第2275期:In Tokyo, Brewer Uses Unusual Methods to Make Japan’s Sake

A small space in Tokyo houses a container of fermenting sake.东京的一个小空间里存放着一个发酵清酒的容器。The bacteria in the 670-litre container will take more than two weeks to turn the rice and water inside into Japan's traditional alcoholic drink.670升的容器中的细菌需要两个多星期的时间，将其中的米和水转化为日本的传统酒精饮料。But the bacteria are not only alive, they are listening too, said brewer Yoshimi Terasawa.但这些细菌不仅是活的，它们还在“听”，酿酒师寺泽善美说道。He suggested the kind of music coming from a loudspeaker below the tank determines how the drink will taste.他建议说，从容器下方的扬声器传出的音乐类型决定了饮料的口感。"The micro-organisms inside are activated by the vibrations, and the taste changes," said the 63-year-old chief brewer of Tokyo Port Brewing.63岁的东京港酿酒厂首席酿酒师说：“内部的微生物因振动而被激活，口感也随之改变。”Music is among the unusual methods Terasawa is using at the only sake brewery in the heart of the capital city.音乐是寺泽在首都中心唯一一家清酒酿酒厂使用的非常规方法之一。Fit into a narrow building, the small operation employs methods that promise to help the environment.这个小型酿酒厂位于一栋狭窄的建筑内，采用了一些有助于环保的方法。The brewery employs special machinery and processes that use less energy and labor than a traditional brewery in the countryside.该酿酒厂使用特殊的机械和工艺，比乡村传统酿酒厂消耗更少的能源和劳动力。"Making sake on this kind of smaller scale makes it easier to keep the production environment constant," Terasawa said. He has 45 years of experience in the industry.寺泽说：“这种小规模酿酒更容易保持生产环境的稳定。”他在该行业已有45年的经验。The company produces about 30 kiloliters of sake each year. That is enough to fill almost 42,000 720-ml bottles.公司每年生产大约30千升清酒，足以装满近42,000个720毫升的瓶子。But changing tastes and Japan's aging population have reduced demand.但不断变化的口味和日本老龄化的人口减少了需求。The government says the number of sake breweries has decreased two-thirds from its high point in the 1970s to just over 1,100 now.政府表示，清酒酿酒厂的数量从1970年代的高峰期减少了三分之二，现在仅有1100多家。More than half of sake breweries are not making a profit.超过一半的清酒酿酒厂没有盈利。Other difficulties that sake breweries face include a shortage of workers as brewers retire, increased fuel costs and problems with the rice supply.清酒酿酒厂面临的其他困难包括酿酒师退休导致的工人短缺、燃料成本增加和大米供应问题。Terasawa said his small brewery offers an example of how to deal with those difficulties.寺泽表示，他的小酿酒厂为应对这些困难提供了一个范例。The process starts on the fourth floor, where he and an employee steam the rice for 70 minutes.这个过程从四楼开始，他和一名员工在那里蒸米70分钟。Then they let gravity move the rice through openings in the floors and ceilings to a mold-application room on the third floor. Fermentation, using tap water, takes place on the second level. Finally, the sake is put into bottles at ground level.然后，他们利用重力将米通过地板和天花板的开口移动到三楼的模具应用室。发酵过程在二楼使用自来水进行。最后，清酒在一楼装瓶。"In the future, small breweries like this will have a great deal of merit," Terasawa added.寺泽补充道：“未来，像这样的小酿酒厂将具有很大的优势。”