Brewing water: the life-force of sake

This article takes an in-depth look at the water that sake is brewed with.


First, a little recap so far. Sake is made with just 3 raw ingredients: rice, Koji and water.
The water that sake is brewed with is called Shikomimizu (LIT: water for sake brewing).

1 . Shikomimizu

Out of those 3 ingredients it is water that makes up 80% of the end product. Water is in fact used in the entire production process, so we have to differentiate between its different roles, of which Shikomimizu is the water that gets added directly into the sake.

2. Soft vs hard water

Brewing water can’t be summed up in one word; it is as diverse as sake itself.
Did you know that in terms of mineral content Japan boasts some of the softest water in the world. It would give most minerals waters a run for their money. Even though that is the case, there is still a distinction between “hard” and “soft”. And because it is this property that greatly influences the flavour sake is categorised accordingly.

Hard water contains lots of minerals, so it tends to produce a more boisterous flavour profile, more often than not erring on the dry side. Whereas soft water tends to produce a softer mouth-feel and all around sweeter sake.

3 . Brewing water makes excellent drinking water

As testament to the greatness of brewing water, there are even shops in Japan that sell it as drinking water and brewers themselves often bring along a bottle or two to share at tasting events.

SAKETIMES INSIGHT

There are breweries dotted all over Japan and they can only use the water that is available to them locally. The fact that the uniqueness of the water has such an influence on the flavour of sake is how sake came to be so diverse. Don’t you think it’s wonderful that despite daily technological developments in brewing, sake is and will always be brewed with that which was provided by mother nature herself?

Comments

Notes:
Comments such as the following are prohibited and will be subject to deletion at the discretion of editors.
- Content that is biased toward a specific ideology, such as certain political or religious views.
- Content that slanders or otherwise defames a specific brand, store, or service.
- Content that suggests or implies limitations or restrictions on the way drinkers can enjoy sake, such as "This is one true way to properly enjoy sake!"
- Other content of a negative or unfavorable nature that inhibits the widespread enjoyment of sake by a diverse audience.
Respect each other and enjoy sake communication!