Mukune International Sake Brewing Program

Today we recapped some things we have done earlier in the week… rice washing, steaming, koji, etc.  It was great to be able to do these things twice in a week.  It really helps you get everything down because I feel the first time is kind of a whirl-wind.

I couldn’t help thinking, as we went up the third time today to turn the rice, cool it, and break it up for the koji, that we are like rice pioneers!  I told Daimon-san today that I will never look at a bowl of rice the same again.  We have experienced it raw, milled, finger burn hot, cooled, wet, dry, put great time and effort into washing it, steaming it, lugging it around the kura in bags, running up to the “koji room” several times a day to visit it and baby it (we are talking two shoe changes for this practice alone!), watched it get koji-ed (??) before our very eyes…then hand stirred and loved it some more…backaches, sweat and all.  We watched it change as the koji ate away at the proteins and fats, loaded it into the “Ferrari” and watched it run, took it out of the “Ferrari” and left it in trays in another room to rest for five days, it even made an appearance at last nights ramen noodle run on Daimon-san’s shirt! Whew!  To experience the respect and detail that has been given to this “everyday household grain” is truly amazing!

I think we all worked very hard today from the standpoint of doing many tasks. In all, we did about every task required to make sake. It was great to be a part of our crew, which unhesitatingly jumps into any assigned task with smiles, promptness, and a desire to perform competently. Daimon-san continued to conduct all of the activity with cool preciseness, while  sharing his knowledge.

After having a fun time at dinner tonight, I am finally sufficiently wise  to give in to my fatigue and return to my “four-star suite” for my first full eight hours sleep. My compatriots are still out there enjoying the night scene.

It ain’t easy being a kurabito!!!!

"Gaijin" hard at work

most of you reading this already know how special sake really is. so, please bear with me on this one. for those of you who just happened to stumble upon this blog, hopefully my fellow colleagues and myself will be able to dispell any myths you may have heard about sake. for one, it is not distilled it is in fact fermented not unlike beer. yet, it is not beer. neither is it a rice wine. so what is it? it’s sake. a lot of people i deal with always say “no thanks, i’ve had a bad experience with that ‘hot saki-stuff’ that is served froma box”. first of all, it’s sa-keh, not saki. secondly, it’s like me saying that i had a bad experience with a wine that came in a box or gallon jug!

so, to those of you who dismiss sake with a wave of your hand, try spending a week here at Daimon-shuzo or at one of John Gauntner’s courses. Sake is incredibly technical and mystical at the same time. there are so many factors that go into creating sake from specific temperatures to types of yeast to the ever-reverent koji(a mold that is responsible for the unique starch-to-sugar conversion process that is an entirely separate and crucial process in itself). on top of that, one must consider the tradition and general peer pressure that a brewery owner may face in this industry.

Enter, Yasutaka Daimon. A rogue brewery owner and toji, who has mastered the fine-balance of combining age-old technique with modern technology all while maintaining a hand-made, boutique-styled product. add to that his generous yet, daring move to allow a mass of ‘Gaijin’ into the depths of his brewery to seek out and learn ANY and EVERY facet of the process no-holes-barred. this is totally unheard of. but, being the pioneer that he is, his generosity and daring has most likely opened a whole new arena in the sake-making industry. other companies have opened breweries in the US , even a sake-pub, but, none have truly opened their doors in the manner that Daimon-san has.

the great thing about this internship is that i’ve spent hours reading and studying the process. now that i’ve actually experienced it, it is all truly coming together for me. kind of like swimming- you can read and study about it all you want to and then jump in the pool and drown. here, we actually have a chance to learn how to swim, not just read about it.

Where am I? I awake to a vague chill in the darkened Kura.In this shadowy, exotic, mysterious building I wonder for a second if the chill is real. Or is it the ghosts of the migrant Kurabitos that have lived in these rooms ? If so, what are they trying to tell me? Are they welcoming me or warning me? I guess I’ll find out? Then it dawns on me. It’s probably the weather. And I put a fleece on and head down for 8 am meeting with our ever gracious host Daimon-san and my fellow interns.
Having met my fellow interns yesterday. It’s amazing how quickly we have bonded. There’s Zennet, a Papuan gold merchant( by way of Austin Texas). whose home brewed sake, he describes,as tasting like cough syrup. Frank, an intense solo traveler, who wears a dogtag, in case he dies on the road. Liloa. A Hawaiian sake salesmen, who out ran a swarm of angry wasps in a football uniform. Chris, a San Francisco native, recently forced to move because of too many dead bodies piling up near his doorstep. Cathy,  a Las Vegas wine sommelier, with a pathological fear of getting “Nekkid” in front of foreigners. And me. My life is a half finished novel that needs a better plot line. All of us have arrived at this special place. To find something. At the very least a rare glimpse into the world of sake making. But I think we’re in for a lot more. And I may not need any help from the kurabito’s ghost.

i ain't afraid of no mr coffee

Last night we met to officially assemble Team Mukune session 4 for the first time. We went over the guidelines and expectations for the program. After the meeting we went out for dinner at Mr. Daimon’s friend’s restaurant. The food was wonderful; beautifully presented, very fresh, and delicious. I tried a few things such as rice in tea with pickled plum (ume ochazuke). It did not sound very good but was so delicious and a nice way to end the meal. Over the meal of course we talked about sake and also about culture and philosophy of life. The combination of food, sake, people, and conversation created a memorable evening.

This is my first trip to Japan and I have sometimes been reminded of France. Japan is an old country with a lot of history and a rich culture. Ancient, stone-lined streets, post and beam architectural design, and quaint flower gardens all remind me of rural towns in Provence. There are also many small food gardens interspersed with houses and town buildings. Given the high cost of land in this area I was really surprised by horticultural usage and it indicates a high value on food quality. Like France, Japan has an excellent gastronomic tradition and the culture of sake parallels the wine culture. Both cultures incorporate aesthetic design and appreciation of beauty into everyday life. Within the brewery, I like seeing the buckets of cut flowers in the store room; it is as if fresh flower arrangements are a necessary accompaniment to every room.

well, i gotta say that i figured being from Hawaii, i’d have no problem with the shoes -off-in-the-house deal…yet, there i was traipsing through the house with slippers on! great. of course, i had to be corrected by Daimon-san. okay, i learned. or did i..?

time to work. we had to change into boots to go into the work areas. no problem. but, yet again we had to transition back into slippers before going up to the koji-muro and yet again to actually go into the koji muro. ummmmm, that was almost no problem. but, it was a bit entertaining watching fellow interns stand there with a deer-in-the-headlights look as to what to do with their slippers, no names mentioned for their sake but, well, it was the same person who has an affinity for the wash closet slippers too.  anyway, the saga continued as we went up to watch the koji being placed into trays. let’s get this straight. slippers to boots. boots to slippers a little break with some hand-washing then up the stairs to change to slippers again, only to change to a different set of slippers. as comical as it is to watch, it really is a great illustration of how technical and detail-oriented sake making is. a lot of this may seem unnecessary to the casual observer, but to those of us who share the passion, it is yet another facet of the Japanese culture that can be conveyed through a bottle of sake.

…then it’s all just another day with a visit to the local karaoke bar to be serenaded by the man himself.

boot scoot and slippers

Okay how do I say this frankly…  ahem…after a wonderful dinner with all the brewers, Daimon-san, and his wife I participated in an outing to the local bathhouse. Let me explain…

We ate at the kura that night..  all gathered around a large table, sitting traditionally on pillows on the floor.  Daimon-san laid out a terrific spread for us… and of course some great sake.  In the course of the dinner we all took turn talking about why we chose to participate in something like this and a little more about our background.  Daimon-san translated to the Kurabitos and they had the opportunity to ask us some questions as well.  One of the brewers wondered..  Why, when we had the whole world at our hands, and even all of Japan, would we chose to come to this brewery in Japan?  It blew me away to think that he did not realize how highly we thought of them and the kura… and how fast all of us jumped on the opportunity to be here.  I think I speak for all of us when I say that we wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in the world.  We have been so graciously welcomed and cared for, have had the opportunity to learn everything we have ever wondered about sake, and have learned life lessons that go far beyond sake production.  Where else would we be?

I had heard talk about the bathhouse or sento all day.  I am the only female on this trip, and have heard only the not so positive things about sentos, so I immediately thought that I would sit this one out.  Although, after hearing all of Daimon-san’s stories during dinner about his wonderful life experiences and the chances he took throughout his life that led him where he is today and, of course, with the courage of sake in me, I changed my mind.  Off to the sento we all went!

Getting there was a blur… it as pretty busy and all I remember seeing were massage chairs.  I took a deep breath, took a last glance  back at all my fellow interns, and went through the doors to the womens section.  Waking in the locker room I was pretty lost, but very excited at the same time.  I undressed slowly and cautiously, until I realized that no one in the locker room was paying any special attention to me, then I finally began to relax.  Somehow I learned that I was to shower before I went into any of the baths…  all of the soaps, shampoos, etc were laid out for you.  Then I went to explore.  First I went into the sauna..  it was so intense and so hot I could only stand a minute.  I wandered through the spa area where the pools were filled with powerful jets.  I saw that there was an outside area and immediately headed that way.  Outside there was a huge progeection TV with Japanese movies on.  There were many group baths or pools with about two to three women in each of them…steam rising up from the heat.  I decided to start in a single heated bath… just room for one.  It was surrounded by lush trees and waterfalls… just like being in an oasis.  Laying under the stars in a heated bath listening to the sounds of Japan, I finally realized I liked this place… I really liked it.  So relaxing.  Time to be alone and reflect, or time to socialize if you wish.  After that I must have looked like a madman traveling from bath to bath…I only had an hour and was determined to experience the different temperatures and different sceneries of each and every bath.  I finally found myself in a cold bath… waterfall trickling down.  It was so cold, yet so refreshing after all the hot baths.  One final dip to experience the powerful jets in another bath….and I was done.  I rushed out to excitedly to tell my fellow interns and Daimon-san about my great experiences… and saw a couple of the interns passed out on the massage chair.  It was a great night.  I put myself out there and learned about something I really enjoyed that I never thought I would experience.

Mother Age gets all things. Some things, and people, get there faster than others, even with intent sometimes.

The first night with our welcome dinner, we had the privilege of tasting sake that is rarely seen be me. Koshu sake. This is deliberately aged sake. Daimon-san has saved these in order to see how they matured. Some have also been deliberately kept at less than ideal storage in order to see the difference.

Welcome dinner

The first was a seventeen-year old sake that had been kept at around 6 deg. C. We didn’t know anything about it before tasting and were asked to guess. I felt that it had roundness and fullness with an edge of umami that made it very enjoyable. I had zero clue that it was aged because of a degree of freshness. The next one had been stored in the open and it displayed it’s seventeen years. It had caramel flavors with fino sherry color. I would not want to have it with a meal but as an aperitif, well chilled, and  with something salty it could be enjoyable.

We had the good fortune to have another one at last night’s dinner. This one was a seven-year old honjo-shu and had more caramelization than the previous two. As we say, it was interesting.

I am thankful to have had my tasting knowledge increased by these sakes.

In general, I like my sake young (Coincidentally like my women), thus I would not purchase aged sake for meals. I look at sake like wine in respect to aging. Using optimal storage for young wines and having the opportunity to follow their development is ideal for me. I will also strive to do the same for sake and drink them at what my limited ability determines is their peak maturity, while still having some degree of remaining freshness.

Today we are going to Kyoto to see a wonderful aged city and tonight to drink some young sake.

Life is good!!

Daimon-san maps out the day

yesterday was the day where the whole process started making much more sense to me than it did from just reading about making sake .  we did everything from starting a new batch of moto to adding the first rice (soe) to scraping the kasu off of the filters in the press.  in between these steps, we were also spreading out the rice that would later have koji mold sprinkled onto it.

one thing i realized from actually doing the steps is that my thoughts of making sake at home may need to be rethought.  my apartment doesn’t have nearly enough space for the type of setup i think i’d need.  this might be a good thing for my friends though, as now they won’t have to worry about going blind from drinking whatever ”sake” i tried to produce.

Itadakimasu!

as with the day before, the work day was followed up by some “cultural” activities – hitting up a nearby izakaya for some oishii food and getting our drink on.  sashimi, chicken katsu, beef tataki, tempura, marinated fish, etc arrived to the table and were quickly devoured and washed down with beer and sake.  Daimon-san continued to test our senses with each sake offerring.  “How old? Which grade? Polishing amount? Alcohol added?”  Having never gone through a class on tasting sake, these ”tests” have been difficult for me but i feel like i’m starting to get a bit better at it.

Daimon-san sings!

after getting stuffed and heated, we dove straight into another japanese cultural experience: singing karaoke.  “Born to Run”, “Creep”, “Achy Breaky Heart”, “What A Wonderful World”, “Baby Got Back” and more were sung with…well, if not the most dulcid of tones, at least a lot of fervor.  in between songs we were also treated to some karate action by a 70 year old karate instructor.  there was a brief moment when it looked like there might be a Tiger vs Crane showdown, but luckily cooler heads prevailed.  ; )

the evening wrapped up the way most of my favorite nights in japan have:  at the convenience store buying some instant ramen and beer for a midnite snack. 

such a good day!

Opportunity is missed by most because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.

Thomas Alva Edison

When I saw previous interns cleaning the Yabuta machine, I wondered :  “Why do that. What will that teach me?????’”

This is the machine that gives us that visual “clear and clean” quality that we talk about when describing many sakes.

While cleaning it today, I was given the answer. It’s inventors were geniuses. How it works is pure magic. In goes moromi at the top ( the sake that has finished it’s fermentation ), filtered sake comes out the bottom. It is then pumped, to tanks for maturation for at least a month.

Inside the Yabuta, remain the dregs, kasu. This is then scraped off the membranes of the machine by hand. This is where we come in. While scraping I finally understood what had remained a huge mystery to me, even after seeing many of these machines of similar design in sake kura and in wineries. The owners had always explained how they worked.

Yabuta cleaning

The machine has a huge piston and everyone had always said that it did not provide the pressure for filtration. I always assumed that they were jiving me. If it doesn’t do the work, why is it there?????

I never understood how it was possible to filter without pressure from the huge piston that the machine has.

Well, they were not jiving. The sole function of the piston is to put pressure on the many metal supports that hold the many filtering membranes. This pushes the frames so tightly together that the liquid does not leak through between them. This is done before the sake is put into the machine.

It is the inflation of the membranes with air that provides the force to filter the liquid. Only by cleaning the holes where the moromi had entered and exited have I been able to concretely understand this important step in sake making. I am thankful that Daimon-san surely knew this when he assigned us this “Scut work”.