Sake Glossary

SAKE GLOSSARY ~

Here are just a few words from a very extensive list. There are some great resources available both online and in book format if you are looking at diving deeper into the world and words of sake.

Arabashiri 

refers to the first run or ‘free run’ of fresh sake, using only gravity and the weight of the bag/sack containing the liquid before any added pressure is used to press the sake

Aruten

sake made using the addition of brewers alcohol 

Atsukan

a often used to describe hot sake, however there are words used for different temperatures when heating sake ~ atsukan is traditionally 50 degrees celsius

Bodaimoto

refers to an ancient and complex fermentation starter method that pre-dates kimoto

Daiginjo

a category of premium sake made using rice with a minimum (required) polishing ratio of 50% 

Doburoku

loosely, a type of sake that is unfiltered, is thick, cloudy and even chunky

Futsushu

loosely ‘regular’ or ‘table’ sake that does not classify as premium sake

Genshu

a sake that has not been diluted with water before bottling

Ginjo

a category of premium sake made using rice with a minimum (required) polishing ratio of 60%

Guinomi

a type of traditional sake cup, most often made from clay and more organic in nature than the small white ceramic cups (ochoko)

Junmai

sake made using only rice, water, koji and yeast – without the addition of brewers alcohol

Kan-sake

a term referring to hot or heated sake

Karakuchi

refers to a dry taste

Kasu

the rice solids left behind after pressing sake

Kijoshu

a type of sake, generally a little sweeter, that is made by replacing some of the water used in brewing with sake

Kobo

the traditional term for yeast

Koji / Koji-mai

steamed white rice on which koji-kin has propagated

Koji-kin

the spores of the koji / rice mould that are applied to the steamed rice to break down the starch in the grains. (Latin name ‘Aspergillus Oryzae’)

Koshiki

a traditional rice steamer

Koshu

refers to sake that has been aged

Kura

brewery

Kurabito

brewery worker

Kuramoto

brewery owner

Moromi

the main fermentation

Moto / Shubo

the fermentation starter

Muroka

refers to no charcoal/carbon filtration

Nama

refers to sake that has not been pasteurized

Nigori

a cloudy sake that is generally roughly filtered through a loose mesh and retains rice sediments from the fermentation mash

Shinpaku

is the well defined starch core at the centre of the grains of sake rice

Shuzo

a word meaning sake brewery

Toji

master brewer / head brewer