Sake Deep Dive

Ginjo sake brewing is familiar enough, but what about those folks out on the Sanin coast? Some claim they’re doing it a little differently, but Jim and Andy aren’t so sure. Is it the koji? The yeast? The climate? Come and let’s see what’s going on in the shadows. Kampai! Vocab: Ajigin 味吟 - A flavor-focused ginjo sake. Chūgoku 中国 - A region of western Japan including Hiroshima, Okayama, Tottori, Shimane, and Yamaguchi prefectures. Hanagin はな吟 - An aroma-focused ginjo sake. San’in 山陰 - The part of the Chugoku region that stands to the north/west of the Chugoku Mountains along the Sea of Japan coast. Mostly associated with Tottori and Shimane Prefectures. Sanyō 山陽 - The coastal area of the CHugoku Region along the Sea of Japan, south/east of the Chugoku mountains. Sōhaze 総はぜ - A koji growth pattern with the filaments covering the whole surface of the rice grains. Tsukihaze 突きはぜ - A koji growth pattern with filaments speckling the surface, with filaments sticking deep inside the rice grain. Recommendations: Andy - Tenon Mukkyu Sake Jim - Chiyomusubi Goriki 60 Junmai Ginjo Don’t forget to support us on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/SakeDeepDive Also, check out Andy’s websites at: https://www.originsake.com/ and https://www.originsaketours.com Find Jim at his website www.JimRion.com, where he doesn’t talk about sake at all. Our theme music is from Lotus Lane by The Loyalist - Preconceived Notions Available at https://soundcloud.com/preconceived-notions Under a Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported— CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lotus-lane Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/1YVHRMVwwHg

Three steps? Four steps? More?! Building a stable sake mash can be a tricky business, and here Andy and Jim dig deep into a tried and true way of making sure your fermentation is a strong one. From history to stages, variations to value, they give dankake the good ol’ Sake Deep Dive Treatment. Kampai! Vocab: Dankake 段掛け or Danjikomi 段仕込み - Staged mashing. A standard feature of multiple-parallel fermentation sake brewing, in which rice and koji are added in batches to allow for more stable growth of the yeast. Eda oke 枝桶 - a technique where the smaller Hatsuzoe batch of rice and koji is mixed with the starter in a smaller tank, allowing for more controlled yeast propagation during the vulnerable early stages. Goshu no Nikki 御酒之日記 - A record/journal that is considered the first technical brewing guide in Japan, kept by members of the Satake clan. Its date is contested but it is mostly considered to date to 1489, though some believe it was written in 1355. It mentions sandanjikomi, important to this discussion. Hatsuzoe 初添え - The first stage of a mash or shikomi, when steamed rice and koji are added to the moto starter. Ittonjikomi 一トン仕込み - A one-tonne (of rice) mash for sake brewing. Often considered a kind of standard measure for small to medium sake breweries. Nakazoe 仲添え - The second addition of rice and koji to the fermentation mash. Odori 踊り - A stage of rest between hatsuzoe and nakazoe. Sandanjikomi 三段仕込み - A three-stage mash/ Tamonin Nikki 多聞院日記- A journal/record kept at Tamoin temple from 1478 to 1618. It mentions several topics of interest to sake brewing, including a reference to dankake in connection to Bodaisen sake brewing. Togaimai 等外米 - Rice that has not been graded for the official classification system, meaning it cannot be used for tokuteimeishu brewing. Tomezoe 留添え - The final stage of a dankake, when fermentation is encouraged to stop. Yodanjikomi 四段仕込み - A four-stage mash, when an additional stage is added for either necessity as in aruten alcohol addition, or for a different expression of the sake. Recommendations: Andy - Hanatomoe Yodan Muroka Nama Jim - Yachiyo Bd-14 Don’t forget to support us on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/SakeDeepDive Also, check out Andy’s websites at: https://www.originsake.com/ and https://www.originsaketours.com Find Jim at his website www.JimRion.com, where he mostly doesn’t talk about sake at all. Our theme music is from Lotus Lane by The Loyalist - Preconceived Notions Available at https://soundcloud.com/preconceived-notions Under a Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported— CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lotus-lane Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/1YVHRMVwwHg

Jim and Andy journey back to the snow country of Niigata to focus on a brewery that has helped shape modern sake tastes: Ishimoto Shuzo, makers of Koshi no Kanbai. From its humble origins as a small producer for the local market to the flagbearers of the jizake and tanrei karakuchi sake booms, your intrepid enthusiasts dig deep into how this sake became a nationwide staple. Settle in and warm up your sake because it’s time for some Niigata nectar. Kampai! Vocab: Ajigin 味吟 - Sake brewed to ginjō specifications and methods but with an emphasis on flavor rather than aroma. Hanagin ハナ吟 - Sake brewed to ginjō specifications and methods with an emphasis on aroma rather than flavor. Hashirajōchu 柱焼酎 - Shōchu distilled from refermented sake lees or even seishu used in the brewing process instead of high-purity brewer’s alcohol. A traditional aruten method dating back to the Edo Period. Recommendations: Andy - Tokujoshu Kimoto-kei Hashirajochu Shikomi Jim - Futsushu White Label Don’t forget to support us on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/SakeDeepDive Also, check out Andy’s websites at: https://www.originsake.com/ and https://www.originsaketours.com Find Jim at his website www.JimRion.com, where he mostly doesn’t talk about sake at all. Our theme music is from Lotus Lane by The Loyalist - Preconceived Notions Available at https://soundcloud.com/preconceived-notions Under a Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported— CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lotus-lane Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/1YVHRMVwwHg

Andy and Jim dig into the past of Itami, an influential sake brewing area in Hyogo prefecture that found itself replaced by Nada. What innovations did Itami offer up, and why did it get left in the shadows of sake history? Come listen as your hosts brush the cobwebs off a nearly-lost sake brewing center that just might be the birthplace of seishu. Kanpai! Vocab for this episode Namizake 並酒 - An early word for sake brewed with unpolished rice in both kōji and kakemai. Morohaku 諸白 - Sake brewed with polished rice both for kōji and kakemai Katahaku 片白 - Sake brewed with polished rice for kakemai and unpolished rice in the kōji. Genroku Period 元禄時代 - A historical period, 1688-1705, when Itami was at its sake brewing peak. Kamigata 上方 - An Edo period term for the region around Kyoto, where the imperial court remained. Hashirashōchu 柱焼酎 - The use of kasutori shōchu, distilled from refermented sake kasu, as an additive to sake for a variety of purposes. Recommendations: Andy ＆Jim both - Choutokusen Shirayuki Edo Genroku no Sake Don’t forget to support us on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/SakeDeepDive Also, check out Andy’s websites at: https://www.originsake.com/ and https://www.originsaketours.com Find Jim at his website www.JimRion.com, where he mostly doesn’t talk about sake at all. Our theme music is from Lotus Lane by The Loyalist - Preconceived Notions Available at https://soundcloud.com/preconceived-notions Under a Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported— CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lotus-lane Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/1YVHRMVwwHg

This time, Andy and Jim take another regional dive and head to snow country: Niigata. With more sake breweries than any other prefecture, its once-hidden brands like Koshi no Kanbai and Hakkaisan are now nearly universally known to sake fans. How did this out-of-the-way region become the source of so much sought-after sake? Two words: Jizake Boom. Listen in and get some history of how Niigata sake and changes in the late-20th century sake market go hand in hand. Kanpai! Vocab for this episode Hōrō 琺瑯 - Enamel coating on metal, in this case fermentation and storage tanks. Kasubuai 粕歩合- The ratio of rice solids left after sake fermentation, expressed as a percentage of the initial weight of rice used. Sake no Jin 酒の陣 - A famed Niigata sake festival held in March. Tanrei Karakuchi 淡麗辛口 - Usually translated something like “light and dry,” this is a style of sake popularized by Niigata breweries in the latter half of the 20th century. It was lighter and drier than previously popular sake styles, and shared some characteristics of what we now call ginjō-style brewing, i.e. low and slow fermentation. Recommendations: Andy - Secchubai Honjōzō Jim - Koshi no Kanbai White Label Jōsen Don’t forget to support us on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/SakeDeepDive Also, check out Andy’s websites at: https://www.originsake.com/ and https://www.originsaketours.com Find Jim at his website www.JimRion.com, where he mostly doesn’t talk about sake at all. Our theme music is from Lotus Lane by The Loyalist - Preconceived Notions Available at https://soundcloud.com/preconceived-notions Under a Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported— CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lotus-lane Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/1YVHRMVwwHg