For some reason, an unusually large amount of alcohol has been consumed in my apartment over the past 2 weeks. (More on this later – I have pictures). This has lead me back to the CRC liquor list. Although there are many things there which are interesting (the issue of scotch alone is worthy of a lot more than I care to write), the issue of sake caught my eye. Sake is brewed by fermenting rice, in a process similar to that of beer (which most people agree does not need hashgacha). One potentially problematic difference is that with beer, the enzyme used to convert the starch into sugar (which can be fermented) comes from the beer itself. Sake uses the protease enzyme which comes from the aspergillus oryzae fungus, although there is now an artificial source as well. (For the record, I just learned this all on wikipedia about 10 minutes ago. I don’t know how I used to live without it).

The CRC clearly states that sake needs a hashgachah

Only recommended when bearing a reliable Kosher symbol.

The star-K on the other hand, disagrees:

Based on our understanding of industry practice, rice wine (sake) does not require kosher certification.

Surveying other people, the MK copies straight from the CRC. The Seattle vaad agrees with the star-K, saying that all unflavored sake is okay. Few other people have independent opinions, in part I’m sure because sake has not yet become a widely consumed product in North America.

Now of course comes the big question: who will I go by? I don’t see a clear reason why sake isn’t just considered the same as beer, but then I also feel like I really wish I knew the CRC’s logic before I simply dismiss their opinion. There is also the issue of consistency. Although I feel like the star-k’s opinion makes more sense, I go by the CRC’s opinion when it comes to scotch because that makes more sense to me as well. (By more sense, I mean that I like Rb. Moshe Feinstein’s take on the issue). I can’t simply pick and choose my sources based on who is the more lenient opinion in each case (or can I?). This is yet another case where I wish there were more openness in the kashrut organizations to allow consumers to make a more informed decision.