A Live Guide To Brewing Sake

[afromaiko]

$7 for 200g? Ouch.. I'm attempting to make over 1kg tomorrow for less than that price... Now you have me nervous

Edit: Complete the sentence, Adam.

Yeah you can make up a stack of it if you have the spores (koji-kin or koji-tane) plus some good quality sushi rice (try Koshihikari or Akita Komachi) and some patience. But the premade stuff is like K&K for sake and good for a first step as it takes out some of the variables.

Usually you use about 1 part koji (also called kome-koji) to 3 parts plain steamed rice.

Grain & Grape sell the spores too, Chris is the man to talk to about it there.

 

[Adamt]

I've got 25g of spores so I am set for a while!

Might as well do it and get it right the first time... just like brewing beer

 

[afromaiko]

I've got 25g of spores so I am set for a while!

Might as well do it and get it right the first time... just like brewing beer

I got my spores from the same place as you, they for last ages but also take note of that link I posted above. It recommends that if you are unsure or have less than perfect (ie: not professional) koji growing conditions then you should use more spores. They say to use up to 18.8g per 1kg of rice when making at home. The professionals have got it down pat so they can get away with using a lot less.

Now if only I had a rice polishing machine...

 

[Adamt]

Cheers mate, I may just chuck a little extra koji-kin in the mix.

Reckon my conical burr coffee grinder, or marga mill will do the job polishing rice? Hahahaha.

 

[Wasabi]

I can give you my one tip from my Sake making days.

It may seem really, really obvious.

Don't use jasmine rice.

The ferment went really well, the sake was clear, it came in at 11%......but......it tasted like marzipan.

 

[Adamt]

Just a bump for those interested that missed it the first time around.

Currently I'm building my starter and things seem to be going to plan. Plenty of pictures in my AHB blog.

Cheers!

 

[afromaiko]

Just a bump for those interested that missed it the first time around.

Currently I'm building my starter and things seem to be going to plan. Plenty of pictures in my AHB blog.

Cheers!

Coming along nicely!

You may have more success with your kome-koji if you spread it out after a couple of days and rake little furrows in it to help release the heat so the koji-kin doesn't die off. If you missed it the first time around take a look at this link.. http://www.ajiwai.com/otoko/make/kouj_fr.htm

 

[Adamt]

Nice, I did have a brief look at that page but trying to read the Japanese gave me a headache! I did pull the rice balls out twice daily, broke them up and reformed them, which hopefully should have done that for me.

I've bookmarked it; I reckon I might attempt a good read of it before next batch!

Cheers

 

[afromaiko]

Nice, I did have a brief look at that page but trying to read the Japanese gave me a headache! I did pull the rice balls out twice daily, broke them up and reformed them, which hopefully should have done that for me.

I've bookmarked it; I reckon I might attempt a good read of it before next batch!

Cheers

Hey here's another link I just found with good pics:

http://outdoor.geocities.jp/inaguraman/sho.../komekouji.html

 

[Fermented]

Any news on the sake?

Sorry to push - I know you're busy - but this is rather exciting to me, a hardened Gekkeikan fan.

Cheers - Fermented.

 

[afromaiko]

Any news on the sake?

Sorry to push - I know you're busy - but this is rather exciting to me, a hardened Gekkeikan fan.

Cheers - Fermented.

Actually I'm in the kitchen pasteurizing a finished batch right at the moment!

 

[mb83]

I've been wondering about all this old cooked rice sitting around.
Is there any chance of food poisoning and culturing nasties?
Rice is supposed to be one of the worst offenders when it comes to giving people food poisoning.

Just curious,

Michael

 

[Fermented]

afromaiko: Cool! Love to read your tasting notes when the time comes.

mb83: Rice isn't so bad as long as you handle it properly.

Cook it, cool it out a bit and then get it into the fridge to eat within two days (covered with Gladwrap or sealed in a container) or press it into loosely packed single serve blocks (sized to match your rice bowl for easy nuking) wrapped well in Gladwrap for freezing for up to a couple of weeks.

Where folk get into trouble is leaving an open pot on the bench for more than a couple of hours or more than four hours in a rice cooker. That can make you get rather crook at the best of times and very high chance of being really crook in summer.

Cheers - Fermented.

 

[taylor-madeak]

I am summoned! :lol:

 

[Adamt]

Finally I've got off my lazy rear end and done something with my sake! I separated it from the lees yesterday... which was an absolute pain-in-the-arse! Got about 9L out of it so slightly under target but anyway...

It's now sitting in my chest freezer (at 4C) "lagering"... bottling and pasteurising in a week or so.

Welcome Taylor-Made... good to have you on board! Your guide is the duck's nuts.

 

[afromaiko]

I am summoned! :lol:

LOL! :lol:

You know, you really need to start your own sake forum on your website.

Now I don't know which forum I should reply to you on.

 

[taylor-madeak]

Welcome Taylor-Made... good to have you on board! Your guide is the duck's nuts.

Duck's nuts? Is that a good thing? Or is it Ozzie slang for "go soak yer head?" :lol:

You know, you really need to start your own sake forum on your website.

Now I don't know which forum I should reply to you on.

That's what comments are for.

You can reply to me anywhere, really. I check NB most frequently, but every other forum I usually have set to send me an e-mail when I get replies. If nothing else, you can always send me an e-mail through the contact form on my web site. I watch my e-mail like a hawk during the day, so you're likely to get an immediate response that way (within reason, remember I'm on the other side of the planet from you).

 

[Adamt]

Haha... it means "the bee's knees", "creme de la creme", "the best!"

 

[afromaiko]

Here's pic of my recently finished sake. After straining, I ran this through the usual 1 micron absolute beer filter, but unfortunately I only got about 2 litres before it clogged solid. So the rest of the batch was bottle up cloudy as nigori. Tasting.. slight sour taste, but fairly neutral sweetness at FG 1.000. I'd prefer it a bit sweeter myself. Heated seems to be the go, rather than chilled. The nigori seems a bit mellower tasting though. Bit of alcohol kick to it so I'd put it somewhere around 15%.

 

[Adamt]

Groovy! You started well after me and finished before me. I would've thought it would get a lot further below 1.000; it's pretty dry and >15%...

I think your dog is wondering why you bottled your urine! Hahahaha...

EDIT: Oh yeah, what kind of method did you use? Mr Taylor's?