Want to try a new fermenter size? This excel sheet makes it easy to calculate the additions required at each step by simply inserting the size of your fermenter. The excel sheet then calculates the required additions at each step of sake production based on the weight relationship 0.25:1:1.6 (koji:water:rice).
While reading through the recipe on homebrewsake, I noticed that you use a different way of “doubling” the fermenting mash, so I took courtisy to do some maths on the differences between this recipe and the doubling. I can only guess as to why these measures was picked, but if Will would want to elaborate on this I would be happy, either way here is the excel sheet with the results:
To extract the important stuff out of the excel sheet we know that the normal distribution is 0.125, 0.125, 0.25, 0.5 in order to reach doubling each time, however, with the homebrewsake recipe you get roughly 0.08, 0.11, 0.29, 0.51. There is definently added less in the beginning compared to normal doubling and added more in the latter steps. I will probably make an additional sheet that has these proportions aswell.
Claes, The recipe at http://homebrewsake.com/home/recipe
as well as every other high quality sake recipe I have seen on the net goes back to Fred Eckhardt’s series of recipes. Fred has put these out over time with changes that he felt improved them. However, they were not just improved but a brewing philosophy change is part of what we see in the series. For example the early versions were strictly yamahai-moto while his latest are sokujo. I would never argue that sokujo is “better” than yamahai but it does take less time has less risk and often gives a cleaner taste. It is just this (the cleaner taste), though, that argues for yamahai and kimoto; they have more character.
The high ratio of koji and its being skewed to later additions puts the sake on the richer more heavy side of the range. Longer periods for the conditioning also enhances this aspect.
Daimon-san resently posted a ingredient ratio chart that you may be interested in:
Sorry for the late reply, I just never got around to it. But either way that was an awesome link that helped me understand a lot. I have already made quite a few new calculations based on this and will probably update the originally posted excel sheet to make more sense sake-wise