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Sake [1] forms a crucial part of Japanese culture, with most Japanese ceremonies including some kind of ceremonious drink. This is one of the main reasons that sake-brewing has evolved into an artform in Japan, comparable to specialist wine production in the Western world.
Sake production
Sake is a transparent, alcoholic beverage made from fermented rice, which is served both hot, cold or at room temperature. Just as with wine, its taste varies dramatically according to the quality and brewing of the beverage, but generally speaking it has a light and refined flavour.
Sake brewing began around two thousand years ago in Japan, and although there have been many advances in technology since then, the basic principles of making excellent sake have not really changed in around one thousand years. Those sake brewers who make sake in the most traditional way possible are able to brew sake with very subtle flavours.
Although sake is likened to both wine - perhaps for its strength, and beer - because it is made from grain rather than fruit, its brewing process, known as multiple parallel fermentation, is in fact radically different from both. In both wine and beer, it is yeast which converts the sugar from the products into alcohol and carbon dioxide. However, in the case of beer, the starch from the barley [2] must first be converted into sugar, which is achieved by malting. In sake production, the conversion of the starch from the rice into simple carbohydrates, and the fermentation of these into alcohol, takes place at the same time, thanks to the introduction of the mould, Aspergillus oryzae, or koji [3]-kin in Japanese. This is the same mould which is used in soy sauce and miso [4] production.
Sake brewing has a very complex process. Even the simplest of sakes requires at the minimum around thirteen separate stages. This begins with the polishing of the rice, which removes the outer layers, leaving behind the inner kernel of the rice, which is known to produce clear-tasting and flavoursome sake as a result. Generally speaking, the price and quality of sake is largely determined by the degree of polishing it undergoes – the rice for the very top quality sakes can have up to 65% of its outer layers polished away before it is washed and soaked, cooled, and then mixed with the koji, water and yeast starter, which will start it on its journey to becoming sake.
Clearspring’s Tamaki Sake
Akita Seishu, Producers of Clearspring’s Tamaki Sake, are located in Akita, the mountainous northernmost prefecture of Japan’s main island, with cold winters and heavy snowfall. They now own two breweries, with different characters: the sake from the Dewatsuru is a refined sake that has a soft and subtle flavour, whilst the sake from Kariho, made from hard water, is much drier, with a lively, crisp character. Clearspring’s Tamaki comes from the Dewatsuru brewery, a name adopted in 1913 to convey the elegance of our sake. The crane is a lovely bird, which symbolises beauty and grace in Japan.
The features of the surrounding region are very important to Akita Seishu’s continued production of outstanding sake. The fresh air and low temperatures provide the ideal environment for sake fermentation. The soft water used in the brewing procedure runs down from the nearby mountains, gushing up in a nearby spring, and gives our sake a soft and gentle overall feel. The use of several different sake rice varieties creates a wide range of flavours in their sake. The people at Akita Seishu know better than anybody else that it is these raw materials which form the cornerstone of successful sake production.
Even in such a traditional and dedicated brewery, Tamaki - which means ‘ring’ or ‘circle’ - is an exceptional sake. It is made from rice, organically grown according to Japanese organic certification standards, utilising the traditional yamahai [5]-jikomi method of brewing. This is a process in which yeast grows naturally on the rice rather than being introduced by the brewers. It is then slowly fermented under cool temperatures. This natural process gives Tamaki its characteristic full-bodied, mellow taste, by virtue of which it was awarded a bronze medal at the 2008 International Wine Challenge – the most prestigious competition in the wine and sake world. It was judged by an international panel of over 400 experts. ‘Next year,’ they say, ‘we will definitely get a Gold one!’ It is this determination to produce the very best sake which marks out Akita Seishu as a truly remarkable company. We at Clearspring are very proud to support them.
Sake production
Sake is a transparent, alcoholic beverage made from fermented rice, which is served both hot, cold or at room temperature. Just as with wine, its taste varies dramatically according to the quality and brewing of the beverage, but generally speaking it has a light and refined flavour.
Sake brewing began around two thousand years ago in Japan, and although there have been many advances in technology since then, the basic principles of making excellent sake have not really changed in around one thousand years. Those sake brewers who make sake in the most traditional way possible are able to brew sake with very subtle flavours.
Although sake is likened to both wine - perhaps for its strength, and beer - because it is made from grain rather than fruit, its brewing process, known as multiple parallel fermentation, is in fact radically different from both. In both wine and beer, it is yeast which converts the sugar from the products into alcohol and carbon dioxide. However, in the case of beer, the starch from the barley [2] must first be converted into sugar, which is achieved by malting. In sake production, the conversion of the starch from the rice into simple carbohydrates, and the fermentation of these into alcohol, takes place at the same time, thanks to the introduction of the mould, Aspergillus oryzae, or koji [3]-kin in Japanese. This is the same mould which is used in soy sauce and miso [4] production.
Sake brewing has a very complex process. Even the simplest of sakes requires at the minimum around thirteen separate stages. This begins with the polishing of the rice, which removes the outer layers, leaving behind the inner kernel of the rice, which is known to produce clear-tasting and flavoursome sake as a result. Generally speaking, the price and quality of sake is largely determined by the degree of polishing it undergoes – the rice for the very top quality sakes can have up to 65% of its outer layers polished away before it is washed and soaked, cooled, and then mixed with the koji, water and yeast starter, which will start it on its journey to becoming sake.
Clearspring’s Tamaki Sake
Akita Seishu, Producers of Clearspring’s Tamaki Sake, are located in Akita, the mountainous northernmost prefecture of Japan’s main island, with cold winters and heavy snowfall. They now own two breweries, with different characters: the sake from the Dewatsuru is a refined sake that has a soft and subtle flavour, whilst the sake from Kariho, made from hard water, is much drier, with a lively, crisp character. Clearspring’s Tamaki comes from the Dewatsuru brewery, a name adopted in 1913 to convey the elegance of our sake. The crane is a lovely bird, which symbolises beauty and grace in Japan.
The features of the surrounding region are very important to Akita Seishu’s continued production of outstanding sake. The fresh air and low temperatures provide the ideal environment for sake fermentation. The soft water used in the brewing procedure runs down from the nearby mountains, gushing up in a nearby spring, and gives our sake a soft and gentle overall feel. The use of several different sake rice varieties creates a wide range of flavours in their sake. The people at Akita Seishu know better than anybody else that it is these raw materials which form the cornerstone of successful sake production.
Even in such a traditional and dedicated brewery, Tamaki - which means ‘ring’ or ‘circle’ - is an exceptional sake. It is made from rice, organically grown according to Japanese organic certification standards, utilising the traditional yamahai [5]-jikomi method of brewing. This is a process in which yeast grows naturally on the rice rather than being introduced by the brewers. It is then slowly fermented under cool temperatures. This natural process gives Tamaki its characteristic full-bodied, mellow taste, by virtue of which it was awarded a bronze medal at the 2008 International Wine Challenge – the most prestigious competition in the wine and sake world. It was judged by an international panel of over 400 experts. ‘Next year,’ they say, ‘we will definitely get a Gold one!’ It is this determination to produce the very best sake which marks out Akita Seishu as a truly remarkable company. We at Clearspring are very proud to support them.