At moto-i, Our upstairs lounge is perfect to sip on a after dinner sake cocktail or lounge with friends. Sake is an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin that is made from fermented rice. In the Japanese language, the word sake refers to any alcoholic beverage, while the beverage called sake in English is termed nihonshu. Sake is sometimes referred to in english-speaking countries as rice wine. However, unlike wine, in which alcohol is produced by fermenting sugar that is naturally present in grapes, sake is produced by means of a brewing process more like that of beer. To make beer or sake, the sugar needed to produce alcohol must first be converted from starch. The brewing process for sake differs from the process for beer, in that for beer, the conversion from starch to sugar and from sugar to alcohol occurs in two discrete steps. When sake is brewed, these conversions occur simultaneously. Furthermore, the alcohol content differs between sake, wine, and beer. Wine generally contains 9%–16% ABV, while most beer contains 3%–9%, and undiluted sake contains 18%–20% (although this is often lowered to about 15% by diluting with water prior to serving).