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Fermentation Atlas

Alcoholic drinks from Japan

Kijoshu (sake brewed with sake)貴醸酒

Kijoshu is sake brewed with finished sake in place of part of the brewing water, usually at the last of the three mash additions. The extra alcohol slows the yeast, so more sugar is left and the sake comes out sweet, thick and often yellow to amber. The method was developed in 1973 at the national brewing institute, now NRIB. Made in 5 steps over 23 days – 30 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), slowed by the added alcohol do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step21–28 daysReported[jss-nrib2011]Ferment the main mash
Temperature8–18 °CReported[jss-nrib2011]Ferment the main mash

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedNo tested recipe with amounts was found in a primary source. Wikipedia gives 70 parts water and 60 parts sake per 100 parts rice, against 130 parts water for ordinary sake.
Steamed rice and koji rice · As for ordinary sake, added in three stages[jss-nrib2011]
Water · Used for the first two additions[saketimes2021]
Finished sake · Replaces some or all of the water, usually the third (tome) addition[saketimes2021][jss-nrib2011]
Starter: koji/qu/mold-starter (koji rice) with sake yeast

Total time across the recorded steps: 23 days – 30 days

Start
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30 °Cshapes, not to countAspergillus oryzae

What changes: Koji mould spreads over the steamed rice and fills it with enzymes

Step 1 of 5
Make koji
Time
2 days
Reported
Temperature
30 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Aspergillus oryzae
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Moulds
Yeasts

As in all sake brewing; the guide gives no kijoshu-specific value. Output: koji rice.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Aspergillus oryzae grows through the rice and makes the enzymes

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

Ordinary sake uses water for all three mash additions. Kijoshu replaces part of that water, usually the last addition, with finished sake. The extra alcohol slows the yeast early, so the sake stays sweet instead of fermenting dry.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Aged kijoshuKept for years, so it turns amber; a sub-type the NRIB guide names.
  • Namazake kijoshuUnpasteurised; also named by the NRIB guide.

Safety

No safety issue beyond that of ordinary sake.

History and sources

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

The Engishiki (927) records shiori, a mixing method that used sake instead of water. The national brewing institute developed modern kijoshu in 1973, and Enoki Shuzo in Hiroshima began producing it in 1974, the first brewery in Japan to do so. The name is a trademark of the Kijoshu Association, so non-members label similar sake with other names.

  1. [jss-nrib2011] Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association and National Research Institute of Brewing 2011, A Comprehensive Guide to Japanese Sake, 1st ed.gov
  2. [jetro2016] JETRO 2016, Hiroshima Sake (brewery profiles; Enoki Shuzo first produced kijoshu in 1974)gov
  3. [saketimes2021] Lanark D.W. 2021, SAKE 101 Kijoshu, SAKETIMES, 1 November 2021web
  4. [wp-sake] Wikipedia, Sake and 貴醸酒 (ja) (outline and water-to-sake ratio only)wiki