Time at last for Andy and Jim to tackle the beast that is the junmai ideology. This time the gents look at just how junmai became such a hot topic, what it really means for the brewing industry, and the figures behind its postwar “revival,” if that’s what it really is.  Vocabulary from this episode Aruten - Brewer’s alcohol added. Short for arukoru tenka Komedake no osake - sake made from only rice/rice koji/yeast. Mutenka - Nothing added Recommended Sake Andy - Gokyo Kiokezukuri Junmai  Jim - Ryujinmaru Junmai Nama Genshu Our theme music is from  Lotus Lane by The Loyalist - Preconceived Notions Available at https://soundcloud.com/preconceived-notions Under a  Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported— CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lotus-lane Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/1YVHRMVwwHg

We are finishing our series on Japan's major brewing regions in Fushimi, Kyoto. Built around the palace of one of Japan's most powerful warlords, we discuss how this once-sleepy town literally cleaned its way to becoming one of Japan's most famous brewing regions. Vocabulary from this Episode gokusui: fragrant water kinmeisui: Golden Water ginmeisui: Silver Water Recommended Sake: Andy - Souku Usu-Nigori Jim - Sho Chiku Bai Our theme music is from  Lotus Lane by The Loyalist - Preconceived Notions Available at ⁠https://soundcloud.com/preconceived-notions⁠ Under a  Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported— CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lotus-lane Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/1YVHRMVwwHg 

Saijo - Sake Theme Park The second of our series on Japan’s major brewing regions takes us to Hiroshima’s Saijo. This little town built on sake brewing is a sake lover’s dream. Seven breweries in close proximity, with museums, shops, and tasting opportunities galore. Come learn how it got to be this way in the latest Sake Deep Dive! Vocabulary from this episode Shuto: Affectionate name for Saijo meaning sake capital. Sake kabu: A brewing license system enforced by the Tokugawa shogunate. Recommended Sake Andy - Kirei Mannen  Jim - Kamotsuru Daiginjo Tokubetsu Gold Our theme music is from  Lotus Lane by The Loyalist - Preconceived Notions Available at https://soundcloud.com/preconceived-notions Under a  Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported— CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lotus-lane Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/1YVHRMVwwHg 

This month’s topic is big, literally.  In the first of a special three-part series, we explore Nada; the biggest, boldest, and most storied sake region of them all. Does Nada’s sake still have relevance within today's craft-orientated industry? Is it all just soulless, machine-made plonk for the masses? Join us to hear our thoughts on this enigmatic behemoth of the sake industry.      Vocabulary from this episode   Nada Go-Go: Indicating the so-called 5 villages of Nada. From east to west, they are Nishi, Mikage, Uozaki, Nishinomiya and Imazu. Kudari-zake: Sake that was ‘’sent down’’ from the Kamigata region (modern-day Kyoto and the surrounding vicinity) during the Edo period.   Recommended Sake Andy – Hakushika Kuromatsu Jim – Kenbishi Kuromatsu

This time we see what value sweetness in sake has... The same meter value! Andy and Jim try to pin down what "karakuchi" means, how sake had changed over time, and what we should really look for when buying a bottle. Kanpai! Vocab Amakuchi - typically any "sweet" thing. Karakuchi - traditionally, the foil for sweet things, which has made the word very context dependent. It could mean spicy, bitter, salty, or just heavily flavored. In sake, it means 'not sweet," which is pretty vague. Recommendations: Andy - Tamagawa Time Machine Muroka Nama Genshu Jim - Kanenaka Kimoto Junmai Chokarakuchi

Andy and Jim get a little bit more personal as they take a look at a topic close to both their hearts: sake vessels! From tokkuri to hirahai, they talk bottles and cups, with a couple of bones to the wine-glass crowd, too. Raise whatever is closest to hand for a rousing kampai to shuki! Vocabulary from this episode Tokkuri - a common style of bottle-style sake pourer Katakuchi - a widely varied style of pitcher/bowl style sake pourer. Guinomi - a relatively large sake cup Ochoko - a relatively small sake cup Heihei - a rather unusual style of “flat” sake pourer  Masu - A square wooden or plastic, sometimes lacquered sake vessel. Kiriko - Japanese cut glass, often used for sake cups and pourers. Recommended Sake Andy - Juhachizakari Takaji Junmai Omachi Muroka Hiire Genshu Jim - Gokyo Junmai Kiokezukuri Kimoto Our theme music is from  Lotus Lane by The Loyalist - Preconceived Notions Available at https://soundcloud.com/preconceived-notions Under a  Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported— CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lotus-lane Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/1YVHRMVwwHg 

With the spring flood of namazake, Andy and Jim take their usual contrarian position and go for the hiire stuff. Why do brewers heat-treat their sake? How do they do it? And why is Andy so resistant to the idea of sticking his hand in a vat of hot sake? Find out in the latest Sake Deep Dive! Vocabulary from this episode: Binkan Kyurei - A specific term for pasteurization and rapid cooling of sake in the bottle. Literally “bottle heat rapid cool” Hiire - Heating sake to kill bacteria and halt enzymatic action Hiochi - The term for unpasteurized sake that has gone bad from bacterial action. Literally “Fire failure.” Hiochikin - A blanket term for a group of alcohol resistant lactobacilli that can thrive in sake and turn it bad if not killed through heating. Jakan - The “snake tube” used in a traditional heating method for sake. Nizake - A kind of heated sake introduced to Japan from China during the Muromachi period (1336-1573), inspiring early pasteurization techniques. Recommended Sake Andy - Aramasa Cosmos  Jim - Dewazakura Ginjoshu Our theme music is from  Lotus Lane by The Loyalist - Preconceived Notions Available at https://soundcloud.com/preconceived-notions Under a  Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported— CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lotus-lane Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/1YVHRMVwwHg 

Andy and Jim climb the mountains and explore the rice fields to get to the root of the “king” of sake rice, Yamadanishiki. We look at where it came from, why it got so big, and maybe express a wee bit of skepticism about those magical Hyogo rice fields. Vocabulary from this episode: Koji Haze - The distribution of koji over the surface of the rice grains. Kumamoto Kobo - The origin of Association Yeast #9, often called the “Ginjo yeast.” Nengo - The naming of eras in Japan based on the currently reigning emperor. Now, for example, we are in the Reiwa era, preceded by Heisei, and Showa before that.  Nishiki - Silk brocade. A word often used to denote something elegant and luxurious. Shinpakuritsu - The rate of starchy “white heart” appearance in a batch of rice, expressed as a percentage. Shuzokotekimai - The more official term for what we call sakamai, or rice well-suited to sake brewing. Tankanwataribune - One of Yamadanishiki’s direct parents. “Tankan” means short stalk. Yamadaho - Another of Yamadanishiki’s direct parents.  Toku A chiku - One of a few areas across two cities in northern Hyogo prefecture with reputations for growing high-grade Yamadanishiki rice. They are: Kato City - Yashiro, Tojo; Miki city - Yokawa Recommended Sake: Andy - Kikumasamune Gokujo Tokubetsu Honjozo Chotokusen Jim - Tatsuriki Junmai Dragon Episode 3  Our theme music is from Lotus Lane by The Loyalist - Preconceived Notions Available at https://soundcloud.com/preconceived-notions Used under a  Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported— CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lotus-lane Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/1YVHRMVwwHg 

It was inevitable. This month, Jim and Andy wander the green mountains of Jim’s adopted home of Yamaguchi Prefecture. They touch on local history, the reemergence of Yamaguchi sake, and—of course—Dassai. They might also mention Jim’s new book, Discovering Yamaguchi Sake. On sale now wherever books are sold!For more info, check the publisher’s page at: Discovering Yamaguchi Sake Vocabulary from this episode Fugu - blowfish or pufferfish. A specialty of Yamaguchi. Soridaiji - the official title of Japan’s prime minister, the leader of the national government. Yamaguchi is home to more than any other prefecture in Japan. Recommended Sake Andy - Gokyo Josen Futsushu Our theme music is from Lotus Lane by The Loyalist - Preconceived Notions Available at https://soundcloud.com/preconceived-notions Under a  Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported— CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lotus-lane Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/1YVHRMVwwHg

In this New Year's episode of Sake Deep Dive, Andy and Jim get back to the start—yeast starter, that is. We round out the group by taking on yamahai this time, building on what we’ve already covered in the kimoto and sokujo episodes with how it came to be, and what it is becoming now. Vocabulary from this episode Kai-ire - while generally a term for mixing or stirring the mash, here we mean a step in orthodox yamahai where a single brewery worker mixes and crushes the moto mixture after kumikake Kumikake - circulating the enzyme-rich moto liquid using a perforated metal cylinder in the middle of the mash, and ladling the liquid it lets in back over the rice outside Recommended Sake Andy - Kikuhime Yamahai Junmai Jim - Yuki no Bosha Hiden Yamahai Junmai Ginjo Our theme music is from Lotus Lane by The Loyalist - Preconceived Notions Available at https://soundcloud.com/preconceived-notions Under a  Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported— CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lotus-lane Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/1YVHRMVwwHg