Make Your Own Saké with a $180 Brewing Kit

Technology has advanced so much that most things that used to be complicated, can now be done with relative ease.

Saké, the popular rice wine from Japan, understandably takes a certain amount of skill and a lot of work to make. Often performed in highly controlled environments, every step in the multiple parallel fermentation of rice is strictly regulated.

However, thanks to a new Japanese rice wine kit, anyone can now brew this alcoholic beverage in their own home.

The brewing kit created by a Japanese company, called the MiCURA “Kotohajime” Ver 1.1, is reportedly able to simplify the complicated process of traditional sake brewing without using Shubo (yeast starter) and omitting rice steaming and Koji-making process.

The kit, which sells for $180, utilizes dry koji mold spores and special “alpha rice” to skip the more arduous steps.

According to Soranews24, some experts in sake-making have also been using similar shortcut techniques and the results are nearly as good as those made traditionally.

With the use of the kit, home brewers can even view the entire process of rice fermentation through the transparent brewing vessel.

Brewing instructions are provided in both Japanese and English so even foreign customers can also get into the fascinating world of sake home brewing.