Pressing [搾り] is one the critical steps in Sake making. In the traditional Sake making, the fermented Sake mash is poured into cotton bags called Saka-Bukuro [酒袋] and either hanged overnight for gravity-filtering or pressed under weight for pressure-filtering. At Sake South, we have tried both methods but now we are upgrading our pressure-filtering system.

One of the keys in successful pressing is to pressure the mash slowly. Pure, clear Sake seeps out from the bags over time, say 24 hours or so. The wine press machine that we have been using was not designed for that purpose.

Our upgraded pressing machine uses a lab scissor jack for the pressure. It’s small enough to be used in the refrigerator so we can keep the mash and Sake chilled during the pressing to prevent it from spoiled.

We’ll experiment this new method for Batch #4. Hope it works.