Sake is produced through a complicated process, in which it is divided into various types due to the different processes. The traditional processes of sake production have been passed down to the present day, and the classification of sake has continued to evolve throughout the process. If you understand the production process of sake and the differences in it, you will be able to enjoy drinking sake more and more.

Key elements of brewing

Water

Water accounts for 80% of the ingredients in sake. Compared to red wine, which is brewed without tap water, raw water is a key ingredient in sake brewing. Sake is a Japanese brew that has been blessed with the sweetness of water.

The water used in sake brewing is called "kaisui". In sake brewing, not only must water be used to open the ingredients, but also a lot of water is used to wash rice and special tools, so sake is stored in places with abundant water sources.

Deep wells for making sake

In Japan, there are many different types of water, ranging from extremely hard water with high amounts of calcium and magnesium to softened water with very few ingredients, and it is said that the rate of production of sake varies depending on the type of water used.

Nada (the area between Nishinomiya City in Hyogo Prefecture and the Nada area in Kobe City) is a well-known sake producing area, and is the source of the hardness of the water called "Miyamizu," and the sake made from this water is called "male sake" because it is spicy and refreshing. What's more, Fushimi, a place where sake is produced in Kyoto City, uses softened water to produce sake with a sweet taste and is called "female sake". There are some sake collections where you can taste the water immediately, so be sure to try them out when you have the chance.

Fushimi's sake collection

Rice

Another key ingredient in making sake is rice. If you read the label on the sake bottle, you will see the word "used rice" in the ingredients section. Applied rice" is different from the type of rice you normally take, and is called "sake rice" because it is suitable for making sake.

This type of rice has a colorful protein layer on the surface, and if it is not used to make sake, it will cause an odor in the sake, so the surface layer must be removed. It is difficult to reduce rice with large particles. In addition, the part of the rice management center called the "heart white" has characteristics that are extremely beneficial to sake making, as it absorbs water very well and is easily digested and absorbed into the internal song. However, in contrast to the rice that is normally consumed, this type of rice tastes dry and shriveled, and is not very tasty.

Gradual scientific research from seed rice in Wakayama local

There are more than 100 different kinds of rice, and the most famous ones are "Yamada Nishiki", which is the most produced rice, "Gokamishi", "Misan Nishiki", "Yuomachi", and so on. In addition to contracting with local farms, some sake breweries even grow their own sake rice in order to make better sake. At the same time, some sake breweries also hold events such as rice planting to promote the need for planning sake rice to the public.

日本清酒

Nara Prefecture focuses on brewing sake with rice that has been used since ancient times

Sake mold

Sake is brewed by converting tapioca starch from rice into sugar by the fungus Sake Mildew, and then alcoholized by yeast. The raw materials for sake include fresh fruits such as red grapes, grains, sweet potatoes, and animal milk, but unlike raw materials with built-in sugar such as red grapes, grains and sweet potatoes must undergo the entire process of "saccharification", which converts tapioca starch into sugar. Sake is obtained by sprinkling the steamed rice with the cells of a mold called "sakura", which is called "sakura seeds," and then sugarizing it over two days and nights.

The song is shaped in a high-temperature, wet, and cold "kuro".

The rice that has been sweetened is called "koji," a Chinese character for "koji" that is sometimes used in Japanese. It is said that koji has been used in sake making since the Heian period, and even in the Muromachi period, there were stores that made koji. Today, there are about 10 stores that make goma all over Japan. In wagyu, "koji" is used in a variety of food items, including miso and sashimi, in addition to sake.

Conversion of ethanol into

Yeast

After the rice has been sweetened by the yeast process, the sugar is gradually converted to ethanol by the yeast process. Yeast, called yeast in English, is a strain of microorganism, and was directly translated as "yeast" in Japan in the Meiji era as "mother of alcohol production.

Yeast is commonly found in nature, from the rind of fresh fruit to fallen leaves and flower bones, and before the Meiji period, each sake brewery was breeding "the brewery's own yeast" on separate roof beams and walls. A term used by sake brewers is "zoophilia," which means that the taste of sake varies depending on the yeast cultivated in each sake brewery. However, this depends to a large extent on inadvertent conditions, so it is difficult to produce the same quality of sake every year.

In 1904, the National University Brewery Laboratory, which was established by the Myongye government, began isolating yeast seedlings, which were highly regarded in sake collections across the country, and in 1906, the Brewery Research Institute was established, and the yeast cultivated there was gradually distributed to sake collections in every province in China.

The whole process of alcohol development in a barrel that has been carried out under the effect of yeast theme activities

The yeast cultivated at this brewing research institute is called "research institute yeast" and there are various types. The oldest of these yeasts that are still in use today is "Research Council Yeast No. 6", which was obtained from the sake collection of New Policy Brewery in Akita Prefecture in 1930. However, nowadays, there is a high demand to abandon the "Research Council Yeast" and reuse the yeast that is available in the separate sake collections.

The yeast that is good at producing aroma and the yeast that can produce sufficient aroma are different according to their different characteristics, and they can cause different harm to the taste of sake. At the same time, the rate of development and design of yeast today is so fast that there is a wave of production of new flavored sake. In most cases, the yeast used is mentioned on the back of the logo of the sake. If you pay attention to it, you will discover the secret and the joy.

Posted by: temple at 04:13 PM | Comments (55) | Add Comment
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