Episode 9 – One Bottle Batches & Kato Sake Works

Episode 9 – One Bottle Batches & Kato Sake Works

In our latest episode we talk with our friend Shinobu Kato about making home brew Sake, and why he’s starting a Sake Brewery in Brooklyn NY. John Hagen brings you his latest Style Corner and discusses what makes a great Barley Wine. Finally, we talk with Bitter & Esters employee Toby Benjamin about the Pros and Cons of his One bottle batches.

Please subscribe on Google or iTunes!

Listen on Google Play Music

We also wanted to include a recipe from Shinobu with some instructions, and what you’ll need to make one gallon of Sake at home.

Simple 1 Gallon Sake Recipe

Ingredients

  • Raw Rice: 4 lb 
  • Koji Rice: 1.4 lb
  • Water: 0.85 gal
  • Lactic Acid: 1/3 tsp
  • Yeast: 1 pack

Expected Yield 

  • Finished Sake: 1 gal
  • Sake Masu: 4 lb

Equipment (other than typical beer home brewing equipment)

  • Rice steamer
  • 2 gal fermentation vessel (ideally temperature controlled)
  • Cheese cloth (to press the mash)

Process

a. Rice Steaming

  1. Wash, soak, and dry raw rice
  2. Steam (not boil!) rice for 40 minutes
  3. Cool rice to 75F or below

b. Mash Prep

  1. Mix water, lactic acid, koji rice, and yeast in the fermenter
  2. Add cooled rice from (a)

c. Saccharification & Fermentation

  1. Keep the mash at 70F until it liquifies (no solid rice above water line); stir mash without mashing rice grains a few times a day
  2. Lower temperature to 50F and ferment for 3-4 weeks; stir mash daily

d. Pressing

  1. Press (filter) the mash using cheese cloth, etc.
  2. (Optional) Rack or filter to further clarify the sake
  3. (Optional) Pasteurize the sake at 150F for 1 minute
  4. (Optional) Dilute to 15-16% ABV with water

Send brewing questions to questions@bitterandesters.com

See What You Can Brew is a community oriented homebrewing podcast that will give you insights into the awesome things happening in the world of New York City Homebrewing! We’ll talk about what homebrewers are up to, different beer styles, brewing tips and troubleshooting, interviews with professional and amateur brewers, answers to listeners questions and witty banter from your favorite homebrew shop owners. See What You Can Brew is produced and recorded at Bitter & Esters, located at 700 Washington Ave. in world-famous Brooklyn, NY.

Back to blog