We investigated the suitability of improved rice produced in Hokkaido for small scale "sake" brewing.

Eighteen samples from 11 rice varieties which had been bred and cultivated at the Hokkaido Central Agricultural Experiment Station were brewed. Kiyonishiki, a variety of rice from Iwate prefecture and which is frequently used at many "sake" breweries in Hokkaido, was used as control. From our data, (e.g. on acidity, value of total amino acid, absorption at 280 nm and sensory tests), it seemed that J413, YM-5 and Yukihikari are the more suitable varieties for "sake" brewing.