Guide to Japanese Sake

Japanese culture and cuisine has been slowly becoming more popular all around the world, foods like sushi, ramen (which is originally from China though japan has its own twist on it as well check more about it here), shasimi and Japanese curry, becoming more easily accessible, also sake or as Japanese call the alcohol beverage “nihonshu” This interesting rice wine is slowly taking over the world as well with its distinctive taste. With different kind of sakes, different temperature to drink them in then choosing what food to drink sake with and if you are in Japan the traditions about sake drinking. These articles here try to answer quickly to these basic questions. After reading this it is time for you to get some different sakes and try them out, Kampai!

What is sake?

In Japan Sake is a general term used for any kind of alcohol drink, in Japan what most people call Sake is called Nihonshu literal translator would be Japanese alcohol. If you would ask from someone what they think Sake is, most likely they would answer rice wine, but the process Sake is made in is closer to the way beer is made than wine. Though sakes alcohol percent is closer to that of wines being around 14 – 20 % and you could say that the taste of most sake is closer to wine than beer.

Sake is brewed from the no 1. favorite Japanese ingredient, you guessed it: rice. A special type of short-grain rice is milled to remove the outer layers, after which only 50-70% of the original amount remains. From a part of this rice, koji is made. Koji is a mold, made from steamed rice and Aspergillus oryzae, which is also a mold in itself. Then, the koji is mixed with water and fresh steamed rice, and kneaded (traditionally by hand, a very tiresome business) into a smooth paste. More water and rice are added at three consecutive stages, after which the crude sake is poured into barrels, it sits and ferments for three to four weeks with sake yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). When the time is right, the sake is woken up and gets 'pressed' through filters to separate the liquids from the unfermented rice parts. It usually undergoes several filtration processes, depending on the maker, but often charcoal is used to refine the color and flavor.

After that, it is usually pasteurized (quickly heated to kill bacteria) and left to age for various amounts of time. After all this hard work, the sake is poured into bottles and shipped throughout Japan, and the rest of the world.

Japan, being the land of origin for sake, knows an extremely rich sake culture. When you visit Japan, you should make sure to try sake at least once or twice. Many (more upscale) restaurants have sake sommeliers that are happy to help you choose.

What different types are there?

Especially when going to a bigger store in Japan, you might be just watching all the different kind of sake bottles, jars some sake even coming in what reminds of milk cartons. So, you might ask yourself, which one should I be getting, what is best to be drank cold and what hot. There are some terms that you can find from the different kind of containers that can give you a bit of help which one to choose...... Read full artcle from here

Where is Japanese sake from?

There is no clear texts that would tell when Sake was invented. Chinese alcohols which some are made from Rice as well predate written history. On Kojiki (oldest written chronicle in Japan from year 711 ) Alcoholic drinks are mentioned, it is suspected that Sake came to be around the same time as Kojiki. It was usually used the same way wine was around that time, for religious ceremonies and for enjoyment by rich and poor. Sake just as wine is till today used in religious ceremonies and different festivals but not as much as before.... Read full from article here

Should I drink sake hot or cold?

On a hot summer day with friends enjoying the sunshine nothings better than a cold can of beer. Or in winter after hitting the slopes the taste of a warm glass of Dead rabbit irish coffee. Like with foods the temperature of a drink defines a lot about, when to drink it, how to drink it and of course it affects the taste. Japanese sake is one of the few drinks that is actually good, cold and hot and the temperature changes the feel and taste of sake, sake can be enjoyed nice and cold from (5C/41F) to hot (55C/131F) or from anywhere between. This article is going to dig a bit deeper on which kind of sake on which situation and help you decide which one you might enjoy more.. Read full article here

What dishes does sake go well with?

Just like European wine, Sake can be paired with different foods to enhance the taste of both. Some say sake might be even the better choice from wine because from the five basic tastes Sake contains a lot more umami (savory flavor/full flavor) where in wine contains more of a sour flavor. Most sakes are also a lot subtler than the taste of most wines and it usually mixes very well with foods because of that. Spicy food on the other hand does not go as well with sake because the spiciness of the food easily overtakes the taste and the taste of sake disappears Read the full article from here




What are the social rules of drinking sake?

When you go to drink Sake (Japanese rice wine) with Japanese, you might be surprised from the traditions that are done while drinking it. While Japanese do understand if you do not know them, and with friends these traditions are not done so much anymore, it is still good to know them, so here are some traditions involving sake.           Read the full article here

Want to know even more about Japanese sake? Or try some of the better varieties yourself?
You can book a tour with our own sake-expert, Masa, in Tokyo from here