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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
粕
Kasu
The lees remaining after the sake has been pressed from the fermenting mixture
麹
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
蔵
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
元
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