Making Traditional rice Wine. Cheap, Fun, and Different

milesvdustin said:

How can I make like a three gallon batch of this stuff?

Go big or go home.

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You could probably fill a fermenting bucket full of it and do it that way. Then you could line a bottling bucket with a paint strainer bag and dump the mixture in and bottle it from the bucket.

Unferth said:

What a fascinating thread! Thanks to sonofgrok and saramc.

Quick question to both/any of you: any suggestions for doing a large scale batch? If I keep the yeast ball rice proportions the same, doing a few gallons of this wouldn't be an issue, right?

And would doing hydrometer readings on this be impossible or just contrary to the general blue-collar atmosphere? How can you estimate sugar and ABV levels otherwise?

FYI, my friend who would know such things says this is called "farmers' wine" in Korea.

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Because you are starting with all solids, taking an initial gravity would be next to impossible as far as I can tell.

sonofgrok said:

Because you are starting with all solids, taking an initial gravity would be next to impossible as far as I can tell.

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It would probably be be better to use an alcoholometer to check the finished product.

Just started another batch. Trying to make them bigger now because I think I am addicted this stuff it is so good and I burned through the last 2 batches so fast. A bunch of my air force buddies were over last night and burned through the blueberry... they loved it. The one on the left still has two or three weeks to go and the one on the right I just put together.

BattleGoat said:

@saramc: Any new pics of your batch?

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Here you go....the top of yellow sticky indicates the top of the liquid level. It is harder to see all the liquid because the rice is so very broken up. Will also attach a top view, which I may have posted alreadt from 11/15, day 2, compared to top view from just now ( notice bubbles ). The top view from tonight posted twice even though I attached just once.

Still smells amazing, and I stole 1/2 tsp liquid and it is unbelievable. Tomorrow is day 7.

milesvdustin said:

How can I make like a three gallon batch of this stuff?

Go big or go home.

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The photos I post show what is in a two gallon jar, and I used four cups dry rice..specifics around 11/13. But, I have no idea as to what yield I will get on actual wine. The best thing to do is start one batch, perhaps using 3-4 cups dry rice...and see if you like it, before you go large volume. It only takes 21-30 days until wine harvest.

To fill even a one gallon jar you will need to use eight cups dry rice. If using sushi rice, for this, I would use 14 cups water. Jasmine rice I would use double the water. Soak both for 6-8 hours if you can, rinsing until water runs clear. But again, actual wine volume can vary. The way my red batch looks, I am hoping to lose no more than two cups to lees, with a six cup wine yield, 1440ml. So, I am anxious to see what my total yield will be. If anyone learns the true way we can easily determine the ACV on final product, please let us know.

Batch #2, using sushi rice. Soaked two cups dry sushi rice in a quart jar topped up with water for at least eight hours, and then rinsed until water ran clear. Cooked in rice cooker with 3 1/4 cup cold water via rice cooker for 30 minutes. All water was gone, but rice was a hot sticky mess. Transferred to a rectangular dish when cooled just enough to handle without burning my fingers. Pulverized two yeast balls in a ziplock bag, secured in brown lunch sack, and let my rolling pin smack down. The rolling pin had a KO in round one! Sprinkled ground yeast on top of hot rice, snapped on lid...want the condensation to drip from top down onto the yeast. I assembled this at 1120a yesterday, 11/18....I heard fermentation by 6p. By 0600 today there was liquid in bottom. Just transferred to two quart jars, and you can see all the milky liquid already. So far, sushi rice wins for quickest liquefaction development. Will keep you updated. Photos from the last few minutes....

The rice in all of the pics seems to vary in degrees of mushiness. I'm assuming the mushier the better, right?

more water absorbed=more starches broken down into sugars=more sugars converted to alcohol=less starchy, more potent quaffable goodness=happiness, world peace, yada yada yada.

That sound about right?

Again, I will be starting mine really soon. These all look really good and I can't wait to try it. Might even flavor a few. But has anyone tried clearing this ? Or will anyone be trying when it's done ?

Unferth said:

The rice in all of the pics seems to vary in degrees of mushiness. I'm assuming the mushier the better, right?

more water absorbed=more starches broken down into sugars=more sugars converted to alcohol=less starchy, more potent quaffable goodness=happiness, world peace, yada yada yada.

That sound about right?

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The photo of white sushi rice was 36ish hours from assembly. Sushi rice is sticky, very normal. You still want the grains whole because that grain of rice feeds the yeast ball. No sugar, no nutrient. My red ferment is seven days old today and you cannot even see this was once rice.

Kevin...I will be doing my best to clear. I was advised not to squeeze straining bag and always start with soaked rice that is rinsed until it runs clear. Fingers crossed.

After I tasted my first batch the other day (a week ago? I have lost track of time), I immediately started a couple others going on the counter the same day that I bottled the first one. This time, I made bigger batches...I want to say I did about 6-7 cups of rice. We normally use Calrose for our daily consumption, so that's what I have been using to make the sake.

I tasted mine again last night and it makes for an excellent reishuu (cold sake). It smells fairly potent, but not like jet fuel or anything...just perfumy alcohol. You can tell there's a decent amount of alcohol in it, but the flavor is mildly sweet and extremely smooth. It has been nice and comfortable in the low-mid 60's in my house so it has been perfect for fermentation on the counter.


My first small test batch was around 2-3 cups of rice, I think, and I ended up with 325ml of wine from that. So, I think my bigger batch ought to put me right around my target 750ml, which will be perfect to fill up some empty liquor bottles I have.

Saramc, why do you advise rinsing the rice after soaking until the water runs clear? Doesn't that remove some of the starch that could be broken down into simple sugars and then fermented?

I'm wondering if some of the lees/strained rice solids could be used to start the next batch. That would save me from having to order more yeast balls in the future as I can't get them locally.

The problem with reusing the lees is that amalyse enzyme is not like yeast. It is not a living organizim that continually reproduces as you feed it. So using the lees may work a little but it will stop converting the starches into sugars way early on.

Rinsing the rice is important because you are rinsing rice hull or outer rice layer dust off. That will not contribute much to starch conversion and will only add a slight bittering effect if left un-rinsed.

Subbed. I'm definitely intrigued by this one.


-Kingboomer

It sort of goes without saying that you should always rinse your rice before you cook it, whether it's for making sushi, sake, or just eating. It is a standard practice an any asian home. By doing so you are essentially getting rid of all the "garbage" stuff that comes from the production and packaging of the rice.

+1 to the rice rinsing responses!

Update: the wine that is being made with sushi rice and yeast balls is knocking my socks off with a taste on the spoon after stirring. Still early, very sweet and undoubtedly pleasant. There is no noticeable level of liquid but I think it has to do with the sushi rice. There is liquid there but it is bonded with the steamed rice as it breaks down. Looks like a milky rice pudding, minus any eggs, raisins or cinnamon.

The red yeast rice/yeast ball ferment is now at puree stage as far as what the rice component looks like. A lot of liquid. Smells super fruity, definitely converting the starch to alcohol because the sweetness is not as noticeable now...but when I took a sip of wine this morning I literally closed my eyes and sighed. Imagining it chilled! Have decided to strain at day 21, 12/4, at least that is what I say today.

One of the major lessons that I have learned from sharing this thread is that different rices all yield very different ferments but so far I have not heard one complaint about the final products! Pretty cool.

First off let me say thank you for posting this. I was excited when I ran across this thread and couldn't wait to get this going. I finally got by a Chinese market today and picked up the yeast balls and sushi rice to make this. I got a little ambitious and ended up making three jars of this stuff. I suppose I'll leave one with no flavorings and try different ones on the other two. In my excitement I just realized I didn't sanitize the cheese cloth. I guess we'll see how that plays out. Anyway, I'm excited to see how this turns out and thank you for all the details and documentation.

You will probably be ok without sanitizing the cheese cloth. This almost immediately goes to a high alcohol ferment. I have never had an infection.

I went into a Chinese market in SF just now to get my yeast balls, and had a bag of glutinous rice among my other purchases. The lady at the register said "Ooh, you make the wine?", with a smile. I told her yes, and she said "No no you get this kind of rice", directing me to another variety. She was whispering something to her husband as I left, and they were both laughing. I guess we're not the only ones doing this.

So, what kind of rice did she recommend?

I don't know, it's all Chinese writing and then it has a sticker in English that has the nutrition facts which says "Sweet Rice"

Is it possible to post a pic?

bottlebomber said:

I don't know, it's all Chinese writing and then it has a sticker in English that has the nutrition facts which says "Sweet Rice"

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Most Japanese sake websites do not recommend glutinous rice...sweet/sticky rice is a glutinous rice actually and will give you a Chinese version of rice wine if using yeast balls and/or red yeast rice aka beni-koji.

But as we have seen from the threads, we are seeing success with glutinous and sushi rice. If you could take a photo of front/back and post them that would be great. Sake rice is actually used for Japanese style sake, and sushi rice will work...per [email protected]. I need to ask him for sources of sake rice.

We'll see what happens. The bag is pretty nondescript. Man that link for the yeast balls says they were like 8 bucks plus shipping for 250G, and these were $1.50 for 400 grams. I should have bought 2.

bottlebomber said:

Man that link for the yeast balls says they were like 8 bucks plus shipping for 250G, and these were $1.50 for 400 grams. I should have bought 2.

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Prices at a local store are typically cheaper. But many of us have no local Oriental shops or stores that even stock these. Good price!

I am willing to bet there are several Chinese grocers in Louisville.

It was a matter of finding any that stocked the yeast. The market closest to me has ordered it and they just contacted me ten minutes ago to let me know they now have dried yeast for rice wine in stock. They had not carried it for years because no one was buying it. I will stop in soon to buy some rice and yeast balls.

I've been keeping an eye on this thread and I now have the glass jar/cheesecloth I need. I'm planning on picking up the yeast and rice at my local market in the next day or two. I've been thinking about flavoring some of the rice wine and I definitely want to do cranberry juice. Since it's nearly winter time, I'm wondering if a mint simple syrup would be good for flavor and sweetness.

What flavorings have you tried and what do you prefer?

I have done pomegranate and blueberry with great success. Most any berry like raspberry, blackberry etc. Would work well. I am not too sure about cranberry though as the tartness may not pair well.

Anyone willing to pick me up a bag of the yeast balls and send them to me the asianmarket online wants more to ship them to me then they cost they want 9.35 to ship them.if so let me know how to send money for them and shipping. Zip code 18634.

sonofgrok said:

Once the rice has cooled add it to the jar. Add a little bit of rice then a little bit of yeast then a little bit of rice etc...

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Is there any reason you couldn't just fill the jar up with the rice/yeast and make more or do you need to keep it to just a few inches tall of the rice/yeast mix?

I filled mine up more...seems to be going fine.


I also have two jars going. One jar, I "repitched" some of my leftover rice/yeast/mold/whatever slurry from the previous batch, and the other one I used a "new" package of dry yeast balls. So far (~1 week in) they look pretty much the same to me.

bpparker said:

Is there any reason you couldn't just fill the jar up with the rice/yeast and make more or do you need to keep it to just a few inches tall of the rice/yeast mix?

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I have actually been making much larger batches since then with no one issue.

I have a couple batches going (one with the Jasmine rice, one with sushi rice). The sushi rice batch, after a couple days, seems to have some interesting fuzzy mold on top, kind of looks like white dandelion fuzz. I'm guessing it'll die off at some point....but still interesting, and I'll still let it go and taste it. Anyone else get some fuzz on a batch?

That mold could be the koji. Nothing to worry about if it is. I get white spores on top frequently... I wouldn't really call them fuzzy though...

Sushi rice does have a lot of moisture in it though. There is a Thai variation of this called I think "Sato" which you actually start with standing water in it and I know one of the concerns when making it is mold.

The koji in this pic looks dandelion fuzzy.

Mine looks more like this, although I don't have the little black spots (not my pic, apparently this is a pic of mold on lemon peel). Not scary looking at all, therefore it cannot possibly be bad

So when I make this should I always expect to see mold ? I will be using a large jar with an airlock on top to make mine.

Those of you making fruit flavored varieties... How and when are you adding the fruit flavor?