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How do sake and pulque differ from barley-based beer?

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Six small glasses of craft beer in varying amber and golden hues are arranged on a metal tray atop a wooden bar counter in Brussels, Belgium. — Beer Glasses of beer in a bar in Brussels.

While beer is typically defined as an alcoholic beverage produced by extracting raw materials—most commonly malt from barley—with water, boiling with hops, and fermenting with yeast, sake and pulque differ significantly in their base ingredients and production methods.12

Sake

Sake is a Japanese beverage made from rice rather than barley. Unlike beer, which relies on the malting of grain, sake production uses a process called multiple parallel fermentation, where a fungus known as Aspergillus oryzae converts rice starch into sugar, which is then simultaneously converted into alcohol by yeast. This process occurs in a single vat, distinguishing it from the sequential steps typical of brewing beer.3

Pulque

Pulque is a Mexican beverage made from the fermented sap (aguamiel) of the agave plant. Unlike the grain-based fermentation of beer, pulque production involves collecting the sap directly from the plant and fermenting it in wooden barrels, often using previously fermented pulque to initiate the process. It is typically consumed unaged and contains suspended yeast cells.4