How to Brew Sake By Marcelo Paniza - PowerPoint Presentation

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How to Brew Sake

By Marcelo PanizaPaniza Brewing Co.

What is sake?

Also referred to as Japanese rice wine or NihonShu (日本酒; meaning 'Japanese liquor'), is a fermented alcoholic beverage made by fermenting rice in a particular way. It has been brewed and perfected for 1000s of years.

When you steam the rice, starches come out, but they are not fermentable. A mould called Koji (麹, Aspergillus Oryzae) is added to transform starches into fermentable sugars.

Today, we will explain that process and will try to simplify and compare sake brewing to beer brewing.

Sake Recipe

IngredientsA bag of medium rice (Calrose)

2 cups of fresh Koji (Asian Market)Yeast (WLP705)

Water (should be soft, we use

distilled

)

Preparation

Rice steamerFlat pan to cool down the steamed riceBrewer’s tools, including a fermenterMinerals for water profile adjustmentRice mill (optional)

How to prepare the rice

On every stage, you will prepare rice by the cup:Mill, Wash, Soak, Dry, Steam, Cool

You want the rice al dente, and not fully cooked.

Here is how to prepare it:

Mill the rice (optional)

Wash the rice until the water comes out clear

Cover it with water, 1-2 inches overLet it soak for 1 hourDrain it well (many drain for 1 hour)

Steam for 1 hourLet it cool down to about 22oC

Yeast starter - Moto

Open fermentation! You will need to stir twice per day.

In a jar, add 600 ml of distilled water

Add a pinch of calcium

chloride

and Epsom salt

Add

1 cup of Koji leave in the fridge overnightThen, wash 2 cups of rice (Mill, Wash, Soak, Dry, Steam, Cool)Drop the steamed rice into the water with KojiDrop the yeast into the mix as well

Ferment for 5 days @ 22oCNo more

stirringLet it rest for 3 days @ 10oC

Primary Fermentation - Moromi

We build the primary in folding stages.

The stages keep the yeast less stressed.Ferment at 22oC, 24 hours each stage

Try to add the koji a few hours before you do the yeast

Hatsuzoe

- 1 cup of Koji, 600 ml of water, 2.5 cups of rice

Nakazoe

- 1.5 cups of Koji, 9 cups of water, 6 cups of riceTomezoe - 5 pounds of rice, remaining Koji, 5 L of waterShould have 15 L volume

Bring temperature down to 10oCLeave undisturbed for 3 weeks, or gravity goes below 1.000

Secondary Fermentation - Yodan

We will separate sake from rice lees (called Kasu).

Will produces cloudy sake called Nigorizake.Lagering will clear it.

From here on, everything must be sanitized at all times.

Cheesecloth on the racking cane is useful here!

Using a racking cane, siphon as much as possible from primary

Then, filter and press the remaining as much as you can

There is still sugar left but try not to splash too muchI transfer to a single vessel. Many separate in 1-gallon vessels

Clarifying, Maturing and Packing

You can filter, lager, or whatever you fancy do with it!

Time to add those airlocks on fermenter(s).Keep at 10oC to continue fermentation => Dryer, higher ABV.

Keep at 0oC to stop fermentation or pasteurize it.

White sake should be between 18% and 22%

How far can you go with this?

The Sake Doppelbock Experiment

On the last stage of the primary, instead of 5 L of water, we added 10 L of Doppelbock at 1.093.Keep at 10oC to continue fermentation => Dryer, higher ABV.

Keep at 0.0oC to stop fermentation or pasteurize it.

White sake should be between 18% and 22%

Rice Dancing

Resources

https://byo.com/article/making-sake/

Netflix - The Birth of Sake

Questions?

Marcelo PanizaPaniza Brewing Company

PanizaBrewing.Ca