Brewing sake? What happened to brewing beer? Technically, I can actually say I am brewing beer- sort of. Sake, although we like to call it "rice wine", is actually more like an un-carbonated beer. Wine, by definition is a one step fermentation process involving soft fruit or vegetable matter. Beer on the other hand is a grain-based process that involves more than one fermentation step. Sake basically falls into the latter description, but, in the end it is not carbonated, but filtered, pasteurized, and aged for a brief time, more like wine. So you see where we westerners could get confused.
So why the hell am I brewing sake? I just started reading about it and it intrigued me. I read that if you live in Japan, you aren't allowed to brew sake in your home! For this reason, there are many of the old-style rice wines Japanese people traditionally use for ceremonies and cooking that are becoming extinct. Also, the more I read, the more I found out about all the different kinds of sake that aren't available in the United States. Particularly a "fresh" version of sake called namazake that is unpasteurized, unfiltered and only available in Japan early in spring at the end of the sake brewing season. It's human nature to obsess over things you can't have right? That's why I've got to have namazake! Sake also seemed to be a simpler, less ingredient intensive process to me than beer making, but now I am not so sure. What you lack in special ingredients, you make up for in the intricate process.
Basically all you need to brew sake is:
Quality sushi grade rice
Koji (rice inoculated w/ yeast that breaks down rice starch)
Brewing Yeast (Sake #9)
Yeast nutrient
Water
A rice steamer
Fermentation Container (like for brewing beer)
3 Gallon jugs for storing your sake
It's what you do with these ingredients that's the key. It all starts with soaking koji and rice over night in water and then steaming the rice the next day and adding it to the koji in the fermentation bucket. This starts the "moto" which is basically a porridgey mixture of koji, rice and yeast that builds up alcohol converting strength that then leads to primary fermentation. This process lasts 17 days. I know- primary fermentation for beer only takes a couple hours. For sake you must add more yeast, rice, koji, and take the mixture from a warm 70 degree environment back to 50 degree temp for varying amounts of time. So far, it's like agreeing to feed your neighbor's hamster- out of sight, out of mind. I have a constant feeling like I'm forgetting something. The rice mixture (or hamster) sits so silently in the corner that you forget it's there. Every couple of days you think- oh my Gosh! I forgot to stir the moto/ Oh no! I starved the hamster! Well, so far I have not forgotten my moto, and thank god I am not babysitting anyone's pet rodent! But there are 14 more days to go for step one, so let's hope for the best.
If anyone is interested in joining the sake brewing challenge I got my instructions fro this excellent website:
http://www.taylor-madeak.org/index.php
This site is an exhaustive collection of info on sake including a glossary for Japanese sake vocab:
http://www.sake-world.com/index.html
So why the hell am I brewing sake? I just started reading about it and it intrigued me. I read that if you live in Japan, you aren't allowed to brew sake in your home! For this reason, there are many of the old-style rice wines Japanese people traditionally use for ceremonies and cooking that are becoming extinct. Also, the more I read, the more I found out about all the different kinds of sake that aren't available in the United States. Particularly a "fresh" version of sake called namazake that is unpasteurized, unfiltered and only available in Japan early in spring at the end of the sake brewing season. It's human nature to obsess over things you can't have right? That's why I've got to have namazake! Sake also seemed to be a simpler, less ingredient intensive process to me than beer making, but now I am not so sure. What you lack in special ingredients, you make up for in the intricate process.
Basically all you need to brew sake is:
Quality sushi grade rice
Koji (rice inoculated w/ yeast that breaks down rice starch)
Brewing Yeast (Sake #9)
Yeast nutrient
Water
A rice steamer
Fermentation Container (like for brewing beer)
3 Gallon jugs for storing your sake
It's what you do with these ingredients that's the key. It all starts with soaking koji and rice over night in water and then steaming the rice the next day and adding it to the koji in the fermentation bucket. This starts the "moto" which is basically a porridgey mixture of koji, rice and yeast that builds up alcohol converting strength that then leads to primary fermentation. This process lasts 17 days. I know- primary fermentation for beer only takes a couple hours. For sake you must add more yeast, rice, koji, and take the mixture from a warm 70 degree environment back to 50 degree temp for varying amounts of time. So far, it's like agreeing to feed your neighbor's hamster- out of sight, out of mind. I have a constant feeling like I'm forgetting something. The rice mixture (or hamster) sits so silently in the corner that you forget it's there. Every couple of days you think- oh my Gosh! I forgot to stir the moto/ Oh no! I starved the hamster! Well, so far I have not forgotten my moto, and thank god I am not babysitting anyone's pet rodent! But there are 14 more days to go for step one, so let's hope for the best.
If anyone is interested in joining the sake brewing challenge I got my instructions fro this excellent website:
http://www.taylor-madeak.org/index.php
This site is an exhaustive collection of info on sake including a glossary for Japanese sake vocab:
http://www.sake-world.com/index.html
2 comments:
I accept your challenge. Consider this sake challenge enjoined!
The local liquor stores seem to be catching on in the last couple of years - there's more to sake than the cheap stuff microwaved at the local restaurant.
How flattering to have a link to my guide on your site! Best of luck with your own batches of sake. As always, feel free to drop me a message with any questions you may have. =)
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