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KNOWLEDGE
Types of Sake
Making Sake
Ingredients
Pub Guide
Sake FAQ
Sake Glossary 
Sake Tasting
Serving, Storage
Vital Statistics
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Amakuchi
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Daiginjo-shu
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Sake brewed with rice milled so that no more than 50% of grain remains
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Futsu-shu
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Genshu
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Undiluted sake (most are slightly diluted)
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Ginjo-shu
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Sake brewed with rice milled so that no more than 60% of the grain remains
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Hi-ire
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Honjozo
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Sake to which a small amount of distilled alcohol is added
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Jizake
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Sake from smaller kura -- originally, sake from the boonies, or alternatively, sake that is not mass produced
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Junmai-shu
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Sake brewed with only rice, water, and koji -- no additives
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Karakuchi
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Kasu
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The lees remaining after the sake has been pressed from the fermenting mixture
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Koji
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Rice onto which koji-jin has been propogated (FAQ Q14)
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Koji-kin or Koji-kabi
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Aspergillus Oryzae -- a starch dissolving mold
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Kura
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A sake brewery -- also known as a sakagura
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Kurabito
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Kuramoto
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The president of a brewery
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Meigara
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The 'brand name' of a sake
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Moromi
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Fermenting mixture of rice, water, koji, and yeast which yields sake
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Moto
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The yeast starter of a batch of sake -- also, shubo
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Namazake
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Sake that has not been pasteurized
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Nihonshu-do
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The specific gravity of a sake -- an indication of dryness or sweetness (FAQ Q16)
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Nigori-zake
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Seimai
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Seimai-buai
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The degree to which rice has been polished before brewing
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Seishu
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Legal or official name (as far as taxes are concerned) for sake, differentiating it from other alcoholic beverages.
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Shochu
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A traditional Japanese distilled beverage
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Shubo
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The yeast starter for a batch of sake
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Toji
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The head brewer at a kura
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Seimai Buai (or Rice Milling)
Junmai-shu and Honjozo-shu must be made with rice with a Seimai Buai
(degree of milling) of at least 70%. This is the number you will see on the label (if it is given at all), but what it means is that the rice has been
polished so that no more than 70% of the original size of the grains remains. In other words, at least 30% of the outer portion of each rice grain has been ground away.
Ginjo-shu, whether Junmai Ginjo-sho or non-Junmai Ginjo (usually called aru-ten ginjo, one does not say Honjo Ginjo) must have a Seimai Buai of at least 60%, meaning that the outer 40% or more has been polished away.
Daiginjo and Junmai Daiginjo (same phraseology rules apply here) must be made with rice with a Seimai Buai of 50% or more, meaning at least the outer half has been ground away. Often, Daiginjo
goes as far as a 35% Seimai Buai.
What happens to the powder (called nuka) that is ground away? It is often used in Japanese-style cakes, for livestock feed, and can also be
fermented and distilled elsewhere in a separate process. Nothing is wasted.
Remember, adding alcohol does not make a sake lower grade; it is part
of one manner of brewing that produces specific results (like lighter, more fragrant sake with a more robust structure and perhaps longer shelf life).
There are junmai purists, but there are those who feel adding alcohol is the correct way to brew, as is indicated in old brewing texts. Avoid the hype!
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