RICE
Un-hulled rice is the seeds of the rice plant and the grain remaining after the hull has been removed is called Genmai (brown rice 玄米). Currently there are over 300 varieties of rice cultivated in Japan and approximately around 100 are used for the production of sake.
In Japan rice for sake production is planted between April to June, then harvested between August to October depending on the variety. Japanese rice can be roughly classified into two varieties, Saka-mai (sake brewing rice 酒米) or Han-mai (regular table rice 飯米). These days new types of sake rice are being developed constantly, while heirloom or forgotten varieties are being revived in many areas of Japan.
Different rice strains do produce different flavour profiles in the resulting sake, however it is generally much harder to pick the rice type while drinking sake, than for example picking the grape variety while drinking wine, as there as so many other factors involved in the finished Sake such as the brewing techniques used. The Toji will often choose the type of rice to better reflect the style of sake he or her is trying to make.
SAKE RICE vs TABLE RICE
Traditionally sake was made using the same rice people would eat (Han-mai), however over time particular strains of rice have been cross-bred to make sake and these varieties are known as Saka-mai (sake rice). Saka-mai tends to be large short-grained rice with an opaque white centre in which the starch is concentrated, which means the outer grain that contains the fats, proteins, minerals & amino acids are easily polished off to produce a ‘clean’ style of sake. The starch in table rice tends to be more evenly spread out in the grain and so the fats, proteins, minerals and amino acids are in a higher ratio (which is exactly why they are tasty to eat). So generally speaking a sake made with table rice will have a more robust and rich flavour and sake made with sake rice will have a cleaner and elegant flavour.
RICE VARIETIES FOR SAKE PRODUCTION
YAMADA NISHIKI | 山田錦
Hyogo, 1936
Known as the ‘king’ of rice, it is the most cultivated variety for sake production.
In 1923, the Hyogo Agricultural Experiment Station (at the time) created this strain by cross-breeding "Yamadabo" and "Tankan Wataribune”. After many years of selecting and stabilising the genetic properties of the variety, it was named Yamada Nishiki in 1936 and was designated as the recommended variety of Hyogo Prefecture.
Due to its large grains and high ‘Shinpaku’ (starch centre of the grain), it is suitable for making good-quality koji and for high-polishing in the production of Ginjo sake. It is also popular among brewers because of its workability to produce sake that has a deep and rich flavour. It produces powerful sake that can be highlighted for their balance and their full aromatic profile.
The cultivation area of Yamada Nishiki has increased through the efforts of the cultivating farmers and sake breweries and today almost every sake producer in Japan produces at least one product made from Yamada Nishiki. Although nearly 70% of the gross national production of Yamada Nishiki is from Hyogo, a total of 33 prefectures cultivate this variety. The production area is diverse, from Kyushu in the south through to the Tohoku region in the north.
GOHYAKUMANGOKU | 五百万石
Niigata, 1957
The strain was created in 1938 in Niigata by crossing the Kameno-o & Omachi rice types. It wasn’t until 1956 that experimental brewing was started and it was named in 1957 in honour of the exceptional rice crop in Niigata which reached ‘5 million' (Gohyakuman) ‘Koku’ (old measuring unit, 1 koku = 150kg).
It is an early growing rice variety that was developed for cold regions and has large grains with ‘Shinpaku’ (starch centre). It does not get sticky when steamed and becomes hard on the outside and soft on the inside a trait perfect for making Koji. It is said that the sake quality known as ‘Tanrei Kara-kuchi’ (light, crisp and dry) was realised because Gohyakumangoku was developed.
It produces light, fruity and elegant sake and is widely cultivated in Japan (around 21 prefectures) and is the second most planted variety (approx 25% of all rice planted) behind Yamada Nishiki (33%).
OMACHI | 雄町
Okayama, Ancient
This native variety that was discovered around 1859. It fell out of favour after the war and was reduced to a mere 6 hectares in 1970 mainly due to the difficulty in cultivating the tall plant. Its restoration happened when in the 1990’s many breweries in Okayama began to actively promote planting of Omachi and today it is the fourth most planted variety for sake production.
Omachi initially was distributed as table rice but gained a good reputation amongst brewers in various places for its large grain and high ‘Shinpaku’ (starch centre of the grain). Many varieties including Yamada Nishiki & Gohyakumangoku descend from Omachi and many variations of Omachi exist in different prefectures of Japan.
This very tall variety (120-150cm) is particularly difficult to grow and matures late in the season. It is one of the most difficult rice varieties to master in fermentation but skilfully used, it gives magnificent sake, full and deep, with a slightly rustic, earthy feeling.
HATTAN NISHIKI | 八反錦
Hiroshima, 1962, 1984
Hattan type rice goes back to at least 1875 when private growers were breeding rice based on Hattanso. Not long after this in 1907 the Hiroshima Prefecture Agriculture Experiment Station began working on producing better strains of Hattan-type rice. The primary goal for the improved strain was to produce rice with a more prominent Shinpaku (starch centre of the grain), better disease resistance, lodging resistance and higher yield.
There are three main varieties in the Hattan family, all three descended from the historical Hattanso variety: Hattan 35 (1962), Hattan Nishiki 1 and Hattan Nishiki 2 (1984). Varieties 1 and 2 have better characteristics that are advantageous to sake brewing and a larger Shinpaku. However, both Hattan Nishiki No. 1 and No. 2 are easily broken during polishing while Hattan No. 35 has a smaller harder Shinpaku that is not easily broken. The level of breakage for No. 1 and No. 2 make them unsuitable for highly polished Ginjo and Daiginjo brewing, so only Hattan No. 35 is used for this. But Hattan No. 35 is by no means ideal because its cultivation characteristics are lacking.
Sake made with Hattan Nishiki 1 and Hattan Nishiki 2 show an understated aromatic profile but have a rich, earthy flavour and a mild texture.
KAMENO O | 亀の尾
Yamagata, 1893
Literally stumbled upon in the 1890’s, this ancient table rice variety became unpopular after the war due to modern cultivation methods.
Naturally resistant to diseases this tall variety helped develop many other rice varieties through cross-breeding, namely: Koshihikari, Sasa Nishiki, Gohyakumangoku, Takane Nishiki. It has seen a resurgence in use since the 1980’s with many breweries taking up the ancient strain once again.
Sake made with Kameno-o tends to be deeply flavoured and robust with good potential for ageing.
MIYAMA NISHIKI | 美山錦
Nagano, 1978
This strain was created in 1978 in Nagano by mutation breeding of the Takane Nishiki rice variety. The grains tend to be large with a good Shinpaku (starch centre of the grain) occurance. The 3rd most planted variety for sake production it has good resistance to cold weather and is favoured in cooler regions of Nagano and eastern Japan.
It is well suited to the production of Ginjo & Junmai Ginjo sake and generally produces sake that is textured, round and flavourful.
IWAI | 祝
Kyoto, 1933
The Iwai strain was obtained by a pure line selection of Nojoho in 1933. It was abandoned during after the war and rediscovered in 1991. It is the only original rice from the large sake producing prefecture of Kyoto and is highly sought after.
It is exceptionally well suited for sake brewing having a large Shinpaku (starch centre of the grain), is easy to polish and low in protein. It is mainly reserved for the production of Ginjo & Junmai Ginjo sake that is light, crisp and dry.
KOSHIHIKARI | 越光
Niigata | Fukui, 1956
A table rice variety Koshihikari is an indirect descendant of Kameno-o. Famous for being a delicious variety to eat, Koshihikari is cultivated all over Japan and also around the world and has spawned many new varieties of rice.
GIN-NO-SATO | 吟のさと
Fukuoka, 2007
Directly descended from Yamada Nishiki, Gin-no-sato was developed to create a local Kyushu rice that had similar characteristics as Yamada Nishiki (grain weight, resistance to polishing, high Shinpaku occurence etc) but offering a better yield. Produces sake that is fragrant and textural.