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Fermentation Atlas

Alcoholic drinks from Japan

Doburoku (unpressed cloudy sake)どぶろく

Doburoku is Japan's farmhouse rice brew. Steamed rice, rice koji and water ferment together in one vessel for about a week, and the thick mash is bottled and drunk without straining. Japanese law defines it by exactly that; once any liquid is separated from the solids, it is no longer doburoku. Made in 5 steps over 21 days – 37 days. The longest step, keep it cold, takes 14–30 days (Japan Tourism Agency multilingual commentary…). Aspergillus oryzae, the koji mould that turns rice starch into sugar and Saccharomyces cerevisiae do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step14–30 daysReported[mlit-miyama]Keep it cold
Fully documentedAlcoholic drinks21 days – 37 daysMore alcoholic drinksMore from Japan

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceA trial batch of 1.25 kg total rice from the Ibaraki Prefectural Industrial Technology Center, made for doburoku special-zone brewers in Kitaibaraki; it gave 3.3–3.4 L.
1,000 gSteamed rice (kakemai) · Koshihikari milled to 90 %[ibaraki2011]
250 gRice koji (dried) · 20 % of the total rice; bought koji is allowed under the special-zone rules[ibaraki2011][niigata]
2,125 mLWater · 170 % of the total rice[ibaraki2011]
1.0 mLLactic acid (90 %) · The law allows the least acid needed to help fermentation and stop spoilage[ibaraki2011][niigata]
1.0 gDried yeast[ibaraki2011]
Starterkoji/qu/mold-starter (rice koji) + yeast

Total time across the recorded steps: 21 days – 37 days

Start
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What changes: Washed and soaked rice is steamed

Step 1 of 5
Wash, soak and steam the rice
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Aspergillus oryzae
Moulds
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Lactic acid bacteria
Yeasts

Output: steamed rice.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

What makes this one different

Doburoku is never pressed or strained. Nigori sake is pressed through a coarse mesh so fine solids remain; doburoku keeps all its rice and is classed in Japanese law as "other brewed liquor".

Related ferments

Variants

  • Shrine doburoku, Shirakawa-go (Gifu)Each shrine brews its own for the Doburoku Festival, 14–19 October. The shrines have held special licences since 1896 to brew for religious use only, never for sale.
  • Doburoku tokku (special-zone farm doburoku)In Structural Reform Special Zones, farmers who also run inns or restaurants may brew from rice they grew themselves without the usual minimum of 6,000 L a year.

Safety

Unpasteurised doburoku holds live lactic bacteria. It is kept in the refrigerator before and after opening, keeps about a month and is best drunk within two weeks.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

Doburoku was brewed in ordinary homes until the government banned unlicensed brewing at the end of the 19th century. Shrines in Shirakawa-go have brewed it since the early Edo period, and it returned to farm villages such as Miyama in Kyoto after doburoku special zones began in the early 2000s.

  1. [ibaraki2011] Tokoyoda S., Takeda F. 2011, 北茨城市地域の基幹製造技術の研究 (core production technology for the Kitaibaraki area; doburoku trial brewing), Report of the Ibaraki Prefectural Industrial Technology Center 40gov
  2. [niigata] Niigata Prefecture, 新潟県内のどぶろく特区 (doburoku special zones in Niigata; legal definition and licence rules)gov
  3. [takayama2025] Takayama City 2025, どぶろく特区の認定申請について (application for a doburoku special zone; 6 kL minimum waived)gov
  4. [mlit-miyama] Japan Tourism Agency multilingual commentary database, R4-00622, どぶろく (Miyama, Kyoto)gov
  5. [mlit-shirakawa] Japan Tourism Agency multilingual commentary database, R2-00124, Doburoku Festival (Shirakawa-go, Gifu)gov
  6. [WP:Doburoku] Wikipedia, Doburoku (outline only)wiki