Course:FNH200/2013w Team06 Sake

Hi Team 06,

This is where you are going to post your team project, associated images, videos, weblinks, reflection, exam questions etc. Have fun exploring and I look forward to learning from your team product.

Judy

Introduction

Sake making.

Sake is a beverage fermented from rice. It has been consumed and used for religious ceremonies for over 2000 years now. The drink is mentioned in the ‘Kojiki’, which is the first written and recorded history of Japan, a country known for its customs and traditions; and sake, a traditional drink also involves traditions and customs. Wet rice cultivation was introduced in Japan in about 300 BC. Around the same time sake was created for the first time. While the drink can be traced back to China over 4,000 years ago, it is in Japan that gained popularity. Over the centuries the process of making sake has changed in many drastic and some subtle ways. Today, people across the world can enjoy drinking sake, and don’t have to visit Japan to do so .

Since it is made from grain, which would make it more of a beer than a wine; yet, sake is not carbonated, and flavor-wise is closer to wine than beer, although it is indeed uniquely different from wine. Sake is not a distilled beverage, and is not even remotely related to gin, vodka or other spirits. It is generally between 15% and 17% alcohol .

Sake is generally almost transparent, which is often due to filtering at the kura (brewery) before shipping. This can be excessive at times, stripping a sake of its character. Often a sake has a light amber or gold color to it. This is often the case in full-flavored sake. This can be quite pleasant and add a new dimension to the sake experience. Beware: if a sake has been left in the light or allowed to age, it will turn a darker color, almost a lusterless brown. Sake that has degraded to this level is best avoided .

In general, there are five basic types of sake, including:

• Junmai-shu (pure rice wine; no adding of distilled alcohol);
• Honjozo-shu (at least 30% of rice polished away; a tad of distilled alcohol is added);
• Ginjo-shu (at least 40% of rice polished away; with or without alcohol added; if bottle is labeled Ginjo, it means distilled alcohol was added; if labeled Junmai Ginjo, it means no alcohol added);
• Daiginjo-shu (at least 50% of rice polished away; again with or without added alcohol; if bottle is labeled Daiginjo, it means distilled alcohol was added; if labeled Junmai Daiginjo, it means no alcohol added);
• Namazake (special 5th designation for unpasteurized sake; incorporates all four above)

So, how is sake made? What are the proper storage techniques? How is sake packaged? And how is sake regulated? Let's find out!

How It's Made - Fermentation

Sake is produced by fermenting polished, steamed rice with microbes including the mold Aspergillus oryzae, the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and lactic acid bacteria.

Saccharification of Rice Starch

Since the yeast S. cerevisiae, only ferments simple sugars and rice starch doesn’t contain any simple sugars, saccharification of rice starch before fermentation by yeast is necessary. To start the process of saccharification of rice starch, the mold A. oryzae grows on the grains of rice, producing two enzymes: glucoamylase and α-amylase. Glucoamylase releases glucose from the nonreducing ends of starch and oligosaccharides. Glucoamylase is synthesized when A. oryzae invades rice grains. α-Amylase produces oligosaccharides from starch and is synthesized when A. oryzae grows on the surface of rice grains. The quality of sake is determined on the balance of glucoamylase and α-amylase. Variables such as water content, texture of rice, and moisture and temperature, determine this delicate balance during koji making .

Formation of Moto

Koji, which is steamed rice that has been inoculated and fermented with A. oryzae, is mixed with steamed rice and water. This mixture is put into a moto (starter) tank. The traditional brewing method to make starter mash is called kimoto and it uses bacteria such as Pseudomonas, Aerobacter, and Achromobacter, and flour yeasts to reduce the nitrate found in water to nitrite. The unfavourable yeasts in the mash are killed by nitrite. The lactic acid bacteria such as Leuconostoc mesenteroides and Lactobacillus sakei spread throughout the mash and lower its pH. The low pH of the mash makes the survival of bacteria difficult; however, the low pH tolerant sake yeast can survive and grow in the mash . The yeast is added to the tank and grows to form moto, the seed mash of sake yeast.

Fermentation in Moromi and Formation of Sake

Moromi, the main mash

Moto is moved to a larger mash tank where water, steamed rice, and koji are added in separately to form moromi, the main fermentation mash. In the early stage of moromi, the sake yeast grows at 7–8°C to prevent the growth of other bacteria. When there is significant growth of the yeast, the temperature is raised to 14–16°C to facilitate saccharification and fermentation. During fermentation in moromi, the enzymes glucoamylase and α-amylase, produced by koji, become active. Glucoamylase produces glucose from the starch and oligosaccharides during fermentation and α-amylase liquefies the rice starch. The glucose is then converted to ethanol by sake yeast. Ethanol concentrations can get as high as 20% during fermentation. After 20 to 30 days of fermentation, the moromi gets filtered. The sake is pasteurized at 65°C for 10 minutes after being stored for several months. Water is then added to sake to adjust the ethanol concentration to approximately 15% . It is now ready to be transported to sell.

Sensory Properties

In order to create many variety of sake(s), the producers must decide the level of rice milling. Depending on the level of polished sake rice, flavor and aroma changes. In general, the more the rice used in brewing is milled or polished before being used, the higher the grade of sake. In fact, this is the clearest definition of the ascending grades of sake. Premium sake is brewed with special rice in which the starch component (the shinpaku or "white heart") is concentrated at the center of the grain, with proteins, fats, and amino acids located toward the outside. With increased milling or polishing, one can remove more of the fats, proteins, and amino acids that lead to unwanted flavors and aromas in the brewing process. Ginjo-shu (premium sake) has at least 40% or more milled away. Daiginjo (super premium sake) has at least 50% or more milled away.

Junmai Daiginjo-shu

• A subclass of junmai ginjo-shu, brewed with very highly polished rice (to at least 50%**) and even more precise and labor intensive methods. The pinnacle of the brewers' art. Generally light, complex and fragrant.

Daiginjo-shu

• A subclass of ginjo-shu below, brewed with very highly polished rice (to at least 50%** ) and even more precise and labor intensive methods. The pinnacle of the brewers' art. Generally light, complex and quite fragrant.

Junmai Ginjo-shu

• Brewed with labor-intensive steps, eschewing machinery for traditional tools and methods, using highly polished rice (at least 60%**) and fermented at colder temperatures for longer periods of time. Light, fruity, refined.

Ginjo-shu

• Brewed with labor-intensive steps, eschewing machinery for traditional tools and methods, using highly polished rice (at least 60%**) and fermented at colder temperatures for longer periods of time. Light, aromatic, fruity, and refined.

Junmai-shu

• Made with only rice, water and koji mold. The rice used must be polished to at least 70%**. Often a full and solid flavor profile, clean and well structured.

Note also Tokubetsu Junmai-shu, or "Special Junmai-shu," which merely indicates more highly polished rice, or the use of very special sake rice.

Honjozo-shu

• Made with rice, water, koji and a very small amount of pure distilled alcohol ("brewers' alcohol") to help extract flavor and aroma. Light, mildly fragrant, easy to drink.

Note also Tokubetsu Honjozo-shu or "Special Honjozo-shu," which merely indicates more highly polished rice, or the use of very special sake rice.

According to the list of sake above, the level of polished sake rice and duration of fermentation give different aroma, fragrant and alcohol percentage. For a better understanding purpose, please go to http://www.gogoanime.com/moyashimon-returns-episode-1 and watch from 7:39 to 10:05. The clip gives some of the insights about how modern Japanese view the different type of sake(s) and the useful information about milling and polishing sake rice.

Storage

Sake should be stored away from light and kept cool. Refrigeration is best, although not absolutely necessary unless the sake has not been pasteurized.

Komokaburi

Komokaburi, the straw-wrapped cypress kegs used for transporting sake are a common enough sight in Japan, especially the stacks and stacks of empties found at shrines, the only remains of ceremonial donations.

Sake barrel opening ceremony.

During the Edo period, rural sake brewers needed a method of transporting their brew to the large cities. These large porcelain casks could be carried on pack horses or transported on special ships called taru kaisen or cask ships. Until the 1940’s, they continued to be used to dispense draft sake in shops. Customers would come into the shop with their own smaller ceramic bottles and have them refilled with their favorite brand.

Packaging/Labels

Common name-Sake is an unstandardized alcoholic beverage, therefore it uses its common name on the package, which is sake. The word sake must be displayed on the principal display panel with font size minimum 1.66 mm in height based on the letter "o". It needs to be bilingual, but fortunately sake is the same in French as in English.

Net quantity-The net volume of sake must also be displayed on the principal display panel. For an unstandardized alcoholic beverage under 1 litre, the net volume must be displayed in mL. For unstandardized alcoholic beverages over 1 litre, the net volume must be displayed in L. The font size must be at least 1.6 mm in height based on the letter "m". In addition to that, the net volume must be displayed in bold font and be clearly distinguishable from the rest of the information on the label. The unit mL is considered to be bilingual.

Alcohol % by volume-The alcohol content must be displayed in the exact form x% alc./vol. on the primary display panel. In the case of sake it would normally be around 15-17%. The font size must be at least 1.6 mm in height based on the letter "o". Coincidentally again, the form shown above is considered fully bilingual.

Identity-On the label of sake, it must have the name of the company that the item was produced to sell for. Unlike all the other criteria so far, this information does not have to be on the principal display panel. It can be put anywhere except for the bottom of the container. The size of this information must be at least 1.6 mm in height based on the letter "o". Another different thing about this is that the identity only needs to be shown in either English or French, not both. So what exactly is identity? As mentioned above, it is the name of the company, and in some cases the city/town and the country it was made in. Because sake does come mostly from Japan, they are required to put imported by/importé par and imported for/importé pour followed by the name and address of the Canadian dealer, as well as the name and address of the location that the product was manufactured at.

List of Ingredients-Sake is required to have a list of ingredients on its label. The ingredients must be shown in descending order based on percentage used to create the bottle of sake before it was all mixed in together. For sakes with more than 10ppm of added allergen, gluten, and sulfites, it must be declared on the label in both English and French in font no smaller than 1.6 mm based on the height of the letter "o".

Aside from all of the above rules for labeling, some other notable facts are that:
<1> sake does not need a durable life date
<2> if a vignette is used, it must not lead others to believe that the product which they are purchasing is something other than sake
<3> there is no need for a nutrition label as sake has more than 0.5% alc./vol.

Packaging
Based on various trips to the liquor store, we have come to the conclusion that sake is packaged in glass containers most of the time. Although a food packaging textbook published in 1990 (page 405-408) did state that Japan started using cardboard containers to hold sake to meet the demand of consumers who walked from the grocery store home. The weight of a filled cardboard container of sake weighed only 1900 grams whereas the original sake in its glass packaging weighed 2850 grams. This meant almost 1 kilogram difference per bottle of sake purchased in a cardboard container versus a glass container. The textbook also stated that the cardboard box had dimensions that allowed it to fit in most refrigerator compartments.

Regulations

Regulations pertaining to Sake are still relatively new in Canada as the popularity of the alcoholic beverage continues to increase. Currently, there are only 3 sake-brewing companies within Canada. Under Canada’s Food and Drug Regulations, sake is considered to be a test market food. This means that sake in its finished form has not been sold in Canada until its import, as well as the fact that it differs substantially from any other food sold in Canada While the Japanese consider sake to resemble wine, Canadian Food and Drug Laws, mention nothing related to sake under their wine regulations. Sake is also an unstandardized alcoholic beverage therefore any ingredients that are in the finished product must be labeled on the packaging As the recognition of Sake continues to grow in Canada, further regulations may be undertaken.

The Japanese have their own regulations for their alcoholic beverage. Regulations for sake in Japan relate mostly to the ingredients used in the production, the method of production, and the labeling requirements. There are various types of sake so depending on the type being made, the regulations for ingredients differs slightly. Items specified in regulations as ingredients of sake are alcohol, shochu, sugars, organic acids, amino acid salts and sake One regulation that is standard for sake is that any other ingredients that are specified in the production cannot exceed 50% of the total weight of rice, including rice for making koji rice. The Japanese even state in their regulations that national laws and regulations the serving of sake to underage persons, pregnant women and persons driving vehicles must be observed when serving alcoholic beverages. Given the presence of alcohol in the beverage, Canada also requires that sake should be taken with caution to anyone who may be pregnant, as well as noting that the sale or service to anyone underage is illegal.

Reflection

Throughout this project, our knowledge about sake production, sensory properties, storage, packaging and regulation has grown tremendously. Having an understanding of how sake is made allows us to appreciate the long process of fermentation. Since bacteria and yeast are used to make sake, other harmful microbes might possibly contaminate the sake and cause diseases or illnesses. Sake is pasteurized for this reason to prevent harmful microbial growth. It was also interesting to learn that the higher grade of sake depends on rice that is well milled or polished.The milling of rice removes fats, proteins, and amino acids that lead to unwanted flavours and aromas in the brewing process. It was surprising to learn that there are only three sake brewing companies and that sake is considered to be a test market food in Canada.

Exam Question

The temperature of moromi (the main fermentation mash) is raised from 7–8°C to 14–16°C to facilitate __________:

i. Saccharification
ii. The activation of glucoamylase and α-amylase
iii. Fermentation
iv. The growth of yeast

a. i & ii
b. i & iii
c. i, ii & iii
d. i,ii,iii, & iv

The correct answer is C. In the early stage of moromi, the sake yeast grows at 7–8°C to prevent the growth of other bacteria. When there is significant growth of the yeast, the temperature is raised to 14–16°C to facilitate saccharification and fermentation. During fermentation in moromi, the enzymes glucoamylase and α-amylase, produced by koji, become active.

Video/Prezi Presentation

Prezi Presentation link: http://prezi.com/v4c7jwcrdv41/fnh200/