Dr. Wetbrain’s Sake Story.
Dr. Wetbrain says that he never tried Sake. But tasting this libation is on his bucket list. “Now I must make a trip to Japan”, he would conclude. Of course, Dr. Wetbrain knows a thing or two about Sake.
Sake is a Japanese wine that is made by fermenting polished rice. Even though Sake is considered a wine the brewing process is more like making beer.
Wine has an alcohol content of 9 – 18%; beer 3 – 9%; Sake 18 – 20%; whiskey 35 – 40%; moonshine has lots of percentage.
Sake History
The first recorded history of Sake was in the Nara period (710 – 794AD) Much Sake brewing was done in the temples of Nara by monks who were known as Sobo-shu. The monks used Sake as an offering to cleanse their temple through taking shots with religious ceremonies.
From the Shang dynasty (1600 – 1046BC) bones were found with the note of alcohol beverages scrawled upon them. Who knows, maybe Sake. That was over 3000 years ago.
At one point in Japan a kuchi-kami Sake was brewed by the rice being chewed up by beautiful virgin girls and then spit into a large vat.
Dr. Wetbrain thought, “I think if this process was done by Sumo wrestlers the appeal would not be the same.”
The Japanese place a very high value on this special beverage, just look at their artfully crafted and decorated cups, china and wooden containers all dedicated to Sake and sometimes tea.
Sake Cup, 17th Century from Metmuseum.org
In fact, the Japanese pilots who went on a bombing mission to Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 all had a drink of Sake from a ceremonial cup before taking off.
“A flask or two of this drink would be coming with me on this mission.” Thank you Dr. Wetbrain for that input.