Sake or Saki

[Taylor-MadeAK]

I've been reading this thread and suddenly i have an urge to make Sake.

Then my subliminal messages have been successful!

 

[Boozehag]

I cant wait to start too. Ill post more when I have something to report back on.

Allie Id take you up on the offer but think its a good excuse to come visit instead!
Need to free up some carboys and a primary first too.

I have a rice steamer and everything else, just need the Koji

 

[St Allie]

Heheheh Coll..

I look forward to you visiting..Will save the best of the apple wine for you!

Off topic somewhat.. considering people here actually WANT to make sake...

Ghastly stuff!.. I really don't like sake at all..


Allie

 

[Taylor-MadeAK]

Off topic somewhat.. considering people here actually WANT to make sake...

Ghastly stuff!.. I really don't like sake at all..

If you're referring to the served-hot-and-tastes-faintly-toxic saké served at your local sushi ya, then it's no wonder you say it's ghastly - that's the bottom shelf stuff! I assert that you've yet to taste a chilled glass of junmai ginjo ("all rice" "premium") saké, which can easily be remedied by a visit to a reputable local liquor store. I doubt that my personal favorite (Momokawa Diamond) is available there in New Zealand, but Ozeki makes a reasonably decent product and that brand is pretty ubiquitous. Just remember: junmai ginjo, and if you have the option, start with a saké with a SMV range of 0 to -3.

Do you like beer? How about light continental styles like kölsch? A well made homebrew saké is a lot like a well made kölsch in its flavor and aroma profile: it's bitter, grainy, faintly fruity, and (in it's genshu undiluted state) warming. It can also range from very dry to very sweet, though I tend to prefer mine on the dry side.

 

[Boozehag]

Lol. Ghastley stuff, I think not! i have enjoyed some premium sake at times and taylor, have to say Ive never had sake hot...do they really do that???? Sounds like mulled wine as in not nice!!!!!

Ill intro Allie to the good stuff, bet she'll change her mind about it then!!!

 

[Taylor-MadeAK]

Hot saké is all too common, unfortunately. Here in Anchorage sushi ya and Japanese restaurants in general are experiencing something of a boom, and every one of them will bring you a steaming tokkuri if you fail to specify that you prefer your saké chilled. They also want a disproportionately large amount of money for their saké, which absolutely blows my mind: I can buy a 750 ml bottle of some of the best junmai ginjo saké I've ever tasted (the American made Momokawa Diamond) at my local liquor store for $11 USD, but my favorite Japanese restaurant wants $25 for a bottle of Ozeki!

Fortunately, I'm friends with the Koren folks who own the place, and they like my saké...so I never get yelled at for bringing in my own bottle if I want some with my sushi.

 

[kiljoy]

In my book, "Windows on the World: Complete Wine Course", the author states that the standard practice for a restaurant is to charge (per glass), what they paid for the bottle (wholesale).

As for ordering Saki; we ordered it warmed in a Thai restaurant. When they bought it, it was hot, but the container was ice cold. They must have microwaved it, then put it back in the chilled containers.

 

[St Allie]

Yes it was served hot.. yucky!

I shall have to try it again.

Allie

 

[Taylor-MadeAK]

'Atta girl!

My wife says she doesn't like saké either, but she'll drink my ginjo saké.

 

[Boozehag]

Hey Taylor, I found an asian supermarket here but they are more geared up for Chinese people rather than Japanese so didnt know what Koji is. I explained what I was looking for and they showed me a glass jar with fermented rice in it, I couldnt see any name on it that was in English so thought I should come back and ask if Im on the right track or should I wait until I can find actual koji?

Ive been cleaning out my bottles that Ive set aside for my sake and shopping around for sake cups and a decanter....I want it to look good!

Oh and second question, how long from the start of making it can you drink sake?

 

[Taylor-MadeAK]

Hey Taylor, I found an asian supermarket here but they are more geared up for Chinese people rather than Japanese so didnt know what Koji is. I explained what I was looking for and they showed me a glass jar with fermented rice in it, I couldnt see any name on it that was in English so thought I should come back and ask if Im on the right track or should I wait until I can find actual koji?

Almost impossible for me to say without seeing a picture of the product in question. If they're geared toward Chinese, you could ask if it's "qū meí jūn." Also, since it's a glass jar, you can just inspect the product to see if it looks like koji.

Ive been cleaning out my bottles that Ive set aside for my sake and shopping around for sake cups and a decanter....I want it to look good!

Just remember: real sake is yellow. With that in mind, I rather like this glass sake set (browse that web site, there are a lot of really sexy sake sets there!) for presenting and serving my sake to guests. If I'm drinking by myself, though, I usually stick with my masu. I also find that nothing beats a shot glass for giving a small sample to someone who has never tried sake before.

Oh and second question, how long from the start of making it can you drink sake?

It's about six weeks from the start of moto to the day you bottle and re-pasteurize clear sake - about the same as for your average beer, actually, but you don't have to wait for sake to bottle condition. It does benefit from a few months of aging, however, so I generally don't open my first bottle from a batch until about 5 months after I started making it.

 

[Boozehag]

oh thanks so much for sharing that information.

I think I like the set of sakeware that you showed first the best! Second is this one set just because its a bit random!
I remember drinking sake at a friends house years ago and he had a proper set which made the experience even more enriching. I dont think it would be so special out of ordinary glasses...but agreed shot glasses are perfect for sampling anyway!!!!

Ill go ask the shop people tomorrow if that stuff they showed me is "qū meí jūn." It certainly looks like that picture you showed me.
How much is it you need for a one gallon batch? Oh I can check your site for that cant i?!?

 

[Boozehag]

Oh and I forgot to say, the mesu looks difficult to drink out of....is it??? Do you spill any out the sides? My friend has square coffee cups and we all agreed we couldnt drink out of them properly!! Mybe sake is easier!!!!

 

[Taylor-MadeAK]

Ill go ask the shop people tomorrow if that stuff they showed me is "qū meí jūn." It certainly looks like that picture you showed me.
How much is it you need for a one gallon batch? Oh I can check your site for that cant i?!?

You'll need 20 ounces for a half batch of sake (yields ~1.5 gal).

Oh and I forgot to say, the mesu looks difficult to drink out of....is it??? Do you spill any out the sides? My friend has square coffee cups and we all agreed we couldnt drink out of them properly!! Mybe sake is easier!!!!

Drinking out of a masu isn't difficult at all. The trick is not to attempt to drink from the side - drink from a corner.

 

[Boozehag]

Yikes, think Ill wait until I can get up to Auckland, the stuff here is $8.00 NZD for 250gm

 

[Taylor-MadeAK]

Google says the exchange rate for NZD to USD is 1:0.6037, which sounds about right to me given the amount of koji you need. I pay $8.00 USD per 20 ounce tub of koji here in Alaska, which works out to pretty close to what you're looking at paying for the ~500 gm you need.

I dunno, maybe you'll find it cheaper up in Auckland, but I'm just saying that what they're asking for it isn't unreasonable in my limited experience.

 

[Boozehag]

Gosh didnt read that properly, for some reasons I thuogth I needed about 5 times that amount! That seems much better. Ill go buy some then!
Finally have a day I can do stuff with so Im off to sort that now!
Thanks for your help and patience!

 

[arcticsid]

Coll, becareful with that sake, if you start posting in here in Japanese, I will become quite worried about you. LOL Also I heard drinking from a square glass something that was made in a round vessel may not always turn out as planned especially if it dribbles out the edge.

Furansugo o hanishimsu ka?
Troy

 

[Taylor-MadeAK]

Hey, no worries, it's totally understandable that the conversions woul throw anyone off. You said you want to make a half batch to start with, and that will require 20 ounces of koji if you're following my recipe. Converting that to metric for you yields 20 ounces = 567 grams, rounding off to the nearest whole gram.

 

[Boozehag]

Taylor I have converted your receipe to 1/3, thankfully you have it in metric so its easy to convert. I only have 54.5litre or 23 litre carboys so thought Id start off with the smaller one and see what thats like.

My friend who doesnt drink wine is keen to try the sake so Im making it a priority over my other wines its todays mission to get started! Ill be reading the pages on your site many times while I create it, so I dont get it wrong. Its a great guide you have created, thank you for all the info. Ill keep you posted with my progress!

Troy, what the????? Even google translater didnt know what you said!!!!