PROCESS of BREWING SAKE
We brew sake only in winter (December - March).
1.Material rice
Most of the rice we use comes from the local area. For DAIGINJO and JUNMAIDAIGINJO
we use special rice from a famous region.
2.Polishing rice
We eat about 0-8%of the outer bran removed after polishing. For brewing
sake the rice used normally has 25-40% removed, and for GINJO about 50-60%
is removed for a more pure taste.
3.Washing rice
In brewing GINJO we don't use any machines. For washing rice,it's done
only by hand with a large amount of water.
4.Steaming rice
In a large iron pot, water is boiled and the rice is steamed, Then the
rice is removed using a large shovel. This work is hard because of the
heat.
After steaming, the temperature of the rice is cool down for yeast.
5.The yeast and the malted rice
Starch from the rice is used to from a glucose substance which becomes
the malted rice.
This malted rice is fermented to make yeast, which is the basis of sake.
It is important to grow good yeast to brew good sake.
6.Fermentation
The steamed rice, malted rice and yeast along with water are all placed
in a large tank where fermentation occurs. Therefore a temperature of between
10-15C is maintained. Microbes love fresh air, so the mixture is stirred
with a large paddle to allow fresh air in.
The temperture is constantly adjusted the appropriate leve.
7.Pressing
After 3-5weeks into the process, the rice mixture is stuffed into special
bags attached to a machine which squeezes out sake leaving behind remaining
solids called 'sake cake'
This process uses 120-150 bags,and removing the sale from then is difficult. (Our sake cake are delicious because of traditinal press machine.)
8.Bottling and storage
Once sake bottled the process is basically complete.
Sake bottled are heated to 60-65C to kill any bacteria and preserve the
quality of sake.
