tank. This makes sake unique; in other beverages the conversion to sugar occurs first, and fermentation later. Also, another important parameter to be aware of is the Nihonshu-do. Also called the Sake Meter Value (abbreviated SMV) in English, this is the specific gravity of a sake. It indicates how much of the sugars created from the starches in the rice were converted to alcohol, and how much remained to contribute to sweetness. By ancient convention, the higher the number, the drier the sake. What is the range? In theory, it is open-ended. In practice, + 10 or so is quite dry, -4 or so is quite sweet, and +3 or so is neutral. Keep in mind this parameter is affected by acidity, temperature, accompanying food, and a host of other factors so that it is limited in its usefulness.

Any other questions? Please contact John.

Types of sake

Here is a visual representation of the grades of sake. The higher levels represent the higher grades of sake; higher quality, higher price, and in general, more elegant, refined, fragrant, light, and enjoyable aromatic and flavor profiles.

Here is another version of the below information, in a bit more details. The pyramid is my pride and joy, and took me years to create. All you need to know about sake is somewhere on this pyramid! Feel free to download this version!

Ranking No added alcohol Some added alcohol
Arrow increase in quality Junmai Daiginjo-shu
Junmaidaiginjo kanji
A subclass of junmai ginjo-shu, brewed with very highly polished rice (to at least 50%** see below) and even more precise and labor intensive methods. The pinnacle of the brewers’ art. Generally light, complex and fragrant.		 Daiginjo-shu
Daiginjo kanji
A subclass of ginjo-shu below, brewed with very highly polished rice (to at least 50%** see below) and even more precise and labor intensive methods. The pinnacle of the brewers’ art. Generally light, complex and quite fragrant.
Junmai Ginjo-shu
Junmaiginjo kanji
Brewed with labor-intensive steps, eschewing machinery for traditional tools and methods, using highly polished rice (at least 60%**) and fermented at colder temperatures for longer periods of time. Light, fruity, refined.		 Ginjo-shu
Ginjo kanji
Brewed with labor-intensive steps, eschewing machinery for traditional tools and methods, using highly polished rice (at least 60%**) and fermented at colder temperatures for longer periods of time. Light, aromatic, fruity, and refined.
Junmai-shu
Junmaishu kanji
Made with only rice, water and koji mold. The rice used must be polished to at least 70%**. Often a full and solid flavor profile, clean and well structured.Note also Tokubetsu Junmai-shu, or “Special Junmai-shu,” which merely indicates more highly polished rice, or the use of very special sake rice.		 Honjozo-shu
Honjozo kanji
Made with rice, water, koji and a very small amount of pure distilled alcohol (“brewers’ alcohol”) to help extract flavor and aroma. Light, mildly fragrant, easy to drink.

Note also Tokubetsu Honjozo-shu or “Special Honjozo-shu,” which merely indicates more highly polished rice, or the use of very special sake rice. Sake in the six classifications above is known collectively as “tokutei meishoshu,” or “special designation sake,”and can for all intents and purposes be considered “premium sake.” It constitutes only about 20% of all sake produced. Sake in the top four boxes is collectively known as “ginjo-shu” and can be considered “super-premium sake.” (Yes, normal ginjo-shu is one subclassificaiton of the overall grouping ginjo-shu. It is only mementarily confusing!) Ginjo-shu and its subclasses constitute only the top 6% of all sake produced, and represents the pinnacle of the brewers’ craft.

Futsuu-shu futsu kanji

Futsuu-shu is “normal sake,” i.e. sake that does not qualify for one of the above three levels of classifications. It is the equivalent of “table wine” in the wine world, and makes up about 80% of all sake that is made. Sake like this is produced with copious amounts of pure distilled alcohol added to increase yields. Although a lot of futsuu-shu is cheap, nasty, and vile, there is plenty of sake in this group is perfectly and enjoyably drinkable. One should avoid collectively dismissing futsuu-shu as rotgut.

While some cheaper sake in this group also has sugars and organic acids added to “improve” the flavor (better futsuu-shu does not), note that no sake at all has any preservatives added to it.

Note: There is much overlap between above classifications

There are very fragrant junmai-shu, mellow and subdued daiginjo, very complex honjozo-shu, and everything in between. The classifications are really of only moderate usefulness because of this. Your palate and preferences are really the only true way to judge quality!

About added alcohol

Cheap sake has copious amounts of distilled alcohol added to it at the final stages to increase yields. In the premium grades of sake, those above futsuu-shu, the three classifications on the left side (junmai-shu, junmai ginjo-shu, junmai daiginjo-shu), i.e. anything with the word “junmai” in it, has been made with rice only; no distilled alcohol has been added at all. This is the original and tradional method of brewing sake.

However, sake on the right side of the chart (honjozo-shu, ginjo-shu, daiginjo-shu), has had a very small amount of alcohol added to it at the final stages of brewing. This is not to increase yields, but rather the use of alcohol in this very controlled manner helps, claim some brewers, to pull out more aromatic and flavorful compounds that are soluble in alcohol from the fermenting mash when the completed sake is pressed away from the unfermented solids. It is a perfectly valid way to make great sake; it is in the end just one more method.

About Rice Polishing

In general, the more the rice used in brewing is milled before being used, the higher the grade of sake. In fact, this is the clearest definition of the ascending grades of sake. In short:

Junmai-shu and Honjozo-shu

These are made with rice that has been “polished” (as the industry puts it), or milled, to remove at least the outer 30% of the original size of the grains. This means that each grain of rice is only 70% or less of its original size.

Junmai Ginjo-shu and Ginjo-shu

These are made with rice that has been “polished” (as the industry puts it), or milled, to remove at least the outer 40% of the original size of the grains. This means that each grain of rice is only 60% or less of its original size.

Junmai Daiginjo-shu and Daiginjo-shu

These are made with rice that has been “polished” (as the industry puts it), or milled, to remove at least the outer 50% of the original size of the grains. This means that each grain of rice is only 50% or less of its original size.

Note the emphasis on the point that the numbers expressed for each grade are minimums. Very often the rice is polished much, much more than the minimum requirement. For example, it is quite common to find daiginjo that is made with rice polishedto 35%, so that a full 65% of the outside of each grain has been milled away before brewing. That means they grind away almost two thirds of their raw materials before beginning to brew. (To see how they do this, and the machines they use, go here.)

Note they do not throw away the powder that is ground away, but rather sell it to makers of traditional confectionaries and crackers, and some of it goes to animal feed. So none is wasted, but it is not used in the brewing process.

What is this all about? Why mill the rice so much?

imada yamadanishiki 70 / 35

In proper sake rice (which is different from normal table rice), starches – which is what eventually ferments – are
concentrated in the center of the grains of rice. Surrounding this, closer to the surface of the rice grains, are found fats and proteins and things that adversely affect fermentation and in general lead to off-flavors, strange and generally unwanted components to the profile.

By milling the rice further and further, more and more of these unwanted fats, protiens, and nasties can be ground away before fermentation begins. This leads to cleaner, more elegant and more refined sake. It also allows more lively aromatics to come about.

So, in general, the more you polish the rice, the higher the grade of sake. I emphasize in general because there are exceptions based on style, personal preference, and a plethora of other factors. It is possible to take this rice milling thing too far, and grind away all distinction and uniqueness as well.

Rice milling – Seimaibuai

Premium sake is brewed with special rice in which the starch component (the shinpaku or “white heart”) is concentrated at the center of the grain, with proteins, fats, and amino acids located toward the outside. For more on special sake rice, please click here. With increased milling, one can remove more of the fats, proteins, and amino acids that lead to unwanted flavors and aromas in the brewing process. Ginjo-shu (premium sake) has at least 40% or more milled away. Daiginjo (super premium sake) has at least 50% or more milled away.

Milling none

Yamada Nishiki Rice
A top-grade sake rice
Unmilled

milling 45 ground away

45% Milled Away
Seimaibuai = 55%
Ginjo Grade

milling 55 ground away

55% Milled Away
Seimaibuai = 45%
Daiginjo Grade

There is no need to go to the top to enjoy good sake

Tokkuri guinomi daimonThere is plenty of immensely enjoyable sake not in the top of the top classifications. In fact, sometimes such sake has more presence, uniqueness, and appeal than super dooper hoity toity high priced daiginjo. Well, sometimes, anyway. Top of PageSake is almost always fairly priced.

You generally get what you pay for with sake. Up to a reasonable limit, if you pay 25 % more for sake B then sake A, you can expect about a 25% increase in quality and enjoyment (assuming that the particular “quality” increase in that particular sake is what you are looking for and prefer!). There are exceptions: there is some sake that is a bit pricey due to its lofty reputation. There are also a few tremendous bargains out there. But for most sake, those not extremely expensive or extremely cheap, you will see an increase in quality that for the most part parallells the increase in price.Note, speculation by the market and the opinion of “experts and critics” does not affect at all the market price of sake in Japan. Which is nice.

The “-shu” suffix, by the way, simply means “sake,” and is often dropped when discussing sake. Hence, Junmai-shu is sometimes called simply Junmai, Honjozo-shu is very often called Honjozo. Similarly, people speak of ginjo, junmai-ginjo, daiginjo and junmai daginjo.

SAKE CONFIDENTAL 

Interested in learning more about sake?

Check out my book “Sake Confidential” on Amazon.

Sake Confidential is the perfect FAQ for beginners, experts, and sommeliers.

Indexed for easy reference with suggested brands and label photos. Includes:

  • Sake Secrets: junmai vs. non-junmai, namazake, aging, dry vs. sweet, ginjo, warm vs. chilled, nigori, water, yeast, rice, regionality
  • How the Industry Really Works: pricing, contests, distribution, glassware, milling, food pairing
  • The Brewer’s Art Revealed: koji-making, brewers’ guilds, grading

 

SAKE INDUSTRY NEWS

If you are interested in staying up to date with what is happening within the Sake Industry and also information on more advanced Sake topics then Sake Industry News is just for you!

Sake Industry News is a paid subscription newsletter that is sent on the first and 15th of each month. Get news from the sake industry in Japan – including trends, business news, changes and developments, and technical information on sake types and production methods that are well beyond the basics – sent right to your inbox. Subscribe here today! 

Each issue will consist of four or five short stories culled from public news sources about the sake industry in Japan, as well as one or more slightly longer stories and observations by myself on trends, new developments, or changes within the sake industry in Japan.

 

Sake and food

Sake is no longer the hot, pitiable plonk everyone used to think it to be

Premium sake has easily proven itself to be worthy of appreciation on the same level as fine wine. The fragrances, flavors, complexity and nuances can draw you in and fascinate. And the range of these flavors and fragrances, while admittedly within a more narrow bandwidth than the wine world can hold, are incredibly diverse.

A natural extension of all this is the concept and practice of matching food and sake. With the advent of fine sake in the west, not only does the door open for this bold new world of match-making, but at the same time the sake industry duly inherits a veritable responsibility to educate the interested public on how to go about this.

The matching of sake and food developed much like the matching of wine and food: the local beverage was a natural counterpart to the local cuisine; so much so that no one ever thought much about it.

SasagiIf you study the flavor profiles of sake from around Japan, you can easily see how well the local sake jibes with the original cuisine of the region. Sake from mountainous regions of Japan, like the Tohoku region in the north, is sturdier and more rice-laden in flavor, complementing well the salt-preserved and fermented flavors common in that region’s food. Sake from Shizuoka, Toyama and Miyagi are lighter and more supple, which works perfectly with the abundance of fresh fish found in these areas.

But now, like wine from Europe, sake is being taken out of its original zone of familiarity, and transported to a world bound neither by geographical nor culinary limitations. A bit of imagination and ingenuity – not to mention vision – are called for.

In developing a sense for matching food and sake, a little bit of theory goes a long way. With this, and a healthy dose of confidence and creativity, pairing sake and food becomes a wonderfully fun, if subjective and imprecise, process.

Matching Food and Sake

You can no more ask “what food goes well with sake in general” then you can ask “what goes well with wine.” Which sake? Although sake may not have the presence of wine, nor the fullness or impact, there are still many styles and countless individual flavor profiles. Each will work well with some food, less well with others.

There are several parameters that you can focus on when working with sake and food; these are listed below. Even if some of these seem different to wine, or of different scale, the principle and philosophy of matching is the same. It should be fun, precisely because it is imprecise and calls for imagination. The object of the game is to enhance the food, the sake, or hopefully both. When it works well, the result is an alchemical manifestation of a golden food and sake experience.

Within a range and within reason, it is hard to have a total miss. At the same time, there is no such thing as the absolute perfect match. Naturally, there are some things that will not likely go well with sake and its subtleness; strong red meats, massively spicy food, and richly flavored sauces are a few such examples. But most of these incompatibilities reside within the realm of common sense, and there is so much more out there to work with.

Perhaps most importantly, realize that sake is not limited to Japanese or even Asian food. Countless examples of heretofore standard western food offer so many potential ties to good sake, not to mention the offshoots and fusion outgrowths so commonly seen of late.

Sake Parameters

Sake is deceivingly complex. Its flavors and fragrances are more subtle than overt. Still, there are several parameters you can work with, definable qualities of a sake, that can either complement a dish, or constructively and favorably contrast it.

Here are a few examples of easily identifiable sake qualities, and how these attributes might be juxtaposed with food. Note that these are but a few examples, and are by no means a standard. They are but a few examples that might be helpful in matching and contrasting food and sake.

Fragrance

A sake with a prominent fruity fragrance, like some daiginjo sake, will work well as an aperitif, with enough assertive presence to stand on its own and enhance the appetite. Yet, too much of a fruity fragrance (especially the lighter fruit essences commonly found in much premium sake) will not lend to blending with solid, settled dishes like meat and foul, and may clash with a herbal baked dish. Milder, gently tart or rice-laced fragrances tie in nicely with moderately flavored fish and vegetables. Not all sake has a pronounced fragrance, which is fine, and quiet sake like this can allow the smell of other fresh ingredients to shine through.

Sweet vs. Dry

Sweetness in a sake, within reason, can support a more full flavored dish, accenting richness and saltiness in the dish. Keep in mind that the sweet-dry range of most good sake is not all that wide; what is sweet for sake is hardly overpoweringly so on an objective scale. Dryer sake can create a nice stage for the freshness and light flavors of fresh seafood.

Acidity

One of the easiest of sake flavor parameters with which to work. The acidity of sake is but a fraction of the overall acidity of wine, but the acidity presence of a given sake compared to other sake is comparable to the acidity of a given wine compared to other wines. In other words, acidity in sake is a proportionally scaled-down counterpart of acidity in wine. Sake with a piercing acidity works wonderfully with slightly oily foods, like tempura or some baked fish. A slightly milder acidity will serve to spread the flavor of a sake out nicely, allowing the sake to suffuse and more broadly support a medium-bodied dish. Low-acidity sake, with its soft touch, blends well with food with a soft tactile facet to it, like sashimi.

Keep in mind that straight acidity (as expressed by the number on the bottle, when given) is not always the same as the acid presence, and that the temperature of the sake greatly affects the sense of acidity.

Texture

Sake has a plethora of textures that can be a true joy to play with when dealing with food. One such tactile polarity is softness versus crispness. Note, this has more to do with the quality of the water used in brewing (its pH and mineral content) than it does with acidity, although this parameter is not divorced entirely from acidity. A soft sake that absorbs into the palate can serve to refresh it and cleanse it for the next taste, absolving it of any lingering flavors. This is excellent for dishes with complex, busy flavors. A more crisp, lively sake can function instead as an uppity contrast to equally assertive food flavors, like pronounced green spices and pepper (to a degree). Matches like this can be stimulating and refreshing indeed.

Freshness-lightness vs. Settled-earthiness

Although this axis is a bit harder to tangibly define, it is extremely valid nonetheless. Fresh-feeling, refined, light sake rings solidly true with fresh seafood and light vegetarian fare, in particular sashimi and vinegar-laced dishes. Contrast this with sake with a settled, earthy touch, manifested in traces of bitterness and tartness, acidity and extremely well-rounded tones. Sake fitting this description comes as close as sake can to being a great accompaniment to meat and poultry.

This quality of settled-earthiness is called “koku” in Japanese. A sake with “koku” is a sake with a mature, settled touch, balanced and with a solid foundation of flavor. Although a direct translation into English is difficult, one you understand “koku,” that word itself becomes irreplaceable. (“earthiness” is one word I like to use, but this has its definite limitations.)

Umami

Umami is a word that is fast working its way into wine vocabulary. Originally a Japanese word, umami is by no means limited to sake, but is actually considered by some to be a bona fide flavor (along with sweet, sour, salty, and bitter)of its own.

Umami does not have a simple English translation. It is best described as that aspect of a yummy food or drink that makes you say, “Um, that’s good. I think I’ll have a bit more of that!” Some examples from the plethora of words that close in on the meaning of umami include: deliciousness, richness, fullness of flavor, meatiness, savory, and well-rounded . Parmesan cheese, some meat, simply prepared fish, soy sauce, scallops: all of these somehow satisfy the palate.

Sake is often described as having umami, or not having umami. This is often linked to amino acid content (which is sometimes listed on the bottle). Sake with a decent umami will tie in well with foods exhibiting similar attributes. What is wonderful about a match like this is its sublety: umami in food and sake generally hovers in the background, as opposed to being an in-your-face flavor. This allows the bonds that tie the food and sake to be more subtle, supporting rather than leading the experience.

Umami in a sake is not indisputably desirable. Too much umami is generally related to off-flavors and roughness. Dry, light sake often has little umami at all, and is indeed prized for just that quality.

Sake with a solid umami bonds with raw or lightly seared fish, although when baked or grilled with too much salt or sauces, the umami of fish can be obscured. Some sauces, when not too sweet or strong, proffer a nice umami for such sake. (Miso-based and mild cream-based sauces come to mind.)

Lighter sake, with less umami, would be better with salads and fresh or raw vegetable dishes, and crisply baked or grilled fish.

Complexity & Refined-ness vs. Solidity & Simplicity

Unwieldy though the wording might seem, these qualities are as much something you match with the occasion as the food itself. It is just a matter of how hard you want to work during the meal.

If the flavors of the food and meal are less individually discernible and refined, and more even-keeled or even rougher, you may not want to focus so much on the sake, and something simple and straightforward – but still good – might be best. Often, simple but clean junmai-shu sake is best for something like this. Examples of such a situation might include a picnic or a more boisterous gathering. Too much seriousness can be detrimental to the mood in some situations. The importance of this parameter and its applicability should not be underestimated!

Other times, focusing on the food and sake may be more fun than talking and laughing. Naturally, more complex and refined sake will give you more to work with when this is your objective.

The above parameters notwithstanding, perhaps the most important thing here is to trust your own intuitions and preferences. Looking at the words used in matching or contrasting, it is obvious that they cannot be taken literally. Most of them are intangible, and few of them have a root meaning that is even remotely related to sake. They are nothing but a vehicle for people to express their attitudes and feelings and hunches about what makes sake and food more enjoyable together. As such, they are by default open to massive interpretation. This means that the imagination should be heavily brought into play.

Unfiltered Sake vs. Unfiltered Sake

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Nigori sake in glass

Nigori sake in glass

Amidst the veritable cornucopia of sake available today, a handful of them are labeled “unfiltered.” A small handful, admittedly, but the number of sake with this term on the bottle seems to be growing.

Amongst sake labeled as “unfiltered” in English, some are white and cloudy. This is easy to figure out; it is cloudy because they did not filter it. But other times we see unfiltered and it is totally clear. What gives?

The key to understanding this is to realize that there are two “filtrations,” but they are called different things in Japanese, but the best English translation for both is filtration.

Let us look at the cloudy stuff first. It seems obvious that it has not been filtered. Cloudy sake like this is nigori-zake, as many readers are aware. Nigori means cloudy, and nigori sake is sake that has in fact been filtered, but coarsely so.

When sake is made, the rice dissolves in the same tank in which the yeast converts the sugars (that are slowly trickled into the mash as the starch in the rice is converted) into alcohol and carbon dioxide. So when the 20 to 35 day fermentation is finished, the result is still full of undissolved rice solids. This is filtered out to yield clear sake.

When this filtration is done with a coarser mesh, i.e. one with bigger holes than normal, some (but not all!) of the rice solids are let through. This is nigori-zake. Note the term nigori can apply to any grade (although it is not commonly seen for higher grades), and while nigori is enjoyable, it is not nearly as refined as regular sake.

So, even though it is often called unfiltered, it is in fact coarsely filtered. (To be legally called sake, the fermenting mash must pass through a mesh of some sort.)

However, the word in Japanese for this step, shibori or jousou, does not mean filter, but rather means to squeeze or press, as that is what actually happens: the fermenting mash is pressed or squeezed through a mesh. Yes, the rice sediment is filtered out at this stage. But that is not how it is referred to in Japanese. And since there is another filtration later, often this step is called “ pressing” in English.

So one meaning of unfiltered is nigori, or coarsely pressed sake.

Sake’s original color

Charcoal powder purifier

Charcoal powder purifier

Next, after the sake is filtered…er, pressed, it sits for a bit to settle down, and at some point soon thereafter the brewer will dump a small amount of active charcoal powder into the just-made sake. This settles down to the bottom, pulling with it rougher flavors and elements that give sake its original and naturally beautiful lime-green-amber color. The sake is then passed through a series of paper filters to remove the remainder of the charcoal and the roughness it takes with it. This, obviously, is the second filtration, a charcoal filtration, and this step is called roka, which is the equivalent of the word filtration in English.

But some sake is made without this step, in other words, some sake is not charcoal filtered. There are those that feel their sake is clean enough to not need it. Others prefer the original goldenrod hue of sake and choose to retain it. Some sake is made so as to retain that mineral touch that can be present if charcoal filtering is eschewed. And some like to make sake (or market it) as close to its natural state as possible.

Reasons aside, if a brewer chooses to let everyone know the sake is unfiltered, the term muroka is used, indicating that the charcoal filtration step was skipped. This can mean a slightly more rambunctious flavor, but that is not a given! The difference may be in fact quite subtle, or even totally unnoticeable to most people.

Note, neither type is unequivocally better than the other. Charcoal filtering in the right measure is a good thing, but muroka has its appeal as well. And the differences are not that clear-cut in any event. That’s for sure.

Also, remember there is a lot of vagueness here. Sake can be filtered by solid state ceramic filters too, using no charcoal. But the term muroka is not legally defined, so some use it to mean no charcoal filtration even though a mechanical filter may have been used. Or not. It’s vague. It’s sake. We have to deal with that.

But to sum up and simplify, if the word “unfiltered” is on the label and it is white, it’s nigori. If the word “unfiltered” is on the label and it is clear, it is muroka. Chalk it up to linguistic idiosyncrasies, and enjoy your unfiltered sake.

SAKE CONFIDENTAL 

Interested in learning more about sake?

Check out my book “Sake Confidential” on Amazon.

Sake Confidential is the perfect FAQ for beginners, experts, and sommeliers.

Indexed for easy reference with suggested brands and label photos. Includes:

  • Sake Secrets: junmai vs. non-junmai, namazake, aging, dry vs. sweet, ginjo, warm vs. chilled, nigori, water, yeast, rice, regionality
  • How the Industry Really Works: pricing, contests, distribution, glassware, milling, food pairing
  • The Brewer’s Art Revealed: koji-making, brewers’ guilds, grading

 

SAKE INDUSTRY NEWS

If you are interested in staying up to date with what is happening within the Sake Industry and also information on more advanced Sake topics then Sake Industry News is just for you!

Sake Industry News is a paid subscription newsletter that is sent on the first and 15th of each month. Get news from the sake industry in Japan – including trends, business news, changes and developments, and technical information on sake types and production methods that are well beyond the basics – sent right to your inbox. Subscribe here today! 

Each issue will consist of four or five short stories culled from public news sources about the sake industry in Japan, as well as one or more slightly longer stories and observations by myself on trends, new developments, or changes within the sake industry in Japan.

 

National New Sake Appraisal Revisited

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Gold-medal-sakeI usually write about the “nationals” in June, right after the competition takes place in May of each year. But some recently gleaned stats have compelled me to address it again this month. The contest is called the Zenkoku Shinshu Kampyoukai, which is translated as the “National New Sake Appraisal” but for some curious reason it is officially known in English as the “Japan Sake Awards.”

As many readers know, it is a blind tasting of sake that is specially brewed for this contest, basically daiginjo on steroids, i.e. intense in aromas and flavors, but exquisitely if precariously balanced. It can be amazing stuff, as is the skill to brew it the way it is, but its intensity is, well, intense. One small glass is plenty for most folks.

But that is not the point! The contest was created to give the brewers a chance to polish their skills and develop techniques that would make all of their sake better. Ostensibly, that is. And in any event the yearly competition has taken on a significance of its own. It is far and away the most prestigious event in the sake industry, yet the average consumer has no clue it exists or what its significance might be. And I am at a loss to explain that.

blog-backgroundThere is an excellent sake promotion company called Fullnet in Tokyo, run by the inimitable Shigero Nakano. The small company runs big events that include massive junmai-shu only tastings and more. They also publish a handful of books with really good information that one cannot get elsewhere. For example, they publish a book that lists the company name, brand, address and contact information of every brewery in the country. And they include interesting tidbits like the 50-plus junmai only kura, or the kura brewing via women toji, or lists of the kura that ceased operations each year. And they also publish a yearly report in book form on the Japan Sake Awards. The below informaton has been culled from this year’s publication by Fullnet.

The contest started in 1911 and has run every year but two; as such, this year was the 102nd running. According to the introduction, the first 44 times they ran the contest, the results were not officially made public, nor were the records kept. That’s it. Kaput. The first 44 may as well not have taken place. In a country with such a sense and awareness of history, this astounds me.

In 1956, they started to keep records, and kept them for each year since then save (inexplicably) two. But of the 54 or so, about 20 have gone missing from official archives. Nothing sinister, just no one thought they were worth keeping (which is sinister enough). But records exist with the companies that participated, and results have been dug up and gleaned from those.

The fact that so few official records remain from such a historically and culturally significant series of events is mind-boggling to me. Still, having hung out with sake for 26 years now, it is not surprising to me.

DSC02231There are many interesting statistics that exist – like longest runs of gold medals, or the most golds overall, or the most over the last ten years. About one fourth of the entries win a gold each in recent years, but nevertheless it is a significant accomplishment and hard to do with great regularity. As such, studying such data can help lead to a good idea of which companies have a significant industry presence.

As prestigious as the contest is, and as much as it has benefited the industry, it has had its dubious effects as well. The judges that assess such sake are with the central government and get transferred a lot. But the criteria they use to assess a sake are the same. So as they go from region to region, they end up influencing sake styles. And as such, traditional regional styles may have in some regions taken a back seat to winning medals and making ginjo-shu that would sell in the big cities.

For example, a sake that is rich and earthy and perhaps even a bit on the amber side might go well with the food, climate and culture of a particular region. But it would never win a gold medal, and would not likely sell in Tokyo. Often the judges would “ding” sake like that, influencing the style of that producer. These trends tend to gather critical mass, and the styles drip-down to lower grades of ginjo, and slowly regional styles fade into oblivion, replaced by more homogenous albeit tasty and refined profiles.

Everything in the Universe has a price. And that includes competitions that improve the image and quality of all sake as well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Be sure to look for my new book, Sake Confidential, available now at Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and the other usual suspects. Please check out the customer reviews on Amazon:

sake-cover1-150x300In over two-dozen short essays presented in a very informal and conversational tone, “the truth about sake” is revealed. The truth about junmai types versus non-junmai types, the truth about the impossibly detailed craft of sake brewing, the truth about temperature, premium types, aging, purity, pasteurization and regionality are all touched upon.

How the industry works, its challenges and strengths, what really creates sake flavors and aromas, specs you can safely ignore, and what hype you can safely avoid are all fair game. You’ll learn what goes into sake pricing, and how brewers get their rice. How to choose sake, and how to improve your tasting ability are also part of the fun. Suffice it to say that nowhere else is so much detailed information about the realities of the sake world assembled together into one place.

– See more at the store!

 

 

Sake Yeast Shake-out

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taka-awaSake yeast choices are an interesting – if frustrating – topic of study. I have covered them many times in the past in this newsletter, should you be interested in perusing the archives and even older back issues.

In short, yeast converts sugar to alcohol, and the choice of yeast leads to varying aromas – among other things, most notably acidity. There are many other things behind the choice of yeast, including robustness of fermentation, tolerance to alcohol, preferred temperature range and more.

Studying yeast types is interesting since they do have tendencies that we can learn to pick out. It is frustrating because there are many types, with countless variations and mutations, and they are blended all the time too. It all gets hard to follow! But if we can maintain our sense of humor, it continues to be worth it and fun.

These days there are many sources for yeast, but the classic source for the classic yeasts is the Nihon Jouzou Kyoukai, or the Brewing Society of Japan, a research organization that makes great yeast in pure form available to brewers.

yeastcellsBack about 80 years ago when this organization was put together, they started to reproduce yeast that was known to be strong and predictable, and make it available to any brewer in the industry in little ampules. This helped ensure good sake, which led to good tax revenue. 😉

They started, naturally enough, with what they called Yeast Number 1. Next came Yeast Number 2, and so on. These days, they are up to Number 19, although there are a handful that do not follow this simple numbering convention. The yeasts distributed by this organization are collectively referred to as “Kyoukai Kobo,” or “Association Yeasts.”

But the first five fell out of comparative disuse, as did many of the more recently developed strains. In fact, there seems to have been shake-out amongst these yeasts, to the point that the only ones we see on a large scale are #6, #7, #9, #14, and #18-01. (Number 19-01 is only recently developed and has not had a chance to make its presence felt in the industry.) The others have all but disappeared. Not totally, mind you, but they are much less commonly seen.

Number 6 was developed at Aramasa in Akita, a brewery that is now making the most of that yeast and is massively popular, and deservedly so. Number 7 was developed at Masumi in Nagano, where it is also used with great success. However, ole’ 7 was erstwhile the most commonly used yeast for regular sake in the country. It still may be!

Number 9 was developed at Koro in Kumamoto, and while more ginjo-esque than its Koro - source of Yeast #9predecessors, it now may be giving Number 7 a run for the money in how commonly it is used.

Number 14 is more recently developed, in the last twenty years, and while popular in some regions – in particular those in the center of the country, close to Kanazawa in Ishikawa were it was developed – is not all that widely used. And newcomer (comparatively) Number 18-01 is growing in popularity for daiginjo sake, much as Number 9 did twenty or so years ago. (Note, the -01 just means it is a non-foaming version of the regular yeast. So Number 18-01 is really Number 18 that does not foam up so much. But this is a topic for another time!)

So, what’s the difference? What might you need to remember? In its simplest essence, bear this in mind: the higher the number, the fruiter the aromas, and the lower the acidity. So, Number 6 has a solid acidity and not much fruit. Number 1801 is much softer due to lower acidity, but much fruitier as well.

Is it really that simple? Of course not. Nothing is, especially in the sake world. But that general rule of thumb will serve you well, and you can stick it in your back pocket when you go out drinking sake.

Also, while not mentioned above, Yeast Number 10 is an interesting topic. It is basically a descendent of a family of yeast strains known as Meiri, developed by a company, Meiri Shurui, brewers of a sake called Fuku Shobun, in Ibaraki Prefecture. The straight Meiri yeasts are massively aromatic and popular, and as such, the ancestors, relatives and descendants (remember, yeast generations are very short!) of this yeast are much, much more common than the actual Number 10 itself. In fact, it is hard to define what a Number 10 tastes and smells like, in my experience anyway, since it so hard to come upon one that is pure anymore.

Of course, there is much tinkering going on. Many brewers had what was once a Number 9, as just one example, but now has mutated and changed to be something else. But they still might call it Number 9. Which is fine!

Also, there are countless other yeasts, developed by various research centers or naturally occurring in breweries. Tons of ‘em. Oodles and oodles of ‘em. And they are blended in myriad ways on top of all of that.

Hence aforementioned frustration, and aforementioned fun.

But when it comes to the Association Yeasts, the classics, which still arguably are used in most of the sake in the industry, we’re down to Numbers 6, 7, 9, 14 and 1801 as the main ones, i.e. “the usual suspects.” And remember the higher number, the more the fuit, and the lower the acidity. It’s a great rule of thumb that will only add to your enjoyment of sake.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Be sure to look for my new book, Sake Confidential, available now at Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and the other usual suspects. Please check out the customer reviews on Amazon:

In over two-dozen short essays presented in a very informal and conversational tone, “thesake cover truth about sake” is revealed. The truth about junmai types versus non-junmai types, the truth about the impossibly detailed craft of sake brewing, the truth about temperature, premium types, aging, purity, pasteurization and regionality are all touched upon.

How the industry works, its challenges and strengths, what really creates sake flavors and aromas, specs you can safely ignore, and what hype you can safely avoid are all fair game. You’ll learn what goes into sake pricing, and how brewers get their rice. How to choose sake, and how to improve your tasting ability are also part of the fun. Suffice it to say that nowhere else is so much detailed information about the realities of the sake world assembled together into one place.

– See more at: http://sake-world.com/#sthash.5LOAMrBD.dpuf

– See more at: http://sake-world.com/#sthash.VDI391DO.dpuf

Farewell to an old, chilled friend – my sake fridge!

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Sake FridgeBack in 1991 I traded an answering machine that had a miniature cassette tape in it (remember those?) for a refrigerator. It was made by Sanyo, later absorbed by Panasonic. It was made for medicine. My friend found it left on the street in Tokyo, and it had been left there in such a way that someone who could use it would take it; the manual and key to the door were neatly left with the unit.

He no longer needed it, and I did. Conversely, I did not need the answering machine, but he did. We were both happy with the swap.

The unit was already at least a decade old, making it mid-Showa era. The Showa era seems so long ago; just the sound of the word feels nostalgic. Showa.

But I digress. I needed it for my stock of sake, which was currently taking up too much space in my normal refrigerator, which was empty of food due to the lack of space. At least I had my priorities straight!

It was perfect. It could fit dozens of bottles, if I crammed them in there right – and oh did I do that. Both big one (1.8 liters) and small ones (720ml) could get crammed in just fine.

And it was such a trooper. It stayed with me for 23 years, across five residences. It never stopped working! Sure, it got old and worn a bit – the double-paned glass doors did not fit or slide right and called for the omnipotent duct tape to keep sealed. But it kept my sake cold and in good condition. On top of the 20-plus sake in there earmarked for the short-term, I also had half a dozen or so sake aging away in there – the only part of my life in which I can exercise anything remotely resembling patience.

But finally, I had to let it go. It was so old that it used a ridiculous amount of electricity – something akin to $60 to $80 a month all by itself! And the aforementioned unrepairable gaps made that worse. So we decided to get rid of it and replace it, in time, with a new, modern sleek unit made for sake.

On yet another tangent, sake has been called “Hyaku yaku no chou,” or “The best of 100 medicines,” so in fact, this new machine too is made for medicine. But I digress. Again.

The new unit, as of yet not purchased although it has been identified, will fit many more bottles in a more functional space, and uses but $50 a YEAR in electricity. That is like 1/15th what my old friend used.

Also, it was a challenge to throw it away. It was so old that no one wanted to touch it, as things like that must be disposed of properly. And also, being originally for industrial medicine use, there was no rule in place for taking it from a normal consumer. Huh?

Farewell, old friend!

Finally, we worked through that red tape, and paid a 10,000 yen ($100) fee for the privilege of having my old friend hauled away. So, the change had to come. But I was surprised how attached I was to the old fellah. I will  miss it, for sure. In fact, I already do.

 

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Be sure to look for my new book, Sake Confidential, available now at Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and the other usual suspects. Please check out the customer reviews on Amazon:

In over two-dozen short essays presented in a very informal and conversational tone, “thesake cover truth about sake” is revealed. The truth about junmai types versus non-junmai types, the truth about the impossibly detailed craft of sake brewing, the truth about temperature, premium types, aging, purity, pasteurization and regionality are all touched upon.

How the industry works, its challenges and strengths, what really creates sake flavors and aromas, specs you can safely ignore, and what hype you can safely avoid are all fair game. You’ll learn what goes into sake pricing, and how brewers get their rice. How to choose sake, and how to improve your tasting ability are also part of the fun. Suffice it to say that nowhere else is so much detailed information about the realities of the sake world assembled together into one place.

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Everything I needed to know I learned at sake tastings

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Well, almost…

Every spring – and again every fall – it is tasting season here in Japan. What that means is Tasting, tasting, tasting...that those in the industry get to go out to three to five tastings a week of literally hundreds of sake. It is, without a doubt, way too much of a good thing. It’s really about as much fun as an icepick in the forehead. But it is for sure invaluable experience.

However, the countless sake available to taste and re-taste and take notes on are not the primary appeal.

What is far more important is what can be learned by talking to the brewers in attendance.

Sure, the brewers in attendance are the same ones as always. At this tasting, you will see so-and-so and whatsisface, but at that tasting you will see whodoyacallit and that other guy. Sometimes so-and-so will be at both tasting A and B, so I will strategically plan the order of tasting so as to maximize efficiency.

Of course it is fun to greet everyone; for some of the brewers from the boonies, it is the only time I see them. But what is more important and valuable is the information I can gather. Now that is where the real education is to be had!

For example, some of the problems plaguing the industry now include rice shortages and proper labeling. The very first booth at which I stopped is a kura with a famous female toji and that is not a million miles away from Iwate. Her labels all said “Domestic rice,” but nothing more about the variety. So naturally, I had to ask her: are you hiding the rice type?

“Nah, of course not. We’re not hiding it. It’s…” and told me a bit about the rice. So, I pressed onward, why don’t you list the rice on the label, then?

Tasting, tasting, tasting...“Because,” she continued in a matter-of-fact manner, “with all these rice shortages these days, if we cannot get all of what we ordered, we would be forced to use another rice to finish it off. That would mean we would have to reprint all of our labels to show that. We, as a small company, cannot absorb that hassle, so we avoid it altogether by just writing “domestic” on the label. But we are not hiding it! Just saving ourselves some trouble.”

Her decision – and that of others kura doing similar things – has been affected by a handful of mislabeling cases over the last two years. A couple of unscrupulous brewers have gotten busted labeling lower grades of sake as ginjo, or added-alcohol sake as junmai-shu. Some said it was an accident; at least one admitted to the wrongdoing.

In truth, it is but a few bad eggs doing that. But the potential loss of trust of an already-hurting industry, not to mention the potential loss of reputation for a good brewery, have made many companies extremely careful about anything that goes on the label. Not impossible to understand, actually.

Another brewer I know well was all smiles. “This year, we got all the rice we ordered, and Sake Competition 2012it dissolved properly for us. All is well in my sake-world this year! Rice shortages are passed on to brewers by the distributors providing less than what was fully ordered ten months previous to harvest. It is the only fair way to handle it – decrease all orders across the board, evenly distributing the pain. But this year, this kura at least got it all.

When the weather is too hot, the rice is too hard and will not dissolve in the tank, which means tight and restrained flavors. But this year, it behaved for him, and the sake flavors were full and expressive.

Yet another brewer that is geographically close to the one above was less ebullient. In fact, we was all gripes.

“Yeah, what we got fermented OK, but we did not get all we ordered. And this rice shortage is not about to end. We have the land, and the government regulations have changed to let us grow more, but we do not have enough seeds, and those farmers that grow it are graying fast – no young people want to get into rice farming now.”

Because the seeds must remain pure and can easily be affected by the rice growing nearby, or by what was growing in the same field the previous year, the seeds must come from the agricultural co-op if they are to be inspected. And if the rice is not inspected, rice cannot be labeled as premium. A racket? Sure, to some degree. But not one without its merits or its logic.

He also explained (but asked me to keep it quiet, which is why I am not mentioning the prefecture name) that the whole prefecture lost ten percent of their sake rice since some dork farmer accidentally mixed two rice types before inspection. That means the brewers cannot legally put the name of the rice on the bottle, and if they have two types mixed up in there, it will not likely behave in any way they have yet experienced. So for all intents and purposes, it was lost, further affecting their shortages.

I also found out, much to my surprise, that the powers that be can in fact analyze the DNA of a rice, to be sure that it is what a brewer says it is.

There were lots of other interesting things as well, beyond rice woes.

I continued to run into new rice types, like Tomo no Kaori from Toyama, and new yeasts such as Yuko no Omoi from Iwate that seemed fairly subdued, rather than bold, which was a very refreshing change (the concept, not the sake; although that was refreshing too). I found many more breweries using kensanmai, or rice sourced within the prefecture. While this is likely a result of attempts to ensure supply, it is also a great thing for many other reasons, and seems to be a fairly positive nascent trend.

Then there were a couple of technical things as well. One brewer, Gassan, had a whole new lineup in terms of flavors and style. The reason, interestingly, was that they changed their water source. The water from their own well is extremely soft water, and does not ferment very vigorously. So for decades they have been blending that with hard water brought in from a nearby source. And their sake has long been very enjoyable.

But they decided to bring it all back home, and from this season all of their sake is made with their own water, and in such a way that makes the most of the soft water. So, yeah, the entire lineup is new. It has led to a fascinating change.

There was much more, a lot of it fairly technical and isolated to the respective breweries.

Glasses like this will be used in hatsunomikiri

Kikizake-joko – Official Tasting Glasses

And I tasted some good sake too! But walking around and chatting as we tasted was, as usual, even more interesting than the actual sake itself. And I can’t wait until the fall, where there will more of what is already too much of a good thing.

Check out my new book, Sake Confidential!
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