Q & A
Q1：What’s Sake? Is it like wine?, Is it like beer?or Is it like spirits?
Sake is the same type of liquor as beer and wine, It is brewed. It is different from distilled liquor.
See the “How Sake is made” page on this website for detail.
Q2：What is Sake made from?
Sake is made by fermenting steamed rice.
Q3：What is the color and appearance of Sake?
The appearance is usually colorless and transparent, but some are slightly colored and cloudy, and others are like sparkling wine.
Q4：How much is Sake aged before drinking?
Usually Sake is aged for about half a year. In recent years, however, freshly pressed “Shin-shu” is preferred. On the other hand, there is also what is called “Chouki-jukusei-shu” that has been aged for more than one year.
Q5：What types of Sake are there?
See the “Type of Sake” page on this website for details.
Q6：What is the alcohol content of Sake?
It is about 12% to 17%. The law stipulates less than 22%. About 15% is common.
Q7：Is there a special way to drink Sake?
In addition to drinking at normal temperature, there are two ways to drink Sake: cold “Hiya-sake” and warm “Kan-sake”.
Depending on the Type of Sake, food, and the situation at that time.See the “How to drink”page on this website for details.
Q8：How much is the price of Sake?
In Japan , you can buy a good one a 720ml bottle for about 1,200 to 3,000 yen, and a 1800ml big bottle for about 1,800 to 5,000 yen.
Q8：Is there anything I should be careful about when storing Sake?
- Sake is particularly vulnerable to sunlight, so really shouldn’t place it in the sun!
- Sakes are colored in a short time by the action of ultraviolet rays when exposed to sunlight or near a fluorescent light, that produce a sunlight odor (burnt odor).
- High temperature must be avoided, but at normal room temperatures OK. When storing for a long time, about 15 ℃ is recommended for unopened items.
- However, Sake that is not pasteurize, like fresh Sake “Nama-sake”, I can easily change its quality, so it must be stored in a refrigerator at 1-5 ° C. However, the flavor changes little by little even this temperature, so it is better to drink it as soon as possible.
Q9：Please tell me that you recommended Sake
It’s a difficult question because it depends on your taste, but you can search for Sake from all over Japan at “Nihonshu-Tourism”, the sister site of this website, so please try it out.