Sake Brewing Rice Polishing Nihonshudo Scale

Japan — sake documented since Yayoi period 300 BCE; modern refined sake techniques developed Edo to Meiji period

Sake (日本酒) production is one of Japan's most complex fermented beverages — using rice polished to varying degrees, koji mold, and a multi-parallel fermentation process unique to sake where saccharification and fermentation occur simultaneously in the same vessel. The rice polishing ratio (seimaibuai, 精米歩合) determines grade: honjozo (70% or less remaining), ginjo (60% or less), daiginjo (50% or less). The less remaining rice, the more the outer protein and lipid layers are removed, and the more delicate, fruity, and aromatic the resulting sake. The nihonshudo (日本酒度, sake meter value, SMV) measures sugar content: positive = dry, negative = sweet.

Honjozo: robust rice character; ginjo: fruity pear/apple (ginjo-ka); daiginjo: ethereal delicate fruity — polishing creates the flavor spectrum