The making of sake

As already mentioned in the previous post, toji (sake brewer) Shigeki Matsui kindly offered a brief tour of his sake brewery, with an introduction to the making of sake.

Sake, a Japanese rice wine, is made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the protein and oils from the exterior of the rice grains, leaving behind starch. The more the grains are polished, the stronger the sake will be - but it will have less aroma, therefore a balance is being pursued.

These are whole rice grains and polished grains (to 65% or 35% of their initial volume)

Unlike wine, in which alcohol (ethanol) is produced by fermenting sugar that is naturally present in fruit, typically grapes, sake is produced by a brewing process more akin to that of beer, where starch is converted into sugars which ferment into alcohol. 

Here is an inox tank with fermenting rice pulp

Back home, it is time to reveal the precious Kagura bottle. Please note the lovely packaging.

 The motto of Kagura: Enthusiasm is contagious !