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The Japanese sake makes the city of angels smile (2/3)
Featured in French magazine GAVROCHE – Thailand Screenshot Original site ( in French ) < Translated to English below> Gavroche offers its readers a complete overview of the delights of life in Thailand, in collaboration with our partners. Do not hesitate to contribute: our columns welcome you! In this second part of our series, our partners from Bacchus Global, importers of organic French wines and Japanese spirits in Thailand, reveal the crucial stages of the manufacture of Sake. Polishing and washing of rice After harvesting rice, an essential step begins: polishing to eliminate the brown cuticle enveloping each grain. This operation, called Seimai, also removes the upper layers of the grain from vertical grinders, preserving only its heart rich in starch. The higher the percentage of polishing (from 1 to 73%), the better the quality of the sake. Some breweries even opt for increased polishing in order to reveal the natural flavor of rice. The sakes rank in 7 categories, ranging from Junmai to Junmai Daiginjo, via Daiginjo, Ginjo and Honjozo. Recently, the sparkling sake, such as that of the Brasserie de Yamanashi Meijo, producer of Saké Shichiken, was added to the list, undergoing double fermentation, including bottled. After polishing, the rice is washed with fresh water to eliminate a thin layer called Nuka. Rice cooking and transformation into koji The rice is then steamed for about an hour in large tanks, traditionally made of bamboo. Once cooked, it keeps an external envelope hard but a tender heart. Immediately after cooking, the rice is transferred to a warm and humid room, the Koji-Muro, where it is spread out on large boards and sprinkled with Koji-Kin. This microscopic fungus transforms the starch molecules of rice into simple sugars thanks to its enzymes, in a natural saccharification process. For 36 to 48 hours, rice is mixed regularly to promote exposure to the fungus and its penetration into the grains, producing a Koji ferment ready to become alcohol. Alcoholic fermentation and yeast work The Koji ferment, added with spring water and yeasts, then begins its fermentation. A simultaneous reaction of saccharification and fermentation begins, converting the starch into simple sugars and then to alcohol. After pressing, filtering and pasteurization to stop any enzymatic activity, the sake is matured for 3 to 12 months. It is then packaged in the bottle, where it is possibly diluted with spring water to adjust its flavor and alcohol content, generally between 17 ° and 20 °. Nowadays, many innovative breweries prefer not to dilute their sake, selling it with an alcohol content of 13 to 15%. The rest … Editor’s note: The original source also discussed temperature-controlled distribution from Japan to Thailand. First-person promotional copy and retailer details have been removed from this archive version.
