Kiuchi Brewery, producer of world class sakes, spirits, wines and the famous Hitachino Nest beers, have recently finished a great expansion to their facility and would love to show you around! Enjoy!
Sake
Sake isn’t just with fish any more: Dry Aged Ribeye
I was going a bit stir-crazy, what with the cold & the snow. Sure, braising is great for the winter months but I had a taste for grilled meat. I wheeled my trusty Ducane into the garage, and treated myself to a beautiful 45-day dry-aged ribeye. Cooked to perfection. But what to pair with it?
Wine wasn’t going to fly this time; perusing the beer cellar led to some interesting possibilities, but my attention locked on the last of a bottle of the vintage Kikusakari Gekkakow sake – a junmai daiginjo that might do nicely. That it is koshu – cold matured for over three years in stainless steel – just added to the intrigue: an aged piece of beef with a rare, aged sake.
The pairing was transcendent…
The chilled sake (preferred over room temperature, and never heated thankyouverymuch) quickly reminded me of the cold outside – but it was the texture, the mouthfeel, the umami that grabbed me. The beautifully marbled steak dissolved on the palate, with the velvety sake mimicking that texture and cleansing the taste buds between bites — the unctuous beef coating the tongue, but distributing the sake flavors before dissolving. A sake crisp enough to stand up to the bold flavors of the aged meat, yet clean enough to allow the steak to be the star.
The sake’s touch of anise complemented the black pepper dusting, while pineapple, nectarine & coconut nuances hinted at the tropics and the warmer weather to come. Perfect. An unexpected dimension to the meal. These are very traditional flavors for daiginjo sake, and are delivered to virtual perfection by this one.
The Kiuchi’s know how to brew; most recently known for the Hitachino Nest line of beer, they have been brewing sake for far longer – for nearly 200 years, since 1823. Brewed during the Tokugawa shogunate (yes, that far back), Kikusakari sake was born as a tribute to the emporer; “Kiku-“, chrysanthemum, is the crest of the imperial household while “-sakari” is “the property of”. There you go: a beverage fit for the emporer!
The sake is finely polished, with a seimaibuai of 40%. Only the best Yamada Nishiki rice is used. It is very slightly dry with a nihonshudo (SMV) of +3; for those who care, this is a measurement of the sweetness/dryness. The ‘pressing’ is accomplished via shizuku – gentle dripping from a canvas bag. At 17% abv it is best enjoyed in moderation, sharing a bottle over dinner with the closest of friends.
So in my quest to explore more interesting pairings, I eschew the predictable! Trust the finest of sake with the finest of beef. Next time? We play with some slow-cooked barbecued ribs.
Sake isn’t just with fish any more.
Sake… How is it made?
What is Sake?
Sugitama Sake is a fermented alcohol beverage made from rice, water, koji(enzyme), and yeast, classified in the same category with wine and beer. History of sake dates back to 300 A.D., after the practice of wet rice cultivation was introduced from China.
Sake is brewed with an unique fermentation process called “multiple parallel fermentation” where Saccharification and alcohol fermentation occur at the same time. This process gives sake complexity in flavor and a alcohol content up to 18% that is higher than any other fermented beverages in the world.
How Sake is Made
Rice Polishing (Seimai)
The Sake Rice (sakamai) is first polished (milled). Polishing must be gentle to avoid cracking the rice kernels, and must be done slowly to avoid too much heat being generated. The quality of the rice’s polishing is based on the grade of sake it will produce. More polished for a higher grade sake.
Washing & Soaking (Senmai & Shinseki)
The rice powder (nuka) is washed from the polished rice. Nuka contains unfermentable acids and fats that produce undesirable flavors and cause hangovers. The kernels are then soaked to absorb water. The more the rice is polished, the less time it takes to absorb water. Time for soaking can range from one minute to overnight.
Steaming (Mushi)
Steaming The rice is then put in a steaming vat (koshiki) and steam is pumped up from the bottom of the vat through all the kernels. This produces cooked rice with a harder outer shell and a softer inside. A small portion of cooked rice is removed and cooled, set aside to be seeded with a special mold spores (koji-kin).
Koji
Next koji-kin , a black powdered mold (Asperillus Oryzae), is sprinkled over the cooled, steamed rice and propagated in a warm humid room. The molded rice (koji) is stirred regularly while the temperature and humidity is strictly controlled for the 36-50 hour duration of this process. The end product will look like rice with frosting on it. The koji will now have a sweet chestnut aroma.
The Yeast (Moto/Shubo)
The koji is then mixed with the plain, steamed rice, water and pure yeast. This mixture is known as shubo. Shubo is matured for two weeks, over which time it will develop about 100 million yeast cells/teaspoon.
Moromi
The shubo is transferred to a large fermentation tank where more rice, koji, and water are added in three stages over four days. Each addition roughly doubles the batch size. This is now the moromi, or the main mash. The moromi is now fermented at a closely monitored temperature for the next 18-32 days. For lower grade and honjozo sakes this is the point where alcohol would be added.
Pressing (Joso)
Sake Pressing The moromi is now loaded into canvas bags where it will undergo pressing (Joso). Joso will mostly be done mechanically in an accordian-like press, or more traditionally in a long wood box with a top that can be pressed down like a vise (known as a FUNE). For ultra high-end sakes the extraction of the clear sake will be achieved by letting it all drain out on its own without any pressing.
Filtering & Pasteurization (Roka & Hi-ire)
The sake is now allowed to be refined by resting. Then, the sake is drawn off of any settled, remaining sediment and filtered through charcoal. Most sake is pasteurized at this point by running it through a pipe submerged in hot water. Now, the sake is aged for around six months (depending on the type of sake and the brewery’s method). Sake is usually diluted at this point from 20% alcohol down to 16% using pure, clean water. One last pasteurization now stabilizes the sake’s actively fermenting enzymes before the sake is bottled.
The Zymatore Project
The Zymatore Project is our endeavor to create liquids of unheard flavors and aromas that destroy the boundaries of beer, wine, mead, cider & spirits through barrel aging and blending.
Using barrels of the highest quality and pedigree from acknowledged leaders in the wine & distillation crafts we take beers, meads & ciders to new and unexplored levels.
What may seem like unlikely combinations of liquids & barrels are designed to create new flavors & aromas that transcend conventional definitions.
The first ingredient of all of our Zymatore blends are our world class beers & meads from all around the world! We work directly with the cooperation of our breweries from around the world. All of the beers & meads that are used in the Zymatore project were used with the permissions of the breweries involved.
One of the most important ingredients of all is time! While combining fantastic ingredients is a very important part of the process, patience and allowing the products enough time to develop is just as important. It is extremely easy to be tempted to take a product out of the barrel before it has reached a fantastic level of complexity. This is due to a number of reasons: (1) Giving up to early on the development cycle of the product & (2) Being worried that the product has achieved it’s highest level and will now develop in an out of balance and worse character. One of the most interesting aspects that we have learned so far is that flavor development is very sporadic. For weeks or even months very little will happen and then over a period of 2 – 3 weeks flavor will start to change dramatically, only to once again slow down.
All Zymatore beers will have a final fermentation in keg, cask or bottle conditioning. We accomplish this by pitching yeast and increasing the residual sugar in the beer with the addition of sugar, syrup or wort. After the beer is packaged it will mature in our warm room for 2-3 weeks at 68-77 F depending on the product. During this period the yeast will consume the residual sugar creating CO2 and the desired level of carbonation. This final fermentation will also add additional flavors from the yeast.
Currently we are releasing Zymatore products in kegs, casks & occasionally bottles.
An ever changing experience and experiment, no two batches will ever be the same.
For more information please visit B. United International Inc.