A good revision answer does more than name kōji. It explains what kōji supplies, what those enzymes do and why a brewer might manage them differ
Continue ReadingSake Fermentation Explained: Yeast, Fermentation Starters, and Temperature
A tank can be busy making sugar and using it up at the same time. That is the central trick of sake fermentation. Kōji enzymes release fermentabl
Continue ReadingKōji Explained: How Mould Turns Rice Starch into Sugar
Rice is full of potential alcohol, but yeast cannot collect it directly. The starch is packaged in molecules that ordinary brewing yeast cannot fe
Continue ReadingMultiple Parallel Fermentation Explained: How Sake Produces Alcohol
The sugar supply is being made while the yeast is spending it. That is the essential idea behind multiple parallel fermentation, the process at th
Continue ReadingSō-haze vs. Tsuki-haze Kōji: How Mould Growth Influences Sake
A rice grain covered in white growth can be exactly what a brewer wants. A grain with white growth in separated patches can also be exactly what a
Continue ReadingKōji Production Explained: Enzymes, Mould Cultivation, and Brewing Science
The rice looks quiet. The brewer keeps checking it anyway. In kōji production, a small living population is building an enzyme supply that will h
Continue ReadingRice Polishing and Preparation Explained: Washing, Soaking, and Steaming
The number gets smaller as the work increases. A rice polishing ratio of 60% means the brewery has kept 60% of the original brown rice by weight,
Continue ReadingSake Rice Explained: Varieties, Growing Conditions, and Grain Structure
A brewer looks at rice and sees questions a cook might never ask. Will the grains survive substantial polishing? How predictably will they absorb
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