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Fermentation Atlas

Alcoholic drinks from Japan

Genshu, shiboritate, muroka, tobingakoi and shizuku (pressing and finishing styles)原酒

These names describe how sake is pressed and finished, not how it is brewed. Genshu is sold without the water that normally brings sake down to about 15 % alcohol, so it stays at 17–20 %. Shiboritate is shipped straight after pressing, muroka skips charcoal filtering, and shizuku drips from hanging bags with no pressure. Made in 5 steps over 21 days – 28 days. The longest step, ferment the main mash, takes 21–28 days (Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association and…) and runs at 8–18 °C (Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association and…). Aspergillus oryzae and Saccharomyces cerevisiae sake yeast do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step21–28 daysReported[nrib2011]Ferment the main mash
Temperature8–18 °CReported[nrib2011]Ferment the main mash
Fully documentedAlcoholic drinks21 days – 28 daysGenshu is an optional label term defined in the National Tax Agency's sake labelling standard; shiboritate, muroka, tobingakoi and shizuku are trade terms with no legal definitionFamily: Sake (base flow: junmai, sokujo starter)More alcoholic drinksMore from Japan

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceStandard main-mash ratios from the National Research Institute of Brewing. These styles can be made from any grade of sake.
80Steamed polished rice · Standard mash ratio, counted as polished rice[nrib2011]
20Rice koji (kome-koji)[nrib2011]
130Water · Standard mash ratio; no water is added after pressing for genshu[nrib2011][nta-label]
Yeast starter (shubo)[nrib2011]
Starterkoji/qu/mold-starter (rice koji) plus a yeast starter (shubo)

Total time across the recorded steps: 21 days – 28 days

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
StarchSugarAlcoholCO₂8–18 °Cshapes, not to countAspergillus oryzaeSaccharomyces cerevisiae

What changes: Koji enzymes make sugar while yeast turns it to alcohol in the same tank

Step 1 of 5
Ferment the main mash
Time
21–28 days
Reported
Temperature
8–18 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Aspergillus oryzae
Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Output: ripe moromi.

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

The base sake flow can end with charcoal filtering, then pasteurising, storing for six months to a year and diluting to about 15 %. These styles each leave out one of those finishing steps, or press the mash more gently.

Genshu strength
17–20 % alcohol, against around 15 % for diluted sake
Genshu rule
No water added after pressing, except a small adjustment that moves the alcohol by less than 1 %

Related ferments

Variants

  • GenshuNo water added after pressing; 17–20 % alcohol.
  • ShiboritateShipped straight after pressing with no storage; greener and more acidic.
  • MurokaNo charcoal filtering, or no second filtering at all.
  • Shizuku (fukurodori)Mash hung in cloth bags so sake drips out without pressure.
  • TobingakoiThe best part of a batch, set aside in 18 L tobin bottles.
  • ArabashiriThe first, slightly cloudy run from the press.

Safety

Genshu is stronger than most sake, at 17–20 % alcohol. Any of these styles sold as nama (unpasteurised) must be kept at 5 °C or colder, like namazake.

History and sources

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

Since the 2022 revision of the labelling standard, combined terms such as nama genshu can be printed on labels.

  1. [nta-label] National Tax Agency, Outline of the labelling standard for the manufacturing process and quality of sake (清酒の製法品質表示基準の概要), Notice No. 8 of 1989 as revised in 2003 and 2022spec
  2. [nrib2011] Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association and National Research Institute of Brewing 2011, A Comprehensive Guide to Japanese Sake, 1st editiongov
  3. [saketimes2021] SAKETIMES 2021, SAKE 101 Shinshu (shinshu and shiboritate), 6 December 2021web
  4. [wp-sake] Wikipedia, Sake (outline only; tobingakoi and shiboritate)wiki