Sake

Brewed, not distilled

Sake is brewed — like beer — not distilled. Its 15-20% alcohol content is higher than most beers but lower than spirits. The technique is unusual:

• Multiple parallel fermentation — rice starches are converted to sugars by koji mold (a process resembling beer mashing), AND simultaneously fermented to alcohol by yeast. Both happen in the same vessel at the same time.
• The result is one of the highest-alcohol fermented beverages possible without distillation.

Polishing matters

The single most important factor in sake quality is how much of each rice grain has been polished away before brewing. The outer layers of the grain contain proteins and lipids that produce off-flavors; the inner core is pure starch.

Classification by polishing ratio (lower = more polished = higher grade):

• Honjozo — at least 70% remaining (30% polished off)
• Ginjo — at least 60% remaining
• Daiginjo — at least 50% remaining
• Junmai daiginjo — at least 50% remaining, no added alcohol

Premium daiginjo sakes can be polished to as little as 23% remaining — 77% of each grain discarded.

Hot vs. cold

Casual sake (atsukan) is served warm; premium sake (hiyashi) is served chilled. The warm-vs-cold split reflects quality: lower-grade sake’s faults are masked by warmth, while top sake is appreciated cold to preserve its delicate aromatics.

A regional spirit

Each Japanese prefecture has its own sake-brewing tradition. Hyogo (with the famous Yamada Nishiki rice variety) and Niigata (cold mountain water) are particularly noted. Each region’s water mineral profile produces subtly different sakes.