Analysis of metabolites in Japanese alcoholic beverage sake made from the sake rice<i>Koshitanrei</i>

Abstract

In sake brewing, the steamed rice is used in two ways, added to sake-mash (as <i>kake-mai</i>) and making <i>koji</i>. The rice is an important determinant for the quality of sake, as the metabolites in sake affect its taste/aroma. The sake rice <i>Koshitanrei</i> (KOS) was developed in Niigata Prefecture by genetically crossing two sake rice, <i>Gohyakumangoku</i> and <i>Yamadanishiki</i>. However, the metabolites in sake from KOS have not been analyzed. Here, to investigate the characteristic metabolites in sake from KOS, we performed two types of small-scale sake-fermentation tests changing only the rice used for <i>kake-mai</i> or total rice (both <i>kake-mai</i> and <i>koji</i>) by these three rice cultivars and examined the effect of KOS on sake metabolites by the metabolome analysis method using UPLC-QTOF-MS. We identified the peaks/metabolites, whose intensity in sake from KOS was higher/lower than those from the other cultivars. The brewing properties of KOS were partially characterized by this analysis.