Hello, I'm C-taka.
Last time I wrote about "rice suitable for brewing sake". This time, I would like to talk about "water," which is essential for sake brewing as well as rice.
Water, which accounts for about 80% of sake's ingredients, is an important part of sake.
Let's start with the premise of this talk. You may be surprised to hear that water accounts for about 80% of the ingredients of sake.
The quality of water used for sake brewing is set much stricter than the water we usually drink.
This is because the water used to make sake must contain no harmful substances.
What are the harmful ingredients in the water that adversely affect sake brewing?
In sake brewing, there are several harmful ingredients that can be contained in water, but iron and manganese are the most harmful.Iron and manganese make sake brown and deteriorate its flavor.
In addition, water contaminated with ammonia, heavy metals, nitrous acid and bacteria is not suitable for sake brewing.
What are the active ingredients of brewing water?
On the other hand, some ingredients are useful for brewing. They are minerals such as potassium, phosphorus and magnesium.
These components serve as a source of nutrients for microorganisms such as Aspergillus oryzae and yeast and help them grow. Lack of these ingredients may prevent normal fermentation.
Does the taste of sake change depending on whether it is hard water or soft water?
Most breweries use natural spring water and subsoil water from the area as water for brewing.
The balance of these ingredients affects the sake brewing and the taste of sake itself.
For example, water with a high mineral content or salt content is called hard water, and water with a low mineral content is called soft water.
Generally, sake brewed in hard water with a high mineral content tends to have a firm taste, while soft water with a low mineral content tends to have a soft taste.
Today, with the development of filtration and brewing techniques, sake with various tastes can be produced from the same water. Therefore, it can be said that regional differences in taste due to water quality have become more ambiguous than before.
However, basically every brewery takes advantage of the characteristics of water, which is a blessing of the land, and makes sake rooted in the land.
