Sake

Origin: Japanese      Period: Traditional

Sake is a beer made from cooked rice grains. However, unlike wine (where sugars come from the fruit), mead (where sugars come from the honey) and ales (where sugars are created from starches in the grain by artificially germinating the seeds [a process known as malting]) rice grains cannot easily be germinated and so an external agent is needed to convert the starches in the rice into fermentable sugar. The magic ingredient here is a mould known in Japanese as koji-kin. This is the mould Aspergillus oryzae that can be encouraged to grow on steamed rice and which converts the rice grains' starch into sugars. The resulting treated rice is known as koji. Indeed, without koji there is no sake; indeed, the process of koji action is complex with many enzymatic processes involved. Some of these enzymes act to create fermentable sugar (glucose), others act more to create other types of sugar that will not ferment but will instead affect texture and flavour in a sake. Koji production (known as seigiku) is at the very heart of the sake-brewing process. The leverage it holds over the final product is immense. From a good beginning all things flow naturally, and so it is with koji. For this reason a homebrew sake will never be as good as the best pure sakes; however a decent approximation can be made.

In general, the koji-making process takes 40 to 45 hours. During this time, the developing koji is checked and mixed constantly to ensure proper temperature and moisture, as well as an even distribution of both. As the koji mould works its way into the centre of the steamed rice grains, heat is generated. Different temperatures are ideal at different stages of the process. Not only that, but these ideals will change depending on the sought-after flavour profile. The type of rice, pH and mineral content of the water, and a myriad of other things affect the way koji is made as well. These variables compound to create a process that is more art and intuition than science. When koji is ready for use, it looks like rice with a small amount of white frosting on each grain. The smell and taste are slightly sweet, as might be expected. There is a characteristic light chestnuty aroma that wafts from the treated rice and this lends a characteristic note to the finished sake.

Ingredients:

3l of unchlorinated water
1.6 kg white rice (sushi rice works well)
koji or koji-kin
450g rice for kome-koji
Juice of 1 lemon
Yeast (Wyeast Sake yeast is best but champagne yeast or an ale yeast will also work)

Method:

Preparation

The first step of this process is to create the kome-koji. Wash and soak the 450g of rice for about five hours in cold water, then place in a colander and allow to drain for at least 20 minutes. Cook this rice by steaming (you want to retain as much starch as possible, do not boil). When the rice becomes slightly soft and translucent in appearance it is ready. Cool the rice to 30°C and place in an enamel or stainless steel pot, add the koji spores and gently fold into the rive. Cover the rice with a damp piece of muslin to prevent it drying out then place the pot in a cooler box. Add water at 35°C to the cooler box so that it comes half-way up the sides of the pan. Further pack cooler box with hot water bottles filled with water at 34°C (this is to maintain the temperature of the rice at 30°C). Change the warm water every few hours to keep the internal temperature constant. In ten hours gently stir the mixture of cooked rice and koli using a metal cooking spatula. By this time you should already notice a whitening of the rice and a slightly sweet aroma should be emerging. Try and maintain the temperature of the mixture as close as you can to 30°C for a further 30 hours, stirring every ten hours or so. At the end of this time you should have white-coloured kome-koji covered with white fungus.

You can now wash and soak the 1.6kg of rice for about five hours in cold water. Place this is a colander and allow to drain for at least twenty minutes. Steam cook the rice (this gives a better flavour) then cool down to 30°C. Place 3l of water in a fermenting bucket add the lemon juice (which acidifies the sake and helps prevent bacterial contamination). Add the kome-koji and stir well to dissolve as many of the sugars as possible. Leave to stand for half an hour and add the cooked rice. Pitch the yeast (see the page on basic extract brewing on the proper way to add the yeast), affix your lid and add the fermentation lock. Place the fermentation vessel in a dark place at between 18–24°C and leave to ferment (this will cause a slower and longer fermentation that gives a better sake). Stir once a day using a sterile steel spoon and clean hands. In about 14 to 16 days there should be no more bubbles appearing in the fermentation lock and your sake is ready to bottle.

Sterilize your bottles, a funnel and some muslin or fine cloth. Filter the sake through this to remove the sludge at the bottom. Cork your bottled sake and leave to stand and settle for a few days you can then decant the clear upper layer to yield clear sake if desired. This will yield a high-quality sake that should be served slightly chilled. Remember that the alcohol content of sake can be up to 12% and it should be treated more like mead than beer in terms of consumption. Also, the remaining rice sludge can be used to pickle fish or vegetables in the refrigerator if desired.

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