Cooked up a 2.5lb bag of Jasmine rice and made another traditional batch of wine. I also threw together 2 small bowls of rice one with crushed yeast balls and one with some Angel Rice Leaven. 3 days later and both are delicious! The Angel Rice Leaven bowl is sweeter and both the rice and liquid are really good. Not sure if it can be considered "wine" after just 3 days but, there's alcohol for sure. I'm consiring making a full size batch and letting it go for 21 days with the Angel Rice Leaven. Has anyone else done this yet for 21 days?
Making Traditional rice Wine. Cheap, Fun, and Different
- Thread starter sonofgrok
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OP
OP
I sometimes don't see liquification for over a week. Patience.
Ive been watching this forum for awhile now with interest just waiting for my wife to find my rice maker. In the meantime I've been looking into sake production etc pretty thoroughly. What you are all making is actually called Doburoku. It is a home brew style sake which is against the law in Japan. Comparing it to actual sake types it is closest to Nigorizake. A cloudy sake that is not filtered.
OP
OP
There are almost as many versions of rice wine as there are asian cultures. Its interesting to see how many people have come to this thread saying "oh you are making this" but they all use a different terminology. My understanding is that this method is more the traditional chinese version. I am also familiar with the Thai Sato rice wine. I would be willing to hazard a guess that the products and the processes are all relatively similar with little variations here and there. A chinese foreign exchange student here getting his PhD called my wine "Choujiu" which when I looked it up looks like an almost identical product.
JuanMoore
Getting the banned back together
Yep, maybe even more since several asian cultures have many types. It seems that most of them have a lower alcohol version with a short fermentation period that's often served with the solids as a dessert, an unfiltered milky version made using a very similar process to what's outlined in this thread, and a clear version that's either filtered or racked multiple times off of the solids. I suppose my first batch is closest to rượu cần, since I used the Vietnamese yeast balls with spices and Vietnamese sweet rice. I found some Korean yeast balls that I plan to use next, so that one will be closest to makgeolli. I might even throw a little wheat into it since it seems that a lot of makgeolli is made with both rice and wheat. I might have to buy a bottle of commercially made makgeolli to compare with my homebrew version. Then of course I'll have to try the Chinese yeast balls and the Japanese yeast with koji rice to make choujiu and doburoku.
Maybe I need to make a large batch of rice and split it between a bunch of jars using a different yeast in each to compare. Dammit sonofgrok, what have you gotten me into?
My understanding is every culture in the orient has there own version of rice wine. The difference is the product used and the method. The method I specified above is throwing steamed rice and koji/yeast in a jar and hiding it in a closet or below a floorboard. But I think there is a little water added in some of the descriptions ive read. It's just the closest ive seen. But with the above in mind im going to say id call it whatever they call it in the country your yeast balls are coming from.
If you do, please let us know what happens. A lot of us are poking around in the dark a bit here. Most of the really good information on these processes is in languages I can't read, and as far as I can tell, hasn't been translated...
I think I shall call mine yummy. Yup, definitely yummy.
funny i just rembered that a few years ago i read a asain scientist figured out how turn plant matter into alcohol without harsh chemicals this was a cover page story. well i could be wrong but i think every asain home brewer and now because of this and im sure some other posts this hasent been a secret for a very long time. funny how guzzling and i mean guzzeling super crazy rice wine drink made me rember that
I went to all 9 of the local and not so local Asian markets yesterday and none of them had any idea what dried yeast was or yeast balls (jiugu). I even showed them pictures from this thread. Thank you everyone who had posted pics of the yeast balls. I am going to try to find some online right now. I want to get some from several countries and rice from the corresponding countries. I think I am going to brew up batches using the recipes from all diffrent countries. Oh and Sonofgrok - you are correct the name I used from japan is incorrect because the method being used in this thread does not add any water to the rice after it goes into the jar. If you want I will post all the names and regions and slight variations to their recipes in a condensed format when I have all the info.
alright here is what I can contribute. I will list the name any variation in recipe and a source for the yeast balls of this country if available.
A few notes on yeast Balls. Apparently in most stores if you walk in and ask about making rice wine they will not know what you are looking for. These get called things they are not all the time in these stores. I just realized in my search yesterday I had some in my hand and put them back because they were listed as Rice Cakes. They are also called Dried Yeast, Yeast Ball etc. Apparently they are known to most Asian market store owners as a bread making product or for making fermented stick rice treats. Chinese yeast ball is also called Ragi.
China - Bai Mi Jiu - exact recipe listed on this forum.
Huang Jiu - age above recipe in earthen jar in fridge for 2 years. it turns yellow
http://www.asiansupermarket365.com/Shanghai-Rice-Cakes-p/hshrcilj.htm
Thailand - Sato - same as above except they fill the jar with water to the top and only let it sit for a week. At this point it is sweet and drinkable. It says it can be left longer but will become less sweet, drier, and more alcoholic.
http://importfood.com/nrhf0401.html
Vietnam - Cơm Rượu - same as above except the wine is served with the rice formed into balls floating in it while it is still young and sweet. The recipes say to use either Vietnam or Chinesse yeast Balls as apparently the Vietnamesse versions are hard to find in the United States. If Using Hong Kong Yeast: 1 wine yeast ball (size of a quarter) to 1kg white or brown glutinous rice If Using Vietnamese Yeast: 2 wine yeast balls (size of a dime) to 1/2kg white or brown glutinous rice
Korea - Makgeolli - same as above but can have wheat added into it.
Gamju or dansul - It is made from steamed rice, to which water and yeast-cake are added. It is then fermented for several hours in a rice cooker at 60 °C and served. It is normally served in a kettle, and poured into bowls.
Sumatra, Sulawesi, Borneo, and parts of Malaysia - Tuak- Same as above until the rice floats. Usually 3-10 days. Once rice floats: Sugar is added to boiling water (typically 1 kg of sugar to every 2 liters of water, but the mix can be varied depending on the preference for the level of sweetness) and the cooled syrup is added to the fermented mixture. The Tuak is ready to be served or as with the locals, it is preferably left to stand for another 10 days for the taste to mature. The longer the Tuak is kept, the more matured it would become. Tuak can be stored for long period of time, over the course of time the colour darkens and an aroma of honey develops. Provided the content of either alcohol or sugar is high enough, the rice wine can be stored for many years in sealed bottles.
Japan - Doburoku - same as above but has some water added into it when jarred.
I spent just over an hour trying to find more sources for yeast balls from each of the countries above. I am calling it good for now. In conclusion a lot of these countries use the yeast balls from china. Most of the yeast balls are produced there. I found mention of yeast ball production in japan and in Vietnam. A lot of the smaller countries use homemade balls that are not so easy to make Safely due to the use of molds in them.
A few notes on yeast Balls. Apparently in most stores if you walk in and ask about making rice wine they will not know what you are looking for. These get called things they are not all the time in these stores. I just realized in my search yesterday I had some in my hand and put them back because they were listed as Rice Cakes. They are also called Dried Yeast, Yeast Ball etc. Apparently they are known to most Asian market store owners as a bread making product or for making fermented stick rice treats. Chinese yeast ball is also called Ragi.
China - Bai Mi Jiu - exact recipe listed on this forum.
Huang Jiu - age above recipe in earthen jar in fridge for 2 years. it turns yellow
http://www.asiansupermarket365.com/Shanghai-Rice-Cakes-p/hshrcilj.htm
Thailand - Sato - same as above except they fill the jar with water to the top and only let it sit for a week. At this point it is sweet and drinkable. It says it can be left longer but will become less sweet, drier, and more alcoholic.
http://importfood.com/nrhf0401.html
Vietnam - Cơm Rượu - same as above except the wine is served with the rice formed into balls floating in it while it is still young and sweet. The recipes say to use either Vietnam or Chinesse yeast Balls as apparently the Vietnamesse versions are hard to find in the United States. If Using Hong Kong Yeast: 1 wine yeast ball (size of a quarter) to 1kg white or brown glutinous rice If Using Vietnamese Yeast: 2 wine yeast balls (size of a dime) to 1/2kg white or brown glutinous rice
Korea - Makgeolli - same as above but can have wheat added into it.
Gamju or dansul - It is made from steamed rice, to which water and yeast-cake are added. It is then fermented for several hours in a rice cooker at 60 °C and served. It is normally served in a kettle, and poured into bowls.
Sumatra, Sulawesi, Borneo, and parts of Malaysia - Tuak- Same as above until the rice floats. Usually 3-10 days. Once rice floats: Sugar is added to boiling water (typically 1 kg of sugar to every 2 liters of water, but the mix can be varied depending on the preference for the level of sweetness) and the cooled syrup is added to the fermented mixture. The Tuak is ready to be served or as with the locals, it is preferably left to stand for another 10 days for the taste to mature. The longer the Tuak is kept, the more matured it would become. Tuak can be stored for long period of time, over the course of time the colour darkens and an aroma of honey develops. Provided the content of either alcohol or sugar is high enough, the rice wine can be stored for many years in sealed bottles.
Japan - Doburoku - same as above but has some water added into it when jarred.
I spent just over an hour trying to find more sources for yeast balls from each of the countries above. I am calling it good for now. In conclusion a lot of these countries use the yeast balls from china. Most of the yeast balls are produced there. I found mention of yeast ball production in japan and in Vietnam. A lot of the smaller countries use homemade balls that are not so easy to make Safely due to the use of molds in them.
Here are the RYR+yeast ball batch and the oolong tea+yeast ball batches I started 21 days ago. Both of these were made with the same jasmine rice from the grains experiment. They appear to need another week, or maybe more before they are ready. Opinions?
Ibrewaletx
Well-Known Member
I batch pasteurized mine, and it was very easy. I placed in a 195F pot (burners turned off at that point) inside of open quart sized mason jars. I preheated the jars/wine in hot tap water in the sink (120F) and it didn't take long for the wine to hit 160F. I then removed, placed a lid on them and let cool to room temperature.
I just like this better than bottle pasteurizing myself, I've done that before with hard cider and I felt like I was always moments away from exploding glass.
I've transitioned to the full 28 as I usually batch them up on the weekend anyway. Can't hurt. You've a lot more RRY in your batch than I have used in mine from the look of it though.
I went the the same basic route stopping ~150ish with no problem and more importantly, no bottle bombs.
The chart I looked up showed only 60 seconds at 152 to pasteurize or 15s @161. I figured it'd take me at least 45s to go from 150ish to 160 so end result should be the same.
Does anybody know where to get RYR online? My local asian markets barely have the regular yeast balls.
The link posted by saramc sells it along with yeast balls in a large pack. It's about ~3/lb plus shipping.
kds1398
Well-Known Member
http://www.asiansupermarket365.com/Red-Yeast-p/hokryyij.htm
I ordered RYR and yeast balls from them & yeast balls from here: http://importfood.com/nrhf0401.html
I have a bag of sticky rice at home. I see everyone recommending 1:1 water to rice. My rice cooker has a sticky rice setting (and associated water levels in the bowl you cook the rice in), so I'm probably just going to use that (unless people seem to think it's a bad idea). I'm also going to pick up some Jasmine rice.
I was thinking about a 12 way experiment (in quart or pint size mason jars):
Sticky fermented with RYR & Shanghai Rice Cakes (365 site)
Jasmine fermented with RYR & Shanghai Rice Cakes (365 site)
Sticky+Jasmine fermented with RYR & Shanghai Rice Cakes (365 site)
Sticky fermented with Shanghai Rice Cakes (365 site)
Jasmine fermented with Shanghai Rice Cakes (365 site)
Sticky+Jasmine fermented with Shanghai Rice Cakes (365 site)
Sticky fermented with Yeast balls (import food site)
Jasmine fermented with Yeast balls (import food site)
Sticky+Jasmine fermented with Yeast balls (import food site)
Sticky fermented with Yeast balls (import food site) and RYR
Jasmine fermented with Yeast balls (import food site) and RYR
Sticky+Jasmine fermented with Yeast balls (import food site) and RYR
Not sure exactly how much dry rice I'd need for 12 quart jars/12 pint jars or what quantity of RYR/Yeast balls/Rice cakes to use. Seems like people are all over the place with quantities on the yeast side.
Laid down a batch last night sixteen cups of rice and eight yeast balls. Used a mix of thai sweet rice and sushi grade rice . Ten parts sweet to six parts sushi. I was going to jar them then I spotted sitting in the corner of my brew room an item I received as a holiday gift that I was going to throw away. One of those mr. Beer kits that people buy for non brewers. A relative knew I was big into brewing and got me one not knowing they are junk. I didn't have the heart to tell him it was terrible he was to happy about it. So I am brewing my rice wine in this.
Ostomo517
Well-Known Member
Tabb
Well-Known Member
I'm searching for a used Mr Beer locally for rice batches and small beer batches.
Not sure what shipping is on the importfood site but for $4.50 per 4oz it's a bit cheaper to get them at the same place as the RYR who sells them for $7.40 for 8oz. I posted the coupons that came with mine some pages ago but you'd have to dig a little to find them and they admittedly aren't much. In hindsight I wish I'd have ordered more yeast balls and I didn't need as much RYR (it was so cheap tho
)although I've scaled back how much I use with no problems. My last batch used 4 balls and 1/2 a cup of RRY and it's already got well over an inch of separated fluid at the bottom since Sunday morning.
Oh, I don't know. Most of the recipes I saw recommended a ratio of 1/8 the amount of RYR to rice by weight. Well, I'm a bit to lazy to weigh for a batch this small. So I used 2 tbs/cup of dry rice. Or 3 tbs in the jar for 1.5 cups of dry rice. I did powder and toss the powdered RYR with the cooled rice so it was good and coated.
I think I shall. I'll check them again at 28 days. I'm just hoping they don't get to sour.
Here is a picture of the batches right after I mixed them up.
Please take pictures and good notes for your batches. At this point, more data is good data.
I was at the Asian market (99 Ranch) getting more rice for my third batch. In their pre-made food section they had hot pork and vegetable steamed buns. They were great. They also had some that looked like they were "take and bake". Unfortunately, I couldnt communicate with the lady and I could not determine if they should be steamed (more?), baked? Fried? Or were they ready to eat? They looked kinda raw, but maybe thats how a steamed bun looks. Anyone eat these?
OP
OP
They are usually ready to go. You can steam them or you can usually just microwave them..
Oriental Market on McKnight Road
Just a heads up, they don't do cards for anything below $10. So I ended up getting a 25 lb bag of Jasmine rice.
Nothing wrong with 25lbs of Jasmine. I went to the local Korean megamarket (oddly it really is ~mega~ sized) and every kind of rice I could think of was there in 20-50lb bags except for the glutinous white rice (they had glutinous brown). Probably hard to beat $18 for 25lb @ Sams Club anyway I guess.
Oh yeah I'm not complaining, the price wasn't too bad I guess - $21.99 for a 25 lb bag - I don't remember the brand name off the top of my head and I'm no connoisseur but its pretty tasty (to eat or to make into wine).
Okay, I'm not real sure if my batch went south, so I'm coming here for opinions. I started two batches on 3/19/13 with three cups of glutenous rice and two yeast balls each. By 4/4/13 I had white mold but no liquid, and at this point thinking back I fear I may have killed my yeast with the temp of the rice after cooking (not waiting long enough to cool). No biggie, so I combined both batches and mushed in three crushed yeast balls in an attempt to salvage the rice. By 4/7/13 I'm starting to see liquid, and by 4/11/13 I notice some of the rice turning yellow. Then the liquid begins to follow suit. I let it go until today and decide it is time for harvest, but it seems to smell a little strange. I'm not sure if this is the acetone stench that I have read about. Thoughts?
Edit: sorry for the sideways picture
Edit: sorry for the sideways picture
jrk4295
Member
I scanned through some pages and couldnt find a link to where I might buy some of the yeast balls. Anyone have a page number where there's a link?......or a link would be really nice too.....I definitely want to get on this and make a batch!
Also, considering picking up one of these bad boys for a fermentation vessel. Yay? Nay?
http://www.amazon.com/Anchor-Hocking-2-Gallon-Heritage-Glass/dp/B000KKI7GY/ref=pd_sim_k_1
*Edit*
Nevermind....I found it a few pages back!
Also, considering picking up one of these bad boys for a fermentation vessel. Yay? Nay?
http://www.amazon.com/Anchor-Hocking-2-Gallon-Heritage-Glass/dp/B000KKI7GY/ref=pd_sim_k_1
*Edit*
Nevermind....I found it a few pages back!
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that seems high every walmart ive been to has those jars for 9 bucks. target has them for 15 i think. meijer has them with a tap for 16 bucks
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OP
OP
That rice definitely doesn't look right... My guess would be it molded or got infected over that time with no fermentation. Probably picked up something bad in there and then fermented that. Just speculation though. It doesn't look like much liquid yield either.
Tabb
Well-Known Member
Thanks
kds1398
Well-Known Member
Please take pictures and good notes for your batches. At this point, more data is good data.
Not sure when the yeast/RYR I ordered will arrive, but I'm all over it with pics and commentary when it gets in. I just bought a Zojirushi-NS-YAC18 Umami rice cooker last week because I really wanted a rice cooker, so I'm ready to get cranking as soon as the yeast arrives.
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kds1398
Well-Known Member
Not sure what shipping is on the importfood site but for $4.50 per 4oz it's a bit cheaper to get them at the same place as the RYR who sells them for $7.40 for 8oz. I posted the coupons that came with mine some pages ago but you'd have to dig a little to find them and they admittedly aren't much. In hindsight I wish I'd have ordered more yeast balls and I didn't need as much RYR (it was so cheap tho
I actually ordered yeast balls from both sites so I can compare them since they appear to be different. It was $5 flat rate shipping from importfood. I picked up 3x 4oz dried yeast balls from importfood for $18.50 shipped and 2x RYR & 2x 227g shanghai rice cakes from asiansupermarket for $31.15.
How much dry rice did you use for 4 balls & 1/2 cup RYR?
I used 20 "cups" or more specifically what my rice cooker says cups are. I think the cup is only 180ml which should be approx 3/4 cup each or 15 actual cups.
That said, I do have a question about the Zojirushi you picked up although I realize you probably can't answer it til you get it. I picked up the Panasonic MS183 when it was on sale for like $70 and while it says it does sticky rice, it doesn't actually steam the rice until after it's done converting all the water (that it sits in while cooking) to steam. Is that how the Zoji does it too? I was rather curious if there is one out there that steams the rice in the literal sense and was thinking about buying a smaller Zoji specifically for rice eating.
Edit: Did double batch / 20 scoops (15cup). Sorry, sleep deprivation.
That said, I do have a question about the Zojirushi you picked up although I realize you probably can't answer it til you get it. I picked up the Panasonic MS183 when it was on sale for like $70 and while it says it does sticky rice, it doesn't actually steam the rice until after it's done converting all the water (that it sits in while cooking) to steam. Is that how the Zoji does it too? I was rather curious if there is one out there that steams the rice in the literal sense and was thinking about buying a smaller Zoji specifically for rice eating.
Edit: Did double batch / 20 scoops (15cup). Sorry, sleep deprivation.
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