Making Traditional rice Wine. Cheap, Fun, and Different

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Went to the asian market and the staff there had the same as everyone here reported...they never heard of dried yeast balls. Found this in the cold food section. No mention of yeast but the bag says rice cake and the ingredients say rice, salt and ethyl alcohol. Anyone else have experience with this or know if it'll work?

Bag Front.jpg


ingredients.jpg


Peanuts.jpg
 
jak1010 said:
Went to the asian market and the staff there had the same as everyone here reported...they never heard of dried yeast balls. Found this in the cold food section. No mention of yeast but the bag says rice cake and the ingredients say rice, salt and ethyl alcohol. Anyone else have experience with this or know if it'll work?
Click to expand...


Pretty sure that's a snack food there. The yeast balls I found were mixed in between the bags of flour, salt and sugars. I circled the local store twice before finding them.
 
mpride1911 said:
Pretty sure that's a snack food there. The yeast balls I found were mixed in between the bags of flour, salt and sugars. I circled the local store twice before finding them.
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I agree. Looks like snack food.

I found mine in the same general area, with baking stuff and flavorings. It was next to the leaveners, among other things.
 
An FYI, I found mine in the actual yeast isle. They had a smaller section in the baking items, but mine were right with the rice. Very convenient haha.
 
I had just bought the book, Brewing Sake by William Auld less than a week ago and was disappointed by the enormous number of steps in the process as you build up the size, so figured it was $19.95 lost and no Sake.
l2P91d9.jpg


But finding this great thread while I was doing my normal perusing of the HBT boards, I could hardly get to sleep thinking of heading out and looking for the proper yeast or kobi/koji.
I was happy to find it here not too far away in Portland OR and picked up 3 bags of it. Each bag has 10 balls in it, all for $1.85 (per bag). I wish brewing yeast was this cheap!
8ufwzrT.jpg


Anyways, I boiled 5 cups of glutonous 'sweet' rice (what a glob) and added 4 balls of yeast after it cooled. I placed in a jar that looks familiar on this board and look forward to some nice sake in about 3 weeks.
Thanks for all the information on here, I'm happy to be adding sake to the list of fermented beverages I make.

I likely will be getting some Thai Jasmine and getting a batch of that started as I think this will be pretty popular.

W1cLHgm.jpg
 
Ibrewaletx said:
I had just bought the book, Brewing Sake by William Auld less than a week ago and was disappointed by the enormous number of steps in the process as you build up the size, so figured it was $19.95 lost and no Sake.
...
But finding this great thread while I was doing my normal perusing of the HBT boards, I could hardly get to sleep thinking of heading out and looking for the proper yeast or kobi/koji.
I was happy to find it here not too far away in Portland OR and picked up 3 bags of it. Each bag has 10 balls in it, all for $1.85 (per bag). I wish brewing yeast was this cheap!
...
Anyways, I boiled 5 cups of glutonous 'sweet' rice (what a glob) and added 4 balls of yeast after it cooled. I placed in a jar that looks familiar on this board and look forward to some nice sake in about 3 weeks.
Thanks for all the information on here, I'm happy to be adding sake to the list of fermented beverages I make.

I likely will be getting some Thai Jasmine and getting a batch of that started as I think this will be pretty popular.

...
Click to expand...
Rice wine, but yeah. I had the same reaction to the sake making process. It just seemed like way more work then I was willing to go to.
 
Just bottled mine tonight. Amazing! Really good, great sweetness, but boy is it potent. I can see how you would get really messed up on this stuff.

Ready to do a second batch, this time with Jasmine rice. All I had last time was cheap calrose stuff from the supermarket.
 
xfevv said:
Just bottled mine tonight. Amazing! Really good, great sweetness, but boy is it potent. I can see how you would get really messed up on this stuff.

Ready to do a second batch, this time with Jasmine rice. All I had last time was cheap calrose stuff from the supermarket.
Click to expand...

Jasmine is where its at , nice wine thats perfect for sipping
 
So I just finished some of this up and the taste is great. Very sweet. Better than I anticipated. The only thing I didn't care for was the texture of it. Is there a way to take some of the chalkiness out of it?
 
rsc213 said:
So I just finished some of this up and the taste is great. Very sweet. Better than I anticipated. The only thing I didn't care for was the texture of it. Is there a way to take some of the chalkiness out of it?
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I would imagine letting it cold crash and separate would take care of that but it will also effect flavor. Maybe try filtering a few times through doubled up cheesecloth or paint strainer or coffee filter
 
Ostomo517 said:
I would imagine letting it cold crash and separate would take care of that but it will also effect flavor. Maybe try filtering a few times through doubled up cheesecloth or paint strainer or coffee filter
Click to expand...
What about oxidation? I've been treating mine like all other beer/wine, trying to minimize oxygen contact.
 
I havent had any problems with it so far but mine does not stick around the bar very long either. Maybe try it with half and see what you think?
 
I just harvested my rice wine after 24 days. I only got about half of a 750 ml bottle from 5 cups (dry) jasmine rice and 4 yeast balls. I am guessing the factors that led to this are -

#1 Fermentation temp too low, esp early on. (probably closer to the low 70s, high 60s)
#2 Not enough water, no soaking... Water level in rice cooker was one finger knuckle's length above the rice level, and it cooked real fast.

Anyways I am not upset at the yield, I just know I can do better based on what other people have posted. I will probably put a paint bucket heat lamp - http://brewstands.com/fermentation-heater.html - into the cooler - and hooking that up to one of the STC-1000s that I should be getting in the mail soon, at least until I build my dual fermentation chamber :)

DSC_0607.JPG

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DSC_0609.JPG

DSC_0610.JPG

DSC_0612.JPG

DSC_0613.JPG


OP here - https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f25/ma...fun-different-361095/index94.html#post4950345
 
Jeebas said:
Thanks!

I forgot to mention that, despite the low yield, the taste is great! Very sweet, very strong, but very good. I can only imagine what adding fruit flavors to it will do.
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It does look great! Not sure which of those would lead to that yield though. I usually get almost half a gallon from 5 cups dry rice. Although I dont think its the soaking because Im pretty sure sonofgrok mentioned he does not soak anymore.
 
Ostomo517 said:
It does look great! Not sure which of those would lead to that yield though. I usually get almost half a gallon from 5 cups dry rice. Although I dont think its the soaking because Im pretty sure sonofgrok mentioned he does not soak anymore.
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Correctomundo. I don't bother soaking anymore. I get some pretty good rice though.

Soaking is time consuming and I am lazy. Makes this ferment even easier than it already was.
 
Hey, Sarah!!! Guess what I found at another Asian supermarket I found in Oklahoma City...




RedYeastRice_zps0ec62c66.jpg





That's my counter at home, not the store shelf.. lol. I went looking for the red yeast rice again because I got to be friends with a local Chinese family that has a Chinese restaurant (Big surprise, right?) Anyway, I started asking about rice wine, and the guy said his dad has made it as long as he can remember. Back behind the register, there were assorted bottles of Brandy, or so I thought. He uncorked one of them and.. it smells exactly what's coming from my fermenting air lock at the house right now! This is a terrible pic, but look how beautiful it is! Nice and clear.




RiceWine2_zps7bbc4c61.jpg





From their directions, it sounds like everything we've been having problems with? Many won't be able to do this due to size, and some was lost in the translation with the rice, I think, but he said to use:

10 lbs of rice.. and not sure if this was dry or cooked. He said yes to both questions.. lol.

Let the rice cool, then put it in a fermenting bucket. Add 13 pounds of water.

Stir in ONE (Yup.. just one) powdered yeast ball and one package (Mine are 14 oz) red yeast rice. Close it up, keep out of direct sunlight, (I think we've determined that as well) After one week, open it up and stir it, then close it back up for 3 more weeks for a total of one month.

He let me taste his, and there was a strong alcohol taste, but not any sweetness? He also warned against letting air get to the alcohol after bottling... another thing we've determined. His would definitely need some type of flavoring for my taste, but the aroma was heavenly. BUT... when he told me to add 13 pounds of water to the already cooked rice, flashes of my sour-as-heck-batch came flooding to my taste buds.. He even mentioned that sometimes it goes sour when making it. I may try a variation between his and ours and see what happens using less water. I just love the coloring the red yeast rice gave it.
 
I got the ones from AsianSupermarket per the advice/usage of various others on the thread. It's also the only online one I saw linked (I'm not in the UK) that had the Red Rice Yeast (per Sara).

If it helps, my order came with a bunch of coupons. Feel free to help yourself. For refer a friend (first order) they sent:
$3 off $80: jun322
$2 off $50: jun3lv
$1 off $30: jun39J

For second orders they sent:
$5 off $80: Jun1393
$3 off $60: Jun1366
$2 off $40: Jun1338


They all expire at the end of June this year but as I stocked up so I wouldn't have to order again (shipping is over $10 so bigger order made this a little less painful).


I swung by Target earlier but they were out of the cracker jars everyone was using. Walmart had nothing. Anyone getting the 2g Anchors from somewhere online? Figures as I got everything else raring and ready to go. :) Probably going to go with 1g pitchers from WM in the short term.


On a different note, I did some searching on the red rice yeast and while it does point out it's advantages in cholesterol reduction (assuming you buy that mumbo jumbo anyway)... I did start seeing quite a bit of info of permanent liver damage. Has anyone found anything a bit more solid? I suspect low levels probably won't hurt us in any event but still enough to make me hesitate a second before doing the red batch (save the appearance being a little rough).
 
Accidic said:
On a different note, I did some searching on the red rice yeast and while it does point out it's advantages in cholesterol reduction (assuming you buy that mumbo jumbo anyway)... I did start seeing quite a bit of info of permanent liver damage. Has anyone found anything a bit more solid? I suspect low levels probably won't hurt us in any event but still enough to make me hesitate a second before doing the red batch (save the appearance being a little rough).
Click to expand...


I've been reading on it also, and the warnings are coming from the extracts. To get the amounts in the extracts from eating (Or drinking) whole red rice, you'd need to about O.D. on it. The other thing is... They've been using this red yeast rice for over 2,000 years, but many are saying that the big pharmaceutical companies were trying to get it (The extract form) banned because it was working as well as the very expensive statin drugs. One of the few things they've lost at.

But anyway.. A few shots of rice wine isn't going to be anywhere near even a single dose of the extract. Probably drinking the whole batch at one whack isn't going to get you there. If you down the whole batch and have liver failure.. ummm.. yeah.. It was the red yeast rice, not the alcohol, right? lol.
 
Jeebas said:
I just harvested my rice wine after 24 days. I only got about half of a 750 ml bottle from 5 cups (dry) jasmine rice and 4 yeast balls. I am guessing the factors that led to this are -

#1 Fermentation temp too low, esp early on. (probably closer to the low 70s, high 60s)
#2 Not enough water, no soaking... Water level in rice cooker was one finger knuckle's length above the rice level, and it cooked real fast.

Anyways I am not upset at the yield, I just know I can do better based on what other people have posted. I will probably put a paint bucket heat lamp - http://brewstands.com/fermentation-heater.html - into the cooler - and hooking that up to one of the STC-1000s that I should be getting in the mail soon, at least until I build my dual fermentation chamber :)

OP here - https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f25/ma...fun-different-361095/index94.html#post4950345
Click to expand...

sonofgrok said:
Correctomundo. I don't bother soaking anymore. I get some pretty good rice though.

Soaking is time consuming and I am lazy. Makes this ferment even easier than it already was.
Click to expand...
Hmm, yes. The preliminary results from my 6 grain experiment would indicate that the type of rice is actually very important to the degree of liquefaction you get.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f25/ma...un-different-361095/index120.html#post5019259

... Wow that sounds pretentious. I can't think of another way to say it and still be precise though.... I must need to drink more. :ban:
 
It's been 3 days from my first batch and wondering if this is normal. I used 5 cups sushi rice and boiled/simmered with 10 cups water about 20 minutes until water was gone. I didn't cool it too well and layered it and mixed each layer with parts of 2 crushed yeast balls (2 total in gal jar). I keep it in the dark but temps are in low to mid 60's. I don't see liquid but now see grayish blue tendriles or mold on the top of the rice. This normal or just bad news?
 
I used 2c jasmine rice and 2c water. My fermentation went well for the first 2 weeks, but has since seemed to stall. There are no off odors, I just have a thick rice sludge on the top half and liquid in the bottom half. I decided to stir, but that didn't seem to help. I pitched a bit more leaven to see if that makes a difference. I am fermenting right around 70, and so far it tastes sweet and very alcoholic. Any suggestions on something else I should do?
 
edds5p0 said:
I used 2c jasmine rice and 2c water. My fermentation went well for the first 2 weeks, but has since seemed to stall. There are no off odors, I just have a thick rice sludge on the top half and liquid in the bottom half. I decided to stir, but that didn't seem to help. I pitched a bit more leaven to see if that makes a difference. I am fermenting right around 70, and so far it tastes sweet and very alcoholic. Any suggestions on something else I should do?
Click to expand...

BattleGoat said:
Yep. Leave it alone. RDWHAHB. :D
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Yeah man. It sounds like you are pretty well off. Harvest at 3 weeks!
 
edds5p0 said:
I still have quite a bit of rice left, it's like a pudding right now.
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You'll usually have quite a bit of rice left. You just need to strain it to separate the solids and the liquid. If you're at three weeks you should be about ready.
 
Hmmmm... I'm at day 15 now, and the airlock on my 18 cup batch has been bubbling since day one at the same rate.. like a burp every 10 seconds? I guess if it's still bubbling on day 21, I'll leave it alone until it quits. I'm anxious to try it, so waiting longer sucks. BUT... I know every burp through the airlock is a little bit more alcohol! lol.

I'm hoping to get a considerable amount with this much rice used. I'd like to try freeze distilling some of it and get it up there to 80 proof at least... just to see if I can. When I sampled some of the guy's at the Chinese restaurant yesterday, my first impression was a watered down booze shot with not much flavor, just an alcohol burn. Aftertaste, I could taste the rice, but thinking last night.. pretty is one thing, but taste trumps. Kind of like growing up in Washington State as a kid... Red Delicious apples used to be delicious.. until they started breeding them for pretty instead of taste. Now, my opinion, they're only good for decoration in a bowl on the table.. skin covered mushy apple sauce.

LOL.. Sorry... :off:
 
jazzman said:
It's been 3 days from my first batch and wondering if this is normal. I used 5 cups sushi rice and boiled/simmered with 10 cups water about 20 minutes until water was gone. I didn't cool it too well and layered it and mixed each layer with parts of 2 crushed yeast balls (2 total in gal jar). I keep it in the dark but temps are in low to mid 60's. I don't see liquid but now see grayish blue tendriles or mold on the top of the rice. This normal or just bad news?
Click to expand...

So my first batch I made the exact same way and by 1 week in i had black mold. I dumped it but that's up to you. Next time, soak the rice first for about an hour and then reduce the amount of water you use to cool it to a 1:1 ratio.
 
Accidic said:
The only item I was able to find at the Korean store was a (Hara)Mochi Iiyo -6P-(Japanese Rice Cake). Will post the pics soon if anyone happens to be able to read them but while they label it as glutinous rice powder, salt, and citric acid I can find nowhere (in English) that mentions yeast (although the label was added at the store). Going to get stuck trying them out eaten first but will save a few to try just in case.

That said and I know I'm probably overthinking this... Doesn't Miso Paste contain the Koji mold and Yeast as a primary ingredient? I wonder if you could culture it from this (although I can't imagine a good finished product fermented with a tablespoon of miso paste ;) ).
Click to expand...

Mochi cakes are eaten, I do not think you have the yeast balls THOUGH they are available in a flattened cake shape. The yeast balls for winemakibg would not contain salt. I know miso is used in lactofermentation, but more for kimchi and such...and lacto is why the finished rice wine is pasteurized...very prone to this infection.
 
Disander said:
This looks fun and rewarding. My local stores do not carry the dried yeast ball. Is this a good price per gram/oz? http://www.asiansupermarket365.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=HSHRCILJ&CartID=1

~Dis
Click to expand...

This was the only source for me initially, you do what you have to do. And I ended up buying other items like palm sugar. I will say this website has an awesome price on 'red yeast rice', so you may consider grabbing a bag or two. You can powder it and add to the powdered yeast ball as everything ferments. Glad to see others are doing this too. Plus, they provide discount codes for future orders--may use the ones shared a few posts back, thanks Accidic!!, since mine just expired. The wine made with RYR is my preferred one, though I have not had a bad batch yet.

TRBIG---I know you will adore the wine made with the RYR(red yeast rice). I want to try your recipe using a higher amount of RYR and lesser yeast ball, but do not think I will add all that water. Though, maybe the 13# water is amount used to cook the rice in? The color of the finished product is gorgeous, and taste is divine. The last batch of mine made me think I had pears and vanilla on board, and I did end up sweetening a bit with fresh pressed Asian pears. I admit, it is my favorite fruit to use with this. You need to give a bottle of your stuff to your new friends.

In regard to the 2gal glass Anchor jars, I only have found them at WalMart. Have you checked their online site, or other WMs in the area?
 

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