Sake is a Japanese brewed drink made from fermented rice. Unlike wine, sake is free of sulfites and sake has five times less acid than other drinks. Sake is a part of the Traditional Japanese restaurant menu.
The brewing process for the Japanese sake differs from the process for beer & other beverages, where the conversion from starch to sugar and then from sugar to alcohol occurs in two distinct steps.
Like other rice wines, when sake is brewed, these transformations occur simultaneously. Moreover, the content of alcohol is different between sake, wine, and beer; wine generally contains 9–16% ABV, most beer contains 3–9% ABV, and undiluted sake contains 18–20% ABV which is often lowered to about 15% by diluting with water before to bottling.
In Japanese, the word “sake” (kanji: 酒; ‘liquor’; also pronounced shu in some compounds) can refer to any alcoholic drink, while the beverage called “sake” in English is usually termed nihonshu (日本酒 ; meaning ‘Japanese liquor’). Under Japanese liquor aws, sake is labelled with the word “seishu” (清酒 ; ‘clear liquor’), a synonym not commonly used in conversation.
In Japan, where it is the national beverage, sake is often served in a special way. It is gently warmed in a small earthenware or porcelain bottle and drink from a small porcelain cup called a sakazuki.
