bottlebomber
Well-Known Member
Welcome to the forum, emwinna
I'm not an expert but I'll answer anyway.
Two cups of rice (raw) soaked briefly, rinsed, and then cooked in 2 cups of water and fermented with 1 rice ball yields just over 750 ml of strong sweet wine -- sweeter than I prefer. A half a rice ball would probably be enough. I'm fermenting in a cool basement at 60-something degrees for a month in Aldi's clear glass candy jars. Then squeeze it out with a 1-gal paint strainer bag.
From what I've read, you have to use low-amylose rice or the yield will be poor. Sweet rice, sushi rice, medium grain white rice, or Jasmine rice. My next batch will be 100% Chinese sweet rice. I need to try Jasmine rice.
Nope, I was replying to swedginI do not know if you were writing to me or not, but I'll respond.
I am thinking about adding a little water to mine halfway along to dilute the sugar and the alcohol to see if that allows the yeast to push on a little farther and dry it out. I've been adding lemon juice or cranberry juice to my wine to cut the sweetness.
So I have been going at it pretty regularly, having at least two big batches and at least two smaller ones going at any time. The big ones on average yield three to six litres. The small ones, three. Brewing in those amounts has given me the flexibility to experiment.
I keep both of the known yeasts on hand as they seem to produce different wines. I have tried the starter method several of those times with both yeasts and have not noticed any difference (I haven't given up on this yet). As mentioned in a previous post, the tablets seem to produce a sweet wine and the balls a dry. My red yeast rice batches have not panned out, kinda disappointed. I still have more so I will try again.
My batch sizes do present differently. The smaller ones (usually in some type of one gallon container) have varied in rice quantity, from just five cups cooked up to ten, both always yielding approx three litres. Yeast amount versas cup amount is still a running experiment. The smaller ones also seem to mature faster, about two to two and a half weeks.
I stopped agitating after about batch number six or so. I bag my mixture in paint filters and they are submerged after the first week, always. I found what are supposed to be Soy Bean filters, and they are the bee's knees. They are cloth and a little smaller than the typical five gallon paint filter from Home Depot. You should boil them every time before use to ensure they are clean (I do this anyway with all filters). The filter make clean up and straining soooo much easier! By the way, my big batches are done in either five gallon pails or Big Mouth Bubblers. Wide openings for the win.
Oak cubes work very well, definatly one of my favorite flavors for rice wine. I soak mine in some type of spirit to sterilize and/or to add flavor, put them in a smaller filter bag and toss them in the bottom. Regular raisens are another win, have not tried the golden ones as I remember reading they have some additive that will damage the wine itself or flavor of.
Clarifying and Pasturization are a whole other post for some of you more experienced wine makers to tackle. I have been using bentonite with some success and just picked up some isanglass and sparkolloid to experiment with. Still conflicted about that week to two week wait time for those two.
Anyway lost track of where I was headed. I have two big batch with 64 oz of strawberries and another with 48 oz of blueberries going. I'll let you know at the end of January how they taste.
Happy New Year all!!
Started a noble experiment yesterday. 5.5 oz of Israeli pearl cous cous prepared as usual in 2.5 cups boiling water. 2 yeast balls crushed. We shall see.
Oak cubes work very well, definatly one of my favorite flavors for rice wine. I soak mine in some type of spirit to sterilize and/or to add flavor, put them in a smaller filter bag and toss them in the bottom. Regular raisens are another win, have not tried the golden ones as I remember reading they have some additive that will damage the wine itself or flavor of.
I have a descent sampling of oak cubes around from the "oak tea experiment" Shae Comfort recommended on a podcast once, and I have yet to use them in anything. What cubes do you recommend for rice wine? Do you put them in during the aging process or during active ferment? I'd really like to try oaking my next batch. That sounds delicious!
SWMBO and his friends taste them all.
based on your finger nails and this comment...I believe you are trying to coin the acronym HWMBO????
If so, then I must get my wife on board
Not sure what could have happened. Was diligent about sterilization and once it went in the jar it wasn't touched or opened. Should the jar have been airtight?
The only thing I can think is that the top layer of rice probably formed a plug / seal and the mold is growing on THAT but isn't affecting the liquid beneath.
distilled
I recall reading that even acetone batches usually mellow out to nothing after a few weeks in the fridge.
Here's hoping.
Mine mellowed out between day 7 and day 16 without refrigeration. Haven't tasted it yet, so I can't speak to that aspect, but the aroma went from "gee, that smells like nail polish" to "oooooh yummy rice" all by itself. ^_^
Was that after the 3 week fermentation?
No. Day 7 of primary fermentation, I noticed the acetone smell. By day 15, it was gone.
I'm tasting my latest batch and it's been in the fridge for 2 months. It's sweet with a slight bitterness. Was I supposed to pasteurize this?
I liked when it was carbonated and young. Now it's sour and bitter. Anyone else get it?
Semi-relevant question--Why don't more people try to drop a malty, hoppy wort onto the remainders after harvest? Seems the yeast ought chew right through it
No idea!
This rice wine is kind of the wild hippie of the homebrew world. Yeast? Maybe, probably, not sure. Mold? Yeah, but which kind? Red, yellow, or white final product? Keep it sealed or leave it open? Up to you! Ferm temp? Above freezing, but not so hot you kill the yeast. ;p
(Oh god typing tipsy is *such* a bad idea. Or maybe just really hard.....)
(^_~)v
My very first batch is finished. I threw half into an old Choya bottle, and the other half I'm pasteurizing and aging. View attachment 247208
My hands smell awesome after squeezing out the lees. ^_^
I'm planning on using the lees in face masks since it supposedly makes the skin smoother and brighter. This obviously won't work with any lees containing RYR (stains like crazy), but the white rice with ARL and/or yeast balls will be fine. There are several brands of rather expensive masks from Japan and Korea that contain "sake yeast." I have one on hand that smells =exactly= like the lees from this batch, which is where I got the idea. When I come up with a good recipe, I can post it for you all to use/share with the ladies in your lives. ^_^
ETA: Found one!
http://www.hakkaisan.com/blog/recipe-sake-kasu-facial-mask/
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