This is the last segment of sake production blog which I have started before my Japan tour. The photo comes from the brewery which our group visited in Kyoto. The left bottom photo is the fermentation tank in which you can see the bubbles, bubbles,…the sake brew master, Morimoto-san, is 73 years old. Look at his smooth, no-rinkle face. He enjoys a bottle of sake! each night after his work. According to him that is the trick to his smooth skin and good health. Now the...
Read MoreMother of Sake – Continued Story
After making the Koji rice, next step is making of Yest Mash Startar, Shubo, which is translated into Mother of Sake. We transfer the Koji rice to a middle size tank and add spring water and additional steamed rice, and let the mixture stand about two weeks, or until natural lactic acid is produced in the batch. Lactic acid makes the batch in the tank steril. Lactic acid bacteria itself will die eventually in the very strong acid environment. Then, yeast is added to the...
Read MoreTry Limited Sake run in Spring!
This is not the continued story of sake production. I needed to pot this one between the stories, because Arabashiri will disappear soon from the restaurant/stores. Do not miss the sake called Arabashiri at the beginning of spring – NOW! Traditional method of filtering sake is to transfer the fermented batch to large, tightly knitted, thick cotton sacs and place them one after another in a long, deep and large wooden box, called fune. Visit this site and check it out...
Read MoreFungi, Koji, Does Miracle – Condinued Story
Koji loves Koji-muro which provids them Tokyo summer-like weather – high temperature and heavy hujmidity. Sometimes you see in the sake production photos that sake makers who are working in the koji-muro is naked from the weist to the top. That’s the best to wear. Koji, which is fed on cooked rice, multiplies and produces enzyme such as amylayze. Amylayze, then, breaks down starch in the rice into glucose. This process generates much heat in the rice. If the...
Read MoreRelationship of Delicious Sake and Fungi
It is exciting that today there are so many quality, delicious sake available in America, like the one which I have recently blogged – Daishichi Sake. Many of these sake are made at small family run breweries in Japan. Some have been in their business at least for one hundred years, others, close to 400 years. Production of sake is far more complicated than the wine making. Like beer sake is made from rice. In order to allow the fermentation to occur starch in rice...
Read More