AJET Connect MAY 2014

Want to try your hand at the sake test? We’ve translatedtwo example questions for you. See how you answer, andcheck out the author’s blurb for the correct responses.1 The winter climate in Niigata is said to be ideal for brewingsake but which of the following are true?A. Days are longerB. Temperature lows are relatively stableC. Days with extremely low temperatures continueD. Tempuratures vary significantly between daytime and nighttimeThe main testing hall was full of people2 What is the correct order of the top three sake exportingprefectures?A. 1) Hyogo 2) Kyoto 3) NiigataB. 1) Kyoto 2) Hyogo 3) NiigataC.1) Niigata 2) Hyogo 3) KyotoD.1)Niigata 2)Kyoto 3)HyogoReady to take the test!How’d you do? Here’s a bit of abeginners guide for the newest of newto the world of sake.Sake is made from rice, duh, but did you know that it’s made froma special kind of rice that’s made specifically to brew this drywine? If you’re lucky enough to have kyushoku (school lunch inpublic school) at school every day, you’re more than familiar withtypical Japanese rice (hanmai 飯 米 ) and the obsene portions itcomes in. In its raw form, the grain is translucent and uniform incommon types on the shelf.42 colour. Though you can make sake from regular rice, sake rice orNiigata sake is best served hot!43brewer’s rice (shumai 酒 米 ) is bigger and has a white core in theJunmai Daiginjo ( 純 米 大 吟 醸 ) & Daiginjo ( 大 吟 醸 )middle of its translucent body. They say that the bigger this whiteThese two types of sake are generally made with rice polished tocore is, the better; who said size never mattered?about 50% or more of their original grain.Breweries will go to great lengths to acquire or grow larger grainrice with this big white core so that they can mill it more finelyand produce higher grade sake. This is because the white coreis known to promote fermentation and produces purest tastewithout excess harsh flavours.A local breweryand its gianttanksWhat kind of sake is there anyway?Generally speaking there are four grades of sake. The gradedepends largely on how much of the outer grain has been milledor “polished” giving the final product the clearest, most genuinetaste of the rice. Another distinguishing factor is whether thesake has any additional “jozo alcohol” or distilled alcohol. It’scommon even for higher grade sake to add a small amountof distilled alcohol in order to bring out flavour and aroma.Among higher grade sake, junmai meaning “pure rice” candefine any sake which hasn’t been made with any additionaldistilled alcohol. Here’s a non-exhaustive list of some of the mostJunmai Ginjo ( 純 米 吟 醸 ) & Ginjo ( 吟 醸 )Polished to about 60% of their original grain.Junmai ( 純 米 ) & Honjozo ( 本 醸 造 )Polished to about 70% of the original grain.FutsushuPolished to 70% or less and made with a significantly higherpercentage of distilled alcohol. This type of sake considered“ordinary” or “table” sake is what makes up a high percentageof total sake produced in Japan.There are a plethora of other sake types as well includingnamazake (unpasteurized), koshu (aged sake) and nigorizake(milky white sake, lightly filtered).In terms of taste, one can’t say that a higher grade is betterthan a lower grade. Even within a high grade sake, taste canvary immensely and can have quite a varied character. Equally,there is a lot of futsushu that might fit your pallet more thana daiginjo or junmai sake. The taste can also change based onwhether its served cold or If you’re someone who gets ratheradverse I suggest going out and trying as much as you can andfind your niche!Some award-winning sakeFOOD CONNECTCONNECTFOODMay Issue 2014 May Issue 2014If you’re interested in how sake is made, Niigata Sake Loverswill be holding a series of bilingual events starting with theharvesting of the sake rice, all the way through to the bottlingand you’ll get two bottles of special brewed sake you helpedmake yourself!Check out the Niigata Sake Lovers FB page: https://www.facebook.com/niigatasakelovers?fref=tsAlso, for more information on sake types and brewing, checkout this handy guide: http://www.sake-world.com/html/brewingprocess.htmlMatthew Headland is a 3rd-year ALT in Joetsu, Niigata.Matthew will be the AJET Block 2 Representative for Niigata,Fukushima, Miyagi, and Yamagata in the coming year, soif you have a great idea to bring the prefectures togetheror start up a project, yell at him. He dreams of one daycompeting in RuPaul’s Drag Race, but for now practices thenaginata. The correct answers for the sample sake test areB and B.