精米(Rice Milling)

Since the starches (the fermentable part of the grain) are luckily concentrated at the center of the sake-for-rice, it is helpful to polish them in order to remove all the fats, proteins and other unwanted "extras" that, instead of contributing to the process, lead you to a less-flavored Sake.   In order to standardize this process it was created the 精米歩合 or degree of milling that in Japanese is read "seimai-buai". The highest the seimai-buai the less of the original grain remains, decreasing the overall yield and rising the price (but also the quality).

洗米・浸漬(Washing and Soaking)

After polished, the dusty remains of the outermost part is washed out. During this step, the rice is also let absorb water for the following steaming.  The velocity of abortion depends on the degree of milling and the amount of water is crucial for a good steamed rice. In short you will realize that when producing a subtle-flavored beverage, every step has to take place with precision, leading the curious with no "most important step".

蒸米(Steaming)

In this step the rice is located in a huge cylindrical tank passing steam bottom-up.

麹菌をかける (Spreading the Mold)

 In the case of wine due to the great amount of free sugars we can use yeast directly. Nevertheless in rice grains, those sugars are combined in form of polysaccharides (starch). Because of that it is necessary Koji molds to break down the starch, releasing fermentable sugars.  As shown in the picture at the right, the mold is spread on a portion of the steamed rice in order to start breaking some starch in advance for the yeast. 

酒母の中で酵母をふやす (Growing up the yeast)

For the ones seeking for the "most important step" in making Sake; these one is the more likely to be the right one, because if the yeast grow to fast can end overheating your batch causing the death of the yeast and having a lower yield.  If they grow up to slowly you will also have less yield.  In this sense, in order to have a faster and more homogenous fermentation, the Sake makers prepare a small tank for growing the yeast up before mix it evenly in the batch. This pre-mix is call 酒母 (shubo) and literally means "the mother of liquor". Shubo if formed by mixing steamed rice, the pre-prepared koji, fresh water and yeast.

醪を育てる(Mashing)

After the shubo is ready, it is mix and homogenize in a bigger tank (by far) together with more steamed rice and fresh water.  Then is keep it under a controlled humidity and temperature room for keep the grow rate stable.

搾り  (Squeezing)

When the fermentation is ready, the mixture is squeeze to take out the Sake leaving behind the un-fermentable kasu.

味決め（Blending)

火入れ(Pasteurization)