Learn to shop for sake in 5 simple steps

How many times have you looked at sake on display in a store and walked away? It’s just so…foreign.

Everyone knows a thing or two about wine. Here, in Australia, even the most staunch wine avoiders can rattle off the list of common styles – merlot, sauvignon blanc, pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay…champagne! We all know something about wine. When it comes to sake, however, the vast majority of people know nothing. Nothing at all. That doesn’t mean people don’t want to know, interest in sake is exploding all over the world. The information vacuum is starting to fill up – now you can buy books about sake, read blogs about sake, and even buy the world’s first magazine about sake. Still, it takes time to read and process all that information, and in the end, the labels are still in Japanese. What to do?

Well, you can read on! I’ve written the world’s first “How to Buy Sake” guide, and I promise you, after reading it, you will be able to walk into that bottle shop and confidently choose the bottle you are likely to enjoy.

Step 1 – Understand sake grades

The grade of sake is the single most important bit of information you can work with when choosing sake. Sake grades are not some arbitrary designation by a brewer. Although once they were! Now, grades of sake are defined by the Japanese government and breweries must strictly adhere to every rule.

So, what makes a grade of sake? Two things. Ingredients and rice milling rate (seimaibuai, pronounced say-my-boo-eye).

Sake is made of rice, which is polished (milled) at the beginning of production. The milling is needed to remove outer layers of rice that contain protein and fats. The more is removed, the higher the starch content of raw materials. This seems a bit counter-intuitive, as we are trained to think of proteins and fats in grains as nutritionally useful. Proteins and fats, though, cannot be digested by the sake yeasts. Yeast needs sugars (converted from starch) to work with. The outer layers of rice, if left in place, will stunt fermentation process and contribute a lot of “off” flavour to sake. So, simply, the more rice is polished, the more proteins and fats are stripped away, the more refined the flavour will be.

Ingredients are the second part of the grade puzzle. All premium sake can only contain rice, water, special kōji mould (used in food fermentation in Asia) and sake yeast. In some instances, a small amount of distilled alcohol is added at the end of the brewing process, just before sake is pressed and stored for maturation. That is all, no preservatives, no additional sugar, no flavourings. Rice, water, kōji, yeast, and sometimes, a tiny amount of distilled alcohol. This distinction – added alcohol or no added alcohol – divides premium sake into junmai (pure rice sake) and non-junmai (tiny amount of distilled alcohol added).

Non-premium sake, while never containing preservatives, can have organic acids and sugars added to it, for better flavour. It will also contain copious amounts of added distilled alcohol!

The table below organises all sake grades in a logical manner:

Note: From 2003, Junmai doesn’t need to to have seimaibuai of 70%, it can have any milling rate, but the milling rate must be stated on the bottle. In most cases, good junmai will have seimaibuai of 70% or less.

So, what do we see? The top level is super-duper premium Daiginjō. Both Junmai Daiginjō and Daiginjō are considered to be at the same level of finesse. To be called a Daiginjō, sake must be made from rice that has been milled down to 50% of the original grain.

The second level is Ginjō and Junmai Ginjō. The suffix “dai” or “great” is missing. This is still super-premium level. To be called a Daiginjō, sake must be made from rice that has been milled down to 60% seimaibuai (which means that 40% has been ground away).

All 4 grades – Junmai Ginjō, Ginjō, Junmai Daiginjō and Daiginjō are collectively called “Ginjō”. Confused yet? Don’t worry. The important thing to remember, the only thing to remember, that if there is a word “Ginjō” on the label (or its variation), it means you would be drinking the top 10% of all sake.

Ginjō sake is not only made form rice that is milled down to 60%, 50%, 40% or even 35% of the original grain, but also brewed using very labour-intensive techniques. It is matured for longer, slower, to bring out complexity of flavour, refined aromas, delicateness and balance. By buying Ginjō sake, you are almost always guaranteed a superior drinking experience.

What of Junmai and Honjōzō, you ask? Both can be great. They typically will feature more robust flavours will be less aromatic, thus making them great for being warmed up. (Ginjō sake should be served chilled). They are usually cheaper, but their cleaner, less aromatic profile makes them quite compatible with food. Another 15% or so of all sake is Honjōzō or Junmai.

The remaining 75% of sake is “table sake”. There are undoubtedly some good brands of table sake out there, but for the uninitiated, they might be hard to find. I suggest sticking to the pointy end of the sake pyramid and beginning your sake journey with premium types.

Step 2 – Understand sake types

Once you know your way around sake grades, you are well on the way to confidently selecting sake. There is another helpful bit of information you can gather from the label. Sometimes, next to the grade, you will see the following words:

Nama…..Genshu….Yamahai

What are those?! See, the ingredients and rice milling rate make the sake grade. Tinkering with other stages of the brewing process determines the type. The main point to take away is that all that tinkering leads to different flavours and textures of sake. Below, is the quick run-down on what to expect for each type:

Nigori – “Cloudy sake”. Some of the fermented solids “kasu” are allowed back in during sake pressing, giving the sake cloudy-white appearance. Nigori sake will be sweeter and milder, and could be a good option when you feel like drinking something different or when you need a sake to go with very spicy food. Nigori is very popular overseas, but is not something I prefer.

– “Cloudy sake”. Some of the fermented solids “kasu” are allowed back in during sake pressing, giving the sake cloudy-white appearance. Nigori sake will be sweeter and milder, and could be a good option when you feel like drinking something different or when you need a sake to go with very spicy food. Nigori is very popular overseas, but is not something I prefer. Nama (Namazake) – unpasteurised sake. Has a certain “zing” due to all the living enzymes that still remain. Many people have a strong preference for Nama sake, as it can feel more effervescent, zingy, sparkly. Before choosing to drink Nama, however, make sure that it had been properly stored. It must always be refrigerated.

– unpasteurised sake. Has a certain “zing” due to all the living enzymes that still remain. Many people have a strong preference for Nama sake, as it can feel more effervescent, zingy, sparkly. Before choosing to drink Nama, however, make sure that it had been properly stored. It must always be refrigerated. Genshu – undiluted sake. Sake is naturally 20% alcohol, but most of it is diluted with filtered water to bring the alcohol content down to 15-17%, to enhance the experience of flavours. More often than not, genshu sake will only be sold at the brewery door, as a souvenir. In some rare instances, however, the highly skilled brewer will manipulate the fermentation process to reach the peak alcohol content of only about 16-17%, and deliver a very special sake. I’ve drunk some very nice ones.

– undiluted sake. Sake is naturally 20% alcohol, but most of it is diluted with filtered water to bring the alcohol content down to 15-17%, to enhance the experience of flavours. More often than not, genshu sake will only be sold at the brewery door, as a souvenir. In some rare instances, however, the highly skilled brewer will manipulate the fermentation process to reach the peak alcohol content of only about 16-17%, and deliver a very special sake. I’ve drunk some very nice ones. Muroka – unfiltered (most sake is filtered with charcoal powder to remove colours and off flavours). Muroka sake will be darker colour, more flavour. Some people seek out this type as they believe it is sake in its natural state. Worth trying at least once!

– unfiltered (most sake is filtered with charcoal powder to remove colours and off flavours). Muroka sake will be darker colour, more flavour. Some people seek out this type as they believe it is sake in its natural state. Worth trying at least once! Kōshu – aged sake. Honey-like flavours, darker colour. Almost brandy-like. 99.9% of sake is never matured. The sake that has been matured on purpose and called kōshu is rare, and can be a very interesting drinking experience.

– aged sake. Honey-like flavours, darker colour. Almost brandy-like. 99.9% of sake is never matured. The sake that has been matured on purpose and called kōshu is rare, and can be a very interesting drinking experience. Yamahai, kimoto – sake types where the yeast starter is prepared with naturally occurring lactic acid. (Brewers now add lactic acid to keep the stray bacteria away from the yeast starter). It is gamier, earthier, higher acidity and sweetness. Basically, these are the types for which the fermentation process is started using old, traditional methods. They are slowly becoming popular again. Do expect stronger flavour than in most sake.

Remember: grades and types are independent of each other. Any grade can be any type. You could be drinking Yamahai Daiginjō one day and Nama Junmai the next. But both grades and types are pieces of the same puzzle.

Step 3 – Check the numbers on the label.

More and more brewers put very specific sake chemistry terms on labels. While most are useless in isolation, altogether, they paint an approximate picture of what the sake might taste like. There are two parameters worth of noting: acidity and sake meter value or SMV. SMV also goes by the Japanese name nihonshudo.

SMV refers to the specific gravity of sake, the density of the sake compared to the density of water. Don’t worry about chemistry, just be aware of the possible range. The range is about -6 to +12. These days, +3 considered to be a neutral sake. This is important. It is an indicator of sweetness vs dryness. The higher, the dryer. So, anything above +3 is on the dry side, and anything below +3 is on the sweet side.

Acidity ranges from 0.7 to 2.0. Acidity affects the feeling of dryness, but also helps flavour to spread. The level of acidity will not always match the presence of acidic flavour in sake, as other factors can balance out or enhance the perception of acidity. Some sake will taste sharp and cutting, even though acidity is on the lower end of the scale.

The two parameters – SMV and acidity – need to be considered together. Is SMV very low, indicating sweetness, but acidity is high? Then the sake will taste dryer than the label suggests. If it is both technically dry (SMV above +3) and acidic (let’s say acidity is 1.7), then clearly you will be getting a sake which will taste dryer and sharper.

Again, these are only an approximation of what sake will taste like. Not all labels will contain this information, either. They are much more useful to brewers themselves as they take measurements of both SMV and acidity all throughout the brewing process, to chart sake progress and readiness. The final acidity and SMV, however, could be just another hint at what you are selecting.

Step 4 – Read the label

Yep. You can read sake labels! Even in Japanese. The trick is to learn to recognise the main terms. It’s not as hard as you might think. I can read Japanese, but I don’t know all individual kanji making up sake-related terms. It is a visual thing. After viewing the terms again and again, you will begin to visually recognise each word. The main ones you need to know are:

酒 – shu – a suffix indicating “sake” or “alcohol”. It often follows the grade or type.

大吟醸 – Daiginjō

吟醸 – Ginjō

純米 – Junmai

本醸造 – Honjōzō

Example: which grade of sake is written on the label below? (Hint: the bold big letters are usually reserved for the brand name, and grade and type are specified in smaller font on the side or above).

The grade written on the label is 純米吟醸 – Junmai Ginjō.

Another one…this is also Junmai Ginjō…can you see 純米吟醸 written anywhere on the label? The entire word is 純米吟醸酒 or Junmai Ginjō-shu, shu just being a suffix for “sake”.

You might also come across the following terms:

日本酒 – Nihonshu – sake

原酒 – Genshu

生 – Nama

If you don’t know any Japanese, I would limit your learning of kanji to the terms in this article. They are the essential terminology, everything else is a bonus. Also, outside Japan, labels purely in Japanese are becoming rarer, as brewers recognise the value of exports and go that extra mile to meet the requirements of non-Japanese customers.

What about all the numbers? Seimaibuai, SMV, acidity? Well, you know the ranges now. Even if all that information is in Japanese, you can decipher it point-by-point.

Look at the label below.

1. First of all, in bold white letters against black background, we can see the proud label “Junmai Daiginjō”.

2. Secondly, 16.4. What could that be? This is alcohol %. Sake alcohol content varies between 16-20%, so 16.4 falls into that range.

3. What about +2? SMV – dryness indicator – ranges between -6 to +12, so “+2 “tells us that it is SMV, the indicator of sake dryness. Anything below +3 is on a sweet side, so this sake will be slightly sweeter than average.

4. The next piece of the puzzle is the number 1.4. If you remember that the acidity ranges between 0.7 and 2.0, than it would be clear that 1.4 represents acidity. 1.4 sits on the middle of the acidic range.

5. Finally, “35%”. This refers to seimaibuai, or rice polishing ratio. For premium sake, this can range between 35 and 70%. Seimaibuai of 35% means that 65% of raw rice has been ground away. This is very luxurious! Most likely, this will be a refined sake.

So, altogether, the parameters on the label begin to paint a picture of sake you might be getting. First of all, it is Junmai Daiginjō, a super-duper premium sake, made from rice that had been milled down to a luxurious 35%. It will be slightly sweeter, moderately acidic, so most likely, quite mild and drinkable sake. It would be very, very hard for this sake be anything but delicious…unless…

Step 5 – Check the storage and point of sale conditions

The irony is, you could select the most expensive, most technically promising sake, and still be disappointed. All that craft that went into making the sake would be futile if the sake is not stored and handled properly. Sake, like wine, is alive. It matures in a bottle. Most sake is made to be drunk fresh, within a year of bottling. Sake should be kept in a cool and dark space, just like wine. Exposure to bright lights and high temperatures is disastrous to sake. Ideally, you will find sake in a fridge.

Ask the shop about the bottling date. In Japan, by law, all sake should carry the bottling date. There is one exception – sake intended for export doesn’t have that requirement. This is a pity! You can still ask the shop about how long they have had that sake.

Secondly, look at how it has been displayed. How long has it stayed on the shelf under the bright fluorescent lights? Is it in a box or fully exposed to light? Is it wrapped in paper? Even after pasteurisation, some light-sensitive particles remain in sake, and will degrade over time.

Good liquor stores will keep sake refrigerated. This is the safest method for keeping sake. I keep all mine in a fridge!

A few last words…

There is much more to the world of sake, of course. I have barely scratched the surface in this article, but this is enough to give you a bit of confidence to select that first sake, and know what you are going to be drinking. There are famous brands that almost guarantee a superior drinking experience; there are regions known for particular style of sake. Sake is an incredibly complex topic and a lifetime is not enough to know all! I will work through a few more areas in the follow-up to this article. Meanwhile, you can check the top sake names on a dedicated section on my website.

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Kampai!