Some Common Sake Terms When you are reading Japanese words in English text and see vowels with macrons above them, like ō in Kijōshu, it means the vowel has a long sound rather than short. So Kijōshu sounds like “Ki-jo-shu” rather than “Ki-josh-u”. When you don’t see the macron above the o it is a short sound. For example Koshu is “Cosh-u” rather than “Co-shu”. The same rule applies if it is above a ‘u’. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arabashiri = ‘rough run’. This is the free run of the fresh Sake liquid, captured before the actual pressing begins. The sacks full of fresh Sake [liquid and solids together] are arranged in the tubs and the sake slowly seeps out due to the natural weight of the contents of the sacks and the liquid is bottled directly. Daiginjō is one of the Japanese classifications of sake. To be classified daiginjō the rice grain must be polished down to 50% or less of its original size. Ginjō is one of the Japanese classifications of sake. To be classified ginjō the rice grain must be polished down to 60% or less of its original size. Genmai = brown rice. Genmai-zake = brown rice sake, but the ‘s’ becomes a ‘z’ to make the pronunciation easier. For this unique style see: Kameman Shuzō ‘Genmaishu’ 2010 Junmai Genmai-zake Genshu = undiluted. Many sake are diluted with spring water after brewing to lower the alcohol content from 18-20% down to 14-16%, but genshu means that no extra water has been added. Junmai = 100% pure rice sake without any additives such as ethyl alcohol [often known as brewers alcohol], sugars and starches. Junmai is sake made of rice, water, yeast and kōji mould only. Before the law change in April 2004, the rice had to be milled down to 70% at least but now junmai no longer requires a specific milling rate. However, the amount milled away must still be listed on the label by Japanese law. All of the Sake in the Black Market Sake portfolio are Junmai. Kijōshu = ‘Noble-Brew Sake’. Generally aged before being sold, this type of Sake often has a range of flavours similar to sherry. There are some similarities in production technique to that of port wine, although the Kijōshu technique has a much longer history. To make Kijōshu, the Tōji brings the ferment to an early halt by adding a full-bodied Sake from a previous year into the still fermenting batch. Currently there are 2 Kijōshu Sake on the Black Market Sake portfolio: Nakano BC ‘Chōkyū’ 1999 Junmai Kijōshu Koshu Ōmi Shuzō ‘Ōmiji Kijōshu’ 1978 Junmai Kijōshu Koshu *The 13 year old Chōkyū has a rich toffee colour, and highly aromatic nose of bitter chocolate, caramel and dried porcini mushroom. Delicious burnt toffee flavour with a savoury walnut and sesame finish. A fascinating combination of sweet and savoury elements in this richly flavoured Sake. *The 34 year old Ōmiji Kijōshu has aromas of burnt toffee, caramelised sesame and dark chocolate. The beautiful soft, velvety palate has sweet flavours reminiscent of Oloroso sherry with rich caramel, sesame and ground coffee notes. These Sake are great with rich beef dishes, or with rich broths or sauces like duck or porcini. Also a favourite as a digestive or matched with a rich chocolate, sesame or bitter caramel dessert. The are both fascinating because of their sweet and savoury elements. Kōji is the steamed rice that has been inoculated with starch-breaking moulds. Kōji-kin is a starch-breaking mould with the Latin name ‘Aspergillus Oryzae’ which is added to the rice to produce enzymes to convert the starch in the rice to sugar which can then be converted to alcohol. The kōji mould coats the rice with a pure fluffy white outer layer that is also highly fragrant (much like the layer of mould you see on Brie or other white mould cheese). Kura = can mean many types of shop, but when used in sake terms it means the Sake Brewery. Kurabito = Sake Brewery workers Kuramoto = Owner of the Sake Brewery Koshu = Aged Sake. Many people have the misconception that Sake cannot be aged, but actually this is where it is easy to draw parallels with wine. Wine and Sake are both perishable and can deteriorate, but there are complex developments that occur with ageing both of these beverages that will alter the flavour, aroma and texture and in fact can improve the wine or Sake. As with wine, many factors influence whether the Sake can or should be aged. Factors such as how the Sake was made, the acidity level of the Sake, the quality of the Sake etc will determine whether the Sake will benefit or deteriorate with ageing. Of course, as with wine, the storage conditions of the Sake will also influence the final result. Sake can also have phases where it can go through a ‘dull stage’ [or as the French say in Bordeaux about wine and children the ‘age ingrat’ or ‘difficult age’]. You can also see incredible colour changes when ageing Sake, where the Sake turns from being a liquid with little or no colour to one with beautiful rich caramel tones, even to the stage of it becoming an intense chocolate colour. An amazing example of how long Sake can be aged, as well as how good Koshu Sake can be, is the 36 year old Kidoizumi Shuzō ‘New AFS’ 1976 Junmai Yamahai Koshu. Moto = Before the main fermentation, the Tōji must first prepare a starter mash known as the Shubo or ‘Mother of Sake’ which is known colloquially as the Moto. This Moto is used to kick start the fermentation of the ‘moromi’ or main sake mash. The Moto is made with kōji, steamed rice, yeast and water, then in the modern Sokujō method lactic acid is added. However in the traditional Yamahai method natural lactobacillus bacteria from the air is allowed to join the Moto and create the needed lactic acid. This traditional method takes about 30 days to develop, twice as long as a modern Sokujō moto sake and the result is a sake full of character. One of our producers, Oku-san from Akishika Shuzō, decided to make a bottling of Sake entirely composed of this ‘Mother of Sake’ to allow people to taste the heart of the Sake made in the traditional Yamahai method: Akishika Shuzō ‘Pressed Moto’ 2010 Junmai Yamahai Muroka Nama Moto. Very unique! Meigara = brand. Most sake breweries produce many types of sake, so they tend to give each a unique name. An example is Mukai Shuzō ‘Ine Mankai’. The Mukai Shuzō is the brewery name and ‘Ine Mankai’ is the meigara or brand name. Muroka = unfiltered. The definition means ‘unfiltered’ but is specifically relating to the fact that the Sake has not been filtered with charcoal. The sake has still been pressed and separated from the lees so is still a clear sake, not cloudy (although you will often see more colour than a charcoal filtered Sake). If a sake is cloudy this is a separate style known as nigori. Carbon filtration is recognised as one of the oldest means of purifying water and is still widely and actively used in modern water filtration systems, including home water filters. In the case of Sake, a Tōji may add a dose of activated carbon in powder form to the tank of Sake and then the Sake is sent through a series of filters that catch the carbon powder that has absorbed or caught the flavours, colours and aromas that the Tōji felt were undesirable for the Sake they wished to produce. However, charcoal filtration can also strip out colour and flavour that are desirable in the finished Sake, so the Tōji may leave the Sake as Muroka or non-charcoal filtered. Nama = unpasteurised. Namazake = unpasteurised Sake, but the ‘s’ becomes a ‘z’ to make the pronunciation easier. About half of our portfolio is Nama which tend to have a fresh, lively taste. Nigori = cloudy. The Sake is passed through a loose mesh to separate it from the mash but it is then not filtered further and so the Sake retains sediment from rice in the finished Sake. In the case of ‘Usunigori’ [literally ‘thin’ Nigori] the result is only ‘lightly cloudy,’ where the lightest part of the sediment is left in from the soft pressing of the sacks filled with fresh sake [liquid and solids together]. Nigorizake = cloudy sake, but the ‘s’ becomes a ‘z’ to make the pronunciation easier. An example of Usunigori is: Uehara Shuzō ‘Soma no Tengu’ 2012 Junmai Ginjō Muroka Nama Genshu - Usunigori. Nihonshu = ‘Japanese Sake’. The word ‘Sake’ in Japanese actually refers to ALL alcoholic beverages, so if you were in Japan and wanted to order what we know as ‘Sake’ in Australia you would actually ask for ‘Nihonshu’ or ‘Japanese Sake’ (although many places will assume you mean the rice beverage if you ask for Sake, rather than something else!). You may also see Sake listed as Nihonshu in some restaurants in Australia. Prefecture: The country of Japan is broken down into 47 locally governed units called prefectures. 39 of these prefectures are bordered in some way by ocean or sea, leaving only 8 prefectures landlocked. Sake = Pronounced “Sah-Kay”. The word ‘Sake’ in Japanese actually refers to all alcoholic beverages, but outside of Japan when we use the word sake we are referring to the alcoholic beverage made from rice. Seimaibuai = Rice Polishing Rate. The Seimaibuai or rice polishing rate that we list for each Sake is telling you how much of the rice grain remains after polishing. So a Genmai-zake or brown rice Sake has a polishing rate of 100%, meaning that the whole grain remains [so therefore nothing has been polished away]. If you think of the normal table rice we cook with and eat, in Sake terms that would be considered 90% Seimaibuai, which tells us that 10% of the outer husk has been polished away, making it a white rice rather than brown. Many believe that the higher the polishing rate the better the quality of the Sake, but for us this is not what is most important. Different polishing rates achieve different flavour profiles, so we believe all Sake should be considered on their taste rather than their polishing rate. The Genmai-zake, along with many of our other lightly polished Sake, are amazing examples of unique tastes which would not be found from more polished rice. Please see daiginjō and ginjō above for 2 further Japanese rice polishing classifications. Shuzō = Sake brewery, for example: Mukai Shuzō means Mukai Sake Brewery. Tōji = Master Brewer / Head Sake Brewer Three of the ways to make the starter mash for sake [a VERY simplified version!]: A starter mash or ‘moto’ is where the Tōji [master brewer] combines steamed rice, kōji, water and yeast together in quantities suitable to let the yeast multiply and become vigorous. This active yeast is what will convert the sugar from the rice into alcohol and so needs to be strong when more of the steamed rice, kōji and water are added to create the main mash. During brewing unwanted microbes can enter the ferment and ruin the brew, so lactic acid needs to be added or created to make the mash acidic enough to kill off any unwanted microbes and allow the yeast to work efficiently. Sokujō is the modern method of starter that is most commonly used by breweries today. In this method lactic acid is added to the moto. Due to this ferment only takes about 2 weeks, compared to about 4 weeks with the following Kimoto and Yamahai methods. Kimoto is one of the most traditional ways of preparing the starter. In this method only steamed rice, kōji and water are combined and then vigorously mashed together for many hours with long [often bamboo] poles by brewery workers in a process known as ‘yama-oroshi’. Over the following weeks naturally occuring lactic acid bacteria will enter the mash which will produce the required lactic acid and then yeast will be added. The total time for a brewing Sake this way is about 4 weeks. Yamahai is a method of fermentation discovered in 1909, where it was realised that the labour intensive mashing of the moto was not required when they changed the temperature of the moto to allow the lactic acid to form naturally. The full name for yamahai is “yama-oroshi haishi”, meaning “discontinuation of yama-oroshi”. With this method the production of the ferment is much easier but still takes roughly 4 weeks. Due to the extra production time required with the kimoto and yamahai methods, and how labour intensive the kimoto method is, most breweries use the modern sokujō method today. However due to the artisanal nature of many of the breweries we import from, you will still find the more traditional methods of Kimoto and Yamahai used to make their Sake. The different choices of fermentation affects the flavour of the finished Sake with the sokujō method generally producing a cleaner style of Sake and the kimoto and yamahai methods producing more robust flavours. **Under the Sake ‘Style’ on each meigara the sokujō method has been used unless we have specifically listed kimoto or yamahai. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You may notice that throughout our website that we have used Capital Letters on many words where they would ‘normally’ be typed in lower case letters. This is to make unfamiliar words stand out throughout the text. Also we have found that English speakers tend to read the word sake as in ‘for arguments sake’ rather than “sah-kay” as in the rice beverage Sake, so we have used a capital ‘S’ to make the word standout.

Some Common Sake Terms

When you are reading Japanese words in English text and see vowels with macrons above them, like ō in Kijōshu, it means the vowel has a long sound rather than short. So Kijōshu sounds like “Ki-jo-shu” rather than “Ki-josh-u”. When you don’t see the macron above the o it is a short sound. For example Koshu is “Cosh-u” rather than “Co-shu”. The same rule applies if it is above a ‘u’.

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Arabashiri = ‘rough run’. This is the free run of the fresh Sake liquid, captured before the actual pressing begins. The sacks full of fresh Sake [liquid and solids together] are arranged in the tubs and the sake slowly seeps out due to the natural weight of the contents of the sacks and the liquid is bottled directly.

Daiginjō is one of the Japanese classifications of sake. To be classified daiginjō the rice grain must be polished down to 50% or less of its original size.

Ginjō is one of the Japanese classifications of sake. To be classified ginjō the rice grain must be polished down to 60% or less of its original size.

Genmai = brown rice. Genmai-zake = brown rice sake, but the ‘s’ becomes a ‘z’ to make the pronunciation easier. For this unique style see: Kameman Shuzō ‘Genmaishu’ 2010 Junmai Genmai-zake

Genshu = undiluted. Many sake are diluted with spring water after brewing to lower the alcohol content from 18-20% down to 14-16%, but genshu means that no extra water has been added.

Junmai = 100% pure rice sake without any additives such as ethyl alcohol [often known as brewers alcohol], sugars and starches. Junmai is sake made of rice, water, yeast and kōji mould only. Before the law change in April 2004, the rice had to be milled down to 70% at least but now junmai no longer requires a specific milling rate. However, the amount milled away must still be listed on the label by Japanese law. All of the Sake in the Black Market Sake portfolio are Junmai.

Kijōshu = ‘Noble-Brew Sake’. Generally aged before being sold, this type of Sake often has a range of flavours similar to sherry. There are some similarities in production technique to that of port wine, although the Kijōshu technique has a much longer history. To make Kijōshu, the Tōji brings the ferment to an early halt by adding a full-bodied Sake from a previous year into the still fermenting batch. Currently there are 2 Kijōshu Sake on the Black Market Sake portfolio:

Nakano BC ‘Chōkyū’ 1999 Junmai Kijōshu Koshu

Ōmi Shuzō ‘Ōmiji Kijōshu’ 1978 Junmai Kijōshu Koshu

*The 13 year old Chōkyū has a rich toffee colour, and highly aromatic nose of bitter chocolate, caramel and dried porcini mushroom. Delicious burnt toffee flavour with a savoury walnut and sesame finish. A fascinating combination of sweet and savoury elements in this richly flavoured Sake.

*The 34 year old Ōmiji Kijōshu has aromas of burnt toffee, caramelised sesame and dark chocolate. The beautiful soft, velvety palate has sweet flavours reminiscent of Oloroso sherry with rich caramel, sesame and ground coffee notes.

These Sake are great with rich beef dishes, or with rich broths or sauces like duck or porcini. Also a favourite as a digestive or matched with a rich chocolate, sesame or bitter caramel dessert. The are both fascinating because of their sweet and savoury elements.

Kōji is the steamed rice that has been inoculated with starch-breaking moulds.

Kōji-kin is a starch-breaking mould with the Latin name ‘Aspergillus Oryzae’ which is added to the rice to produce enzymes to convert the starch in the rice to sugar which can then be converted to alcohol. The kōji mould coats the rice with a pure fluffy white outer layer that is also highly fragrant (much like the layer of mould you see on Brie or other white mould cheese).

Kura = can mean many types of shop, but when used in sake terms it means the Sake Brewery.

Kurabito = Sake Brewery workers

Kuramoto = Owner of the Sake Brewery

Koshu = Aged Sake. Many people have the misconception that Sake cannot be aged, but actually this is where it is easy to draw parallels with wine.

Wine and Sake are both perishable and can deteriorate, but there are complex developments that occur with ageing both of these beverages that will alter the flavour, aroma and texture and in fact can improve the wine or Sake. As with wine, many factors influence whether the Sake can or should be aged. Factors such as how the Sake was made, the acidity level of the Sake, the quality of the Sake etc will determine whether the Sake will benefit or deteriorate with ageing. Of course, as with wine, the storage conditions of the Sake will also influence the final result. Sake can also have phases where it can go through a ‘dull stage’ [or as the French say in Bordeaux about wine and children the ‘age ingrat’ or ‘difficult age’]. You can also see incredible colour changes when ageing Sake, where the Sake turns from being a liquid with little or no colour to one with beautiful rich caramel tones, even to the stage of it becoming an intense chocolate colour. An amazing example of how long Sake can be aged, as well as how good Koshu Sake can be, is the 36 year old Kidoizumi Shuzō ‘New AFS’ 1976 Junmai Yamahai Koshu.

Moto = Before the main fermentation, the Tōji must first prepare a starter mash known as the Shubo or ‘Mother of Sake’ which is known colloquially as the Moto. This Moto is used to kick start the fermentation of the ‘moromi’ or main sake mash. The Moto is made with kōji, steamed rice, yeast and water, then in the modern Sokujō method lactic acid is added. However in the traditional Yamahai method natural lactobacillus bacteria from the air is allowed to join the Moto and create the needed lactic acid. This traditional method takes about 30 days to develop, twice as long as a modern Sokujō moto sake and the result is a sake full of character. One of our producers, Oku-san from Akishika Shuzō, decided to make a bottling of Sake entirely composed of this ‘Mother of Sake’ to allow people to taste the heart of the Sake made in the traditional Yamahai method: Akishika Shuzō ‘Pressed Moto’ 2010 Junmai Yamahai Muroka Nama Moto. Very unique!

Meigara = brand. Most sake breweries produce many types of sake, so they tend to give each a unique name. An example is Mukai Shuzō ‘Ine Mankai’. The Mukai Shuzō is the brewery name and ‘Ine Mankai’ is the meigara or brand name.

Muroka = unfiltered. The definition means ‘unfiltered’ but is specifically relating to the fact that the Sake has not been filtered with charcoal. The sake has still been pressed and separated from the lees so is still a clear sake, not cloudy (although you will often see more colour than a charcoal filtered Sake). If a sake is cloudy this is a separate style known as nigori.

Carbon filtration is recognised as one of the oldest means of purifying water and is still widely and actively used in modern water filtration systems, including home water filters. In the case of Sake, a Tōji may add a dose of activated carbon in powder form to the tank of Sake and then the Sake is sent through a series of filters that catch the carbon powder that has absorbed or caught the flavours, colours and aromas that the Tōji felt were undesirable for the Sake they wished to produce. However, charcoal filtration can also strip out colour and flavour that are desirable in the finished Sake, so the Tōji may leave the Sake as Muroka or non-charcoal filtered.

Nama = unpasteurised. Namazake = unpasteurised Sake, but the ‘s’ becomes a ‘z’ to make the pronunciation easier. About half of our portfolio is Nama which tend to have a fresh, lively taste.

Nigori = cloudy. The Sake is passed through a loose mesh to separate it from the mash but it is then not filtered further and so the Sake retains sediment from rice in the finished Sake. In the case of ‘Usunigori’ [literally ‘thin’ Nigori] the result is only ‘lightly cloudy,’ where the lightest part of the sediment is left in from the soft pressing of the sacks filled with fresh sake [liquid and solids together]. Nigorizake = cloudy sake, but the ‘s’ becomes a ‘z’ to make the pronunciation easier. An example of Usunigori is: Uehara Shuzō ‘Soma no Tengu’ 2012 Junmai Ginjō Muroka Nama Genshu - Usunigori.

Nihonshu = ‘Japanese Sake’. The word ‘Sake’ in Japanese actually refers to ALL alcoholic beverages, so if you were in Japan and wanted to order what we know as ‘Sake’ in Australia you would actually ask for ‘Nihonshu’ or ‘Japanese Sake’ (although many places will assume you mean the rice beverage if you ask for Sake, rather than something else!). You may also see Sake listed as Nihonshu in some restaurants in Australia.

Prefecture: The country of Japan is broken down into 47 locally governed units called prefectures. 39 of these prefectures are bordered in some way by ocean or sea, leaving only 8 prefectures landlocked.

Sake = Pronounced “Sah-Kay”. The word ‘Sake’ in Japanese actually refers to all alcoholic beverages, but outside of Japan when we use the word sake we are referring to the alcoholic beverage made from rice.

Seimaibuai = Rice Polishing Rate. The Seimaibuai or rice polishing rate that we list for each Sake is telling you how much of the rice grain remains after polishing. So a Genmai-zake or brown rice Sake has a polishing rate of 100%, meaning that the whole grain remains [so therefore nothing has been polished away]. If you think of the normal table rice we cook with and eat, in Sake terms that would be considered 90% Seimaibuai, which tells us that 10% of the outer husk has been polished away, making it a white rice rather than brown. Many believe that the higher the polishing rate the better the quality of the Sake, but for us this is not what is most important. Different polishing rates achieve different flavour profiles, so we believe all Sake should be considered on their taste rather than their polishing rate. The Genmai-zake, along with many of our other lightly polished Sake, are amazing examples of unique tastes which would not be found from more polished rice. Please see daiginjō and ginjō above for 2 further Japanese rice polishing classifications.

Shuzō = Sake brewery, for example: Mukai Shuzō means Mukai Sake Brewery.

Tōji = Master Brewer / Head Sake Brewer

Three of the ways to make the starter mash for sake [a VERY simplified version!]:

A starter mash or ‘moto’ is where the Tōji [master brewer] combines steamed rice, kōji, water and yeast together in quantities suitable to let the yeast multiply and become vigorous. This active yeast is what will convert the sugar from the rice into alcohol and so needs to be strong when more of the steamed rice, kōji and water are added to create the main mash. During brewing unwanted microbes can enter the ferment and ruin the brew, so lactic acid needs to be added or created to make the mash acidic enough to kill off any unwanted microbes and allow the yeast to work efficiently.

Sokujō is the modern method of starter that is most commonly used by breweries today. In this method lactic acid is added to the moto. Due to this ferment only takes about 2 weeks, compared to about 4 weeks with the following Kimoto and Yamahai methods.

Kimoto is one of the most traditional ways of preparing the starter. In this method only steamed rice, kōji and water are combined and then vigorously mashed together for many hours with long [often bamboo] poles by brewery workers in a process known as ‘yama-oroshi’. Over the following weeks naturally occuring lactic acid bacteria will enter the mash which will produce the required lactic acid and then yeast will be added. The total time for a brewing Sake this way is about 4 weeks.

Yamahai is a method of fermentation discovered in 1909, where it was realised that the labour intensive mashing of the moto was not required when they changed the temperature of the moto to allow the lactic acid to form naturally. The full name for yamahai is “yama-oroshi haishi”, meaning “discontinuation of yama-oroshi”. With this method the production of the ferment is much easier but still takes roughly 4 weeks.

Due to the extra production time required with the kimoto and yamahai methods, and how labour intensive the kimoto method is, most breweries use the modern sokujō method today. However due to the artisanal nature of many of the breweries we import from, you will still find the more traditional methods of Kimoto and Yamahai used to make their Sake. The different choices of fermentation affects the flavour of the finished Sake with the sokujō method generally producing a cleaner style of Sake and the kimoto and yamahai methods producing more robust flavours.

**Under the Sake ‘Style’ on each meigara the sokujō method has been used unless we have specifically listed kimoto or yamahai.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*You may notice that throughout our website that we have used Capital Letters on many words where they would ‘normally’ be typed in lower case letters. This is to make unfamiliar words stand out throughout the text. Also we have found that English speakers tend to read the word sake as in ‘for arguments sake’ rather than “sah-kay” as in the rice beverage Sake, so we have used a capital ‘S’ to make the word standout.