Sake is Japan’s most famous indigenous alcoholic beverage and its popularity is growing around the world, as evidenced by booming exports and also the appearance of dozens of overseas breweries in North America, Europe, and even New Zealand. Geography, however, introduces an important point before we take you into the basics of sake.
Another word for sake in Japanese is Nihonshu, and that term is now officially used to indicate sake only made in Japan, much like true Champagne is only produced in that region of France. Sake produced outside of Japan cannot be designated as nihonshu. The Japan Sake & Shochu Makers Association (JSS) has thus created a special seal to help consumers identify high-quality, authentic nihonshu with confidence.
The primary ingredients in sake are rice, water, yeast, and kōji–more on this special ingredient below. Sake was long called ‘rice wine’ but that’s misleading as sake is actually brewed; it’s more akin to beer. How it is brewed is rather straightforward on the surface, though there are many nuances at each step of the brewing process, resulting in a surprising range of styles and characteristics.
There are a variety of rice strains used by brewers to make sake, and these strains produce different flavors and aromas. Rice is typically milled to varying degrees to remove some of the outer proteins, which can affect flavor. Brewers then soak and steam the rice before taking it to a special room where they sprinkle kōji-kin on it. This is a unique mold that helps make the starches in the rice more accessible to yeast, which will convert it into alcohol. The resulting rice-mold mixture is simply called kōji.
The kōji is later added to plain, steamed rice with water and yeast to create ‘yeast starter’ (known as shubo or moto in Japanese). Over a couple of weeks’ time, the yeast concentration grows and the starter is moved to a larger tank where more rice, kōji, and water is added in three stages over four days, basically doubling the batch size each time. The mash is then allowed to ferment for the next eighteen to thirty-two days.
Following fermentation, the mash is pressed to separate the liquid (the glorious sake!) from the rice lees. Thereafter, the sake is usually charcoal filtered and then pasteurized (though not all sake is). Most sake is also allowed to mature or mellow for a few months. During this time, brewers typically add water to adjust the alcohol percentage to slightly below 20%, while further blending their tanks together for consistency. These are, again, the basics of brewing sake; there are many more techniques and processes that brewers employ to create expressive sake.
Brewers have had plenty of time to develop and hone their various techniques. References to sake in Japan go back as far as its oldest extant text, the Kojiki (712), but archaeological evidence supports that sake–at least primitive forms of it–was being brewed by prehistoric societies in Japan. Sake is thus one of the more traditional things in Japan.
Let’s fast forward to the present, where sake is a quintessential part of any Japanese dining experience. Sake, which is produced all over Japan, developed side by side with regional cuisines over time. That means you’re almost guaranteed to find a sake that will pair well with a given Japanese dish. A lot of sake is quite versatile, too, so pairing sake from one region with food from another is not problematic. You can also chill or warm sake to achieve different flavors and aromas that may pair better with a given dish.
What too many people don’t realize, however, is that sake’s versatility lends itself to just about any cuisine, not just Japanese. There are savory varieties of sake that can stand up to spicy foods. Acidic sake are great for pairing with meat dishes as they cut through the fattiness and enhance the flavor. There are delicate sake for pairing with desserts or salads. Really, the best thing you can do is stop seeking advice and start experimenting on our own. You’ll learn a lot and have fun in the process.
(This post was sponsored by JSS. Please watch their accompanying video below)
