June 2025 Meeting

Tastings

Jonah's Homebrew Sake

Bushido Way of the Warrior

Hou Hou Rose Sparkling Sake

Soto Premium Junmai

Snow Maiden

Snow Beauty

Dassai Blue 50 Junmai

Toro

Meeting Notes

This month, our discussion focused on sake. Jonah presented his homebrew process for sake and brought a sample for the group to taste.

The first step was to research and gather all the necessary ingredients for the brew: rice, yeast, citric acid, A. Orzayae (for homemade koji). Jonah selected a 40% - 60% polished sake rice and wyeast #9 for his recipe. Next was to create homemade koji. This was achieved by soaking the rice overnight, then steaming it. Once the rice was cooled, it was inoculated with the A. Orzayae, placed in a small pan covered with a wet cloth, and saran-wrapped. The pans were placed in the dehydrator to allow the mold to grow. After the koji has been made, the koji, steamed rice, yeast, and citric acid are placed in a fermentor. Something interesting about homebrewing sake is that it undergoes a process called parallel fermentation. The starches in the rice are broken down into sugars, and these sugars are converted into alcohol. These breakdowns are occurring at the same time, which is why this is considered parallel fermentation. It was then left to ferment until the desired taste was achieved.

It should be noted that this is not the traditional process for sake, but is a modified version that is a more convenient, repeatable homebrew process.

Several factors could be changed to alter the taste, such as the rice or yeast used, how the koji is made, the time left to ferment, etc. Overall, the experience was fun, and it will be interesting to experiment with these factors to see how the next homebrew sake will turn out!