Brewing Sake

[sayab]

I am starting to brew sake for the first time and had a few questions for anyone who could answer them. I was going to use a HLT to hold it at temperature, but sake doesn't need anything higher than 110 degrees most of the time so I was wondering if this is necessary or if there is a better alternative. Does anyone out there have experience with this? I also had a few questions about what type of yeast to use. I have koji but I haven't read about what yeast is traditionally used. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks,
Sayab Poot

[Diamond Knot]

It's nice to see...........

Sayab,

It's nice to see someone picking up the sake trade! This beverage has long been overlooked by Brewer's and is more than the hot stuff garnished with a blowfish fin served in sushi bars. In fact, the sushi purists wrinkle their nose at me when I used to order mine cold in the early '90s...........now, Japanese sake producers make sake product lines meant to be served on ice.

Before I was a Brewer (years and years ago), I had the opportunity to meet Fred Eckhardt at a hombrewer's educational event. Fred was a more prominent contributer to the microbrewing industry in the late '80s and early '90s here in the Northwest United States. He poured for me such a delicate raspberry sake he made that I wanted to make sake for myself. He authored a book on sake making.

I reckon in a long winded way I would recommend ordering the book, Sake USA by Fred Eckhardt and see the various recipes he has in there. After reading your post, I went back and looked up the preferred yeasts he discussed. Since sake ferments will finish pretty high in alcohol, you can use a neutral wine yeast, or even a champagne yeast, or purchase a sake yeast strain from Wyeast in Oregon. Their Wyeast Sake #9 yeast can be purchased through the lab in oregon directly or in smaller liquid culture packs for the home sake maker.

For keeping a steady stream on hot water at 110F...........have you looked into in line hot water heaters? That temperature is quite easy for an in-line unit that could make 110F water all day with only a 55F temperature rise. Further, they take up no floor space, and only produce hot water when you need it. Size of the unit depends on your gallon per minute (gpm) requirement. When sizing an in-line unit, the place you will be buying from will ask two questions: How hot do you want the water and how much per minute. You can probably find a nice one in the 10 - 15 gpm range, but there are some commercial ones out there that go a lot higher. Generally, in-line heaters are natural gas, which isn't bad in today's energy cost conscious world.

I hope this helps, Sayab..............

Good luck!