Seasonal Styles of Sake

Winter

Released on February 4, the first day of Spring according to the ancient Chinese calendar, and shipped as soon as it hits the bottle, Risshun-asa-shibori [立春朝搾り] is as close as you can get to tasing Sake fresh from the tank. The name can be roughly translated as ‘pressed on the first morning of spring’.

Often, staff from a local shop will help with bottling overnight, and then sell the fresh sake to their customers in the area, but nowadys bottles can be pre-ordered and sent all over the country. Still, it’s best consumed immediately.

You will probably not see these bottles outside of Japan, as they have to be kept cold and are meant for immediate consumption. It’s unpasteurised (nama-zake [生酒]) and for most part will be undiluted (genshu [原酒]) and not have been charcoal-filtered (muroka [無濾過]) as well.

Many breweries are also releasing special-edition bottlings for New Year.

Spring

When the first sakura (cherry) blossoms show up in March or April, everybody heads out for hanami (flower viewing) to picnic under the trees. And what’s a picnic without sake?!

This is made to match the food and festive mood. It’s easy-drinking and often a little sweet. These will also taste great at room temperature, so they’re easy to enjoy outdoors.

The cloudy nigori style is also popular.

Summer

In the heat of summer, you want a lighter and refreshing style of sake, that tastes good chilled. Summer sakes often have a lower level of alcohol and lighter taste with very low umami, although some breweries go the opposite way and make stronger sakes that can be enjoyed on the rocks.

As chilled transport has become widely available, unpasteurized (nama) sakes which have been kept at the brewery at near-zero degrees, have become popular in summer as well and add an extra dimension of freshness.

Sparkling varieties, which often also have lower alcohol, are popular as well.

Autumn

Hiyaoroshi-sake has been pasteurized once and is then stored at the brewery until the outside temperature is the same as inside the cool warehouse. Another term for autumn sake that is not strictly defined is ‘aki agari’, meaning sake that has improved in autumn.

Through the aging process, the overall flavour becomes more smooth and round. This makes it a good match for food like mushrooms and pacific saury that are now coming into season. Mostly, these will be hearty and umami-rich junmai that can also be enjoyed enjoyed warm.