Sake making: before and after

Saccharification and fermentation are happening
in the same vat at the same time.

This white bubbly mixture eventually becomes the one below: fresh out of the pressing machine, the sake retains a bit of carbon dioxide; thus you feel a tingling sensation that can only be experienced here in the sake factory. The photos are from Kirei Brewery in Saijo, Higashi-hiroshima. 






It was toward the end of the sake making season in March. I had a chance to tour their factory. And after the tour, a luncheon at a nearby Japanese restaurant. Only women were invited to this gathering of the sake factory tour and lunch. We had a hilarious time!

Fresh out of the press