Making Sake
Brewed like beer!
Sake is brewed with more similarities to beer production than wine. Sake rice does not contain the kinds of enzymes that barley does, so a different ingredient is needed to help convert the rice's starch into sugar. This ingredient is rice Koji, which was made with steamed rice and Koji mould (Koji-Kin). When this magical Koji mould is combined with the rice, enzymes are produced which break up the starch in the rice and turn it into sugar.
Polishing the Rice
Rice grains are polished in order to remove fat and proteins and reveal the starchy core. The polishing process greatly influences the final taste of a sake. Generally, the more fat and proteins that are removed during the polishing process the cleaner and fruitier the sake. In contrast, rice which has been polished less will result in savoury, grainy, rice-like flavours which are full-bodied.