Sake Revolution

Season 1. Episode 22. First comes love, then comes… sake? What is it like to marry a hardcore sake nerd? This week we go right to the source and interview our Host John Puma’s Better Half, the lovely Myshell! She takes us behind the scenes and gives us the lowdown on a live steeped in sake and the secret advantage of a sake-nerd spouse… you get to skip the jet fuel sake and leap ahead right to the good stuff. Myshell also brings one of her favorite sakes to the table for the boys to drink: her long time favorite, the rich and robust Narutotai Ginjo Nama Genshu. Whatever you do, just don’t call it the “oil can sake”. We also learn Myshell’s game plan for finding sake bars that are off the beaten path in tokyo. Afterall – “What’s the worst that could happen?” Suffice to say that Myshell has developed her own sake palate and preferences. and If anyone ever asks you if you want to try a taste of “crazy sake” be sure to say “I Do”!Support the show

Season 1. Episode 21.  Travel anywhere in the world and the standard wine bottle will be the same size - 750ml.  But in Japan, the standard sake bottles measure 720ml.  What gives? Well, wouldn't you know that sake has a unique system of measuring volume - and it's all based off of one "go".  What's  "go" you ask?  A "Go" is equal to 180 milliliters... that's about 6 ounces.  All the primary measurements of sake volume are based off this starting point.  The next level up is called a "sho" - that would be 1.8 Liters or 10 "go".  Next we have a "to" (pronounced toe) measurement.  One "to" is equal to 18 Liters.  Finally there is the "koku" measurement.  One Koku is equal to 1,000 "go", or 100 "to".  It's a unique measurement system, but when you break it down, it's pretty easy to understand.   In Japan, when visiting a restaurant, sake is often ordered by the "go"... or 180ml serving.  One go, two go etc.  and a Koku is important for sake breweries to measure their yearly production output.  One koku again is 180 liters.  Large breweries produce 20, 30 or 40 thousand koku!  Small family run breweries might produce a few hundred koku per year.  It's a unique measuring system, but go, sho, to and koku are all ways for us to measure our sake!Support the show

Season 1. Episode 20. Do you know where to find the "Country of Beautiful Sake"? If you answered Japan's AKITA prefecture - you're right!  Akita is a rural and rice-proud prefecture in the far north of Japan.  This agricultural hub produces a lot of rice and a lot of sake.  Timothy explains his encounters with one of the most famous foods from this region - Iburigakko.  No Joke, this smoked, pickled daikon radish is one of the most perfect sake pairings you'll ever find.  From there, our hosts go on a deep dive into the culture and into two sakes from Akita - Akitabare Shunsetsu and Amanoto Tokubetsu Junmai.  It's fun to discuss how these sakes with similar stats come across differently on the palate. You can taste the pride in their rice and rural heritage. Although John and Timothy are missing Japan and bummed they can't travel there now, this won't stop them from planning their next trip.  Get out your JR Railpass as Akita is now high on the list.  Support the show

Season 1. Episode 19. Sometimes there are happy accidents.  This week, John and Timothy discover they both brought the same sake to the Sake Revolution party...  This could have been an embarrassing Faux Pas, but instead they resolve to make the best of things and dive deep into this week's sake.  We are talking Born "Gold" Junmai Daiginjo.  It turns out, all that glitters IS gold when it comes to this delicious sake. It comes from the hard to pronounce "Katokichibee Shoten" sake brewery - but let's just call it "Born".  Brewery President Mr. Kato is rightfully gung-ho about marketing and promoting his sakes and - case in point - beyond this weeks Born Gold, Kato-san also makes the famously elusive "Dreams Come True" Junmai Daiginjo sake, which they say, if you take a sip, you'll dream of your future.  Such dreams are a little out of our price range for now, so we'll settle just for Gold.  The taste of Born Gold is rich and perfumed with a hint of straw color that comes from one year of aging at freezing temperatures.  In the end we were happy that great sake minds think alike!Support the show

Season 1, Episode 18.  Everyone's gotta start somewhere and every revolution has its beginning.  In this week's episode, John and Tim look back at how each of them came do discover sake.  Tim introduces us to Hakkaisan Junmai Ginjo, the sake that got him started after his A-Ha moment at a New York City sushi restaurant. That fateful dinner lead to a new career and a new marriage!  One sip of sake can change your life!  This sake is light, clean and crisp.  A perfect pairing with Sushi.John's story takes us on a bumpy first trip to Japan and then a deep dive into sake discovery in New York City.  John recalls that Kaori Junmai Ginjo was the first premium sake he was able to order by name.  It's an aromatic sake - It better be! "Kaori" means aroma - but has a lighter overall impression than John remembers.  One thing both Tim and John agree on, the sake selection today is much bigger than what we had just 15 years ago --- a good sign that more and more people with have their sake A-Ha moments, too.Support the show

Season 1, Episode 17.  Often the overlooked step-child of sake production, bottling is a lot more complex that you might think.  And a lot depends on the scale of your production.  A family run Mom and Pop brewery might bottle and label sake by hand.  Whereas a larger brewery might have an multiple automated bottling lines with a clean room.  Keeping with this week's theme, John and Tim challenged themselves to profile two sakes that were sold in bottles!  We did it!  The two sake selected not only came in bottles but are both would could be described as sturdy... or some might go so far as to say indestructible.  Either way, they are absolutely delicious.  So, to quote Laverne and Shirley, "Schlemiel! Schlimazel! Hasenpfeffer Incorporated!" and we're off to the bottling line!Support the show

Season 1, Episode 16. Pasteurization is well known and it used for a lot of sakes.  this kills off any bacteria or yeast and makes sake stable outside of refrigeration.  In the world of sake there are a number of variations on pasteurization, known as "hi-ire" in Japanese or "into the fire".  We've got our Full Nama (also known as Nama Nama), Once pasteurized nama chozo, Once pasteurized Nama zume, and twice pasteurized regular sake. As if that wasn't enough, there are also at least three ways to do pasteurization for sake... before you know it, we will get to 10,000 thousand ways.  John and Tim both opt for highly fragrant and flavorful sakes this week.  Give a listen to see what they've came up with.Support the show

Season 1, Episode 15. It's been said that the process of making sake can be done in 10,000 different ways.  Talk about versatility!  As our series on Sake Production methods continues, we're going to learn about three, no... wait, make that four more of those 10,000 ways.  This time we're looking at Pressing.  When the mash is fermented, we need to separate the newly created sake from all the unfermented rice solids.  this is achieved by pressing the mash.  There are a number of ways to achieve this some automated, some totally analog and some super high tech.  But, the big news is that at the pressing stage you can finally drink your sake!  Now, many sakes go on to further processing, but if you're in a hurry you can stop sake production with this step and pour yourself a glass.  Speaking of pouring John and Tim each bring a sake to the table.  John tries the high end Hanagaki Usu-Nigori Junmai Daiginjo, while Tim goes for a futsushu named - what a coincidence - "Ban Ryu" which translates to 10,000 Ways! Well, now...only 9,996 more ways to go.Support the show

Season 1, Episode 14. In our continuing Sake Production Series, we are now in the home stretch! The main event, or you could say the "Main Mash"! Today John and Tim are taking Moromi, also known at the main fermentation mash.  This 25-30 day fermentation period starts with a four day process known as "Sandan Jikomi".  These first four days of the Moromi see all the ingredients added - but in specific amounts on specific days.  Without a doubt, the temperature and length of moromi mash fermentation have a big impact on the final quality of the sake. "Low and Slow" fermentation helps produce a smoother, cleaner sake.  John and Tim also taste two fantastic sakes in this episode, the Bijofu Tokubestsu Junmai from Kochi, and the Shimeharitsuru "Jun" Junmai Ginjo from Niigata.  Listen in to get their tasting notes and get the low down on these two special sakes.Support the show

Season 1, Episode 13.  Call it Shubo, or Moto, or Seed Mash, or Fermentation Starter or Yeast Starter... it's all the same thing!  In sake production, shubo is the step where fermentation actually begins and the goal that this step is actually to create a healthy vibrant yeast colony for the main mash.  To expand the number of yeast bit by bit, we need this stepping stone of a process to get us from a tiny amount of yeast to enough to ferment a big tank of sake.  The time we spend to make "shubo" gets us there.  There are 4 possible ways to make shubo: Sokujo, Yamahai, Kimoto and Bodai-moto.  Tim and John explore each of these variations and dig a little deeper into the family tree of sake.Support the show