Get to know Niigata sake Sake Q & A

Q. What are the characteristics of Niigata sake?

Niigata Prefecture has the conditions of good sake brewing: climate, rice, and water.The sake is finely textured, has a clean taste with little unpleasant taste.

Q. Please tell us about Echigo Toji.

Echigo Toji is a general term for a group of Echigo brewing engineers who went to work in sake breweries not only in the prefecture but also throughout the country to improve their skills. Due to its diligence and technical ability, it was the largest number in Japan in the early Meiji era. The quality of sake produced by Echigo Toji is characterized by its fineness and mildness.

Q. Is the rice for eating different from the rice used to make sake?

Koshihikari rice, which is said to be "good rice", is famous for being very delicious, but sake rice is also easy to make good sake if it is "good rice".However, rice and sake rice have different meanings of "good rice", and good sake rice is rice that is less sticky, large in size, and easy to make "koji" and sake.

Q. What kind of sake brewing rice do you have in Niigata?

In Niigata prefecture, there is a nationally famous sake brewing rice "Gohyaku mangoku" variety, and this rice is used.In addition, Niigata Prefecture has a variety called "Koshitanrei" that is cultivated by crossing "Yamada Nishiki" and "Gohyakumangoku", and can meet a wide range of consumer needs from ordinary sake to Daiginjoshu.Niigata sake is good because it uses these sake rice.

Q. How long does sake last?

It's not easy to say how many days, but it is said that "sake is alive".When purchasing at a sake store, it is important to ask for something as new as possible.It depends on the storage conditions, but it is recommended to drink as soon as possible after opening the mouth of the bottle.

Q. What kind of sake is Ginjoshu?

It can be said that it is the most luxurious sake.Shikomi uses carefully selected water and rice, especially rice that has been milled to a rice milling ratio of 60% or less.It is fermented slowly at low temperature for a long period of time, so the taste is clean, soft and has a fruity aroma.The ultimate sake made with the highest technology.

Q. What kind of sake is Junmaishu?

This sake is made from rice, rice koji, and water.No brewed alcohol or sugar is used.It has a rich taste and the orginal teste of rice itself is brought out.It can be said that sake is made by the traditional method of Japan.

Q. What kind of sake is Honjozoshu?

You can think of it as an alcohol-added sake that does not use sugar and uses only a small amount of brewed alcohol for flavor adjustment.By the way, the amount of alcohol used is less than 10% of the weight of white rice, which gives the rice a good taste and has a modern mild taste.

Q. What kind of sake is Genshu?

Sake can be made by squeezing the fermentation mash, but after that, sake that does not contain any water, including the shipping stage, is called genshu.Alcohol content is as high as 18 to 20%, and each bottle has an alcohol content label.Suitable for on-the-rocks.

Q. What kind of sake is Nama-zake?

The finished sake is not heat-treated at all, including at the shipping stage.The aroma of koji and the flavor of the fermentation mash remain as they are, and they are fresh.You can enjoy the change of taste and aroma with the seasons. Since it is "raw", please drink it as soon as possible after purchasing.

Q. What kind of sake is Nigorizake?

Sake The fermentation mash is cloudy white sake.The appearance is white and muddy, so it doesn't look like sake, but it's a decent sake.The sweetness is also somewhat strong, and the savory taste is reminiscent of the old doburoku.

Q. Should people with diabetes not drink sake?

Diabetics have a fixed daily calorie intake, and if you take more than that, sugar will come out and you will feel sick.Therefore, it is necessary to think about the nutritional balance by getting along well with beer, whiskey, shochu, etc., not just sake.If you are seriously ill, you should squeeze all the alcoholic beverages.

Q. I heard that hungry alcohol is not good for you.

It's true.If alcoholic beverages are placed in an empty gastrointestinal tract, the gastrointestinal absorption of alcohol will be faster and the sickness will be faster.It also increases the irritation of the stomach wall, which adversely affects the cells of the stomach.Alcoholic beverages such as whiskey and shochu are not particularly good.

Q. Is there a good way to prevent a hangover?

It is said that the cause of hangover is that alcohol becomes aldehyde in the body and it remains undecomposed.
It is effective to drink "Yawaragimizu" for sake as well as "Chaser" when drinking high-frequency alcohol.Drinking water slows down the absorption of alcohol, and you can drink while knowing how drunk you are, which helps prevent overdrinking.
It is important to drink moderately while eating the knobs.

Q. I heard that cold sake is not good for you.

There is no medical evidence that cold sake is bad for you.You can also see that the same alcoholic beverages, beer and whiskey, are chilled.However, cold sake is easy to drink and delicious, so be careful as you may inadvertently drink too much.

Why is the water delicious after getting drunk?

After a few hours of drinking alcohol, I get a lot of urine and I feel thirsty.It is necessary to release alcohol from the body, and when you drink water, about 10% of alcohol is excreted together with water.Therefore, the water delicious after getting drunk that quenches that thirst feels good.

Q. I heard that sake get fat.

It is often said that sake is easy to get fat and whiskey and shochu are not fat, but this is a mistake.The cause of obesity is excessive calorie intake, regardless of the type of alcohol.It depends on the amount of calories you consume.

Q. I heard that the more white the rice is (milled), the better the sake.

Certainly, the whiter the rice, the more expensive it is, but you can make good sake.With brown rice as 100, rice-polishing ratio (ratio of rice remaining after milling) is called regular sake (generally about 73-75%), and 70% or less is called specially designated sake.Above all, Daiginjoshu polishes more than half of the rice.Therefore, the better the sake, the more rice you need.

Q. I heard that water affects the taste of sake.

Most of the water in Niigata Prefecture is soft water with few minerals (minerals).When Sake is brewed and fermented, soft water with a smail amount of this ingredient help sake to ferments slowly, and the resulting Sake becomes fine-grained Sake.In addition, the snowy country, where you can prepare sake at low temperatures, provides a perfect environment for sake brewing that pays attention to changes in temperature.From these blessed natural conditions, Niigata sake with a mild and refreshing taste is born.

Q. Why is sake made in winter?

When making sake, good sake cannot be made unless the product temperature is kept below 15 ° C.Especially in winter in the snowy country of Niigata, the snow acts as an air cleaner, the air is clear, and germs rarely come in from the outside, making it a suitable place for sake brewing.

Q. I hear the words sweet and dry.

Among experts, ingredients related to sweetness (sugar, etc.) are expressed numerically by measuring the specific gravity of sake.If you use this value, you can display the strength of the taste as well as the sweetness, but the taste of sake is subtle, so it is difficult.