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Sake Basics
A brief guide to some key terms, styles and things to keep in mind. Sake is the fermented product of rice, with its own character, body of knowledge and vocabulary. Here are some sake basics worth knowing. Types of Sake Before the rice is fermented, the outer layer is polished away, leaving the grain’s starchy core. Junmai Rice is polished until no more than 70 percent of the grain remains. Ginjo No more than 60 percent remains. Daiginjo No more than 50 percent remains. All sakes designated junmai contain only rice, water, yeast and koji, a mold that converts starch into fermentable sugars. Some other sakes are made with small amounts of added…
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Sake Is Booming in America
From the NY Times, an excellent article about sake and the growing interest in America. Imports are way up, retail shops are proliferating and more sake breweries are opening. When Shinobu Kato first tried sake as a young man in Tokyo, it tasted harsh and sharp to him. He hated it. But, he recalls, an older colleague told him that he was drinking cheap, poorly made sake. As he was introduced to better styles, Mr. Kato grew to love it. When he moved to the United States in 2004 to study business at the University of Maryland, he could afford only the sorts of bad sake that had left such a…
