Water
This post is part of The Koji Club’s BINGO. Play the game to win a karaoke party and build your sake chops in the process. Learn more here.
Water plays an extremely important role in the body, weight and texture of sake. It is, after all, 80 percent water!
For centuries, sake breweries were built near good sources of water to ensure access and abundance to this vital ingredient. As water filtration systems improved, breweries could be built further away from the source, though water integrity remains critical to brewing good sake.
What makes water good or bad for sake?
Without diving too deep into how minerals like iron and magnesium impact fermentation (we’ll save that chemistry lesson for another time), the Japanese have defined water as “hard” or “soft” based on its mineral makeup. Hard water tends to contribute structure to the body of a sake while soft water contributes a soft, plush and expansive feeling on the palate.
Since water is a lot harder to transport than, say, rice, breweries are more inclined to use their local water sources. For this reason, the hard or soft character of the water can sometimes translate to a sense of regionality within the sake industry.*
Esteemed breweries will source their water from naturally pristine sources like snow run-off or natural springs to make sure they are starting with a superior product. Occasionally, water will be filtered to remove iron, a mineral that does not get along well with fermentation. But most well-located breweries simply embrace the water’s distinct characteristics. And when the water sources are this beautiful, it’s not hard to understand why.
Photo by Tsunagui Japan
Water additions, water omissions.
Water is used throughout the brewing process and then added once more after the sake has been pressed to bring the alcohol percentage down from 18-22% ABV to a more food-friendly 15-17% ABV.
Some breweries decide to forgo the post-press dilution step altogether and will bottle the sake at its higher alcohol percentage. This is called Genshu.
A Word to the Wise: Genshu will Get You
We love genshu sake for its intense aromas, big body, and bold flavors, but be warned: Genshu packs a punch. It’s easy to drink genshu the way you do any other sake which means that higher ABV can sneak up on you pretty darn fast. So when drinking genshu, remember to hydrate, hydrate and then hydrate some more with lots of...you guessed it!...water.
EARN YOUR BINGO STICKER
This is a blog post from The Koji Club Bingo Game. To complete the Bingo square, follow the steps below:
Step 1. Join us at The Koji Club bar for a glass of genshu sake.
Step 2. Present your BINGO card to the bartender for a sticker.
Step 3. If the square completes Bingo, post a picture of your winning Bingo card on Instagram with the hashtag #DrinkGoodSake and tag @the.koji.club. This is your entry to win a Karaoke Party at The Koji Club! Play as many times as you want entries. Winners will be drawn monthly.
EXTRA CREDIT: Post a picture of your sake with your own tasting notes (the wilder the better!) and the #DrinkGoodSake hashtag. Don’t forget to tag @The.Koji.Club to make sure we see it!
* Regionality! That’s Like Terroir!
Sort of...but technically, that’s still a stretch. We don’t want to step on any vinophile’s toes so let’s leave Terroir to the grapes and focus on that regional H2O.
A Brief Tangent on Regionality…
Regionality in Japan is far more than water, just as New England is more than fall foliage or “Hahvahd Yahd”. Regionality can speak to the entire environment and cultural ecosystem surrounding the sake brewing such as climate (colder climates need sake that warms well); cuisine (try saying “sake made near the sea sings next to seafood” five times fast); setting (tavern sake versus kaiseki sake); and what local sake guild the brewery’s Toji comes from. It’s safe to say that regionality, like everything else in the sake world, really depends on who you ask.
