VOA文化艺术2024--In Tokyo, Brewer Uses Unusual Methods to Make Japan's Sake

A small space in Tokyo houses a container of fermenting² sake.

The bacteria in the 670-litre container will take more than two weeks to turn the rice and water inside into Japan's traditional alcoholic³ drink.

But the bacteria are not only alive, they are listening too, said brewer⁴ Yoshimi Terasawa.

He suggested the kind of music coming from a loudspeaker below the tank determines how the drink will taste.

"The micro-organisms inside are activated⁵ by the vibrations⁷, and the taste changes," said the 63-year-old chief brewer of Tokyo Port Brewing⁸.

Music is among the unusual methods Terasawa is using at the only sake brewery⁹ in the heart of the capital city.

Fit into a narrow building, the small operation employs methods that promise to help the environment.

The brewery employs special machinery¹⁰ and processes that use less energy and labor¹¹ than a traditional brewery in the countryside.

"Making sake on this kind of smaller scale makes it easier to keep the production environment constant," Terasawa said. He has 45 years of experience in the industry.

The company produces about 30 kiloliters of sake each year. That is enough to fill almost 42,000 720-ml bottles.

But changing tastes and Japan's aging population have reduced demand.

The government says the number of sake breweries¹² has decreased two-thirds from its high point in the 1970s to just over 1,100 now.

More than half of sake breweries are not making a profit.

Other difficulties that sake breweries face include a shortage of workers as brewers retire, increased fuel costs and problems with the rice supply.

Terasawa said his small brewery offers an example of how to deal with those difficulties.

The process starts on the fourth floor, where he and an employee steam the rice for 70 minutes.

Then they let gravity move the rice through openings in the floors and ceilings to a mold-application room on the third floor. Fermentation, using tap water, takes place on the second level. Finally, the sake is put into bottles at ground level.

"In the future, small breweries like this will have a great deal of merit," Terasawa added.

Words in This Story

ferment¹ - v. to undergo fermentation (the anaerobic¹³ breakdown¹⁴ of an energy-rich compound (such as a carbohydrate¹⁵ to carbon dioxide and alcohol) by the action of microorganisms (such as bacteria or yeast)

sake - n. a Japanese alcoholic beverage¹⁶ of fermented¹⁷ rice

brewer - n. a person who creates (or brews) alcoholic drinks

vibration⁶ - n. a quivering or trembling motion

mold - n. a growth produced especially on damp or decaying organic matter

application - n. an act of administering or laying one thing on another

tap water -n. water that comes from ordinary pipes and is not treated in any special way

merit -n. value or worth

1 ferment   

vt.使发酵；n./vt.（使）激动，（使）动乱

参考例句：

• Fruit juices ferment if they are kept a long time.果汁若是放置很久，就会发酵。
• The sixties were a time of theological ferment.六十年代是神学上骚动的时代。

2 fermenting   

v.（使）发酵( ferment的现在分词 )；（使）激动；骚动；骚扰

参考例句：

• The fermenting wine has bubbled up and over the top. 发酵的葡萄酒已经冒泡，溢了出来。 来自辞典例句
• It must be processed through methods like boiling, grinding or fermenting. 它必须通过煮沸、研磨、或者发酵等方法加工。 来自互联网

3 alcoholic   

adj.（含）酒精的，由酒精引起的；n.酗酒者

参考例句：

• The alcoholic strength of brandy far exceeds that of wine.白兰地的酒精浓度远远超过葡萄酒。
• Alcoholic drinks act as a poison to a child.酒精饮料对小孩犹如毒药。

4 brewer   

n. 啤酒制造者

参考例句：

• Brewer is a very interesting man. 布鲁尔是一个很有趣的人。
• I decided to quit my job to become a brewer. 我决定辞职，做一名酿酒人。

5 activated   

adj. 激活的 动词activate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The canister is filled with activated charcoal.蒸气回收罐中充满了活性炭。

6 vibration   

n.颤动，振动；摆动

参考例句：

• There is so much vibration on a ship that one cannot write.船上的震动大得使人无法书写。
• The vibration of the window woke me up.窗子的震动把我惊醒了。

7 vibrations   

n.摆动( vibration的名词复数 )；震动；感受；（偏离平衡位置的）一次性往复振动

参考例句：

• We could feel the vibrations from the trucks passing outside. 我们可以感到外面卡车经过时的颤动。
• I am drawn to that girl; I get good vibrations from her. 我被那女孩吸引住了，她使我产生良好的感觉。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 brewing   

n. 酿造, 一次酿造的量 动词brew的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• It was obvious that a big storm was brewing up. 很显然，一场暴风雨正在酝酿中。
• She set about brewing some herb tea. 她动手泡一些药茶。

9 brewery   

n.啤酒厂

参考例句：

• The brewery had 25 heavy horses delivering beer in London.啤酒厂有25匹高头大马在伦敦城中运送啤酒。
• When business was good,the brewery employed 20 people.在生意好的时候，这家酿造厂曾经雇佣过20人。

10 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

11 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

12 breweries   

酿造厂，啤酒厂( brewery的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• In some cases, this is desirable, but most breweries prefer lighter-type beers. 在一些情况下，这是很理想的，但是大多数啤酒厂更倾向于生产酒度较低的啤酒。
• Currently, there are 58 breweries producing Snow Beeracross the country. 目前，全国共有58个雪花啤酒厂。

13 anaerobic   

adj.厌氧的

参考例句：

• Anaerobic respiration occurs only in particularly active tissues such as muscles during severe exercise. 厌氧呼吸只有在处于剧烈运动状态的肌肉等特别活跃的组织中才会发生。
• Infection,especially anaerobic infection, is much more apt to occur.感染，特别是厌氧感染很容易发生。

14 breakdown   

n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌

参考例句：

• She suffered a nervous breakdown.她患神经衰弱。
• The plane had a breakdown in the air,but it was fortunately removed by the ace pilot.飞机在空中发生了故障，但幸运的是被王牌驾驶员排除了。

15 carbohydrate   

n.碳水化合物；糖类；(plural)淀粉质或糖类

参考例句：

• You should not have too much carbohydrate in your diet.你日常饮食中不该有过多碳水化合物。
• Cashew nuts are rich in carbohydrate.腰果含丰富碳水化合物。

16 beverage   

n.(水，酒等之外的)饮料

参考例句：

• The beverage is often colored with caramel.这种饮料常用焦糖染色。
• Beer is a beverage of the remotest time.啤酒是一种最古老的饮料。

17 fermented   

v.（使）发酵( ferment的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）激动；骚动；骚扰

参考例句：

• When wine is fermented, it gives off gas. 酒发酵时发出气泡。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His speeches fermented trouble among the workers. 他的演讲在工人中引起骚动。 来自辞典例句