Exact Answer: 2 Years
Sake is known as the rice wine of Japan. It is an alcoholic beverage made by fermentation of rice with an alcohol content of 16-20%. It is served warm in a cup called sakazuki. The drink is so much savored in Japan that it is awarded the position of National drink of the country.
The drink has some religious and cultural values as well. It is given to the couple after they complete their wedding rituals. It is served in the holy festivals of the land and is also included in offerings given to the Japanese Gods and Goddesses.
Sake is best consumed within a year of bottling it after the manufacture. However, its life depends on several other factors like refrigeration, pasteurization, etc.
How Long Does Sake Last?
| Storage Conditions | Duration |
| Sake- unopened, pasteurized, and non-refrigerated | 1 Year |
| Sake- unopened, pasteurized, and refrigerated | 2 Years |
| Sake- opened, pasteurized, and refrigerated | 2-4 Weeks |
| Sake- unopened, unpasteurized, and refrigerated | 6 Months |
| Sake- opened, unpasteurized, and refrigerated | 1-2 Weeks |
The duration has a starting point from the date of bottling the drink. If the drink is stored in a cooled place, the rate of maturation will be slow and it will provide a longer time limit to consume. It is stored in a way similar to the storage of wines- unopened bottles away from light and heat.
It has been suggested to consume the drink within three days of opening the bottle. The maximum you can keep it open but refrigerated is for 1 week for the best taste. After three days, the taste of the drink starts changing however, it is still safe to consume. The bottles are not labeled with manufacturing date because it is of no practical use rather there is an indication of the date of packaging it for the best use of the consumer.
Since it is an alcoholic beverage, there is no expiry date mentioned on the bottle which means that it will be safe to consume even after few hours of bottling, but there would be no guarantee of how degraded its taste and quality will be that point of time. It keeps on maturing under several conditions such as heat and light when exposed to them after opened or unopened.
Why Does It Last That Long?
The drink is made by fermenting rice in various rounds. It is a pure rice-based alcoholic drink with minimum preservatives. Since there are no or minimum preservatives added, the bottled sake is prone to spoilage. Even though it is fermented and speaks high of its shelf life, it is not qualified to consume after a certain period prescribed as above.
The life of the drink heavily depends upon the storage conditions. It will survive comparatively longer when it is stored in a sealed and pasteurized manner in a cold environment. However, when it is kept in temperatures greater than 20 degrees of Celsius, the life reduces to 1 year. Once opened, it will not last longer than few weeks and will start giving off-taste. Air and heat exposure is the worst condition you can provide to your fermented drink. The exposure will lead to rapid oxidization of Sake which in turn will degrade its quality and taste for consumption.
After the mentioned durations in specific conditions, the drink is prone to produce a pungent smell, some particles floating in the drink, off-taste, an apparent yellow tint in the drink, etc. All of these effects make the drink non-desirable. If the quality of the drink is not suitable, why would one prefer to intake it even if there are no harmful side effects? Therefore, it must be consumed within 2 years of the bottling date for the best taste.
Conclusion
Sake is a drink with no preservatives. For a good reason, it is the national drink of Japan. The drink comes expensive and hence, it becomes important to store it properly for its best consumption. The shelf-life of Sake is not so short if the conditions to store are properly maintained. It must be stored away from direct sunlight and air for the best consumption. If you ever get to visit Japan, you give this rice wine a try as it is all worth it.
References
- https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11628-013-0227-5.pdf
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/16258312.2009.11517212
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Sake is deeply rooted in Japanese culture, and it’s fascinating to learn about its religious and cultural significance.
This article clearly illustrates why Sake has a shelf life, very informative.
It’s amazing that an alcoholic beverage can be bottled without an expiry date but still has a best before
The mention of why sake lasts as long as it does was quite fascinating.
I had no idea that the drink’s life depends on various storage conditions. Thanks for sharing this valuable information.
Absolutely, it’s informative and important to consider.
Yes, I found it very informative as well.
The explanation of the making and preservation of sake is intriguing.
It’s interesting to learn about the shelf life and storage conditions of sake.
I concur, it’s so interesting to learn about the specifics of sake storage.
Absolutely, the information is insightful and makes me appreciate sake more.
The explanation of why sake has a shelf life was fascinating and informative.
The science behind the shelf life of sake is really intriguing.
I agree, this is very informative and interesting.
The detailed information about the conditions affecting the shelf life of Sake is quite useful
Totally agree, this is insightful and informative.
The duration of storage is very important and is not only limited to the date of bottling but also depends on several other factors.