Sake is on the rise and is gradually becoming a new area for all kinds of drinkers to explore and taste.
As Japan's national sake, sake is not just "rice sake", but there are many doorways behind it! To learn about sake, start by knowing sake terminology.
【A】
Acidity: Indicates the various acidity content of lactic acid, malic acid and so on contained in sake. In the past, sake was not allowed to have a sour taste, but with the change of modern tastes, sake with a sour taste after careful calculation gradually appeared. Although collectively referred to as "sour", the types of sour taste are different and will be used flexibly according to the product, such as sharper malic acid in spring and summer, and more rounded acid in autumn and winter. Acidity can also affect the taste of sake, for example, even if it is a sake with a degree of 0 in Japan, if the acidity is low, the taste is light, and the high acidity gives people a strong feeling.
Alcohol Percentage: An indicator of the alcohol content of sake, usually expressed in abv. Most sake alcohol levels range from 15-16% abv, but some undiluted original sake can reach 21% abv.
Amakuchi: The Japanese describe the taste of sake as spicy and sweet, spicy is not sweet, and the opposite of sweet mouth refers to the slightly sweeter taste. Sweet or spicy, which is related to the degree of Japanese sake (indicating the amount of sugar content, japanese sake with a negative number of wine is sweeter, and the wine with a positive japanese sake degree is less sugar and drier) and acidity, as shown in the following figure.
Amazake: Sweet sake. A thick white drink made of rice, koji and water, glycosylated and almost zero by alcohol. Usually, Japanese Shinto churches drink this kind of wine on New Year's Day.
Amino Sando (Amino Sando/アミノ酸): In addition to organic acids (malic acid, lactic acid, succinic acid, citric acid, etc.), Japan also contains amino acids, which can make the wine taste umami. Amino acidity indicates the content of amino acids in wine.
Aragi (Arabashiri/あらばしり): After the sake has been fermented, it needs to be pressed, and the resulting sake can be divided into 3 stages - aragami (the first to flow out), nakataku and responsibility (the last part). Araku sake is a liquor that flows naturally without exerting gravity using traditional pressing techniques such as "slot hanging" or "bag picking". The appearance of the wine is slightly suspended, turbid, the aroma is gorgeous, the entrance is slightly rough and clean, as fresh and clear as mineral water. Since only a small amount can be obtained, it is a very rare liquor.
Alcohol Added Sake (Aruten/アル天): Brewing alcohol, non-pure rice wine, is added to the brewing process. The Japanese liquor law stipulates that the weight of rice in sake brewing cannot exceed 50%, and the brewing alcohol cannot exceed 10% of rice. Therefore, a bottle of sake is brewed with up to 5% of the alcohol content.
Hot wine (Atsukan/hot): Some sake is good for chilling and some for warm drinking. Hot sake is a way of drinking Japanese sake into a pottery called Tokkuri (とっくり) and heating Tokley from the outside. This act of heating sake is called "làn sake". In general, hot drinks can reduce the sourness of sake and highlight its sweetness, and are more suitable for sake with stronger rice flavor.
【B】
Bodai-moto: This method is generally believed to have been created in the 1440s at The Shōryō-ji Temple on Mount Bodhi in Nara Prefecture. It is brewed by blending water, raw rice and cooked rice, leaving it for a period of time to convert it into lactic acid water, then mixing it into the water of steamed rice, adding it to rice (qū) and yeast to produce the mother wine (oyster). At present, this method can be said to be very rare and rich, and the wine produced is relatively strong.
Brewer's Alcohol: The residue (molasses) left over from the manufacture of sucrose is fermented and distilled. In high-end sake, a small amount of brewing alcohol can improve the aroma, taste, and texture of sake. Because brewed alcohol can extract the aroma from the lees (aroma molecules are easily soluble in alcohol), making the sake more aromatic; while adding brewed alcohol can also play a role in dilution, making the taste of the wine more refreshing. In low-end sake, brewing alcohol is generally added to increase production.
Brewery Year (BY): Indicates the year the bottle was brewed.
【C】
Choko: The traditional and most widely used sake cup, the name is derived from the transliteration of the Korean word "Chyongku". The pork mouth cup has a typical straight cylindrical body with a small opening, which is especially suitable for drinking sake with a refreshing taste. This small size of the wine glass is also very convenient to hold, the amount of wine in the cup is not large, the most suitable for drinking, but also need to constantly pour wine, which fully demonstrates the traditional Japanese hospitality etiquette.
【D】
Daiginjo: It can also be called Daiginjo-shu. Daigin brewing refers to a sake rice with a minimum of 50% and slow fermentation at low temperatures, which is the highest grade of sake.
Doburoku:The squeezed wine can be filtered with a coarse cloth to obtain turbid wine, which is an unbactericidal active wine, because the yeast and enzymes are still active after bottling, often with a carbonated breath. This wine is round and smooth, fresh and stimulating, with a variety of flavors and yeast flavors.
【F】
Bag hanging method (Fukurozuri): A method of separating sake lees and liquor, a very traditional method that is rarely used nowadays. After fermentation, the mash is packed into a cotton bag, and without extrusion, drop by drop is naturally dripped into the bucket bottle, which is the "bucket bottle take".
Fune: One of the crushing devices for sake. Usually a square box of wood/metal texture, which contains cloth bags filled with sake mash, put some pressure on these cloth bags, and the sake will flow out, while the lees remain in the cloth bags. This is a gentler method of pressing that preserves more aroma.
Futsu-shu: General sake does not have a specific name, and these mass-produced sake are usually supplemented with side ingredients such as brewing alcohol, sugar, and chemical seasonings, so they can only be listed as ordinary sake. There are 8 types of sake with specific names, including sake whose raw materials and production methods must meet the prescribed standards.
Specific name wine
【G】
Genmai: This is what we often call brown rice, which corresponds to polished rice that has been ground to the surface of rice.
Genmaishu: Sake made with genmai.
Genshu: A sake diluted without water before bottling, it tastes heavier than regular sake and has a higher alcohol content.
Ginjo: It can also be called Ginjo-shu. Sake made by no more than 60% of the polished rice and slow fermentation at low temperatures.
Ginjoka: The typical aroma in barmaking, usually filled with fruity notes such as apple and banana. Brewing by repeatedly chanting means working the way of brewing. In order to create a unique aroma of sake brewing, sake brewers slowly ferment finely ground rice at low temperatures.
Yutum cup (Guinomi / ぐい呑み): Also a common sake cup, the shape is very similar to the pig mouth cup, but the caliber is larger than the pig mouth cup, the bottom of the cup has a curved shape to hold more sake, compared to the pig mouth cup small sip taste more arrogant feeling.
【H】
Hanahie: Chilled sake to 10°C, slightly cooler during cherry blossom viewing.
Happo-shu: Sparkling wine in sake can be filled with carbon dioxide or re-fermented in a bottle like champagne, of course, the latter bubbles are denser and of higher quality.
Hi-ire: Pasteurization procedure in sake.
Hinatakan: Heat sake to 30°C and sunlight warm.
Hineka: Can be used to indicate the ripening aroma of sake after aging. However, it can also be used to indicate the blemish taste of sake after too much ripening.
Human Muscle Burn (Hitohadakan): Sake is hot to 35°C and is as comfortable and warm as a body temperature.
Cold sake (Hiya/や): Sake is chilled and slightly below room temperature.
Cold unloading sake (Hiyaoroshi / ひやおろし): Refers to a sake brewed from winter to spring that is stored in a storage tank after being sterilized by fire, matured in the summer, and bottled and sold in the autumn to winter when the wine temperature and the outdoor temperature are consistent. It has faded the cold feeling of the new wine and has a more mature taste. In general, sake is sterilized twice before storage and filling, and cold unloading is only sterilized once before storage.
Honjozo: A small amount of brewing alcohol can be added to regulate the aroma and taste, and the polished rice step does not exceed 70%.
【I】
Ichigo: In Japan, Go is a unit of measurement, and 1 is equivalent to 180ml. In Japanese izakaya, people usually drink sake in a group of units.
One liter (Issho): 1 liter = 10 sum, which is 1.8L.
Isshobin: A 1.8-liter sake bottle.
Itto: 1 bucket = 10 liters, i.e. 18L.
Ittobin: 18L bottle. Usually freshly squeezed sake is served in bucket bottles.
Izakaya: Refers to a traditional Japanese tavern that serves sake and meals.
【J】
Jizake: A word that became popular in the 1970s and literally means "local sake."
Jo-on: Drink sake at 20°C.
Jokan: Sake is heated to 45°C and is warmed.
Steamed rice (Jomai): The rice is steamed.
Junmai-shu: Sake made with only rice, water, and yeast.
Junmai Daiginjo: It is both a pure rice wine and a big barn sake.
Junmai Ginjo: It is both a pure rice wine and a sake brewery.
【K】
Kanpai: Written in Japanese as "cheers".
Karakuchi: Refers to a wine that is not sweet in taste and has a more pronounced sense of alcohol. To borrow the same concept from wine, dry.
Kasu: Meal, or bad, refers to the solid substances that are separated from sake after fermentation. The alcohol content of the lees can reach 8%, which can be made into flakes or pastries and sold to supermarkets.
Kasubuai: The crushing rate of sake.
Kijoshu: Is a sake with a very high sugar content. During the fermentation process, home-brewed sake is added to replace some of the water, inhibiting the fermentation rate of yeast, and the extract produced by saccharification is more residual, and the final brewed wine has a more mellow sweetness.
Snake Eye Pig Mouth Cup (Kikichoko/きき猪口): The professional pig mouth tasting cup has a blue circle pattern at the bottom. White porcelain and blue rings create a sharp contrast, making it easy to observe the color and clarity of the wine.
Kimoto: One of the methods of mother-made sake that has been handed down since ancient times. In the process of making the mother wine, we will mix with weeds and other types of yeast, and lactic acid bacteria are needed to drive away the bacteria and nurture yeast. Lactic acid bacteria can be obtained from the natural environment or artificially added to lactic acid. The brewing method of raw sootice is the use of natural lactic acid bacteria. This method is time-consuming and laborious, requiring 30 days of incubation at a low temperature of 5°C, but the microorganisms in natural lactic acid bacteria can also affect the flavor of sake, resulting in a tasteless and mellow wine.
Koji: An important raw material for the production of sake, it is a kind of rice with koji mushrooms.
Kojikin: A mold that breaks down starch in steamed rice into fermentable sugars in sake production.
Kojimai: Added to the mash.
Koku: In sake, refers to a 100 liter bottle, or 180 liters.
Koshu: New sake can only be called koshu after 1 year of brewing. However, it is generally sold in the market for 3 years or more. More than 5 years old is a mature sake, which can be called mystic sake (ひぞざけ).
Kura: Sake brewery.
Kurabito :Sake brewery employee.
【M】
Moromi(Moromi/Moromi): A mixture of ferments of water, rice, rice, koji and mother wine.
Moto (Moto): Moto is a mother wine, which is brewed from steamed rice, water, koji (koji) and yeast. The mother wine mother can make the yeast multiply and multiply, and the lactic acid contained in the wine mother can also prevent the multiplication of other bacteria, which is an important factor in determining the taste of sake.
Unfiltered (Muroka/no filtering): Unfiltered sake before bottling. These wines contain rich aromas of fruits, flowers and grains, which are strong and mellow, and the aftertaste is long-lasting.
Steamed rice (Mushi /蒸し): Refers to the process of steaming rice. After steaming, the rice becomes softer and the starchy substance becomes easier to obtain. Steamed rice can be used to make mother-of-wine, rice, or added to mash.
Mature rice (Mushimai/ steamed rice): Steamed rice.
【N】
Nakadori (Nakadori/Nakatori り): After the sake is gone, the wine that flows out is called Nakatori, and it is the most essential part. Its aromas are the most subtle, the palate is the most rounded, the wine is full of body and rich in flavor.
Raw storage sake (Namachozo): Sake is not fired before storage, and only once before bottling. Raw storage wine is refreshing, light and pleasant, suitable for iced drinking.
Raw wine (Namazake): Before storage and bottling, it has not been sterilized by fire. Raw sake is as fresh and cool as mineral water, with fresh lemon, strawberry, pear, peach flavors, and pleasant bitterness. In general, the yeast of raw wine is still active, the quality of the wine is constantly changing, and it needs to be refrigerated.
Raw sake (Namazume/生詰め): Fire is made once before storage, but not before bottling. The raw wine is refreshing, light and pleasant, and is suitable for ice-cooling. The quality of the wine is more stable than that of raw sake, and it can maintain a certain fresh taste.
Turbid wine (Nigorizake/濁り酒): The squeezed wine can be filtered with a coarse cloth to obtain turbid wine, which is an unbactericidal active wine, because the yeast and enzymes are still active after bottling, often with a carbonated breath. This wine is round and smooth, fresh and stimulating, with a variety of flavors and yeast flavors.
Japaneseshu: Instant sake.
Nihonshudo :Japanese sake is used to indicate the amount of sugar. After adding sugar to Japanese sake, if the weight per milliliter is lighter than water (4 ° C), the Japanese sake is positive, indicating less sugar content, and if it is negative, it means that the sugar content is more. However, the degree of Sake is not an indicator of the sweetness of Sake, and the ratio of sweetness to other flavors is the indicator of whether it is sweet or not.
Nuka: The powdered part of the rice that has been ground out.
Warm (Nurukan): 40°C of sake, general temperature of hot springs.
【O】
Hot sake (Okan /お燗): Refers to a heated sake and does not have a particularly clear temperature.
Ori-zake: Similar to turbid wine, but the sediment in turbid wine is more delicate than turbid wine.
【R】
Reishu: Chilled sake. Cold drinks better display the aroma of sake, so they are suitable for sake with fruity aromas. Gind brewing series often require cold drinks, so that you can better feel its delicate aroma and refreshing taste, otherwise the aroma in the wine is easy to quickly dissipate and lose at a higher temperature.
(Figure 22)
【S】
Sake brewery (Sakagura): Sake sake sake sake.
Sake rice (Sakamai): Sake-brewed rice is different from the rice we usually eat. The grains of wine rice are relatively large, and the part of the rice heart is white and cloudy, which is called "heart white". On the structure of the rice heart, there are many small gaps, which make the hyphae of Aspergillus easy to enter, thus forming a high-quality rice.
Sandan Jikomi /Sandan Shimō): When making mash, water, rice, koji and mother wine are added. However, the order of addition is also exquisite, if it is added at one time, the yeast and other substances of the wine mother will be diluted, resulting in mixing bacteria. Therefore, the addition should be divided into three parts, which is called three-segment addition, which is a relatively common practice.
Seimai :Seimai: Polished rice is made after the surface part is ground.
On the top left is Genmi and on the right is polished rice
Seimaibuai: The part of genmi near the surface contains a lot of protein, and when the protein enters the wine, it will produce a superfluous taste. In order to make the brewed wine have no miscellaneous taste, the surface of the rice must be ground, and the rest is represented by "polished rice step". For example, if 30% is ground from the state of brown rice, the polished rice step is 70%.
Sake (Seishu): It can also be called Sake.
Blame (Seme): Responsibility is the result of the extraction by applying pressure to squeeze the liquor, because it is subject to external force, so it is named blame (blame, in Japanese meaning to be punished). In fact, after the pressing of the first two paragraphs, the aroma contained in the last paragraph is not rich. The sense of alcohol is relatively strong, the wine body is solid, the flavor is more complex, and the sweet and bitter are intertwined.
Senmai: Wash the rice bran attached to the grains of rice, a process that is also carefully impregnated so that the grains absorb a certain amount of water.
Shinshu : Also known as "Shinshu", the original mash of the year is bottled for virgin bottling. Unripe and processed, the original flavor is fresh and refreshing, with a slight bubble feeling, and is only sold in the new winter season, and the production time is about 11-3 months. The sake made using the new rice of the year can also be called the new sake.
Shizuku: A fresh sake obtained using the bag hanging method is nǎ sake with a mellow flavor that complements the fresh, natural, rice-flavored wine aromas, and the pale white jelly contains a charming atmosphere.
Shubo: It can also be called a sauce.
Shuzo-kotekimai: In Japan, about 95% of common edible rice and about 5% of rice is used for sake brewing, of which 1% is called sake sake rice, also known as high-quality sake rice. In Japan, sake is made in Yamada Nishiki, Five Million Stones, Miyama Nishiki, Yumachi... There are dozens of species, of which Yamada Nishiki is known as the "King of Sake Rice", which has an elegant flavor and is suitable for highly refined milling.
Sokujo: Natural lactic acid bacteria can be used to make sophates, or lactic acid bacteria can be artificially added. The artificial lactic acid bacteria method is called quick brewing, and most sake currently use this method, which takes a shorter time, about 2 weeks. The sake produced in this way is more light and beautiful, establishing the mainstream image of modern Japanese sake sake.
Cool Cold (Suzuhie/涼冷え): Sake is slightly chilled to 15°C and blown by cold wind.
【T】
Tobikirikan: 55°C of sake, warm.
Bucket bottle wai (Tobin Gakoi / bucket bottle 囲い): If the sake obtained by the bag hanging method is matured in the bucket bottle, the result is "bucket bottle wall", which contains fresh fruit and flower aromas, smooth and elegant, and the aftertaste is permeated with a rough and bitter taste like new wine. The production of bucket bottles is very limited, and it is commonly used to participate in the competition of the works of wine.
Toji: Usually refers to a person who is entrusted by the Tibetan Yuan (operator) to lead Tibetans into sake brewing, is a person with excellent winemaking skills, the quality of the sake brewed by him is recognized by everyone, and the winemakers in different regions of Japan have also formed a Du school with regional characteristics.
Tokkuri: A wine jug for wine. The neck is thinner, and the bottle body is either round or long. Deli is usually made of porcelain, ceramic or glass, and there are many styles and types, generally equipped with matching small wine cups. There are large and small deli, the little deli is 1 in, and the big deli is 2 in.
Special (Tokubetsu): It will only appear in honjo or pure rice sake, becoming Tokubetsu Honjozo or tokubetsu Junmai. These "special" mainly come from 3 reasons: the "special" polished rice step, which may have achieved 60%, but for various reasons does not want to be labeled as "gin brewing", so it can be called "special brewing"; the use of "special" rice varieties, such as ancient replica rice varieties; the use of "special" brewing procedures.
Specific name wine (Tokutei Meishoshu): Corresponds to ordinary wine. In terms of market circulation rate, the amount of ordinary liquor accounts for an overwhelming majority, and the specific name liquor accounts for about 30% of the overall market.
【AND】
Continuous vertical press (Yabuta/Sada): Although the pressing speed is very fast, the process of applying pressure will cause a part of the rice residue to flow into the liquor, causing the taste of the wine to change.
Yamadanishiki (Yamadanishiki): Enjoy the "king of wine rice", its starchy heart white part is large, so that the wine produces less protein of miscellaneous taste; the shell is hard, the grinding rice is not easy to break; the internal softness is conducive to the deep hyphae of the mother wine fungus, and the wine is sweet, spicy, sour, bitter, and astringent; secondly, the planting difficulty of Yamada nishiki, in addition to the special requirements for the soil, its own rice trees grow higher, easy to lodging, such as typhoons, sometimes fall particles, so the planting will be relatively small.
Mountain waste (Yamahai / mountain waste): In the raw brewing method, the step of mountain unloading is omitted, which is called mountain waste.
Yamaoroshi (Yamaoroshi /やまおろし): Before the Meiji era, the way to cultivate sake mothers was to pile rice into a shape like a hill, and then constantly turn the rice by hand to speed up the rate of starch saccharification and the action of lactic acid bacteria. This action is called mountain unloading. The action of mountain unloading requires constantly flipping the rice, and in order to be able to make a large number of wine mothers, there must be a lot of space for Tibetans to carry out the mountain unloading action at the same time. For sake brewing, it is a production process that requires a lot of labor. However, in 1909, the National Brewing Laboratory in Japan found that even if this action was not done, the composition produced by the wine mother would not be much different.
Yongobin: 1 bottle is 180ml, and the bottle is 720ml. This is a common sake bottle on the market.
Snow Cold (Yukihie/Snow Cold): Sake is chilled to 5°C, the temperature on a snowy day.