Sake is an alcoholic beverage made primarily from rice. Sake rice is larger and stronger than table rice, allowing it to be polished. A fungus known as koji-kin is spread across the rice, aiding in saccharification and fermentation, two key processes in the making of alcoholic beverages. Water is also heavily used in every stage of making sake, being utilized to clean the rice before fermentation and to dilute the beverage at the end.