Making Traditional rice Wine. Cheap, Fun, and Different

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So ive made it through the first 90 pages of this thread over the night, not sure ill make it through the other 170+ anytime soon haha.

But I'm intrigued by all the rice wine I've been reading about. I've only seen one Oriental Market around where i live but I'm definitely gonna go look for some yeast balls and RYR when i get paid on Thursday.

Id love to have some of this sitting on my counter by the weekend. It will be my first attempt at anything wine related. :Fingers crossed:
 
TBBrewer said:
What extra ingredients are you referring to?
Click to expand...

Look at the ingredient list in the first pic I posted.

JP, welcome to the madness! Just know that you don't need the RYR... just steamed rice and the yeast balls will work. Angel Rice Leaven is supposed to work as well, if you can find it. If not, jak1010 from here sells it on ebay under the same name.
 
trbig said:
JP, welcome to the madness! Just know that you don't need the RYR... just steamed rice and the yeast balls will work. Angel Rice Leaven is supposed to work as well, if you can find it. If not, jak1010 from here sells it on ebay under the same name.
Click to expand...

Good to know. Ill be hunting for yeast balls on Thursday! Hope i can find some because it looks like i need a batch of this along side the cider i have goin right now. Ill keep you guys posted on my finding(or lack there of)
 
image.jpg

I've made a few batches of rice wine, and seen some healthy mold, but never like this.

Anybody?

My wife's reaction was so funny. :D
 
Unferth said:
I've made a few batches of rice wine, and seen some healthy mold, but never like this.

Anybody?

My wife's reaction was so funny. :D
Click to expand...

Everything looks fine to me...
Oh! You're talking about what's in the container.
In that case, yes, that doesn't look good. ;)
 
trbig said:
Look at the ingredient list in the first pic I posted.

JP, welcome to the madness! Just know that you don't need the RYR... just steamed rice and the yeast balls will work. Angel Rice Leaven is supposed to work as well, if you can find it. If not, jak1010 from here sells it on ebay under the same name.
Click to expand...
Red Yeast Rice is used in addition to another amylase producing bug to produce red rice wine. So, saying you don't need RYR to make rice wine is like saying you don't need fruit to make mead. No you don't, but you do need fruit to make melomel. You also need RYR to make red rice wine.

Happy Brewing! :mug:
 
BUT.. the rice wine made WITHOUT the RYR is pretty tasty as well, and actually preferred by many that have tasted both of mine. I just didn't want him thinking the RYR was a necessity to making a batch since it can be tough to find.
 
trbig said:
BUT.. the rice wine made WITHOUT the RYR is pretty tasty as well, and actually preferred by many that have tasted both of mine. I just didn't want him thinking the RYR was a necessity to making a batch since it can be tough to find.
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Ok. I wasn't sure why you said it, so I thought I'd explain what it was for. I'm going to go do the 1 week checkup of the ARL experiment now.

Have a good day, and some tasty wine. :)
 
Here's the 1 week photo. From left to right.

Rice yeast ball
2 grams ARL
1 gram ARL
1/2 gram ARL

As you can see, batches 1, 2, and 3 are at about the same point. Liquid all through the rice and about 1 inch of liquid in the bottom of the jar. Batch 4 has liquid in with the rice, but it hasn't formed a clear line of separation yet. As for aroma, they all have the same components but not in the same proportions. Batch 1, very large amount of plum aroma. Small amount of yeast aroma. Batch 2 and 3, large amounts of plum aroma. Small amount of yeast aroma. Batch 4, large amounts of yeast aroma. Small amount of plum aroma.

I'll post another checkup next week.

DSC_0027.jpg
 
I'm drinking some red rice wine I harvested about the 10th of June. The alcohol flavor and aroma is gone. The wine is also crystal clear. It reminds me a little of red koolaid. The aroma is strongly of rice, with a reasonable amount of fruit to it. The flavor is straight fruit. Nothing distinct enough for me to be able to pin down what fruit, but very fruity. I added some simple syrup to this glass, so it's actually pretty sweet.

I can see this being very dangerous, you can barely even tell you are drinking. In fact, if I didn't know this had alcohol in it, I would think it was something non-alcoholic.
 
Leadgolem said:
Here's the 1 week photo. From left to right.

Rice yeast ball
2 grams ARL
1 gram ARL
1/2 gram ARL

As you can see, batches 1, 2, and 3 are at about the same point. Liquid all through the rice and about 1 inch of liquid in the bottom of the jar. Batch 4 has liquid in with the rice, but it hasn't formed a clear line of separation yet. As for aroma, they all have the same components but not in the same proportions. Batch 1, very large amount of plum aroma. Small amount of yeast aroma. Batch 2 and 3, large amounts of plum aroma. Small amount of yeast aroma. Batch 4, large amounts of yeast aroma. Small amount of plum aroma.

I'll post another checkup next week.
Click to expand...

Very nice... Which batch is closest to the ratio I brew with?
 
trbig said:
Look at the ingredient list in the first pic I posted.

JP, welcome to the madness! Just know that you don't need the RYR... just steamed rice and the yeast balls will work. Angel Rice Leaven is supposed to work as well, if you can find it. If not, jak1010 from here sells it on ebay under the same name.
Click to expand...

For some reason, the pics don't always load on the mobile app. Will sit down at a pc and check them out.
 
Lmao wtf are you really gonna drink whatever that becomes? I would personally kill it with fire.

I've made it through 170 pages of this thread and still truckin. :mug:
 
Yesterday I hit the last batch pretty heavy. It was my "garbage batch" made up of jasmin rice (that seemed to have some nondescript "bits" in it of varying colors. I think they mixed in some wild varieties) and brown goya rice. It was very thick in comparison to the sushi rice batches, but great flavor. I like.

This is a good use for rice past its prime that has been hanging out in the cupboard.
 
trbig,
You ever try your sprinkle it on top idea?

Defender,
It's been a week. Any updates on your potato wine?

Last night I made up a couple batches. I hope it wasn't too hot before I put the yeast in. I sprinkled the yeast ball powder on top and then repeatedly stabbed the rice with a pair of chopsticks. We'll see how it goes. If this works, with further batches I plan on scooping the just cooked rice into the fermentation jars, sealing and letting it cool then inoculating. This seems like it would limit exposure to contaminants.
 
dgr said:
trbig,
You ever try your sprinkle it on top idea?
Click to expand...

No, I mixed a couple yeast balls up with a bit of water and poured over the top. I thought this would get it to more rice quicker that way.
 
That's right. I remember reading that. The ball didn't dissolve so you had to smash it up. Let us know how the fermentation goes.
 
I'm sure it'll ferment fine.. I'm just worried about it souring from the extra water.
 
I just threw a batch into the fermenter but I have a couple of questions for those who have already made this. I used Tamaki Gold - Signature Quality California Koshihikari Short Grain Rice and only soaked it about 45 minutes per the instructions on the bag. I did this in a fairly shallow bowl and then used a fairly small rice steamer. Most of the rice looked done after thirty minutes but by the time it was cool enough to pitch the yeast balls the rice seemed fairly firm although rubbery. There was no water to speak of that went into my fermenter.

As of today (<24 hours) I see zero activity. When should I start worrying about there being no signs of liquification if my fermenter is currently at 72F with plenty of yeast mixed in?
 
milsman2 said:
I just threw a batch into the fermenter but I have a couple of questions for those who have already made this. I used Tamaki Gold - Signature Quality California Koshihikari Short Grain Rice and only soaked it about 45 minutes per the instructions on the bag. I did this in a fairly shallow bowl and then used a fairly small rice steamer. Most of the rice looked done after thirty minutes but by the time it was cool enough to pitch the yeast balls the rice seemed fairly firm although rubbery. There was no water to speak of that went into my fermenter.

As of today (<24 hours) I see zero activity. When should I start worrying about there being no signs of liquification if my fermenter is currently at 72F with plenty of yeast mixed in?
Click to expand...

Give it a few days. Sometimes it may take 3-5 days before you see anything. You don't need to soak either.
 
Baileisdad said:
I know it's in here some place. But did anyone add mango and if so how was it?
Click to expand...


I'm about 4 or 5 days into a little 6 cup batch that I used a handful of dried mango in. It seems to be leeching into the rice a bit now. Looks nice.









My other batch that I added the Goji berries to.. I have my first batch of mold on top. Very fine, light grey, wispy like cotton candy... much like that picture posted of the guy's wife holding the bowl recently, only in one corner at the top of the jar, not covering it. Yet. These jars are on a counter that get indirect sun, and this is my first time making it in clear jars instead of plastic brew buckets. May have something to do with it. Who knows. Still smells good.
 
trbig said:
I'm about 4 or 5 days into a little 6 cup batch that I used a handful of dried mango in. It seems to be leeching into the rice a bit now. Looks nice.

http://s30.photobucket.com/user/trbig/media/HPIM4833_zpscae60c20.jpg.html

My other batch that I added the Goji berries to.. I have my first batch of mold on top. Very fine, light grey, wispy like cotton candy... much like that picture posted of the guy's wife holding the bowl recently, only in one corner at the top of the jar, not covering it. Yet. These jars are on a counter that get indirect sun, and this is my first time making it in clear jars instead of plastic brew buckets. May have something to do with it. Who knows. Still smells good.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. I added some fresh mango to a test batch this afternoon. Hope it tastes good.
 
There are many many different types of mangos. The most available to us is a multi-colored red/green. The ones I like are a bit harder to find, but they're smaller, solid yellow, and much sweeter than others I've tried, and that's what I used in mine, though I'm not expecting a whole lot of flavor after 15+% alcohol gets through and all those sugars are ate up. Hoping to be pleasantly surprised though... And if not, there's maybe what, a couple bucks max lost? But I'll still probably be like a good learning bar tender. Gotta drink those mistakes! :D
 
trbig said:
There are many many different types of mangos. The most available to us is a multi-colored red/green. The ones I like are a bit harder to find, but they're smaller, solid yellow, and much sweeter than others I've tried, and that's what I used in mine, though I'm not expecting a whole lot of flavor after 15+% alcohol gets through and all those sugars are ate up. Hoping to be pleasantly surprised though... And if not, there's maybe what, a couple bucks max lost? But I'll still probably be like a good learning bar tender. Gotta drink those mistakes! :D
Click to expand...

If nothing else, wait until you're done fermenting, then put the dried mango in there. :) That should get you some good mango flavor. :mug:
 
That's some good color. I'm really hoping the taste comes through. My ARL habanero is all gone.

This makes me want to make an infused batch now.

Maybe a strawberry or blueberry vanilla.
 
Battle of the balls. No liquefaction at the bottom earlier this morning. These are the ones I put the semi-hot rice in, sprinkled the powdered balls on top and poked repeatedly with chop sticks to seed the rice. I was worried that the rice was too hot but both have liquid to the top of the rice so I think we're good. If these come out well, I think I will be transferring the rice straight from the pot to the jars, sealing to cool and inoculating the next day.

Take note: Hot sticky rice is HOT and STICKY. There should be a warning label.

My roommate was eyeing the jars tonight. "Are those going to be ready before I go on vacation?" Sorry man. [soup nazi]No rice wine for you three weeks![/soup nazi]
R1neg5h.jpg
 
The one on the left looks like it's showing a layer of liquid at the bottom.
 
My ARL batch will be harvested tonight. I will post about the tasting notes. I also have a batch of the VM yeast that will be harvested too.
 

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