Rinsing Kasu

Sake
1

So, the last batch I brewed yielded less than it usually does; right about 2 gallons pressed. I could tell there was a fair amount of moisture and dissolved rice-goodness still in the solids, so I decided to rinse them with more water.

A few notes; I used distilled water, I covered the solids and stirred until they stopped absorbing (tiny bit of water on top) which was about 2/3 of a gallon (~86oz), subsequent squeezing only returned maybe 1/3 of a gallon (~40oz).
I could smell a lot of “harsher” esters on this last press (just smelled more of metal or alcohol); but when it all went into the same bucket, it didn’t seem to effect much of the overall aromas and flavors.

My questions are so:
1-Does anyone else do this to get a bit more from their batches?
2-Is doing so inadvisable?
3-What does a normal 3 gal brew yield after hand pressing?

Thanks

2

I don’t practice this personally, but it’s quite common for sake breweries in Japan to perform a second pressing of their kasu to extract more flavor and aroma from it. Only the solvent they use is grain alcohol, not water.

3

Yeah, I’m glad to hear that but… I’m starting to wonder if that (or something else) was a mistake; I have the 2.6 gal divided into 3 1-gal carboys and a growler, but there is VERY LITTLE activity in the airlocks. Seems like the only time they do anything is if a stir/shake/bump them. HOWEVER, the foam reached the locks twice, so it’s apparently doing something…

I just seem to remember my last batch doing more activity by now (4 days).