Hakkō-shitsu・shikomi gura・ shikomi-shitsu

【English】

Fermentation room; mashing room

【Japanese】

発酵室・仕込蔵・仕込室

The building in which shubo and moromi are made is called the shikomi-gura (mashing room). Its construction requires that it can be maintained at suitable temperatures, and also the necessary ventilation, lighting, plumbing and drainage. Its area can be calculated from the size of tank appropriate to the chosen batch size, the number of batches to be mashed per day, and the length of fermentation (moromi nissu), but consideration should be given for ample leeway for the practical requirements for corridors, walkways and so on. After the brewing season has finished, the same space is commonly used as a storage warehouse.

In large-scale production facilities, the room where moromi is fermented may be referred to with the term hakko-shitsu (long “o”; 発酵室, literally fermentation room) or shikomi-shitsu (仕込室). The size of the space is decided by tank size and the number of batches as for smaller shikomi-gura. It is frequently refrigerated to prevent moromi temperature from getting too high, and some also have de-humidifying equipment to prevent condensation and mould.

There has recently been an increase in the number of breweries using outdoor fermentation tanks with cooling equipment in place of an indoor fermentation room.