An Introduction To Sake
An introductionto sakeAn accompaniment to theWSET Level 1 Awardin Sake
An introductionto sakeAn accompaniment to theWSET Level 1 Awardin SakeA world of knowledge
Wine & Spirit Education Trust39–45 Bermondsey Street, London, SE1 3XFwset@wset.co.uk Wine & Spirit Education Trust 2016, 2017Issue 1, 2016Issue 2, 2017 (update with minor amendments)Issue 2.0.1, 2018 (update with minor amendment)All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by anymeans, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage orretrieval system, without the prior permission in writing from the publishers.PHOTOGRAPHIC CREDITS2 (Luke Santilli); 4 (top), 5, 12 (bottom) 13 (top and bottom), 14, 26 (Antony Moss MW 酒サムライ); 4(bottom) (Pauline O’Connor); 6, 8, 10, 11 (all), 16, 18 (all), 19 (all), 22 (all) (Rob Lawson); 12 (Akita ShuruiSeizoh); 17 (Chizuko Niikawa-Helton 酒サムライ); 28 (Nishihama/Shutterstock.com)LABELS6 (left) (Isojiman); 6 (middle) (Shichida); 6 (right) (Taka)COVER PICTURENishihama/Shutterstock.comDIAGRAMS AND ILLUSTRATIONSDiagrams and illustrations produced by CalowCraddock LtdDesigned by Paul BarrettEditing by Cambridge Editorial LtdProduction services by Wayment Print & Publishing Solutions LtdAcknowledgementsSpecial thanks are due to Antony Moss MW 酒サムライ (Sake Samurai), Harriet Furze, Nicholas King,Pauline O’Connor, Karen Douglas, Honami Matsumoto
ContentsIntroduction11What is Sake?22How is Sake Made?43Categories and Grades of Sake64 An Introduction to Tasting Sake85 Preparing Steamed White Rice106 Making Kōji127Fermentation14Tasting Notes158 Premium Sake Revisited169 Japanese Labelling Terms1710 Speciality Styles of Sake18Tasting Notes2011 Storage and Service of Sake2212 Sake and Food28
IntroductionWelcome to the WSET Level 1 Award in Sake, a one-day sake coursedesigned for those studying sake for the first time.Sake is intimately linked with Japan. Indeed, one of the official names forsake, nihon-shu, literally means ‘Japanese alcoholic drink’. With sake youhave something that is truly, intricately and deliciously Japanese.This course is designed to show you how a humble grain of rice canbe made to deliver such a diversity of styles with different flavours andtextures. You will also get to know the all-important Japanese names forthese styles. These are the fundamental reference points that will enableyou to navigate the fascinating world of sake.We hope that you enjoy the course and in the future you experience thebenefits knowledge and understanding brings.Kampai! (Cheers)Ian HarrisChief Executive, Wine & Spirit Education Trust
1What is Sake?Sake is a Japanese alcoholic beverage that is made from rice. Most sakeare clear and colourless in appearance but some are a pale yellow orgreen. They are typically 15–17% abv, slightly sweet and lightly acidic.They have light and delicate cereal, lactic or fruity flavours.The Ingredients of SakeAll sakes are made using four main ingredients: steamed white ricekōjiwateryeastThere is one other ingredient that is optional: high-strength distilled alcoholWhere Does the Steamed Rice Come From?Sake brewers typically buy rice from suppliers. When it is delivered to the brewery,the rice has not been steamed. It is hard and dusty.The brewers steam the rice to soften it so that it can break up in the water.Where Does the Kōji Come From?Sake brewers take a small proportion of the steamed rice and grow mould on it tocreate kōji.Without this ingredient it is not possible to make the alcohol that is found in allsakes.Where Does the Water Come From?Sake brewers use local supplies of water. Almost any water can be used to makesake so long as it is clean.Where Do the Yeast Come From?Yeast are tiny microorganisms. Sake brewers use specific varieties of yeast thatthey typically buy from specialist suppliers.
WHAT IS SAKE?How Do you Make Alcohol?In order to make alcohol you need to begin by dissolving sugar into water. Yeastare added to this sugary liquid and they eat the sugar, turn it into alcohol andproduce the gas carbon dioxide.ALCOHOLIC FERMENTATIONyeastwatersugarcarbon dioxideYeast eat the sugarand turn it into alcoholwateralcoholWhere Does the Sugar Come From?There is no sugar in rice, instead it is full of a substance called starch.Starch is made up of sugar molecules that are bonded together into longchains. Chemicals called enzymes are able to unlock these bonds and break upthe starch into its individual sugar molecules. This is called starch conversion.The special kind of mould that the brewer grows on steamed rice creates theseenzymes . This is why kōji is so important.When the steamed rice and kōji are mixed with water, the enzymes created bythe mould convert the starch into sugar which in turn is turned into alcohol by theyeast.Starch ConversionenzymestarchyeastYeast are unable to eat starch.sugarEnzymes from the kōji break the starch into sugar,which the yeast can eat.3
2How is Sake Made?Once the steamed white rice, kōji, water and yeast are ready, brewingcan get underway. There are three steps that always happen:fermentation, filtration and bottling. There are three other steps that areoptional: adding alcohol, adding water and pasteurisation.FermentationThe ingredients are mixed together. Initially the brewer makes a small starterfermentation to create a healthy and active yeast population. The starter is thenslowly mixed with more of the ingredients to make a larger batch for the mainfermentation. steamed white ricekōjiwater yeastFermentationstarter.Mainfermentation.In a sake fermentation the enzymes create sugars at the same time as the yeasteat the sugar. This is unique to sake brewing and is often referred to as ‘parallelfermentation’.starch conversionstart of thefermentationstarch enzymes sugarsugar yeast alcoholend of thefermentationalcoholic fermentationWhen the fermentation is finished the new sake typically has about 20% abv.Fermenting sake. Thewhite colour comesfrom the rice.
HOW IS SAKE MADE?Freshly-filtered clear sake.FiltrationBottlingOnce the fermentation has finished, all sake must,according to the law, be filtered. This removes therice solids and typically produces a clear liquid.Nearly all sakes arepackaged in glass bottlesof various sizes.Filtering machine typicallyused in sake brewing.OPTIONALAdd High-StrengthDistilled AlcoholHigh-strength distilledalcohol with a neutral flavouris sometimes added to thesake before filtration. Thishelps to extract flavourstrapped in the rice solids.OPTIONALOPTIONALAdd WaterPasteurisationWater is nearly alwaysadded to sake before itis bottled. This reducesthe alcohol level fromaround 20% to between15% and 17%.The vast majority ofsake is heat treatedbefore it is put onsale. This preventsfaulty aromas fromdeveloping.5
3Categories and Grades of SakeSake is divided into a number of categories and grades. The principaldivision is into basic and premium sake. Premium sake is divided into anumber of grades.Basic SakeThis simple style of sake is known as futsū-shu in Japanese.Most futsū-shu are clear and colourless in appearance but some are paleyellow or green in colour. They are 15–17% abv, slightly sweet and lightly acidicwith delicate lactic and fruity flavours.Premium SakeHere we will cover the six most important grades of premium sake. The majority ofthese sakes have the same alcoholic strength and colour as basic sake. However,these six grades can be broken down into two styles that are quite different fromthe majority of typical sakes:1. Sakes that typically have pure floral and fruity aromas. The word that indicatesthis style is ginjō. Daiginjō literally means ‘big ginjō’ and these sakes have thepurest fruity and floral flavours.2. Sakes that typically have cereal and lactic aromas. These sakes typically havemore acidity and umami than the ginjō styles.These six grades are also divided in another way. Three of the grades feature theword junmai, which means ‘pure rice’. This indicates that high-strength distilledalcohol was not added before filtration. Bearing this all in mind junmai ginjō is asimilar style to ginjō. The only difference is that the sake labelled junmai has nothad distilled alcohol added.
CATEGORIES AND GRADES OF SAKEBasic sakefutsū-shuGrades of Premium SakejunmaidaiginjōdaiginjōFruity, floral aromas withless acid and igh-strengthdistilledalcohol?Cereal and lactic aromaswith more acid andumami.7
4An Introduction to Tasting SakeIn order to get the most out of tasting a sake, you need to take aconsistent approach with every sample. If you take this approach you willbe able to write tasting notes that accurately describe a sake, which youcan refer back to in the future.The WSET Level 1 Systematic Approach to Tasting Sake will help you to do thisand your educator will show you how to use it.WSET Level 1 Systematic Approach to Tasting Sake APPEARANCEClarityclear – cloudyOther observationse.g. bubbles, colourNOSEAroma characteristicse.g. fruity/floral, cereal/grain/nut, lactic/dairy, otherOther observationse.g. intensity, faultsPALATEFlavour intensitylight – medium – pronouncedFlavour characteristicse.g. fruity/floral, cereal/grain/nut, lactic/dairy, otherOther observationse.g. sweetness, acidity, texture, umami, riceparticles, bubbles, finishPreparing for a TastingBefore you start tasting you should make sure that:there are no distracting smellsyou have a white surface to help you assess the appearance of the sakeyou have a glass that has a wide bowl that narrows towards the top. This typeof glass helps to concentrate the aromas, making it easier to assess the nose you have a clean palate that has no lingering flavours, such as toothpaste orcoffee.
AN INTRODUCTION TO TASTING SAKESake Name:AppearanceNosePalateSake Name:AppearanceNosePalateSake Name:AppearanceNosePalate9
5Preparing Steamed White RiceA sake brewer starts with grains of brown rice, which need to go througha four-stage process in order to become steamed white rice. The stepsare: polishing, washing, soaking and steaming.PolishingDuring polishing, the grains are passed between two rough surfaces which, overthe course of a few hours, slowly remove the outer as well as some of the middlelayers of the grains. This creates white rice.The outer layers are nearly always removed and the brewer can choose howmuch of the middle layers to remove; this has a significant impact on the style ofthe sake produced. The outer and middle layers contain starch but they also havea lot of other components. These can give a sake more acidity and umami as wellas cereal and lactic aromas.If a brewer only polishes away some of the middle layers, the resulting sake willhave more acidity and umami, with cereal and lactic aromas. If the brewer decides to remove most or all of the middle layers to leave justthe core, which is almost pure starch, then the resulting sake will typically haveless acid and umami and more fruity, floral aromas. A Rice GrainOuter LayersThese are brownin colour.The outerand middlelayers containstarchand othercomponentsthat give sakeextra acidity,umamiand cerealflavours.Middle LayersThese are whitein colour.Starch CoreThis is white andalmost pure starch.
PREPARING STEAMED WHITE RICEPolishing RatioThe amount of polishing that is required in order to make one of the premiumstyles of sake is defined in Japanese law. This is called the polishing ratio. Thisensures that the labelling terms are a good indication of the style of sake.The polishing ratio is expressed as a percentage. If the law requires a ratio of60 per cent, this means that only 60 per cent or less of the original grain remainsafter polishing.100%Rice with a polishing ratio between 100%and 70% can be used to make junmai butthis is very rare.70%honjōzō and most junmaiRice is polished to 70% or less.60%ginjō or junmai ginjōRice is polished to 60% or less.50%daiginjō or junmai daiginjōRice is polished to 50% or less.Washing, Soaking and SteamingAfter polishing the grains have rice dust residue all over them, left over from thepolishing process. This dust is made up of the outer and middle layers that thebrewer wanted to remove and therefore it needs to be washed off.Soaking and then steaming is necessary to soften the grain and ensure that ithas the correct texture and level of moisture so that it can break up into the waterduring fermentation.washingsoakingsteaming11
6Making KōjiKōji making takes place in a special series of rooms in a sake brewery. Inthese rooms the brewer is able to control the temperature and humidityvery precisely. There are four stages in making kōji. They are:1234cooling the steamed ricespreading the mould over the steamed riceinitial mould growthcontrolling and stopping the mould growth.1 Cooling the Steamed RiceWhen it is taken out of the steamer therice is too hot to make kōji. It is spreadout on mats to cool naturally.2 Spreading the MouldWhen the rice has cooled enough it is movedinto the warmest and most humid part of thekōji room. It is spread out in a thin layer on alarge table and the mould spores (seeds) arespread over the steamed rice.Steamed rice.
MAKING KŌJI4 Controlling and Stopping theMould GrowthSpreading the mould spores.The warmest and most humidpart of the kōji room.The rice is sometimes transferred to racks andmoved to cooler and less humid parts of the kōjiroom. The aim of the brewer is to slow the mouldgrowth so that exactly the right amount of mouldcan be grown. To stop the growth the rice ismoved to the coolest part of the kōji room.The coolest andleast humid partof the kōji room.3 Initial Mould GrowthIn the warmest and most humid part of the kōji room themould grows rapidly over the rice. The rice is regularlyturned by hand to ensure the growth is even.Kōji.13
7FermentationFor many styles of sake the steamed white rice, kōji and water giverelatively little flavour. However, in nearly all styles of sake the yeastcontribute a significant amount of flavour.The brewer starts off the fermentation by using a small amount of the fourmain ingredients to build up a healthy population of yeast. This is called thefermentation starter. This is then moved to a larger vessel where it is carefullymixed with more steamed white rice, kōji and water to make a larger batch for themain fermentation.During fermentation, the brewer can use their choice of yeast and thetemperature of the fermentation to affect the style of sake.Special strains of yeast and lower fermentation temperatures must be used inorder to create the fruity and floral aromas characteristic of ginjō styles.In contrast, warmer fermentation temperatures produce cereal and lacticaromas. steamed white ricekōjiwaterFermentation starter. yeastSpecial yeast strainsCooler fermentation temperaturesWarmer fermentation temperaturesFruity, floral ginjō aromasCereal and lactic aromasMain fermentation.
TASTING NOTESTasting NotesWSET Level 1 Systematic Approach to Tasting Sake APPEARANCEClarityclear – cloudyOther observationse.g. bubbles, colourNOSEAroma characteristicse.g. fruity/floral, cereal/grain/nut, lactic/dairy, otherOther observationse.g. intensity, faultsPALATEFlavour intensitylight – medium – pronouncedFlavour characteristicse.g. fruity/floral, cereal/grain/nut, lactic/dairy, otherOther observationse.g. sweetness, acidity, texture, umami, riceparticles, bubbles, finishSake Name:AppearanceNosePalateSake Name:AppearanceNosePalate15
8Premium Sake RevisitedThe information about yeast and fermentation temperature can be linkedto the detail about polishing ratios to create a chart showing how thesefactors combine to affect the style of premium sakes.junmai daiginjōdaiginjōPolishing ratio of 50% or lessPolishing ratio of50% or lessFruity, floral aromas withless acid and umami: junmai ginjōPolishing ratio of 60% or lessjunmaiTypically rice is polished to 70%Rice with a polishing ratio up to 100% can beused but this is very rare.ginjō highly polishedspecial yeast strainscool fermentationtemperatures.Polishing ratio of60% or lesshonjōzōPolishing ratio of70% or lessNOYESaddedhigh-strengthdistilledalcohol?Cereal and lactic aromaswith more acid andumami: lightly polishedwarm fermentationtemperatures.
9Japanese Labelling TermsMost sake labels are written in Japanese with only a few words written inthe Latin alphabet. It is helpful to be able to recognise four key labellingterms: junmai, honjōzō, ginjō and daiginjō.In the table below the Latin alphabet spelling of the three labelling terms is splitinto their sounds. Each symbol, called kanji, represents one of these sounds. Notethat there are only seven kanji to learn because the symbol for ‘gin’ and ‘jō’ arerepeated.junmaijunmai純 米honjōzōhonjōzō本 醸 造ginjōginjō吟 醸daiginjōdaiginjō大 吟 醸
10Speciality Styles of SakeThere are four important speciality styles of sake: nama, nigori, sparklingand koshu. They can also be a grade of premium sake or a futsū-shu. Forexample, a junmai ginjō could also be nama, nigori, sparkling or even acombination of some these speciality styles.NamaNigoriSakes that have not been pasteurised are callednama. Because they are less stable than othersakes, most nama-zake should be consumedshortly after release, and should be keptrefrigerated at all times. Skipping the pasteurisationstep means that on release these sake can tasteparticularly lively and fresh, but they can rapidlydevelop spicy, malty aromas that are not toeveryone’s taste. Note that because Japanesepeople soften the ‘s’ to a ‘z’ when talking aboutnama-sake, it is usually spelled nama-zake.Sakes that have been roughlyfiltered are called nigori. Thesesakes are cloudy, due to thesuspended particles of rice.The style can vary, dependingon how much solids are kept;some are lightly cloudy, andothers are thick textured withlumps of rice fragments.
SPECIALITY STYLES OF SAKESparkling SakeKoshuIn common with any sparkling beverage,the bubbles in sparkling sake are causedby carbon dioxide gas dissolved inthe liquid. Various techniques exist fordissolving carbon dioxide gas in bottledsake. Some of these sakes are verylight in texture and low in alcohol, andothers are more richly textured andmore complex, and can even be nigoritoo. Note, there are Japanese terms forsparkling sakes, but we do not give themhere because they are not widely usedoutside of Japan.Aged sakes are called koshu. Sake canbe aged in various vessels (storage tanks,terracotta, glass bottles, wood – thoughoak is very rarely used). Some brewersage sake at room temperature, and othersage it at low temperatures (sometimesbelow freezing). This leads to a wide rangeof different styles. Most koshu is amberor brown in colour, richly textured andsweet, and has pronounced aromas ofnuts, dried fruit, and even meat and pickledvegetables. But aged sakes can be palerand more delicate.19
Tasting NotesWSET Level 1 Systematic Approach to Tasting Sake APPEARANCEClarityclear – cloudyOther observationse.g. bubbles, colourNOSEAroma characteristicse.g. fruity/floral, cereal/grain/nut, lactic/dairy, otherOther observationse.g. intensity, faultsPALATEFlavour intensitylight – medium – pronouncedFlavour characteristicse.g. fruity/floral, cereal/grain/nut, lactic/dairy, otherOther observationse.g. sweetness, acidity, texture, umami, riceparticles, bubbles, finishSake Name:AppearanceNosePalateSake Name:AppearanceNosePalate
TASTING NOTESSake Name:AppearanceNosePalateSake Name:AppearanceNosePalateSake Name:AppearanceNosePalate21
11Storage and Service of SakeStoring SakeSake is easily damaged if it is exposed to heat or strong light.The following points should be followed when storing sake:Keep it cool. Even for short-term storage, sake shouldbe kept cool and ideally refrigerated. Refrigeration isespecially important for nama-zake and for protecting thefruity aromas of ginjō sakes. Drink it young. Most s
Welcome to the WSET Level 1 Award in Sake, a one-day sake course designed for those studying sake for the first time. Sake is intimately linked with Japan. Indeed, one of the o"cial names for sake, nihon-shu, literally means ‘Japanese alcoholic drink’. With sake you have somet
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WSET Level 1 Award in Sake 295 including GST (One Day Intensive Format including Examination) Monday 19 November 2018 Tuesday 20 November 2018 The WSET Level 1 Award in Sake is intended for people who have little or no prior knowledge of sake. It is des
WSET Level 1 Award in Sake 295 including GST (One Day Intensive Format including Examination) Monday 19 November 2018 Tuesday 20 November 2018 Monday 11 March 2019 Monday 15 July 2019 The WSET Level 1 Award in Sake is intended for people who have little or no prior knowledge of sake. It is d
2 Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol 06.03. 3 Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol 14.03. 4 Reagent Chemicals, American Chemical Society Specifications, American Chemical Society, Washington, DC. For suggestions on the testing of reagents not listed by the American Chemical Society, see Analar Standards for Laboratory Chemicals, BDH Ltd., Poole, Dorset, U.K., and the United States Pharmacopeia .
