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Fermentation Atlas

Alcoholic drinks from Japan

Ginjo and daiginjo sake (with junmai ginjo and junmai daiginjo)吟醸

Ginjo and daiginjo are sakes brewed from rice polished to 60 % or 50 % of its weight or less. Spotted koji, aromatic yeast and a long, cold main mash of about 5–10 °C give a light, fruity sake. Junmai versions use only rice, koji and water. Made in 10 steps over 7.6 months – 14 months. The longest step, mature, dilute and bottle, takes 6–12 months (Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association and…) and runs at 15 °C (Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association and…). Aspergillus oryzae and Saccharomyces cerevisiae sake yeasts bred for ginjo aroma do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step6–12 monthsReported[nrib2011]Mature, dilute and bottle
Temperature15 °CReported[nrib2011]Mature, dilute and bottle
Fully documentedAlcoholic drinks7.6 months – 14 monthsSpecial designation (tokutei meisho) under the National Tax Agency's sake labelling standardFamily: Sake (base flow: junmai, sokujo starter)More alcoholic drinksMore from Japan

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceRatios for one main mash as the National Research Institute of Brewing gives them; a tank holds from under 1 t to over 10 t of rice. One kilogram of polished rice gives about 2.1 L of undiluted junmai sake at 18 % alcohol.
80Steamed polished rice · Standard mash ratio, counted as polished rice[nrib2011]
20Rice koji (kome-koji) · Koji rice must be at least 15 % of all polished rice for a special designation[nrib2011][nta-label]
130Water · Standard mash ratio[nrib2011]
Yeast starter (shubo) · Added with the first addition on day 1[nrib2011]
Less than 10 % of the polished-rice weightBrewer's alcohol (jozo-alcohol), ginjo and daiginjo only · Usually added as 30 % alcohol; none in junmai ginjo or junmai daiginjo[nrib2011][nta-label]
Starterkoji/qu/mold-starter (rice koji) plus a yeast starter (shubo), usually sokujo-moto

Total time across the recorded steps: 7.6 months – 14 months

Start
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What changes: A roller grinds away the rice's outer layers, leaving the starchy core

Step 1 of 10
Polish the rice
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Aspergillus oryzae
Yeasts
Moulds
Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Removing fat helps fruity esters form; removing protein gives a lighter taste. Output: highly polished white rice.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
the outer layers, rich in fat, protein and minerals, are ground away
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

none

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

Ginjo-zukuri follows the base sake flow but changes four things. The rice is polished much harder, the koji is spotted tsukihaze, the yeast is an aromatic ginjo strain, and the main mash runs colder and longer. Gentle pressing keeps the taste light.

Polishing
60 % or less remains for ginjo and 50 % or less for daiginjo; ordinary sake is around 70 %
Koji
Spotted tsukihaze koji, not whole-grain sohaze koji
Main ferment
About 5–10 °C for about 30–35 days, against 8–18 °C for 3–4 weeks for ordinary sake

Related ferments

Variants

  • Junmai ginjo and junmai daiginjoRice, koji and water only; no brewer's alcohol.
  • Ginjo and daiginjoBrewer's alcohol up to 10 % of the rice weight is added before pressing, which draws out aroma and lightens the taste.

Safety

Sake is stable once pasteurised because of its high alcohol. Ethyl carbamate can form in sake; Health Canada keeps a maximum level of 200 ppb for it. WHO says no level of alcohol use is safe for health.

History and sources

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

The national brewing institute (now NRIB) was founded in 1904, and the Brewing Society of Japan has distributed numbered Kyokai yeasts since 1906. Kyokai No. 9, a ginjo yeast, was isolated in Kumamoto in 1953.

  1. [nta-label] National Tax Agency, Labelling standards for the manufacturing process and quality of sake (清酒の製法品質表示基準), Notice No. 8 of 22 November 1989, revised 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. [zhang2020] Zhang K., Wu W., Yan Q. 2020, Research advances on sake rice, koji, and sake yeast (a review), Food Science & Nutrition 8(7):2995–3003paper
  4. [suzuki2008] Suzuki K., Asano S., Iijima K., Kitamoto K. 2008, Sake and beer spoilage lactic acid bacteria, a review, Journal of the Institute of Brewing 114(3):209–223paper
  5. [healthcanada-ec] Health Canada 2025, Notice of proposal P-CON-25-01, maximum levels for ethyl carbamate in alcoholic beverages (sake 200 ppb, unchanged)gov
  6. [who2023] WHO Regional Office for Europe 2023, No level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health (statement published in The Lancet Public Health; news release, 4 January 2023)gov