By Flavia
Lo Buono Leite
October 1 is the official Sake
Day (日本酒の日) of Japan, the perfect day for a sake tasting, right? And here
in Kofu we just happened to have one on that day and it was a huge success. Organized
by the Yamanashi Sake and Shochu Makers Association, the event was a great
opportunity to learn more about the production of sake and to taste some of the
best sakes produced in Yamanashi. There were several kinds of sake and different
shochu selections from 15 breweries.
It was the first time
I participated in a sake tasting and to my surprise my experience at the event involved
much more than just drinking sake. I had the opportunity to talk to some of the
producers and they explained to me how sake was made, the process, the type of
rice used and how important the quality of the water is to produce a good sake.
Luckily here in Yamanashi we have some of the cleanest and purest water in
Japan J. So you
can expect great sake too!!
In
this post I will share a little bit of what I have learned about sake
production.
Sake (nihonshu) is a typical
Japanese alcoholic beverage. Appreciated in Japan and around the world, the sake
is made from fermented rice. The production process starts with the selection
of the rice. The rice is then polished, washed and steamed. In beverages made
from grains, such as sake and beer, it is necessary to add enzymes to break
down the grain starch and convert it into sugar before the fermentation. In
brewing, malt is used as a source of these enzymes, but in the production of
sake, Koji is used. Koji is a kind of fungus (similar to
mold) that forms on the steamed rice. Then, the sake is fermented and stored.
There are different types
of sake: dry sakes (Karakuchi) or soft and sweeter (Amakuchi) .The basic
difference between them is the amount of sugar that is not converted into
alcohol during the fermentation process, leaving the beverage with a stronger or
weaker degree of alcohol.
If you are interested in sake but
missed the tasting, you can visit the breweries of Yamanashi and learn more
about sake, see the facilities where they produce the sake (some of the
breweries have guided tours) and of course taste test and buy some delicious
sake. You just may find yourself a new favorite beverage!
For more
information you can access the association`s website: http://www.yamanashi-sake.jp/en/
