Started filtration of the Sake tonight and I am two sets of filter pads in and made 2 cups of liquor out. This is not going well. Anyone have any thoughts? I am about to give up. Maybe I will try a couple more times tomorrow and then just package the rest.
Finally, I received my bottles from Midwest Home Brewing (after a little delay). The sake was moved to a colder location to slow fermentation and mellow. Today, I am trying to figure out the best way to bottle and pasteurize my first batch of Sake. I think fermentation is done. It takes good but is a little chunky with rice. I figure a combo of of a rough filter through cheese cloth and then a fine filter should get me the product I am looking for. Bringing the bottles up to 145F for 10 minutes is probably my best bet for pasteurizing.
I ordered a case of cobalt blue bottles and some fancy silver corks for my sake today.
375 ml Cobalt Blue Bottle
This project is really turning out to be fun although extremely nerve racking. I am excited to taste the final product. I opened my fermenter up today and it smells like delicious sake. It had some whisps of foam on top and the rice blob is dissolving into a liquid. I am still trying to figure out if I should filter it and how to best home pasteurize it. I will take a couple fermentation photos tomorrow for the update. Any one have any suggestions on a name?
PS A few have asked what style of sake I am making. I have to admit its hard to say. It is very much junmai-ginjo but since I do not have access to ultra polished rice, it doesn’t technically qualify for much. My plan is to filter and pasteurize as well. Maybe a real home brewing sake expert can assist.
So I decided that I wanted to try to make Sake in the New Year. I figured it couldn’t be too difficult. “Its just rice”. Well I was sadly mistaken. Koji (which is a mold) is the key ingredient in successful Sake making and unlike yeast, cropping and propagating mold is not so simple. First, you need to make sure you only propagate the right mold, aspergillus oryzae. The wrong mold and you might seriously make someone sick or dead. I don’t think I have any deadly molds in my house but extra care was needed. I dumped my first batch of Kome Koji because it didn’t look right to me. The second batch came out much better.
The second annoying thing is handling the rice. Washing the rice takes a long time. For proper steaming, you need to make sure all of the cloudiness is removed and the liquid runs clear. After that, it needs to soak for a couple hours, then drain, then steamed. Most rice is not actually steamed. You add water and rice bring to a boil, viola. Steamed rice is different. Steamed rice has an al dente texture and it doesn’t stick together. It takes a long time too. After making rice, koji, and then pitching yeast, the process is just beginning. You need to bump the fermentation with additional rice and koji to keep the yeast performing and keep the subtle sweetness and delicateness of the rice in the final product. I am at Day 1 of Fermentation. I will post some pictures and updates when I see some active fermentation.
I did pick out some awesome blue bottles and corks for the final product. Hopefully, it works out. Projected completion around the end of February so keep an eye out for updates and bottles.
