お酒 (おさけ - osake) - Sake

お酒 or "rice wine" as it's sometimes mistakenly called, is a piece of Japanese culture and history that's been filling flasks and seasoning dishes for the better part of 2000 years. In fact, domestically it's known as 日本酒 (にほんしゅ - nihonshu) or "Japanese alcohol", which should give you some idea of its sway. With 2000 breweries currently operating in Japan and exporting internationally, the お酒 business appears to be booming - it now comes in as many varieties as wine or beer and can accompany cuisine from all over the world. It can be served hot in 冬 (ふゆ - fuyu - winter), cold in 夏 (なつ - natsu - summer) or at room temperature in between; you won't be left wanting for choice if you want to experience お酒 for yourself.

For the past 700 years, 兵庫 (ひょうご - Hyogo) has been a keystone in the お酒 brewing industry; the 灘 (なだ - Nada) area is the biggest single producer in the country, stretching from 神戸 (こうべ - Kobe) to 西宮 (にしのみや - Nishinomiya). 灘 is split into five brewing areas known as the 五郷 (ごごう - gogou - five districts); 西 (にし - Nishi), 御影 (みかげ - Mikage), 魚崎 (うおざき - Uozaki), 西宮 and 今津 (いまづ - Imazu), collectively providing about 30% of Japan's 酒. This is no accident - the conditions in 灘 tick all the boxes. The soil and climate are perfect for growing the finest strains of rice and the mineral-rich underground water that bubbles up from the 夙川 (しゅくがわ - Shukugawa) River is ideal for brewing. The cold mountain winds of 六甲山 (ろっこうさん - rokkou san - Mount Rokko) helped to rapidly cool the rice during the old brewing processes as well; to this day several local varieties of お酒 are named after variations of "六甲颪" (ろっこうおろし - rokkou oroshi - roughly "the winds blowing down from Rokko").

That's not to say it's all been smooth sailing; much of the お酒 industry infrastructure in 灘 was destroyed or crippled during both World War II and the 阪神淡路大震災 (はんしんあわじだいしんさい - hanshin awaji daishinsai - Hanshin-Awaji Great Earthquake). Fortunately the recovery was swift, particularly in the latter case - it's reported that the production lines were back in commission within two weeks. The history certainly hasn't been lost - several breweries have museums attached to them dedicated to the early practices and how they originated, complete with grim-faced 杜氏 (とうじ - touji - sake brewer) mannequins to illustrate. I would be grimacing as well, having seen the laborious process from field to flask; the rice needed to be washed, steamed, cooled, cultured, mashed, filtered, skimmed, pasteurised and barrelled, all with simple wooden tools in a simple wooden building. In the old days they didn't even have clocks to rely on, so a lot of the timing was done with workers' songs and chants which presumably broke up some of the monotony as well.

Some breweries maintain a these old "cedar barrel" methods to varying extents but other traditions are more widespread. 杉玉 (すぎたま - sugitama - literally "Japanese cedar balls") are one example - these are ornaments made from green foliage that are hung up on the eaves of the brewery when a new batch of 酒 is made. They serve as a calendar of sorts - the drier and browner the 杉玉, the more mature the お酒. That aside, for the most part the brewing process has been modernised; it's now done somewhat less romantically in big metal drums by people in surgical masks and gum boots. The steps themselves haven't changed, but everything takes place much faster and has been scaled up to the quantities needed to meet demand in Japan and across the world.

Ancient or modern, お酒 has only ever had a few ingredients and each has a huge influence on the finished product. Firstly, 酒 is 80% water and the mineral content plays a big role in how each brew ends up; hard, mineral-rich water makes for a bold, dry 酒 known colloquially as 男酒 (おとこざけ - otokozake - "male sake") while soft water creates a smooth, sweet 酒 people call 女酒 (おんなざけ - onnazake - "female sake"). 灘 is a particularly famous brewer of 男酒 and the 伏見 (ふしみ - Fushimi) area of 京都 (きょうと - Kyoto) is well known for its 女酒.

Equally important is the rice used in お酒, known as 酒米 (しゅまい - shumai - brewer's rice). 酒米 is larger grained and softer than "table" rice and the better strains are notoriously hard to grow in all but a few ideal spots in the country. Once ready, it is milled to remove the husk and some of the grain; the final grade of the 酒 depends on how "polished" its rice is. Finally, a mould known as 麹 (こうじ - kouji) is added to the mix which converts the starch in the rice into sugar and allows it to ferment. This extra step is what separates お酒 from wine, which ferments naturally - 酒 is actually more closely related to beer in this regard. If the fermentation is skipped entirely, the sugar stays intact and the result is known as 甘酒 (あまざけ - amazake - "sweet sake"), a creamy, alcohol-free drink that's enjoyed hot with ショウガ (shouga - ginger) during the colder months; this could be considered what grape juice is to wine.

With all the variation in ingredients there is dizzying array of お酒 available, to the extent that several "special" types have been designated by the government based on the degree to which the rice is polished, what additives are used and the brewing process itself. The requirements are very complicated but generally, finer milled rice needs less soaking which results in a milder flavour; brews in this category are marketed as modern, "premium" 酒 for people who might consider the whole concept a bit dated. On the other hand, less milled rice and fewer modern additives tend to produce a bolder, more traditional variety of 酒, which is probably what you'll find in grandpa's cupboard. Some are even less processed; varieties like 生酒 (なまざけ - nama zake - unpasteurised sake) and 濁り酒 (にごりざけ - nigori zake - unfiltered sake) are left with so much of the original flavour and colour of the rice that in some cases, they look more like milk than 酒.

When it's served hot, お酒 is known as 熱燗 (あつかん - atsukan) or 燗酒 (かんざけ - kanzake) and when cold it's called 冷酒 (れいしゅ - reishu) or 冷や酒 (ひやざけ - hiyazake). 熱燗 tends to be served in a porcelain flask with matching cups, hot enough to burn unsuspecting mouths. 冷酒 can be served on ice the same way, in glasses or in wooden or lacquer boxes. It's even made its way to 自動販売機 (じどうはんばいき - jidou hanbaiki - vending machines) countrywide, served in little glass pots that look a bit like jam jars. For those that like their experience a little more traditional, a better option might be some of the big shrine festivals like お正月 (おしょうがつ - oshougatsu - New Year), where the 酒樽 (さけだる - sakedaru - sake barrels) are cracked open and ladled out by hand. Mild or bold, modern or traditional, hot or cold - whatever you choose, I'm sure you'll enjoy it. That is of course if you're old enough - as they say here, "お酒は二十歳になってから" (おさけははたちになってから - osake ha hatachi ni nattekara) - "alcohol from when you turn 20". Your お酒 experience has been 2000 years in the making - I'm sure another few won't hurt.