Sake Deep Dive

This time, Andy and Jim put on airs and address the noblest of sake styles: kijoshu, a modern brew made to take on the snootiest of events. We discuss everything from the supposed mythical origins of the process to the ethics of trademarking names for shared styles. No Edo period brewing manuals here, just pure seventies funk. 

Vocabulary from this episode

Engishiki - An ancient record of laws and customs from the noble court dating to around 927 CE.

Kijoshu -A style of sake made using finished sake instead of one part of the brewing water in the final brewing stage. Actually a trademarked name.

Saijoshikomi - One of several alternate names for sake made in the kijoshu style .

Shiori sake - An ancient brewing method in which a batch of sake is “refermented” with a fresh addition of rice and koji.

Recommended Sake

Finally, the European masters have introduced the world of sake to the power of blending, something that no one in sake’s centuries of history ever thought of before. Or, not. Jim and Andy stir things up with a talk about the real, and very long, history of blending sake in all its many shapes and forms.

Vocabulary from this episode

Arabashiri - The initial “rough run” of sake from a pressing.

Nakatori - The middle, and often considered best, run of a pressing of sake.

Seme - The final cut, sometimes considered the “dregs” or tailings of a pressing of sake.

Chogo - The Japanese word for blending, as in sake.

Recommended Sake

Andy and Jim explore the history of Nara as an early center for sake development and innovation. From rice polishing to branding, there's a solid argument that this is where sake as a consumer good was born.

Vocabulary from this episode:

Katahaku - Sake that used polished rice for only the mashing rice.

Morohaku - Sake brewed with polished rice in both Koji and kakemai

Recommended Sake

Your humble hosts look over developments in the types of tanks used through history. It's a great chance to reflect on the surprising links between material advancements, brewing technology, and market demands. 

Vocabulary from this episode

Horo - Enamel coating used on metal tanks

Kame - A general term for large ceramic jars/tanks used for storing or fermenting

Kioke - Wooden tanks 

Taru - A wooden cask or keg used for storing and transporting sake

Recommended Sake

Time at last for Andy and Jim to tackle the beast that is the junmai ideology. This time the gents look at just how junmai became such a hot topic, what it really means for the brewing industry, and the figures behind its postwar “revival,” if that’s what it really is. 

Vocabulary from this episode

Aruten - Brewer’s alcohol added. Short for arukoru tenka

Komedake no osake - sake made from only rice/rice koji/yeast.

Mutenka - Nothing added

Recommended Sake

We are finishing our series on Japan's major brewing regions in Fushimi, Kyoto. Built around the palace of one of Japan's most powerful warlords, we discuss how this once-sleepy town literally cleaned its way to becoming one of Japan's most famous brewing regions.

Vocabulary from this Episode

gokusui: fragrant water

kinmeisui: Golden Water

ginmeisui: Silver Water

Recommended Sake:

Andy - Souku Usu-Nigori

Jim - Sho Chiku Bai

Our theme music is from 

Saijo - Sake Theme Park

The second of our series on Japan’s major brewing regions takes us to Hiroshima’s Saijo. This little town built on sake brewing is a sake lover’s dream. Seven breweries in close proximity, with museums, shops, and tasting opportunities galore. Come learn how it got to be this way in the latest Sake Deep Dive!

Vocabulary from this episode

Shuto: Affectionate name for Saijo meaning sake capital.

Sake kabu: A brewing license system enforced by the Tokugawa shogunate.

Recommended Sake

Andy and Jim get a little bit more personal as they take a look at a topic close to both their hearts: sake vessels! From tokkuri to hirahai, they talk bottles and cups, with a couple of bones to the wine-glass crowd, too. Raise whatever is closest to hand for a rousing kampai to shuki!

Vocabulary from this episode

Tokkuri - a common style of bottle-style sake pourer

Katakuchi - a widely varied style of pitcher/bowl style sake pourer.

Guinomi - a relatively large sake cup

Ochoko - a relatively small sake cup

Heihei - a rather unusual style of “flat” sake pourer 

Masu - A square wooden or plastic, sometimes lacquered sake vessel.

Kiriko - Japanese cut glass, often used for sake cups and pourers.

Recommended Sake

With the spring flood of namazake, Andy and Jim take their usual contrarian position and go for the hiire stuff. Why do brewers heat-treat their sake? How do they do it? And why is Andy so resistant to the idea of sticking his hand in a vat of hot sake? Find out in the latest Sake Deep Dive!

Vocabulary from this episode:

Binkan Kyurei - A specific term for pasteurization and rapid cooling of sake in the bottle. Literally “bottle heat rapid cool”

Hiire - Heating sake to kill bacteria and halt enzymatic action

Hiochi - The term for unpasteurized sake that has gone bad from bacterial action. Literally “Fire failure.”

Hiochikin - A blanket term for a group of alcohol resistant lactobacilli that can thrive in sake and turn it bad if not killed through heating.

Jakan - The “snake tube” used in a traditional heating method for sake.

Nizake - A kind of heated sake introduced to Japan from China during the Muromachi period (1336-1573), inspiring early pasteurization techniques.

Recommended Sake

Andy and Jim climb the mountains and explore the rice fields to get to the root of the “king” of sake rice, Yamadanishiki. We look at where it came from, why it got so big, and maybe express a wee bit of skepticism about those magical Hyogo rice fields.

Vocabulary from this episode:

Koji Haze - The distribution of koji over the surface of the rice grains.

Kumamoto Kobo - The origin of Association Yeast #9, often called the “Ginjo yeast.”

Nengo - The naming of eras in Japan based on the currently reigning emperor. Now, for example, we are in the Reiwa era, preceded by Heisei, and Showa before that. 

Nishiki - Silk brocade. A word often used to denote something elegant and luxurious.

Shinpakuritsu - The rate of starchy “white heart” appearance in a batch of rice, expressed as a percentage.

Shuzokotekimai - The more official term for what we call sakamai, or rice well-suited to sake brewing.

Tankanwataribune - One of Yamadanishiki’s direct parents. “Tankan” means short stalk.

Yamadaho - Another of Yamadanishiki’s direct parents. 

Toku A chiku - One of a few areas across two cities in northern Hyogo prefecture with reputations for growing high-grade Yamadanishiki rice. They are: Kato City - Yashiro, Tojo; Miki city - Yokawa

Recommended Sake:

In this New Year's episode of Sake Deep Dive, Andy and Jim get back to the start—yeast starter, that is. We round out the group by taking on yamahai this time, building on what we’ve already covered in the kimoto and sokujo episodes with how it came to be, and what it is becoming now.

Vocabulary from this episode

Kai-ire - while generally a term for mixing or stirring the mash, here we mean a step in orthodox yamahai where a single brewery worker mixes and crushes the moto mixture after kumikake

Kumikake - circulating the enzyme-rich moto liquid using a perforated metal cylinder in the middle of the mash, and ladling the liquid it lets in back over the rice outside

Recommended Sake

Show Notes

In the latest Sake Deep Dive, Andy and Jim take on Japan’s national mold, Aspergillus oryzae–the lowly koji-kin. This is less a historical exploration and more a real look at the nitty gritty on this itty bitty ruler of the sake world.

CORRECTION: During the episode, Jim mistakenly called Shirokoji Aspergillus luchuensis. That is incorrect. It is Aspergillis kawachii. Aspergillus luchuensis is another name for Aspergillus awamori.

Vocabulary from this episode

Kikoji - Yellow koji, Aspergillus oryzae. The standard sake strain of koji kin.

Koji kin - the actual way to refer to the mold spores that are added to rice to make rice koji.

Kurokoji - Black koji, Aspergillus awamori/Aspergillus luchuensis. The standard strain of koji kin for making the Okinawan rice spirit of awamori.

Shirokoji - White koji. Aspergillus kawachii. The standard strain of koji kin for making Japan’s spirit of shochu. Oddly, a mutated form of Aspergillus awamori.

Toko - Literally “floor/bed.” The table where major hand-made koji production happens.

Hako - Literally “box.” A box where moderately sized batches of hand-made koji are propagated for temperature control.

Futa - Literally “lid.” Smaller boxes for precise, granular temperature control in hand-made koji production.

Recommended Sake

Kodaishu - Days of Yore

Show Notes

Andy and Jim explore the very oldest kinds of sake in search of the real roots. From drunken serpents to monkly brews, we look at the earliest records of sake to see how it developed in the olden days.

Vocabulary from this episode

Sumizake - An ancient kind of filtered sake. No one knows for sure how they filtered it.

Dakushu / Doburoku / Nigorizake - all the same kanji, all meaning “cloudy/muddied sake.”

Heian Period - 794-1185

Goshu -  An ancient sake brewed in the Heian. Kojibuai 28.6%, water absorption 77% (Modern koji 22%, mizubuai 135% )

Goishu - Another ancient Heian sake. 1 dan jikomi brewed from late August into september. 28.6% kojibuai and mizubuai of 51.4% (very very low). SMV -80-100. The low water content prevented spoilage.

Kamakura - 1185-1333 Rise of private breweries, people drank too much, banned.

Muromachi 1336-1573

Azuchi-Momoyama 1568-1603

Edo Period 1603-1867

Tamonin Nikki (Tamon temple chronicles) from 1478 to 1618

Recommended Sake

Show Notes:

In a departure from the typical fact-based fare, this time Andy and Jim trawl the murky depths of terroir. What is it, really? No, really? And, is it really going to “save sake?” Predictably, we don’t think so… Enjoy the second part of our first ever two-parter!

Recommended Sake in this Episode:

Andrew:

Show Notes:

In a departure from the typical fact-based fare, this time Andy and Jim trawl the murky depths of terroir. What is it, really? No, really? And, is it really going to “save sake?” Predictably, we don’t think so… This time, recording ran pretty long so we're splitting this into our first ever two-parter.

Tune in next month for the exciting conclusion--and our recommendations!

Our theme music is from Lotus Lane by The Loyalist - Preconceived Notions

Show Notes:

Andy and Jim look into perhaps the most famous brewing water in Japan: Miyamizu. Why is it so famous? Why ISN’T it part of Nada’s rise to fame? All will be revealed! NOTE: Issues beyond our control resulted in some need for re-recording and editing, so sound quality is kind of spotty in this episode. We apologize!

Recommended Sake in this Episode:

Andrew:

Show Notes:

Andy and Jim take on Sokujomoto, the incredibly common fast yeast starter. On the way, they explore its linked history with yamahai, talk about how it got so common, and clarify its modern variations.

Recommended Sake in this Episode:

Andrew:

Show Notes:

This month, Jim and Andy grind away at the true first stage of sake brewing: rice polishing. Or is it milling? Seimai. Whatever. They work their usual magic looking at the whos, whats, whens, and whys of how genmai becomes hakumai. Come and listen!

Recommended Sake in this Episode:

Andrew:

Jim and Andy take on one of the most persistent sake myths around: that hot sake means bad sake. Here, they go back to see just how long people have been warming up their tipples, explore why the practice seems to have fallen out of favor, and of course offer up their own preferences.

Recommended Sake in this Episode:

Andrew:

Show Notes:

Your two resident Omachists take on the only rice variety with its own fan club, Omachi. The gentle giant has a rabid fanbase, but why? What makes it different? Where’s it from? Andy brings his hands-on experience and Jim brings his unending thirst to this month’s Sake Deep Dive.

Recommended Sake in this Episode:

Andrew:

This month, Andy and Jim look into the mystical (or not) Bodaimoto method of making sake. What is it? Where did it come from? Where did it come BACK from? All will be revealed as we clear away the mists of myth to become one with the truth of this ancient sake brewing method.

Recommended Sake in this Episode:

Andrew:

In this episode of Sake Deep Dive, Jim and Andy tackle koshu-the history and culture of aging sake. Once more, our intrepid geeks go back to the early days of sake to see just what age does to our favorite beverage. We discuss the ancient history of aging sake, the Lost Century that saw the practice fade, and a little about its recent resurgence.  

Recommended sake in this episode 

Andrew: Akishika Okushika Yamadanishiki Jim: Mizuho Kuromatsu Kenbishi 

Useful Vocabulary: 

古酒 Koshu - sake that has been aged longer than usual. Literally "old sake." 

長期熟成酒研究会 Choki Jukuseishu Kenkyukai - The long-term matured sake study council. A group that promotes matured sake as a beverage and object of study.  

老香 Hineka - "Old smell." An unpleasant aroma in some older sake caused primarily by excess dimethyl trisulfide (DMTS). 

生老香　Namahineka - "Raw old smell." An unpleasant aroma in some older namazake caused by the enzymatic oxidization of isoamyl alcohol.

Our theme music is from Lotus Lane by The Loyalist - Preconceived Notions

Kimoto: Raising Wee Beasties

The is a really deep dive, even for us. Kimoto: Raising Wee Beasties sees Andrew Russell and Jim Rion discuss the venerable kimoto method of making the seed mash for sake brewing, and hopefully clear up some common misconceptions about it and its close relative of yamahai.

Recommended Sake in this Episode:

Andrew:

Happy Holidays! ☆ Andrew Russell and Jim Rion bring a special episode of Sake Deep Dive for your Christmas listening pleasure-after the presents are open and carols are sung, warm up a tokkuri and settle in for some sake chat. 

☆ This time, we’re keeping it casual and looking back at the year that was. 

☆ Join us as we reflect on the podcast, great sake discoveries, the allure of pottery, and our sake breweries of the year. ☆ It’s a casual swim this time, but we hope you’ll still find something interesting to keep the sake flowing. 

☆ Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and kanpai. 

☆☆ Find Andrew Russell online at www.OriginSake.com and Jim Rion or www.JimRion.com and www.YamaguchiSake.com! 

☆Our theme music is from Lotus Lane by The Loyalist - Preconceived Notions

Aruten: A Constant Companion

In this episode of Sake Deep Dive, Co-Hosts Andrew Russel and Jim Rion go back the very beginnings of when, and why, distilled alcohol was first added to seishu, trace the rise and fall of aruten, and see just what goes into this delicious class of sake. 

Recommended Sake in this Episode:

Andrew:

In this episode of Sake Deep Dive, Jim and Andy take a look at Ginjo--the word, the sake, and the significance. We hope people learn that there’s more to it than just milling ratios, and see just how important Hiroshima is to the modern conception of this “scrutinized” brewing method. Remember, ginjo is good, but it’s not everything!

Recommended sake in this episode

Andrew:

Futsushu, the sadly undervalued, yet overwhelmingly popular base of the sake pyramid.
In Sake Deep Dive's inaugural episode, hosts Jim Rion and Andrew Russell discuss the meaning of the term, its history, and the reason why so many people turn up their noses at this enormously diverse class of sake.
They also give some insight into how it's made, and how to know which ones are worth trying.

Recommended Brands in this Episode: