Oct 29, 2010

Arabashiri, but this is not a sake term

When moromi (fermenting liquid of sake) is pressed and is separated into liquid part and solid part, the liquid is called sake. The part that is pressed in the first stage of pressing is called "arabashiri." Then, "nakadori" is pressed, and "Seme" is finally squeezed. So, even if moromi is fermented in the same tank, the taste and aroma of sake vary depending on in what stage it is pressed.

Probably, the same thing can be said regarding coffee brewing. When you brew coffee with a coffee dripper, the very first dripped coffee is different from the later dripped part of coffee in taste and aroma.

In case of sake, nakadori sake has a better taste and aroma than arabashiri. However, in case of coffee, I feel that arabashiri coffee is better than nakadori coffee.




Today's Sake
Sawanoi Honjozo Shiboritate (Ozawa Syuzou)
Actually, I am not very good at new sake because it is somewhat burning on my tongue and a bit difficult to drink. Of such new sakes, this new sake is easy to drink and, at the same time, has a rich taste. I think we can expect much of this season's Sawanoi sake.

Oct 25, 2010

Sawanoi Open Brewery Event

On October 23, Ozawa Syuzou (sake brewery making Sawanoi sake) held an open house event on their premises and at their related restaurants and facilities. My friends and I went to the brewery, sampled various types of sake, attended interesting activities, and then of course got drunk.

When we got to the reception desk set up in the parking lot beside the brewery, President Ozawa and Employee A were busy there in selling sake-sampling tickets and welcoming visitors.

As soon as we got the sampling tickets, we went for sampling sake inside the kura building. Various types of sake, including daiginjo, junmai, koshu (long-aged sake), and of course shinshu (new sake), were prepared for sampling.



As the lady says in the video, this year's Honjozo Shiboritate was very nice. Unlike a new sake, this sake has a mild and well-balanced taste.



The brewery was open from 9:00 a.m., but some of us were already there by 8:50, and had occupied a table in the rest station for friends, who would join us later, by 9:30. Then, we started a long-time sake drinking party which changed places and lasted until 10:00 p.m. lol

Oct 19, 2010

NINE and sake with a self-heating system

NINE -- this is the name of sake. This sake is brewed with the method called bodaimoto, which is a very old method for preparing yeast starter.



From this name of bodaimoto, I thought that the flavor of the sake was old-fashioned and crude. No, this is very sophisticated sake. It is very rich in taste and, at the same time, delicate. I like the moderate sweetness of this sake. This is hiyaoroshi sake, which means the sake has been pasteurized once. However, I hardly feel anything caused by pasteurization, and the flavor of this sake gives me a crispy and brisk impression of namazake.

By the way, here is another sake product, which is completely different from NINE. It is called "Kanban-musume." This is canned sake, but not an ordinary product. The can has a heat generation system, which use quicklime and water. Chemical reaction of quicklime and water warmed up sake contained in the can!

Although this product is a bit more expensive and heavier than ordinary canned sake, it is an interesting product. Please watch the movie below to see how to I enjoy the warmed sake.



As I recall, I bought a lunchbox at JR Sendai Station before. It was rice with sliced and baked beef tongue. This had a string coming out from one side of the box, and when I pulled it, the lunchbox became hot. It was cold winter season then, and I was happy to be able to each hot lunch on the train.

Oct 3, 2010

No Special Event on Sake Day

October 1 is Sake Day (Nihonshu no Hi) in Japan. The brewing year stated on October 1 before, and this seems one reason why this day is designated as Sake Day by Japan Sake Brewers Associations.

Anyway, at this time of the year, whatever October 1 is called, sake breweries ship various hiyaoroshi sake, and are busy in advance sale of new sake by means of such as direct mail advertisement to their customers. Several weeks ago, we were sickening of excruciatingly hot summer days. However, after we felt sudden cool air of autumn, our appetite increased suddenly. Now, we crave nice sake so badly.

Besides hiyaoroshi, the taste of namazake becomes better after the summer season, so I am lately buying namazake bottles from breweries in Tokyo and enjoying them.




And, to me, there was no special event on sake day, but I was happy with Sawanoi Honjo Nama in that evening.



Today's movie -- Recently, I climbed a mountain in the Okutama area in Tokyo. Then, I found some mushrooms. I cooked them and ate them with cup noodles at the lunch time. Mountains in autumn are enjoyable.