• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Fearless Dining
  • New? Start Here
  • Recipe Index
  • Cookbooks
  • GF Resources
    • Pantry
  • The Gluten Free Resource Guide: Everything You Need To Know About Gluten Free Living
  • Reader Testimonials
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Home
  • Resources
    • My Pantry
  • Testimonials
  • Recipes
  • Cookbooks
  • About
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • Resources
    • My Pantry
  • Testimonials
  • Recipes
  • Cookbooks
  • About
×
Home Alcohol

Is Sake Gluten Free?

Published: Jul 15, 2022 · Modified: Oct 3, 2022 by Sandi Gaertner · Leave a Comment · This post may contain affiliate links

  • Facebook
  • Yummly
  • Flipboard
a pinterest image of a jar of sake.

Sake is a Japanese rice wine that is popular in Japanese restaurants. It can come in filtered and non-filtered versions. As with any alcoholic beverage, it is important to know if it is safe for those who are on a gluten free diet. Is Sake Gluten Free?

bottles of sake.
Jump to:
  • What Is Sake?
  • Answer: Is Sake Gluten Free?
  • Premium Sake Brands That Are Gluten Free:
  • Fearless Dining
  • 💬 Comments

What Is Sake?

Sake is a type of traditional Japanese alcoholic beverage made with fermented rice. This rice wine is Japanese in origin. Interestingly, although sake is considered wine, its brewing process for fermentation is more in the beer style. You can find premium and house sake at sushi restaurants, Asian grocery stores, and other liquor stores.

The main ingredients of sake are rice, water, koji enzyme, and yeast. Koji is the ingredient that breaks up the rice starch into fermentable sugars. The distillation process of sake is pretty straightforward. Typically, sake is stored in sake barrels that do not use a wheat groat paste.

Note that premium sake is made with sake rice, and table sake is made with table rice. The alcoholic content of sake is much higher than beer or wine. The ABV is between 15-20%, compared to 3-9% for beer and 9-16% for wine.

Whether alcohol is gluten free or not is a common question for those with celiac or non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Check out all of my research on alcohol by reading my gluten free alcohol list.

Types Of Sake:

There are a couple of different types of sake. When Japanese sake is created, the fermented mixture is cloudy and contains a lot of particulate matter left over. You can buy sake unfiltered like this, but it is filtered. Many sake brands make both of these types.

  • Filtered sake is just as it sounds. The unfiltered sake is filtered to remove the cloudiness and particles. Filtering not only makes sake have a clear appearance but also refines the flavor. Filtered sake is run through both mesh and paper filters to remove as much of the leftover rice particles as possible.
  • Unfiltered sake, or cloudy sake, is filtered with a coarse filter to remove the larger rice particles. It still has a cloudy appearance and some small particulate matter.

Answer: Is Sake Gluten Free?

Good news! Sake lovers will delight in knowing that PREMIUM sake is considered gluten free. It is made with rice and pure ingredients and has no gluten-containing grains.

Non-premium sake may or may not be gluten free. Non-premium sake tends to have additional ingredients as additives and flavorings added. These added ingredients are dangerous to those with celiac disease or gluten intolerance. Non-premium sake can contain trace amounts of gluten.

Pouring sake into a small Japanese cup.

Don't forget to check out Is Sushi Gluten Free if you are headed to a Japanese restaurant!

Premium Sake Brands That Are Gluten Free:

Junmai sake, which means pure rice sake, is considered the safest sake for gluten-free people. Some popular premium sake brands include:

  • Tamagawa
  • Dassai
  • Junmai
  • Gekkeikan
  • Sohomare
  • Taiku Junmai
  • Soto Premium Sake
  • Hakutsuru
  • Ginjo
Disclaimer image

Fearless Dining

Looking for more? Get my FREE Gluten Free Lemon Desserts E-Cookbook when you sign up for my weekly recipe newsletter!

Get Free Recipes To Your Inbox
Buy My Cookbook
Join My Facebook Group
  • Instagram
  • Bandcamp
  • Twitter
  • Twitch

More Alcohol

  • bottles of kahlua on a shelf.
    Is Kahlua Gluten Free?
  • a pint of guiness.
    Is Guinness Gluten Free? All You Need To Know!
  • bottles of champagne on ice.
    Is Champagne Gluten Free?
  • a six pack of Omission Beer.
    Is Omission Beer Gluten Free? Get All Of The Facts!
  • Facebook
  • Yummly
  • Flipboard

Reader Interactions

Comments

No Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

  • Amazon
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • TikTok
A picture of my face standing in front of landscape bushes

Welcome to my blog! I am so glad you are here. If you have Celiac Disease, are gluten intolerant, or have a wheat allergy, you've come to the right place. With years of extensive experience in recipe development, I am dedicated to assisting you on your gluten free journey. As a seasoned gluten free cookbook author and recipe developer, I specialize in creating easy, family-friendly recipes that rival their gluten-filled counterparts. Rest assured, my recipes undergo rigorous testing and refinement, ensuring foolproof results every time.

More about me →

Back To School Recipes:

  • Two bowls of Gluten Free Hamburger Helper on a wooden table.
    Gluten-Free Hamburger Helper: One-Pot Comfort Food
  • a plate with orange chicken over rice.
    Quick and Easy Gluten Free Orange Chicken
  • a photo of the skillet lasagna in a large pan.
    Gluten Free Skillet Lasagna
  • chopsticks holding up beef and noodles
    Gluten Free Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

More Meal Recipes!

A glass bowl filled with my gluten free flour blend.

Try My DIY Gluten Free Flour Blend Recipe! It is also gum-free!

Trending Gluten Free Recipes:

  • Two slices of gluten free bread on a plate.
    Bake the Best Gluten Free Bread with Your Bread Machine
  • A baked pie crust in a pan.
    How to Make a Homemade Gluten Free Pie Crust
  • two bowls of chicken soup with a garlic press and garlic cloves next to the bowls
    Grandma's Chicken Soup From Scratch
  • a biscuit cut in half on a plate with butter
    The Best Flaky Gluten Free Biscuits

Footer

^ back to top

About

  • About Me
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Accessibility Policy

Newsletter

  • Sign Up!

Contact

  • Contact
  • Work With Me
  • Web Stories

Copyright © 2013-2023 Fearless Dining, LLC.