The Japanese Sake Bible. Brian Ashcraft
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With taga hoops holding the staves in place, Tamura shaves the cask’s inside.
Tamura works with a two-handled drawknife called a sen.
The cooper pounds the cask’s lid, which is known as a kagami.
THE SEASONS OF SAKE
Sake has long reflected seasonality. The brewing season season starts in fall and ends in early spring, although many producers these days brew year-round. Traditionally, brewers worked in fishing or agriculture, whose low seasons coincided neatly with the sake-making season. Even further in the past, however, sake was made throughout the year. Different seasons meant different styles of sake as well as varied production methods. For example, the bodaimoto (aka mizumoto) yeast starter was developed at a Buddhist temple by the 1300s, so monks could brew sake during the summer with fewer batches going to rot. But kanshu, sake brewed during the winter, was the most expensive.
In 1673 the Tokugawa shogunate restricted brewing to the winter to ensure a stable rice supply and create seasonal brewing labor. The seasonal brewers became a staple of sake making until the late 20th and early 21st centuries, when production dropped significantly and more rural young people either migrated to cities or lost interest in the low-paying, backbreaking work of sake brewing, which required them to be away from home for months at a time.
But sake brewing is suited to cold weather. Steaming, koji making and fermentation give off natural heat, which is easier to manage in the winter. Temperature control is one of the most important elements in sake production. Before refrigerators and air-conditioners, winter brewing made this easier. If brewers needed to adjust the temperature of the yeast starter, they could add a dakidaru (a water- or ice-filled container). Analog temperature control wasn’t only important in the winter. The outside walls of breweries were painted white to reflect light, keeping things cool.
With the advent of refrigeration during the 20th century, sake breweries were able to stay in production throughout the year. Year-round breweries were built in Hawaii and Taiwan at the turn of the 20th century, as the warmth of the local climates made batches of sake susceptible to rot-inducing bacteria. In 1961, Gekkeikan in Kyoto and Reimei Shuzo in Nagasaki each built Japan’s first year-round breweries to meet the demand of the nation’s skyrocketing population.
A line-up of fall-release sakes. To learn about the different subgenres reflecting the micro-seasons of Japan’s autumn, see facing page.
Limited-release summer sakes. The tags recommend serving these brews chilled. The bottles are blue to underscore that point.
The Brewing Year
Although the winter brewing season starts in the fall and ends in the spring, the 12-month brewing year starts on July 1 and ends on June 30. The brewing year, denoted by a “BY” on the bottle’s back label, corresponds to the imperial era, which needs to be converted to the common era for Westerners to know the vintage. For example, Reiwa 2 (the second year of Emperor Naruhito’s reign) is 2020. Thus, sake brewed between July 1, 2020, and June 30, 2021, would actually have the brewing year of R2, or 2020. The staggered brewing calendar and the imperial conversions can make the brewing year seem rather opaque. Some breweries have switched over to common-era yearly markings to make their vintages easier for non-Japanese customers to understand.
Is there a best time to buy sake? Nope! However, there are certain seasonal releases to keep in mind. Currently, there are no legal definitions of the seasonal brews listed on the following pages.
Spring
Nama-zake 生酒: Nama means “raw,” and here refers to unpasteurized sake from the just-ended brewing season. While it’s available year round, early spring is when the freshest nama-zake is available. Fresh, lively and even sharp and brash, nama-zake is the perfect spring brew.
Summer
Natsu-zake 夏酒: This designation is often given to nama-zake specially packaged and bottled for summer (natsu in Japanese). There are also unpasteurized and unfiltered versions that pack an extra punch. Usually, natsu-zake is light and fresh, but some are zesty and deep. Often they are best ice cold or chilled. However, there are some exceptions, like Kinoshita Shuzo’s summertime-only Ice Breaker release, which, even though it’s a summer exclusive, is fantastic hot. Stock up on a few bottles for fall and winter.
My co-author Takashi Eguchi trims a sugidama. Even this small one can take over six hours. No glue is used at all.
A browned sugidama outside Imanishi Shuzo brewery in Sakurai, Nara, where the sugidama was born.
Autumn
Aki-agari 秋上がり: This is sake sold in fall (aki in Japanese). It is brewed during the coldest months of the previous season and aged through the summer, resulting in a milder flavor profile with rounder tastes. Aki-agari sake is pasteurized before its six-month storage and gets a second pasteurization before shipping. Aki-agari sake is good hot, eaten with Japanese fall foods like matsutake mushrooms, salted fish and hot pot.
Hiya-oroshi ひやおろし: Like aki-agari, hiyaoroshi is matured through the summer and pasteurized before storage. However, as it is not pasteurized a second time, it keeps some of the freshness and desired sharpness of nama-zake. Chilled storage is necessary and stated in the name “hiya-oroshi”—hiya means “cold” and oroshi means “wholesale,” or “being taken down” (as if off a shelf). Some hiya-oroshi taste best chilled, while others shine at room temperature or hotter.
Within hiya-oroshi, there are three subgenres, which each reflecting different micro-seasons: Nagoshi-zake 夏越し酒: Literally “over the summer sake,” this hiya-oroshi is released in September, when the weather is still warm. It’s often best drunk chilled or at room temperature. Note that modern nagoshi-zake differs from the traditional nagoshi-no-sake, which is used in a purification ceremony at a midsummer Shinto festival called Nagoshi-no-Harai.
Akidashi ichibanzake 秋出し一番酒: Released in October, this hiya-oroshi brew is typically well balanced. Akidashi means “release in fall,” and ichibanzake means “number-one sake.”
Banshu-umazake 夜秋旨酒: Aged the longest of the hiya-oroshi releases, banshu-umazake (literally “late fall good sake”) is mellow, round and ripe, typically with more umami than the other releases. Released in November, this sake is worth the wait. Usually, it’s best heated.
Winter
Shiboritate 搾り立て: “Just pressed.” One of life’s great pleasures is tasting sake right after pressing. Shiboritate is often fresh, full bodied and young, but can be spunky and sharp. As it’s unpasteurized, more of the rice flavors are apparent. It’s not strictly a winter release, but is often at its best late November through February. However, it is available through March.
Shinshu 新酒: