Photo by Daren Epstein
Tokyo abounds with interesting places to try various sake from
around Japan

iving in Japan provides a foreign traveler or resident an opportunity to experience one of the great alcoholic beverages of the world. The stuff of myth, legend and misunderstanding, Japan’s national drink, sake, can be enjoyed here like no other place on earth.

However, in order to maximize one’s enjoyment of the sake experience, one must be familiar with a few basic principles of intelligent consumption. What follows is more or less a sake primer that can be referred to as a starting point for further exploration and research.

What is sake?

In Japan, the word sake and the associated Japanese kanji character means alcoholic beverage. What we know in the West as sake is in fact called Nihonshu in Japan, although in casual conversation Japanese usually use the term sake or O sake, especially when dealing with foreigners. Nihonshu is a beverage consisting of rice, water and yeast. The cheaper versions found in convenience stores are usually futsushu and use table rice in the brewing process.

Higher grades will use rice specifically grown for making Nihonshu known as sakamai. There are many different types of sakamai grown in different regions of Japan. Likewise, there are many different types of yeast used in the brewing process. All rice and yeast used have certain characteristics and brewers around Japan use different combinations to produce different flavour profiles.

What are the different grades of sake?

Sake, like most other alcoholic beverages, comes in different grades. The difference in grades is primarily determined by the amount that the brewer has chosen to polish the grains of rice to achieve a classification standard and taste effect. Rice polishing itself refers to the process of polishing off the unwanted fats and proteins in the rice grains that are responsible for the less desirable taste attributes.

What is left behind is the highly prized starch concentrated in the center of the grain. This percentage of the grain remaining for brewing is referred to a semai buai. In general the more that the rice has been polished the more refined the taste will be and accordingly the sake will usually be more expensive.

The grades one will want to be familiar with to take advantage of being in Japan are honjozo and ginjo. Honjozo refers to sake that contains rice that has been polished to 70% or less whereas ginjo has been polished an additional 10% to achieve a semai buai of 60%. If the brewer chooses to polish the rice even further to at least 50% or less of the grain remaining, the sake is referred to as daiginjo.

Honjozo, ginjo, and daiginjo may all have a certain percentage of distilled alcohol added to their ingredients to further change the taste. However, if the sake has a classification of junmaishu, the sake will only be composed of rice, water and yeast. The debate over what is better, sake with or without distilled alcohol, will rage for millennia. In the end, what one prefers is always a matter of taste.

What should I expect from a bottle? A matter of taste.

There are many Japanese terms associated with the taste of sake which all are beyond a Sake 101 article and require further research by the budding connoisseur. However, a little science can go a long way in helping to predict at least two crucial elements of a sake’s profile. One is its Sake Meter Value (SMV) known in Japanese as Nihonshudo; the other is the sake’s acidity or sando.

The SMV is used to determine whether the sake is dry or sweet. On the SMV scale, those sake with an SMV in the direction of +7 are classified as dry, whereas those trending in the direction of -6 are regarded as sweet. As far as acidity is concerned, generally higher acidity contributes to a drier taste profile whereas a lower acidity may contribute to additional body or heaviness.

The important thing for the consumer to realize is that SMV and acidity factors are usually provided on the label and offer a starting point for understanding what the trends of that sake may be. However, those enamoured with numbers will soon be disappointed as a myriad of other, less tangible factors contribute to how a sake will end up tasting.

To heat or not to heat?

Many a foreigner arriving in Japan has had limited interaction with Japanese sake and what experience they did have may not have been entirely positive. The piping-hot futsushu brought to our table at the combination Japanese/ Chinese restaurant somewhere in the Mid-West hardly counts as being representative of what this fine brew is really all about. After all, who likes hot alcohol?

In fact the rules regarding serving temperature vary according to what the brewer was trying to achieve in his flavour profile and what the drinker may prefer. For example the brewer may have produced a sake to be consumed warmed so as to remove tastes one might find unpleasant at cooler temperatures. Similarly, high-quality ginjos are most often consumedchilled so one can absorb their inherent, unadulterated qualities.

No matter what the intent for a particular sake is, under no circumstance is it to be served hot. The safest course of action is to do some research about the sake and how it is best served, or ask the proprietor for their recommendation. In the instance where one is given a bottle as a gift and therefore is hesitant to open it for fear of committing a faux pas, start out by drinking it highly chilled right out of the fridge and allow it to open before you as it traverses the temperature range. If it fails to satisfy try heating it in a sake warmer. If after all that, the sake fails to impress, then move on to another bottle – life is too short.

What should I drink nihonshu in? Glassware.

Just as fine wine tastes better in a great glass, so does sake when consumed in a nice piece of Japanese pottery. Of course it is certainly proper to prefer a wine glass for drinking sake, but while you are visiting or living in Japan, why not take the opportunity to covet, buy and use those elements of Japanese craftsmanship designed to maximize the sake experience.

Perhaps the most well-known sake vessel is at the same time the least functional. These tiny cups or ochoko are usually used in a group gathering to facilitate the communal Japanese custom of pouring for each other. Drinking at a sake pub, or at home is quite another matter and requires more serious vessels. The guinomi, a much larger drinking cup, fits the bill nicely.

One can find all manner of nice guinomi from famous makers at any large department store such a Takashimaya or Isetan. Another more fun option is to take a sake vessel adventure to a pottery town such as Mashiko in Tochigi Prefecture. There one can collect all manner of items that will be sure to become family heirlooms.

Two larger-sized drinking cups (guinomi) and their matching sake flask (tokkuri).
These are Mashiko pottery purchased in Mashiko, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan.

What should I try? Recommendations

There are so many great sakes available in Japan it is difficult to select just a few to begin the journey. Moreover, any such list is sure to be subject to debate and criticism. However, no Sake 101 would be complete without a few suggested brews and this author will personally stand behind those listed below. These recommendations are based on quality and availability.

1. Dewazakura Dewa 33: (Yamagata Prefecture) SMV +4, Acidity 1.4. This is one of my perennial low-cost favourites. It is a junmai ginjoshu that is fruity and floral with a taste of pineapple and berries and a hint of melon. This is widely available and will set you back a mere 1300 yen or so for the small 720ml bottle. (small green bottle on the right of the photo)
   
   
2. Koku-ryu: (Fukui Prefecture) SMV +3, Acidity 1.4. This is one of my all time favourite junmai ginjoshu’s without reservation. The fact that it is very attractive at less that 3000 yen for an 1800ml bottle (issho-bin) is enough to make me think, “why spend more”? Very aromatic with a fruity flavour containing the essence of pears, melon and a hint of liquorice. Widely available. (the big brown bottle in the middle of the photograph)
   
3. Kuro-ushi: (Wakayama Prefecture) SMV +3, Acidity 1.6. Lighter in profile than the other two, one can detect more of a rice taste accented with the fruity overtones associated with its junmai ginjoshu pedigree. The most costly of the bunch still a very reasonable 3700 yen for an issho-bin. (the small green bottle on the left of the photo)

From left to right: Kuro-ushi, Koku-ryu, and Dewazakura Dewa 33 (pronounced san san).

Where should I buy and try? Stores and bars.

There are endless places to buy and try sake, especially in Tokyo. For a more comprehensive list, check out the titles in the below listed reference section.

Two highly recommended specialty shops, however, are: Ajinomachidaya (1-49-12 Kamitakada, Nakano, Tokyo – Tel. 03-3389-4551 – Japanese only) and Mitsuya (2-28-15 Nishi-Ogikubo Minami, Suginami-ku, Tokyo Tel. 03-3334-7447).

Two great places to try a great variety of sake are the sake pubs: Sake no Ana (Ginza Rangetsu Building B1 3-5-8 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo Tel. 03-3567-1133) and Akaoni (2-15-3 Sangenjaya, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo Tel. 03-3410-9918).

Resources

This article barely touches the surface of what one really should know about sake in order to enjoy it to its utmost. With the help of a few resources anyone with patience and a willingness to experiment can take advantage of the universe of sake that exists in Japan.

No serious research on sake in English can be undertaken without using the wealth of knowledge provided by John Gauntner. The man who introduced me to sake, and my instructor during his Sake Professional’s Course, John is widely regarded as the Sake Evangelist. John regularly conducts seminars in Tokyo geared at bringing neophytes into the fold. Take advantage of his website and look for his articles in the Japan Times and Metropolis. Additionally, John’s The Sake Handbook and The Sake Companion are essential reading.

Philip Harper, the only non-Japanese brew master (toji) in a Japanese sake brewery (kura), is another critical resource. His The Insiders Guide to Sake is perhaps the most comprehensive technical primer to the ways of making sake. It is also a handy pocket-size and contains voluminous recommendations.

For information about Japanese pottery look no further than Rob Yellin’s website. Rob is an accomplished potter and historian of all things relating to Japanese pottery. He frequently appears at seminars with John Gauntner.

For those who are leaving Japan for the United States and are afraid that their addiction may come to an end consult Beau Timken’s True Sake.

This should be enough to set you on the path to sake bliss. Take advantage of your time in Japan by doing a little research, travel, and drinking, drinking, drinking.

Look for more of Daren’s ramblings at www.gaijinphoto.com

Photos by Daren Epstein