Making Traditional rice Wine. Cheap, Fun, and Different

Here's an interesting development. I started another two 3 cup batches of rice wine last night in target cracker jars. This fills them to about 1/3 volume of steamed sushi rice and they get two small crushed up yeast balls each jar. I washed the heck out of this rice until it ran clear and just put them in my kitchen cabinet for the full 3 week fermentation next to two smaller jars of RYR+sushi rice at about 2 weeks in.

Today was my last rice addition on the true sake project and either I miscalculated the final volume of rice or the novelty bell jar i'm using for the sake isn't truly 1 gallon in capacity. I had to take about half of the final volume of rice and water and mix it into one of the jars of rice wine I whipped up last night. I know what you're thinking, why didn't I just grab another jar and divide up the batch of sake into two batches....

I had no empty jars in the house. Not a one. Not even an empty baby food jar. Doh!

In order to create a 2-3" neck space for fermentation in the sake jar, I had to scoop out a little glucose water, koji, sushi rice and lalvin 1116 in order to free up space in the sake jar. That mixture of sake goodness went right into the cracker jar with the extra rice and yeast balls from yesterday.

It should make for an interesting fermentation to say the least.

Leadgolem said:

Actually, I'm talking about the jars that have turned pink instead of red. The ones with residual enzyme and pigment from the home dried RYR. I'm wondering what they are going to taste like. Red rice wine does not really taste like white rice wine.

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This is true. I have two batches of RYR+sushi rice about 2 weeks into fermentation. I will be squeezing the lees on those batches next Wednesday.

To everyone who ordered yeast balls and Angel Rice Leaven from me on 7/4, first off, thank you for the business. I didn't think I'd get so many orders on a holiday. I guess this is a favorite time to brew. Second, all orders were shipped early this morning. Thanks again and happy 4th to all!!!!!!!

Cheers...

ive read through about half of this thread, and decided to try it out. I went to the local vietnamese store in my city, and got the only rice yeast they had to make wine with. It wasn't balls, but about a good palm full of compressed white powder. It has ginger cinnamon and some other stuff in it so it looks like itll turn out creating something pretty good tasting. I was wondering, how much rice should i use with said palm-full of yeast?

embreedow said:

. I was wondering, how much rice should i use with said palm-full of yeast?

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I think---Someone on here has used a spiced yeast blend & I cannot recall the outcome. My concern is you have a product made of nutritional brewer's yeast. Before I assembled everything, I would add 1/4 tsp of said spiced yeast to 4 oz apple juice & confirm it is alive. Like proofing bread yeast, which this might be, to an extent.

Normally I use 20 gm of yeast balls per 2 pounds raw, well rinsed, rice...no idea what to recommend if your spiced yeast is actually alive. Caution: there is a chance your yeast is not the enzyme producing yeast you need to ferment the cooked rice.

Watch out for preservatives in apple juice. Use natural, all organic cider if you can find it. That, or just use simple syrup (sugar and water).

ok will do, if it works ill get the rice goin and update if/when it starts workin!

Running out of rice, and down to my last two rice balls. So, I made a small batch with 1 cup RYR, 2 balls, 3 red serrano peppers, 1 cup Turbinado sugar, and around 3 cups jasmine rice.

LabRatBrewer said:

Running out of rice, and down to my last two rice balls. So, I made a small batch with 1 cup RYR, 2 balls, 3 red serrano peppers, 1 cup Turbinado sugar, and around 3 cups jasmine rice.

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Now that should be truly interesting.

My experiments have indicated you can get at least one additional batch out of the pressed leftover starch mass from a batch of red rice wine. As long as you pitch the starch mass immediately into the new fresh rice. That might be a way for you to stretch your supplies a bit.

just picked up a 2 gallon Anchor Hocking (sp?) jar from Target for $13.99! going big. any insight into tall jars vs. wide jars? they also had what appears to be about a 6gallon wide mouth carboy on the end of an isle for $50. opted for a juicer instead lol.

Descender said:

just picked up a 2 gallon Anchor Hocking (sp?) jar from Target for $13.99! going big. any insight into tall jars vs. wide jars? they also had what appears to be about a 6gallon wide mouth carboy on the end of an isle for $50. opted for a juicer instead lol.

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Doesn't really matter. I have used 2 gallon white buckets, 1 gallon cracker jars from Target, and even pickle jars for small batches. They all work. I would just say that if you are using a clear jar, make sure it is stored in the dark or away from light sources.

Just that wide jars have a larger surface area and are easier to get your hands into.

I'm really digging this stuff. Think I'll make another batch with the jasmin rice I never used (this is a great recipe to get rid of older unwanted rice btw).

Alrighty. Due to poor planning (funeral/viewing) on Wednesday, I decided to squeeze the lees on my RYR+SR batches. I've had two small 3 cup batches going for almost three weeks now and they're ready. After pressing, here's my thoughts on the RYR+SR blend using 1 small chinese dried yeast ball in each batch.

Appearance: Cloudy with a rich magenta pink hue. I decided to pour the liquid through a layer of wet cheesecloth after pressing. I added 1/2 cup hot water mixed with 3/4 teaspoon bentonite to absorb the solids and mixed it in slowly. It's now resting in a 32 ounce swing top bottle just waiting for the pasteurizing water bath to heat up.

Smell: Sharp citrus, mango, kiwi with a "box of dry rice-y" background and alcohol.

Taste: Initially a citrus tang but much more of the dry rice taste, more earthy and dry (not as sweet).

I can't wait to have it pasteurized so I can cold crash it for a while. I've noticed a little cold conditioning after pasteurization mellows out a lot of the tangy flavors and gives you a more balanced flavor profile.

Descender said:

just picked up a 2 gallon Anchor Hocking (sp?) jar from Target for $13.99! going big. any insight into tall jars vs. wide jars? they also had what appears to be about a 6gallon wide mouth carboy on the end of an isle for $50. opted for a juicer instead lol.

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I'd go with the wider rather then the taller jar given the choice. Once your rice gets over about 14 inches deep you can run into a problem where you have a "cap" of partly converted starch floating on a bubble of co2 from the fermentation below.

It isn't that big of an issue, but you have to be careful not to pack your rice at all when you are doing a bigger batch.

I had a larger jar with a piece of cheesecloth on top and a smaller mason jar with full lid and ring (secured LOOSELY). I made the batches at the same time. I gotta say, I didnt see much difference between the two in color/taste/etc....

Paper towels, or even saran wrap loosely secured over the mouth of the jar will also work fine.

Here are the notes from the harvesting of the home dried RYR experiment. I was extremely surprised that the "rose" batches yielded so well. It was also interesting to note that the batches with nutrient added contained far fewer particulates after harvesting.

The first photo is of visible mold growth on batch 6. I took a picture of it as I've never seen that on a batch of red rice wine before, though I have on plenty of "white" rice wine batches. Batches are in order from left to right in the second photo.

Batch contents:
1. 3 tbs crushed RYR + 1/3 oz crushed yeast ball (control)
2. 1/3 oz crushed yeast ball (control #2)
3. 3 tbs crushed home dried RYR
4. 3 tbs crushed home dried RYR + 1/3 oz crushed yeast ball
5. 3 tbs refrigerated RYR starch mass
6. 3 tbs crushed RYR + 1/3 oz crushed rice yeast ball + nutrient
7. 1/3 oz crushed yeast ball + nutrient

Tasting Notes:
1. Aroma, rice with a little fruit. Low alcohol for rice wine, to many particulates. It's a little thick.
2. Aroma, rice a and a little alcohol. Moderate alcohol, very nice mouth feel. Sort of a vanilla and citrus flavor. Very nice.
3. Aroma, not much rice and mildly fruity. Low alcohol for rice wine. Mildly fruity and citrus with a little vanilla. Nice mouth feel, a little thin compared to regular rice wine.
4. Aroma, not much rice and mildly vanilla. High alcohol for rice wine. Mildly fruity and moderately citrus, very subtle vanilla. Very nice mouth feel, same as regular rice wine.
5. Aroma, not much rice and mildy musky. Reminds me vaguely of sweat, oddly that's not unpleasant... Practically no alcohol. Moderately fruity, no citrus or vanilla. Slightly high on the particulates, a little thick for my taste.
6. Aroma, fruit only nothing else. Moderate alcohol for rice wine. Extremely fruity, not much citrus, no vanilla. Substantially fewer particulates then typical rice wine. Still a nice mouthfeel, but a little on the thin side.
7. Aroma, vanilla only. Moderate alcohol for rice wine. Citrus and vanilla. Substantially fewer particulates then typical rice wine. Nice mouth feel still, somewhat on the thin side.

At this point I'm not sure anymore that the home dried RYR did fail. It certainly produced rice wine, though a slightly odd kind. I'll have to consider the matter for a while before moving forward with the experiments.

Interesting experiment. Thanks for reporting your results. The only results I will have soon is from my batch of "pink" sweet rice. The stuff looks brown but the wine it is producing is crystal clear. I need to get that arborio rice batch going soon.

So Leadgolem do you have a favorite from that last test batch? And to date?
I just shake my head unable to believe it is so simple. I think I will start my batch of Angel Rice Leaven this week, it is time.

Leadgolem,

I had that same growth on both batches of my recent Red Yeast Rice + Sushi Rice + Yeast balls. I'm willing to bet it is a fungus and that it's probably Aspergillus or Rhyzopus from the yeast balls. I was reading in that historical Chinese rice wine .pdf that both types of fungus are common in regional variations of yeast balls and will break down rice starch into alpha amylase and beta gluconase. In essence, they're creating a double fermentation environment and feeding the yeasts very similar to the way koji breaks down sake for sake yeast.

saramc said:

So Leadgolem do you have a favorite from that last test batch? And to date?
I just shake my head unable to believe it is so simple. I think I will start my batch of Angel Rice Leaven this week, it is time.

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OKAY!!! I'm super excited to hear your feedback on the Angel Rice Leaven.

I've done a few experiments (not as much as Leadgolem) and have been pleased with all of them.

ps. If you need more, you know where to go. I've got plenty more where that came from. : )

saramc said:

So Leadgolem do you have a favorite from that last test batch? And to date?
I just shake my head unable to believe it is so simple. I think I will start my batch of Angel Rice Leaven this week, it is time.

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Absolutely. The white rice wine with yeast nutrient, batch 7. I like the way the vanilla flavor an aroma was more prominent then I've seen in previous batches. It's also got a lower level of particulates then is typical. My comment on it being on the thin side is more a comment on the level of particulates then anything else. It's actually my overall favorite as well.

aiptasia said:

Leadgolem,

I had that same growth on both batches of my recent Red Yeast Rice + Sushi Rice + Yeast balls. I'm willing to bet it is a fungus and that it's probably Aspergillus or Rhyzopus from the yeast balls. I was reading in that historical Chinese rice wine .pdf that both types of fungus are common in regional variations of yeast balls and will break down rice starch into alpha amylase and beta gluconase. In essence, they're creating a double fermentation environment and feeding the yeasts very similar to the way koji breaks down sake for sake yeast.

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Oh, I think you are right about that. I've just never had it be visible on the red rice wine before. Since that is also the first batch of red rice wine I've done with yeast nutrient, I thought it was worth noting.

Ok, so instead of trying anything with the spiced vietnamese yeast, I just went to a different Asian supermarket. It was huge! there are a few in the orlando area but this one I liked the best. It's called 1st oriental supermarket for anyone in the Orlando area.
I did Sarah's original recipe with the RYR and yeast and I used sweet rice. The only thing is, I used a water to rice ratio of .5-.75 to one. So i didn't use as much water as everyone else. I am wondering if this will still work and ferment?
Also, I let my rice cool in the fridge because I had to run to class. Will this inhibit the process at all?

embreedow said:

Ok, so instead of trying anything with the spiced vietnamese yeast, I just went to a different Asian supermarket. It was huge! there are a few in the orlando area but this one I liked the best. It's called 1st oriental supermarket for anyone in the Orlando area.
I did Sarah's original recipe with the RYR and yeast and I used sweet rice. The only thing is, I used a water to rice ratio of .5-.75 to one. So i didn't use as much water as everyone else. I am wondering if this will still work and ferment?
Also, I let my rice cool in the fridge because I had to run to class. Will this inhibit the process at all?

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The water may or may not be a problem. As long as it is not TOO dry, you should get at least some wine.

The refrigerator is no problem. I have left rice in the fridge for a week and then made wine with it.

Agreed. It's a little dry. Unless you let the rice pre-soak for an hour (or overnight in the fridge), I use 1.25:1 ratio of rice to water. You might not notice much liquid until you press the rice lees in about three weeks time.

Made it on June 26 and still don't see the floating rice but a rather gelationus rice blob that is obviously full of liguid but not at all separated. Let it sit or is that a sign to cut ones losses?

I looked earlier today and it's lookin good. I can already tell it is definitely starting to ferment. I'll post in about 3 weeks with the results to show everybody the yield with rice that uses a little less water.

brewsmedic said:

Made it on June 26 and still don't see the floating rice but a rather gelationus rice blob that is obviously full of liguid but not at all separated. Let it sit or is that a sign to cut ones losses?

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You can't always tell. Sometimes the rice liquefies from the inside out and doesn't fall apart until you squeeze it a little and break the rice open. You might as well give it the full three weeks, then see what you get out of it. You should have liquid in the jar between the rice at this point though.

Out of around 16 batches I've had 2 do that. They didn't have anything in common, so I'm not sure why it happens.

brewsmedic said:

Made it on June 26 and still don't see the floating rice but a rather gelationus rice blob that is obviously full of liguid but not at all separated. Let it sit or is that a sign to cut ones losses?

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Agreed. My last two RYR batches didn't show any signs of liquefying until the final week. The blob of rice is likely full of liquid. It's amazing how much fluid you can squeeze out of the lees at the end.

I had a look at my RYR rice wine harvested and pasteurized just a few days ago and was shocked at how much separation and clearing there was on this batch so soon. I added a little more bentonite (1/4 cup hot water, 3/4 tsp bentonite, stirred) this time and stirred it in good, then pasteurized the 32 ounce bottle and shook up the bottle for 30 seconds after pasteurizing to make sure that bentonite got well mixed into everything while it was all very hot.

Into my fridge it went for chilling. I think that was the key, as the solids have settled out amazingly quickly. The rice wine's color was absolutely clear with a rose pink tinge. It has a floral, earthy alcohol smell and much more of a dry mellow sake taste. I'm very impressed by this batch and all I can say is....

aiptasia said:

I had a look at my RYR rice wine harvested and pasteurized just a few days ago and was shocked at how much separation and clearing there was on this batch so soon. I added a little more bentonite (1/4 cup hot water, 3/4 tsp bentonite, stirred) this time and stirred it in good, then pasteurized the 32 ounce bottle and shook up the bottle for 30 seconds after pasteurizing to make sure that bentonite got well mixed into everything while it was all very hot.

Into my fridge it went for chilling. I think that was the key, as the solids have settled out amazingly quickly. The rice wine's color was absolutely clear with a rose pink tinge. It has a floral, earthy alcohol smell and much more of a dry mellow sake taste. I'm very impressed by this batch and all I can say is....

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Same here. Not on the saparation but the taste is way better than plain rice wth no RYR. My RYR batch was the best so far. I harvested one small jar and I have a big jar to do also. The 9th was the magic 3 week point but I've been busy so maybe today. Very tasty. I used a 6 to 1 ration Rice:RYR.

elkshadow said:

Same here. Not on the saparation but the taste is way better than plain rice wth no RYR. My RYR batch was the best so far. I harvested one small jar and I have a big jar to do also. The 9th was the magic 3 week point but I've been busy so maybe today. Very tasty. I used a 6 to 1 ration Rice:RYR.

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I did 2:1 calirose to RYR + 1 small crushed yeast ball.

Love this stuff. Did one batch so far and pulled at the 14 day mark. Just like everyone said, nice and sweet with that rice taste still there a bit and the alcohol taste. And wow, lots of liquid stayed in the rice gunk until pressed.

Question I had not seen on here was freeze-jackin' this stuff. Has anyone tried to freeze concentrate it yet?

Yes, the Chinese have. The references i've read about it say that it creates an "ice wine" style of concentrated jiu.

I finished up my batch with the pink sweet rice. This was 1lb of rice with 1:1.5 ratio using 2 small Vietnamese yeast balls fermented at an average of 75 degrees in the dark. The flavor is amazing. It is very similar to the arborio rice batch I did. The taste is very vanilla, slightly fruity, walnut, and not hot or boozy like the other batches have been. I have been getting much better wine from the Vietnamese yeast rather than the Chinese yeast. We harvested this batch while brewing some beer. While doing our taste test, my buddy suggested aging this one on some cocoa nibs. That would really compliment this batch.

TBBrewer said:

I have been getting much better wine from the Vietnamese yeast rather than the Chinese yeast.

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I picked up some of the VN balls yesterday. I haven't found arborio at a price I like so I'm going with the same Jasmine/RYR ratio for these next ones.

My doubts about its strength were settled the other night. I had two shaker glasses full with ice in them the other night and I was so drunk I couldn't sleep. I probably had 16 oz of it and I haven't been drinking as much as I did in winter and I was TANKED.

Which yeast is which the red pakaged bigger ones are the Chinese and the smaller blue ones are the Vietnamese? I have been

Tinhorn said:

Which yeast is which the red pakaged bigger ones are the Chinese and the smaller blue ones are the Vietnamese? I have been

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Using the red ones

Premature posting!! Story of my life lol

That's correct. The VN ones say BA NAM CALI on them.

I also saw something else that looked like rectangles of yeast and there were no english words printed on them. They were right next to the other ones on the shelf.

Maybe Leadgolem knows what there are since we visit the same store. They are to the far left of the other ones on the shelf.

Thinking about doing a bucket batch. I have 3.5 gallon buckets for my beer making.