Some Extraordinary Beers

Between sake, wine and whiskey, some beers that always manage to knock my socks off are:

Hitachino Nest: These beers are made at a micro brewery in Japan called the Kiuchi Brewery. In the autumn of 1996, Kiuchi started brewing beer with it's unique owl character logo. My favourites from this company are:

1. Red Rice Ale: made with a sake yeast along with a beer yeast, malt and red rice. Distinctive note of black olives on the palate.

2. Classic Ale: aged in Japanese Cedar, it is medium bodied with a slightly spicy aroma of white pepper. Very delicate notes of cedar on the palate. Incredible beer!

3. White Ale: mildly hopped Belgian style beer with slight flavours of coriander, orange peel and nutmeg on the palate.

Dogfish Head Brewery: is a beer manufacturer based in Milton, Delaware founded by Sam Calagione. It opened in 1995 and the output tends to be toward experimental or extreme beers. The following beers from them are available year round.

1. 90 minute IPA: A big beer with a great malt backbone that stands up to the extreme hopping rate. Tastes like, brandied fruitcake, raisins, citrus.

2. Palo Santo Marron: An unfiltered, unfettered, unprecedented brown ale aged in handmade wooden brewing vessels. The caramel and vanilla complexity unique to this beer comes from the exotic Paraguayan Palo Santo wood from which these tanks were crafted. Palo Santo means "holy tree" and it's wood has been used in South American wine-making communities.

3. Raison D'Etre: A deep, mahogany ale brewed with beet sugar, green raisins, and Belgian-style yeast. As complex as a fine, red wine.

Sake

Not many drink Sake or even know much about this rather lesser known beverage -but Sake can be compared to any refined spirit and can share the same delicacy and complexity as any fine wine. The word 'Sake' is a term used for all alcoholic beverages in Japan, although the legal term for Sake is Seishu, meaning refined Sake.

Sake was discovered much before the 8th century in Japan but it was only during this time period that the Imperial Palace in Nara established a brewing department within it's walls and Sake began to be produced in an assortment of styles from both sweet to dry with varying flavour profiles and brewing techniques. Around the beginning of the 19th century, there were over eight thousand breweries in Japan producing Sake.

The four most important elements of Sake

Rice: is specially cultivated for premium sake production. There are many varieties of Sake rice and the quality is observed on the basis of size, weight and quality of the grain.

Water: Most of the water for Sake comes from underground rivers, wells or from the mountains. It's purity will impart the clean flavour related to this beverage.

Koji: or the mold is crucial to the development of Sake. Koji is a fine powder that is sprinkled over the rice so that it breaks the starches in the rice into sugars that can be fermented by the yeast cells, which then give off carbon dioxide and alcohol. Without koji, there is no Sake.

Yeast: the final process which finally converts all the sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide. The choice of yeast in Sake brewing is also very important. It can have the final effects on the flavours as well as the acidity in the Sake.

Types of Sake

Junmai shu is made of rice that has been milled to at least 70% so that the outer 30% of the grain has been removed. The flavour profile is full, rich and often slightly acidic.

Ginjo and Junmai Ginjo is more complex and delicate. It is made with rice that has been milled to 60% or more. A small amount of alcohol is added to make it more fragrant and lighter.

Daiginjo and Junmai daiginjo are the most valued quality in Sake production. Made with the best sake rice milled to 50% or till 35% which means that over 60% of the outer rice is ground. This type of Sake is very clean, complex, fragrant, extremely delicate and represents the brewer's craft to the highest level.

To be able to appreciate Sake it is important to try out different styles until you are able to distinguish between the different flavour profiles. It goes well with delicately flavoured food like light broths, fish and specially sushi. I usually aim for subtlety, balance and elegance much like in tea, a fine burgundy or in a lover.