\"Traditionally, beer is made starting with the malting of barley, while sake an
ID: 223141 • Letter: #
Question
"Traditionally, beer is made starting with the malting of barley, while sake and rice wine begin with the “fermentation” of rice using Aspergillus oryzae. Briefly, explain what is similar and what is different between the malting process and the process of fermentation with A. oryzae."
In other words, tell me how they are similar and then tell me how they are different. I know that wine is made with yeast and is directly converted into ethanol since it is a simple sugar and that to make beer involves first to break down the cellulose into simple sugars using? and then the yeast converts those simple sugars into ethanol.
However, I am unsure about rice fermentation? Is it similar to making beer?
Explanation / Answer
Answer:
Sake is a Japanese germinated rice ferment. Based on a tradition that dates to before 800 BC the Japanese have substituted malted rice for malted barley and produce a high alcohol beverage that is consequently considered more a wine than a beer.
Malting is the process of transforming a grain from a seed to a malt that contains not only the starches and proteins that were present in the seed but also enzymes that can be used to convert the starches and proteins in the malt to sugars and amino acids.
In beer brewing, malt is used as the source of these enzymes, but for making sake, a substance called kome-koji (koji rice) is used. Koji rice is made by cultivating koji-fungi on steamed rice. Koji rice may simply be called koji. The koji-fungus (Aspergillus oryzae) is a beneficial and safe variety of mold that is also used in the production of traditional Japanese seasonings, such as miso and soy sauce.
The fermentation process of sake is more similar to that of beer, in that beer is also made from grains, including rice. But beer is still a single fermentation process and yields an average of 4 - 6% alcohol. The use of malts and hops also gives beer a taste that is more characteristically dry.
During the process of making sake, the mold is cultivated beforehand in a very humid room on Koji rice (or malt rice). The moldy Koji rice, normal rice, and sake yeast mash (shubo) are then mixed together in a large vat. Within the vat, a parallel process is occurring: as the mold breaks the rice starch down into simple sugars, these sugars are in turn reduced by the yeast to ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide. This mixture is allowed to ferment for about a month, during which time more Koji rice, rice, or water may be added to achieve the desired flavor.
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