why back then Sake was merely for
the aristocrats and shrines, and only
served during big festivals. Brewing
Sake is such a meticulous process!
Fine water and fine rice are the two
main factors contributing to great
Sake. In Kamotsuru Brewery, people
use Geibi-Nishiki rice, which was once
thought to be extinct from the map of
Japanese rice. Geibi-Nishiki is great for
producing Sake with a deep and fullbodied flavor. The rice will be polished
up to 50% to remove the protein coat
outside; therefore, the starch inside
will absorb water faster and have better
fermentation later. After that, rice
will be brought to steam at an exact
temperature. It is totally different from
the way we prepare rice at home by
mixing it with water and boiling it.
Brewers force giant clouds of steam
through the bottom of a vat (koshiki).
They explained, "This method gives
the rice a sense of firmer consistency."
Then pure yeast and mold (koji) are
added to start the fermentation. While
you can simply make wine by putting
the grapes in barrels and letting the
yeast works its way through the fruit,
if you want to ferment rice for Sake,
you have to divide steamed rice up,
and spread
them out to
make sure
every grain
would reach
the right
temperature
for yeast
activation.
to epitomize the concept of Sake-nSeafood.
slowly at low temperature over time,
resulting in refined and rounded Sake.
This is why winter is the ideal time to
visit Sake breweries. During winter,
you can smell the brewed rice wine in
big tanks, each brewing yeast will bring
out different scents of banana, apple
and chestnuts.
No matter how meticulous the brewing
process may be Sake is one of the most
"comforting" drinks in the world just
because it pairs well with a massive
variety of foods in both Eastern and
Western meals. It becomes a headache
for a French Sommelier to think what
kind of wine to pair with what kind of
dish, yet a Japanese Okan - ban takes
it easy with only Sake. Do you want
something to complement sushi,
caviar, oysters, or Sea urchin roe (Uni's
egg)? Just get Sake! If you pair red wine
with urchin roe, believe me, you will
never ever want to come back to this
dish. Fresh sea urchins roe rarely fails
Come to think of it, what would be
the best way to drink Sake? Is a hot
steaming cup the way to go, or an iced
chilled glass? In ancient times, once
married, the girl would be taught how
to properly warm Sake for different
seasons and different types of foods.
Now you can enjoy it under a wide
range of temperature. Cold Sake is
strangely charismatic to me as if I can
feel more of the mineral springs used
to make Sake.
Another interesting point about Sake: it
never becomes ridiculously pricey like
wine, vodka or whiskey can. Daiginjo
class sake (a very refined kind) such
as Daiginjo Gold Kamotsuru may
cost less than 50 USD for a big bottle.
This is because Sake is drunk "young"
shortly after production. No one will
buy Sake to "hide" it in the wine
storage, but to enjoy the flavor with
their family and friends.
*** Sommelier: French word for wine stewards
who are knowledgeable about wine, and normally
work in fine restaurants
*** Okan-ban: Japanese word for Sake stewards
who specialize in all aspects of sake service as well
as sake and food pairing. This career has almost
disappeared in Japanese society nowadays.
Of course, many
following stages such
as pressing, filtering,
pasteurizing and aging
are done to create the
world's finest grade of
Sake. At Kamotsuru
Sake Brewing Company,
brewers pass down the
traditional Hiroshima
brewing style using soft
water: they ferment rice
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