Homemade Sake (Japanese Rice Wine)

A step-by-step guide to making authentic sake (rice wine) at home, using koji, polished rice, and wine yeast. This recipe yields about 1 gallon of sake and is designed for beginners, with clear instructions for each stage of fermentation, filtering, and bottling.

HardJapaneseServes 12

Printable version with shopping checklist

Source Video
56h 30m
Prep
4h 50m
Cook
7h 22m
Cleanup
68h 42m
Total

Cost Breakdown

Total cost:$23.00
Per serving:$1.92

Critical Success Points

  • • Thoroughly washing and correctly steaming rice for both koji and main batch.
  • • Cooling rice to the correct temperature before adding koji kin or yeast.
  • • Maintaining proper temperature and moisture during koji incubation.
  • • Sanitizing all equipment and utensils.
  • • Stirring during early fermentation to prevent mold and ensure even fermentation.
  • • Filtering and pressing sake gently to avoid excess cloudiness.

Safety Warnings

  • • Always sanitize all equipment and utensils to prevent contamination.
  • • Discard any rice that develops green or black mold during koji incubation.
  • • Alcohol content is high; consume responsibly.
  • • Do not bottle if fermentation is still active (risk of explosion).
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