Sake guides
Every sake guide in one place — 14 in all. Read the overviews for free; the deeper material comes with a subscription.
Production
Fermentation
A study guide to sake fermentation — the shubo starter, kimoto, yamahai and sokujo, the three-stage main mash, sake yeasts, and how temperature sets the style.
Read guide →How Sake Is Made
A study guide to how sake is brewed — the four ingredients, multiple parallel fermentation, and the six steps from polished rice to the finished bottle.
Read guide →Kōji
A study guide to kōji — the mould that makes sake possible, the enzymes it secretes, sō-haze versus tsuki-haze, and how the kōji room shapes style.
Read guide →Pressing & Finishing
A study guide to what happens after fermentation — pressing and its fractions, filtration, pasteurisation and the nama family, dilution, maturation and blending.
Read guide →Sake Rice & Polishing
A study guide to sake rice — the sake-specific varieties, the shinpaku starch heart, and how the polishing ratio (seimai-buai) shapes style and quality.
Read guide →Winemaking & Styles
Grades of Sake
A study guide to the grades of sake — futsu-shu versus premium, the eight special-designation grades, and the two axes of polishing ratio and added alcohol.
Read guide →Reading a Sake Label
A study guide to reading a sake label — the essential kanji, the labelling terms kimoto, yamahai, muroka, nama and genshu, and what SMV and acidity tell you.
Read guide →Speciality Styles
A study guide to sake's speciality styles — nigori, nama-zake, sparkling, taru-zake, kijoshu and koshu — and the production choices that create each one.
Read guide →Tasting & Evaluating Sake
A study guide to tasting sake — the scales of sweetness, acidity, umami, fruitiness and intensity, how to run a calibration flight, and reading style in the glass.
Read guide →Regions & Industry
A History of Sake
A study guide to the history of sake — from chewed-rice kuchikami and temple brewing to Edo-era Nada, Meiji taxation, the ginjo boom and UNESCO recognition.
Read guide →Sake Regions of Japan
A study guide to Japan's sake regions — Nada and Fushimi, hard versus soft water, Niigata's dry style, the Tohoku ginjo belt, and the toji brewing guilds.
Read guide →The Sake Industry
A study guide to the sake industry — the trade organisations that regulate and promote sake, and its commercial importance at home and in export markets.
Read guide →Storage & Service
Sake Faults & Food Pairing
A study guide to sake faults — oxidation, hine, light damage and microbial spoilage — and the principles of pairing sake with food using umami, intensity and sweetness.
Read guide →Storing & Serving Sake
A study guide to storing and serving sake — ideal storage, the ten named serving temperatures from yuki-hie to atsu-kan, warming methods, and the vessels.
Read guide →