loveofrose
Well-Known Member
Scientist’s Sake
This is a draft for what I plan to do. I am asking you with sake experience to tell me how to improve this. Thanks in advanced!
Technically, this is something different from sake. Historically, sake use a type of fungus (Koji ) to convert starch to sugar, then yeast are used to convert sugar to alcohol. Here, I’ve used science to avoid adding Koji to convert rice starch into sugar. Instead, I’m adding purified alpha amylase to perform this conversion much like the mash for beer brewing. The result is much easier and more consistent than the finicky Koji cultivation.
Sake has been flavored with fruit for a long time, so why not honey? It’s a logical progression in my thought process. In addition, it will add a bit more character to the brew. As a bonus, using honey cuts the amount of rice we need by half. A unique brew with half the work!
Sake BOMM
1. Cook 1.5 pounds (3.75 cups) rice with 5.62 cups water until soft. For a colorful red sake, use half red glutinous rice.
2. Add enough cold water to make a very thick soup. Check pH. Adjust to 5.5 with lactic acid if necessary. A pH of 5.5 is optimal for alpha amylase enzyme.
3. Bring temperature to 152 F. This is the optimal temperature for alpha amylase enzyme. Too hot denatures the enzyme. Better to go 5 degrees lower if your temperature control is poor.
4. Kill heat and add 3 grams amylase (2 grams per lb of rice).
5. Cover and allow starch conversion for 1 hour.
6. Perform iodine starch conversion test. If fully converted, continue. If not fully converted, allow to mash until a positive test is achieved.
7. Cool to less than 100 F.
8. Add 1.5 lb of honey. Varietal honey will have a profound effect on the outcome, so choose wisely. Clover or orange blossom is solid, but some dark honeys could yield interesting results.
9. Add 0.4 tsp Fermaid K and 0.8 tsp Fermaid O. Only upfront addition needed. Rice has lots of nutrients.
10. Add 2 drops Fermcap S.
11. Pitch an activated smack pack of Wyeast 1388 once the rice and yeast temperature are equal.
12. Ferment for 3-4 weeks with daily stirring the first week.
13. Hydrometers are useless here, so wait until it tastes good and not too sweet.
14. Refrigerate overnight. (Why? Oxygen is the enemy because it leads to chemical reactions. Filtering and racking introduces a lot of oxygen. However, chemical reactions occur much slower at cold temperatures. Cold filtering is just an added protection from oxidation).
15. Strain through cheesecloth and a metal strainer into a new carboy. Place back in the refrigerator.
16. Optional: Add a small cedar plank. This is to simulate a taru style sake. Taste first to determine if this would clash with your honey choice. Taste daily until the proper amount is achieved, then remove the plank. This is usually 3-5 days in the refrigerator.
17. Airlock it and allow to clear.
18. Bottle.
Specs (lots of guesswork here)
SG 1.148?
FG 1.020?
ABV 16%?
Rice Gravity Math
1 cup honey is 0.75 lbs
1 Tbsp honey = 64 calories
-1 cup honey has 12x or 768
-1020 calories per pound
-1 lb honey per gallon adds 40 points
-1 point is 25.5 calories
1 cup uncooked rice is 0.4 lbs.
1 cup cooked rice = 242 calories
-1 cup uncooked rice has 2.5x or 605
-1512 calories per pound (uncooked)
-1 lb adds 59 points per gallon
This is a draft for what I plan to do. I am asking you with sake experience to tell me how to improve this. Thanks in advanced!
Technically, this is something different from sake. Historically, sake use a type of fungus (Koji ) to convert starch to sugar, then yeast are used to convert sugar to alcohol. Here, I’ve used science to avoid adding Koji to convert rice starch into sugar. Instead, I’m adding purified alpha amylase to perform this conversion much like the mash for beer brewing. The result is much easier and more consistent than the finicky Koji cultivation.
Sake has been flavored with fruit for a long time, so why not honey? It’s a logical progression in my thought process. In addition, it will add a bit more character to the brew. As a bonus, using honey cuts the amount of rice we need by half. A unique brew with half the work!
Sake BOMM
1. Cook 1.5 pounds (3.75 cups) rice with 5.62 cups water until soft. For a colorful red sake, use half red glutinous rice.
2. Add enough cold water to make a very thick soup. Check pH. Adjust to 5.5 with lactic acid if necessary. A pH of 5.5 is optimal for alpha amylase enzyme.
3. Bring temperature to 152 F. This is the optimal temperature for alpha amylase enzyme. Too hot denatures the enzyme. Better to go 5 degrees lower if your temperature control is poor.
4. Kill heat and add 3 grams amylase (2 grams per lb of rice).
5. Cover and allow starch conversion for 1 hour.
6. Perform iodine starch conversion test. If fully converted, continue. If not fully converted, allow to mash until a positive test is achieved.
7. Cool to less than 100 F.
8. Add 1.5 lb of honey. Varietal honey will have a profound effect on the outcome, so choose wisely. Clover or orange blossom is solid, but some dark honeys could yield interesting results.
9. Add 0.4 tsp Fermaid K and 0.8 tsp Fermaid O. Only upfront addition needed. Rice has lots of nutrients.
10. Add 2 drops Fermcap S.
11. Pitch an activated smack pack of Wyeast 1388 once the rice and yeast temperature are equal.
12. Ferment for 3-4 weeks with daily stirring the first week.
13. Hydrometers are useless here, so wait until it tastes good and not too sweet.
14. Refrigerate overnight. (Why? Oxygen is the enemy because it leads to chemical reactions. Filtering and racking introduces a lot of oxygen. However, chemical reactions occur much slower at cold temperatures. Cold filtering is just an added protection from oxidation).
15. Strain through cheesecloth and a metal strainer into a new carboy. Place back in the refrigerator.
16. Optional: Add a small cedar plank. This is to simulate a taru style sake. Taste first to determine if this would clash with your honey choice. Taste daily until the proper amount is achieved, then remove the plank. This is usually 3-5 days in the refrigerator.
17. Airlock it and allow to clear.
18. Bottle.
Specs (lots of guesswork here)
SG 1.148?
FG 1.020?
ABV 16%?
Rice Gravity Math
1 cup honey is 0.75 lbs
1 Tbsp honey = 64 calories
-1 cup honey has 12x or 768
-1020 calories per pound
-1 lb honey per gallon adds 40 points
-1 point is 25.5 calories
1 cup uncooked rice is 0.4 lbs.
1 cup cooked rice = 242 calories
-1 cup uncooked rice has 2.5x or 605
-1512 calories per pound (uncooked)
-1 lb adds 59 points per gallon