It's a place you can get a glass of the world famous Dassai 23

Japanese Sake has gained popularity worldwide,

and Dassai is the brand most sought after

with its fine polish ratio and smooth sophisticated taste.

But how do we get to this refined finished product?

I traveled to their brewery in Yamaguchi Prefecture

an hour from Hiroshima, nestled deep in the country side.

Showing me around the brewery is Dassai CEO, Sakura-san,

He shared his knowledge and passion for making Sake with me.

From Rice to Bottle.

But before we begin the tour,

It's good to learn a little about the rice.

I joined Dassai's rice planting ceremonial event in June.

Yamadanishiki is the variety of rce,

most widely used to make SAKE.

It's grown deep in Hyogo Prefecture.

where the conditions are ideal.

Rice planting by hand is back breaking work.

Historically, nearly every family had their rice paddy.

Nowadays, nearly everybody gets their rice at the store.

But this tradition has deep roots.

These days though, farmers use a rice planting machine.

All rice used in SAKE is polished.

Polishing the rice removes the impurities.

giving it a smoother taste.

Here is a natural grain of rice.

and Dassai 23.

polished down to 23 %

Dassai polishes down to 3 sizes.

50 39 and 23.

All Nihonshu brewed with rice polished under 50%

is called JUNMAI DAI- GINJO

The highest quality.

and Dassai only makes JUNMAI DAI GINJO sake.

So now let's make some.

This is the first room the rice travels to in the brewery.

The polished rice is taken here to be washed, rinced and soaked.

Sakurai-san explains that the process is strictly timed.

Staff work in unison as a team.

After HOREI, air drying the steamed rice,

Most of it is sent through this tube to the upper floor.

and loaded into a fermentation tank with water, yeast and Kouji

This is the yeast starter called SHUBO

The basic mixture that will increase over the next 4 days.

as the yeast multiplies.

But before we get into the fermentation room,

we should learn about an earlier step.

The most critical part about brewing SAKE

This is where Dassai makes Kouji

Kouji is steam rice inoculated with Kouji mold spore.

Steamed rice is separated and laid flat on sheets

in a very hot and humid room with dead air.

About 20% of the total steamed rice makes its way here.

The rest into the fermentation tank.

If you're wondering how this rice tastes before becoming Koji,

Here's your answer.

No taste.

Yes, no taste.

This is the Tsukihaze Kouji-kin mold spores

Practice run.

The spores must be spread evenly with great precision.

Hold your breath and try not to move!

We're about to get started.

The staff here have a very specific way to apply the mold.

They move in unison so the spores spread evenly on the rice.

The air is completely dead.

As you see,

the air vents are covered to prevent contamination.

Simply put,

Koji is the secret ingredient to make SAKE

mixed in the tank to make sugar,

with the help of yeast,

which over time creates alcohol and CO2

Kouji is made once daily at the Dassai brewery.

You can see the polished rice ball surrounded by mold.

It's actually growing inside the rice.

It has a sweet chestnut aroma to it.

To grow strong, Koji needs a warm environment.

I'm sweating.

How does it taste now, as Koji?

Only one way to find out

Now we can go back to the fermentation room

Dassai has a lot of NIHON-SHU in here.

You can't rush making SAKE

It just takes time to make magic happen

This tank is early in the fermentation process

You can see the mash, or MOROMI caked on top

Everything happens in this one tank over 35 days.

Give it some time!

The unique process to make SAKE in one tank is called,

multiple parallel fermentation

This tank is really bubbling.

producing a lot of gas.

It nearly has the SAKE aroma and flavor.

and the fermentation stage is almost over.

Wow. Really fruity.

It's alive.

It tastes good,though.

It's really complex tasting.

It's fruity, spicy, it's bubbling..

It's alive!

Yes, it's alive.

Let's head down to the press.

When the MOROMI is ready,

it's sent here to be pressed.

This is an automatic MOROMI press

It uses compressed air to very gently press out a tank of MOROMI

to produce SAKE

The SAKE produced here is filtered but unpasteurized

Presses are great for volume,

but SAKURAI-san explains DASSAI has another original way

to extract SAKE.

centrifuge!

After pressing, there is filtering.

Aging, pasteurization.

And finally, the bottling.

The bottles are also pasteurized here

The bottles are heated at a temperature of 65 celcius

Bacteria is killed at a temperature over 60 degrees.

Then it goes through the bottling course to cool off.

until it's 20 degrees Celsius.

Then it gets labeled and packaged for shipping.

These Dassai 39 bottles are ready for the world.

This is a prized Junmai Daiginjo bottle of Sake for sure.

There is only one step left

So we've been to the brewery and back.

Filled with an amazing amount of appreciation

for the process to make SAKE

It's more than just SAKE

It's NIHON-SHU, Japanese national drink

It's perfect.

Sip with food, or on it's own

It's a date with nature. Loaded with a good night kiss