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duction method that combines the
processes of saccharization and
fermentation to boost the alcoholic
content to 20%. Sake is the only fer-
mented alcohol in the world for which
this is done.
Records from the
Muromachi period
(approx. 1337 to 1573)
show that a pasteuri-
zation process dubbed
hi-ire was being used
in the sake making
process long before
Louis Pasteur was
even born. During
this process, pressed
sake is heated to
64 degrees Cel-
sius before being
stored in contain-
ers. The heat
kills any bacteria
and halts all
enzyme activ-
ity to bring out
a more mature
flavor in the
sake.
Along with
these tech-
niques brew-
ers began
employing
the process
of lactic acid
fermentation.
The brewers
would add
koji, water
and steamed
rice together
in a mashing
process to
create the
shubo (yeast
starter). While the
yeast grew in the
shubo, the lactic acid
inhibited microbial con-
tamination.
As brewing methods evolved,
the mass production of sake be-
came possible. By the seventeenth
century, sake production had moved
beyond the confines of the shrines
and temples to become the province
of skilled artisans wholly dedicated to
the craft of brewing.
Rice shortages during World War II
and the immediate postwar period
forced brewers to find ways to fill the
gap, like adding alcohol to the sake.
Today the notion of “local produc-
tion for local consumption” is fueling
another kind of trend in the world of
sake production. Sake makers in dif-
ferent regions are leveraging the skills
and assets they have close at hand to
cultivate new varieties of sake rice and
unique types of sake yeast to be used
in fermenting sake for a new age.
Tradition and Custom
Although Western style clothing is
the norm in Japan today and West-
ern foods have been wholly incorpo-
rated into the Japanese dining table,
ancient customs
still
prevail when
it comes
to
those mile-
stone events
in people’s
lives. When
ushering in
the New Year,
or celebrating
those special mo-
ments
in their
children’s lives,
the
Japanese even now observe
certain age-old traditions and sake
is usually somewhere at the center of
them. Here we will look at the connec-
tions between sake and the different
occasions that punctuate the year in
Japan, a country blessed with four
distinct seasons.
Spring
Momo-no-sekku, “the peach festi-
val” (March 3rd)
Elaborate displays of special dolls
are set up on this day in honor of little
girls who are toasted with momozake
(peach sake) in hopes
that they grow to be
healthy adults. In
recent years shiro-
zake (cloudy sake) or
amazake (sweet sake)
has been gaining in
popularity over the tra-
ditional momozake.
Tango-no-sekku
(May 5th)
Custom calls for
flying carp-shaped
streamers called ko-
inobori, displaying
special