[Trivia] Multiple parallel fermentation and three-stage brewing are amazing! Learn more about how sake is made
How is sake made? Sake sommelier Eriko Fujita explains the sake brewing process, which is said to be more complicated than other brewed alcoholic beverages around the world.
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Let's start by comparing it to wine.
Sake is a drink that contains alcohol. First, let's take a look at how alcohol is produced. It's easier to understand by using wine as an example.
Wine is made by crushing grapes and leaving them for a while, which causes the natural fermentation and turns them into alcohol. This happens when the yeast on the surface of the grape skins eats the sugar in the juice and produces alcohol.
I see, sugar is needed to make alcohol, but the rice used to make sake isn't sweet.
Multiple parallel fermentation is only used for sake
This is where koji mold comes into play. Koji-making, in which koji mold is added to steamed rice, is a process in which the mold breaks down the starch in the rice and converts it into sugar. Yeast is then added to produce alcohol, and these two processes occurring simultaneously is called "multiple parallel fermentation," a unique feature of sake that is unlike any other in the world (wine is "single fermentation"). This unique technique is what allows sake to have a high alcohol content despite being a fermented alcoholic beverage. It is clear that two microorganisms, koji mold and yeast, are essential to sake brewing.
Amazing technique, three-stage preparation
The yeast starter (moto) is made by adding koji, lactic acid (in the case of fast fermentation), water, and yeast to steamed rice. As the name suggests, it is the base of the sake. The finished yeast starter is transferred to a fermentation tank, and koji, steamed rice, and water are added in three batches to make the moromi (mash). This is called the "three-stage brewing" method, and there is a reason why the amount is not increased all at once.
Lactic acid is added to the yeast starter to increase the acidity and suppress the growth of harmful bacteria. If a large amount of ingredients are added, the concentration of the yeast and acid will be diluted, giving the bacteria an opportunity to take advantage. The reason for adding them little by little is to avoid upsetting the balance with the acid produced by the yeast. It is surprising to learn that this three-stage brewing process was already in use in the early Edo period.
The basic process of sake making
1.Polished rice: The proteins on the surface that cause unpleasant flavors are scraped off. Rice polishing ratios of 60% or less are called Ginjo sake, and 50% or less are called Daiginjo sake.
2.Washing and soaking rice: The rice is washed and allowed to absorb water. The amount of water the rice absorbs has a significant impact on the quality of the sake, and some breweries adjust the amount down to the second.
3.steamed: The rice is steamed to make it "hard on the outside and soft on the inside" to make it easier for the koji mold hyphae to penetrate.
4.Koji making: In a temperature- and humidity-controlled koji room, the steamed rice is sprinkled with koji seeds to grow. This is an important task that continues for two days and nights, with work every few hours, such as kneading the rice, turning the rice, stacking the rice, placing the rice on the mat, and storing the rice.
5.Making the yeast starter (moto): In a small tank, steamed rice is fermented with koji, lactic acid, water, and yeast to create the yeast starter that will become the base of the sake. In the case of kimoto, no commercial lactic acid is added, and natural lactic acid bacteria are allowed to grow.
6.Brewing moromi:Moroshi, steamed rice, and water are added to the yeast starter in a large tank to make moromi. This is done in three separate steps: the first addition, the middle addition, and the final addition.
7.Squeezed: After 3 to 5 weeks, the finished mash is pressed and separated into sake and sake lees.
8.Finishing (filtering, pasteurization, diluting): The turbidity is removed through activated charcoal or a filter. To stabilize the quality, it is sterilized by heating at 60-65℃. Brewing water is added to adjust the alcohol content to about 15%. There is also unfiltered unpasteurized sake that does not undergo any of these steps.
9.bottled: Pack into light-blocking brown or green bottles, attach a label, and voila!
This time, we focused on "multiple parallel fermentation" and "three-stage brewing," and we rushed through the rest, but of course there are many other techniques that go into the other processes as well. I'll introduce those at another opportunity.
Writer/Sake Master Eriko Fujita
Expand your world to a sake specialty store in Osaka and encounter a variety of sake and sake breweries. Favorite sakes are Akishika, Ohgi, and others.
Other than drinking, my hobbies include collecting minerals and raising swallowtail butterflies.
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