Sake Terminology
Like any profession, the world of Sake has its own terminology, made all the more difficult by the fact that most of it is in Japanese. Below is a list of terms, especially those related specifically to Sake created in Nada.
| Pronunciation | Characters | Definition |
| AKIBARE | 秋晴れ | Akibare means "the clear autumn sky" in Japanese, and refers to how the taste of Nada's sake mellows while it is stored during the summer. The opposite is OTOKOZAKE. |
| FUTAKOJI METHOD | 蓋麹法 | Futa means lid in Japanese, but in this case refers to small wooden boxes that are used to mix steamed rice with koji. The futakoji method is the most traditional method of hand-mixing. |
| GENSHU | 原酒 | Genshu is sake to which no water has been added. This results in a stronger flavor and higher alcohol content than normal sake. |
| KIMOTO | 生酛 | Raw MOTO that has passed down for generations. It is used to contrast with scientifically produced moto. The process of creating kimoto takes nearly a month to complete, but allows for the creation of truly traditional sake. |
| KOJI | 麹 | Koji is used to refer to both rice malt, and the aspergillus mold used to create the malt. The mold is also called kojikin, and serves the purpose of changing the starch in the mash into glucose. |
| MIYAMIZU | 宮水 | The water used in the brewing of Nada sake. "Miya" comes from Nishinomiya, the area where the water can be found, and "mizu" is water in Japanese. |
| MOROMI | 醪 | Rice mash that has finished fermenation, but has not yet been strained for impurities. |
| MOTO | 酛 | See SHUBO |
| NAMAZAKE | 生酒 | Sake that is not heated during the brewing process. This helps preserve the fragrance and flavor of the sake, but results in a sake that spoils more easily. If possible, Namasake should be drank as soon as possible after brewing. |
| NIGORIZAKE | 濁り酒 | Literally "cloudy sake," nigorizake is sake that has not been filtered, and looks cloudy white. |
| NIHONSHUDO | 日本酒度 | Literally "sake level," a measure used to indicate whether the sake is sweet or dry. Positive numbers indicate a dry sake, and negative numbers indicate a sweet sake. |
| OTOKOZAKE | 男酒 | Otokozake means "men's sake" in Japanese, and refers to the strong bite and deep flavor of new Nada sake consumed in the spring. The opposite is AKIBARE. |
| ROKKO OROSHI | 六甲颪 | The cool winds that blow off of Mt. Rokko and were used to cool off the steamed rice used in sake production. |
| SANDO | 酸度 | Literally "acidity level," a measure used to indicate how full-bodied the sake is. The average sake lies around 1.3-1.5, and higher numbers indicate a stronger tasting sake. |
| SHUBO | 酒母 | Yeast mash used to ferment the sake. Also called moto. |
| TOJI | 杜氏 | The chief worker at a brewery. |
| YAMAHAI | 山廃 | With improved sake rice, it no longer became necessary to do the YAMAOROSHI process, as the koji was able to be absorbed into the rice without it. Yamahai is the name for sake that has been created without doing the yamaoroshi process. |
| YAMAOROSHI | 山卸 | The process of smashing together rice, koji, and water to aid the absorbtion of the koji into the rice. |
Some pictures used with permission of Nadagogo Brewers Association. All company logos are property of their respective owners.