Sake class

I didn't like to study when I was a kid.
Only after I grew up, I realized the fun and excitement of learning.
My life could have been different if I knew it earlier, but I replace this regret with the attitude of better late than never, and now I'm busy learning anything I am interested in.
It means, I took sake class.

The class was held at Takara Sake brewery in Berkeley.

After we learned about the category, style and production methods of sake, we had a tour of the brewery.

At this size of brewery, many of the processes are mechanized.
Rice is steamed and cooled down while they pass through a huge machine, and inoculation of Koji mold is done by this small machine.

Fermentation takes place in huge tanks. There is a floor at the top of the tank for easier access.
This is then pressed by Yabuta shibori machine which were brought into from Japan.

The containers for Ginjo sake fermentation were relatively small.

This brewery also has Sake museum.
They display the tools that were used for traditional sake making.

At this class, we got to try many sake from all over Japan, from Honjozo to Muroka Nama Genshu to Kijoshu (sweet sake).
Sake has more variety of styles and flavors than I thought.
The flavor of sake doesn't change of course, but it somehow taste better if I had more knowledge about them.