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Fermentation Atlas

Alcoholic drinks from Japan

Namazake (unpasteurised sake) and once-heated nama forms生酒

Namazake is sake that is never heated after it is pressed. Ordinary sake is pasteurised twice, before storage and before shipping, so namazake keeps the fresh taste of new sake but must be kept at 5 °C or colder. Nama-chozo and namazume sakes are heated once instead of twice. Made in 5 steps over 6.7 months – 6.9 months. The longest step, store cold without heating, takes 6 months (Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association and…) and runs at up to 5 °C (Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association and…). Aspergillus oryzae and Saccharomyces cerevisiae sake yeast do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step6 monthsReported[nrib2011]Store cold without heating
Temperatureup to 5 °CReported[nrib2011]Store cold without heating
Fully documentedAlcoholic drinks6.7 months – 6.9 monthsOptional label terms (nama, nama-chozo) defined in the National Tax Agency's sake labelling standardFamily: 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. Any grade of sake (junmai, honjozo, ginjo) can be sold as namazake; only the heating differs.
80Steamed polished rice · Standard mash ratio, counted as polished rice[nrib2011]
20Rice koji (kome-koji)[nrib2011]
130Water · Standard mash ratio[nrib2011]
Yeast starter (shubo)[nrib2011]
Starterkoji/qu/mold-starter (rice koji) plus a yeast starter (shubo)

Total time across the recorded steps: 6.7 months – 6.9 months

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
StarchSugarAlcoholCO₂8–18 °Cshapes, not to countYeasts

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
Yeasts
Moulds

Output: ripe moromi.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

koji enzymes make sugar while yeast ferments it, as in any sake

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 heats the sake to 60–65 °C twice, once before storage and once at bottling. Namazake skips both heatings and relies on cold storage and fine filtering instead; nama-chozo and namazume skip one.

Heating
Namazake is never heated after it is made; ordinary sake is heated twice
Storage
At or below 5 °C, against about 15 °C for ordinary sake
Pasteurising heat it skips
Ordinary sake is heated to 60–65 °C before storage

Related ferments

Variants

  • Nama-chozo-shuStored raw at low temperature and heated once, at bottling.
  • Namazume-shuHeated once before storage and not again at bottling; hiyaoroshi is the traditional autumn form.
  • Nama genshuUnheated and undiluted; the combined label has been allowed since the 2022 revision.

Safety

Because it is never heated, namazake deteriorates quickly when warm. Keep it at 5 °C or colder, and refrigerate any opened bottle.

History and sources

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

Better filters and refrigerated storage and transport have brought a growing range of namazake onto the market in recent years.

  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