WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT JAPANESE SAKE ???

When you comes to Japan, what do you think first? Maybe you will have a lot of interesting points in this country like: samurai, kimono, tea ceremony ... and simply indispensable Japanese sake.

Sake is a traditional light wines made from pure rice, undergoing fermentation to create this typical Japanese beverage.

Another interesting point is that the phrase 'sake' in Japanese is understood as alcohol in general, regardless of heavy or light wines, wishky or gin.

Process of sake production

On average, this process takes between 6-12 stages and consists of eight major stages. Each phase is strictly controlled to ensure the delivery of the highest quality product.

1.Milling rice (Seimai):

Typically, this stage takes 2-3 days to turn the raw rice into starch for production. Rice is milled from 30% to 65% to remove protein, fat and many other impurities which reduce the taste and the characteristics of alcohol.

2. Wash - soak and cook rice into rice:

This stage takes about 1 day in the production process. Workers need to take care of meticulous care to clean the rice without losing its nutrients which are necessary for the brewing process later.

3. Yogurt (Koji):

This process is considered the most important, deciding on the taste and taste of the wine. Sprinkle the Koji over the rice and leave for about 35 to 48 hours. During this time, starch will be destroyed and turned into sugar.

Controlling temperature during this period is also extremely important. Therefore, fermentation is usually done in special rooms called Koji Muro, which is maintained at high temperature and suitable humidity. Workers will have to observe and adjust 3-4 hours continuously throughout the process, to form the most delicious sake.

4. Moto Section:

Mix well Moji, yeast, sugar and water. Sugar will slowly turn to alcohol through these processes. Average is from 2-4 weeks / fast 14 days / Yamahai + Kimoto 28 days.

5. Moromi step:

Add moji, rice and water to the moto to support fermentation for alcohol in three consecutive stages afterwards. The fermentation process lasts from 18 to 32 days.

6. Pressing wine:

After the wine is fermented, the wine is pressed. The alcohol is compressed and Moromi is divided into Seishu (white wine) and Sakekasu (white residue).

7. Filter:

Alcohol is filtered through purified charcoal. Unwanted taste elements and natural amber color can be removed by filtration, many manufacturers do not filter their wine to retain the natural flavor difference.

8. Alcohol:

Mostly, new liquor is once disinfected (Hiire) to kill bacteria, yeast and other unnecessary elements. It was then placed in a brewing tank until the age of 6 months.

After going through 8 harsh processes, the next thing is to bottled the wine and ship it to the consumer. These processes require close co-operation between the various stages.