Making Traditional rice Wine. Cheap, Fun, and Different

Williams 728
Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Newsman said:
Has anyone added cooked rice 48+ hours after fermentation has begun? My container could probalby handle another pound (uncooked) of rice. Just wondering... it's been 48 hours (approximately) since I started this. :)
Click to expand...

Damn good question...Ive never done it before but I can't see why it would be a problem.

I doubt it would interfere with the mold production and can't see any other negative effects.
 
Don't see how that would be a problem, but probably stir it. Three weeks was the ticket for my first batch, the second is producing faster but I am still going the three week point, more or less.



Sent from my iPad using Home Brew
 
I made 4 large containers for my first batch.

After 2.5 weeks there wasn't much liquid but it was quite sloppy. I strained one of the batches to test, and it's interesting that although there was liquid, there seemed to be virtually no alcohol affect. It seems to me that the mold needs to liquefy the solid and then the yeast then eats the sugars extracted by the liquefying process?

I say that, because now at 3.5 weeks I can notibly smell the alcohol in the containers, quite boozy. I'll wait until the 4 week mark to strain one of the containers to see how it is.
 
rskelhorn said:
I made 4 large containers for my first batch.

After 2.5 weeks there wasn't much liquid but it was quite sloppy. I strained one of the batches to test, and it's interesting that although there was liquid, there seemed to be virtually no alcohol affect. It seems to me that the mold needs to liquefy the solid and then the yeast then eats the sugars extracted by the liquefying process?

I say that, because now at 3.5 weeks I can notibly smell the alcohol in the containers, quite boozy. I'll wait until the 4 week mark to strain one of the containers to see how it is.
Click to expand...


Really? I'm at a 5 days and I have a lot of liquid and noticeable alcohol smell. But I have it in a closet that probably gets near 80 in the late day. Similar to my first batch (this is my second batch), but seems faster. I noticed liquid in about 2 days. You'll be surprised how much liquid comes out when you run it thru a paint strainer bag - the first batch had about a cantaloupe size just on the strain, but squeezing the liquid out gave me about a baseball size solid mass when I was finished.

Regardless, it is incredibly easy, cheap and the yield is a pretty good amount.



Sent from my iPad using Home Brew
 
Hoon said:
Really? I'm at a 5 days and I have a lot of liquid and noticeable alcohol smell. But I have it in a closet that probably gets near 80 in the late day. Similar to my first batch (this is my second batch), but seems faster. I noticed liquid in about 2 days. You'll be surprised how much liquid comes out when you run it thru a paint strainer bag - the first batch had about a cantaloupe size just on the strain, but squeezing the liquid out gave me about a baseball size solid mass when I was finished.

Regardless, it is incredibly easy, cheap and the yield is a pretty good amount.



Sent from my iPad using Home Brew
Click to expand...

I used Jasmine rice and it was quite dry when I mixed it with the yeast balls. It's also never more than 17C in our house (62.6F)
 
So what are you finding about the differences between Calrose and Jasmine?


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew
 
I was looking at the grocery store the other day and they have "long grain" and "medium grain" white rice. I know we've tried the long grain and it didn't work so well. Has anyone tried "medium grain" rice?
 
Haven't seen that in my grocery store and don't recall anyone posting about it. Why not whip together a small batch and let us know how it goes?
 
Can I make this work? I have 5lbs of red cargo rice I got on sale and 20 yeast balls total (also on sale). Do I have the right ratio of yeast to rice?
 
CreamyGoodness said:
Can I make this work? I have 5lbs of red cargo rice I got on sale and 20 yeast balls total (also on sale). Do I have the right ratio of yeast to rice?
Click to expand...

Too early for math...how many cups of rice is that?..I do a yeast ball per cup and Iargesr batch ive made is 4 cups
 
CreamyGoodness said:
Can I make this work? I have 5lbs of red cargo rice I got on sale and 20 yeast balls total (also on sale). Do I have the right ratio of yeast to rice?
Click to expand...

I don't know what 5 lbs of rice converts to in cups of rice but, 20 yeast balls will go a long way. I add about 1-2 balls per 5 cups of rice. That's about 50 cups of dry rice! I think you're in good shape.

As for doing one giant batch...TRBIG would be the best to comment. Of all the posts about large batches, he appears to have the most experience.
 
Holy crap batman! I just harvested my very first batch. Yikes this stuff is strong, warms you right up inside. Reminds me of a jacked jacked hard cider I made a while back strength wise. Has anyone ever determined the A.B.V. of this stuff. Now I understand the little cups when consuming Sake.


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew
 
Rambunctious said:
Holy crap batman! I just harvested my very first batch. Yikes this stuff is strong, warms you right up inside. Reminds me of a jacked jacked hard cider I made a while back strength wise. Has anyone ever determined the A.B.V. of this stuff. Now I understand the little cups when consuming Sake.


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew
Click to expand...

Sake is watered down and usually in the 15% ABV range, and a link to a Chinese university thesis(?) mentions about 20% as the capability of the yeast with this type of side by side saccharification and fermentation.
I just know it can be damn strong.:rockin:
 
Rambunctious said:
Holy crap batman! I just harvested my very first batch. Yikes this stuff is strong, warms you right up inside. Reminds me of a jacked jacked hard cider I made a while back strength wise. Has anyone ever determined the A.B.V. of this stuff. Now I understand the little cups when consuming Sake.


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew
Click to expand...
I'll have an abv posted soon of my recent harvest. It's seems really strong. I have an auto temperature correction refractometer with a built in hydrometer, so once I get around to it, I'll post my findings. Keep in mind, my abv is probably different than yours
 
MasterCrook said:
I'll have an abv posted soon of my recent harvest. It's seems really strong. I have an auto temperature correction refractometer with a built in hydrometer, so once I get around to it, I'll post my findings. Keep in mind, my abv is probably different than yours
Click to expand...

This post confuses me. A Refractometer measures the SG of a solution. Without knowing the starting gravity, measuring the final solution does no good. You have to know the original gravity in order to calculate the ABV. A Hydrometer is a tool used to measure SG by buoyancy. How can your refreactometer have a built in Hydrometer?

Am I missing something?

Its an honest question. Most of my exp. with refractometers comes from keeping coral reef tanks. I am a relative newbie to its use in brewing.
 
I harvested my first batch a few days ago it's sitting now in the fridge. It seperated pretty quick in there after pasteurization. I tasted it all mixed up after harvest and liked both batches haven't decided yet if I like the red or white better. The natural fruity notes of the red is really nice but the white has a certain subtle sweetness that is very nice too. Haven't tried adding any fruit juice yet but probably will try blueberry to start. Here is pic after harvest.

My post with the method I used is 3878. And seems to me everything went pretty well with using 1 yeast ball per Gallon batch. The big jars are Quart the small Pint. I had maybe another 1/2 Pint of the red by drank it lol.

20140425_083629.jpg
 
Started another batch, doubled the last one. Now 8 cups sweet rice and 4yeast cakes. Will have to make a run to market and restock yeast cakes. Will try a different rice next time around. Last batch of 4cups rice 2 yeast cakes yielded about 1.5 qts of wine.


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew
 
Kaedith said:
I harvested my first batch a few days ago it's sitting now in the fridge. It seperated pretty quick in there after pasteurization. I tasted it all mixed up after harvest and liked both batches haven't decided yet if I like the red or white better. The natural fruity notes of the red is really nice but the white has a certain subtle sweetness that is very nice too. Haven't tried adding any fruit juice yet but probably will try blueberry to start. Here is pic after harvest.

My post with the method I used is 3878. And seems to me everything went pretty well with using 1 yeast ball per Gallon batch. The big jars are Quart the small Pint. I had maybe another 1/2 Pint of the red by drank it lol.
Click to expand...

Looks real good. Nice job!
 
Soooo... on Sunday I put the whole bag in a big pot with a gallon and a quarter of water and boiled/steamed the everloving hell out of it, until the red cargo rice was soft (I get the feeling this stuff doesnt get "fluffy" per se). Ten crushed yeast balls and covered by washed and sanitized pickle crock with sanitized cheesecloth and the earthen lid. The exterior of the rice is already moldy and puffy. SCIENCE!

Im thinking this will be ready to harvest in 2 weeks tops....
 
I strained a mason jar full after about 8 days. Semi boozy but you can tell there is a lot of rice sugar left to be fermented, and it didn't separate in the fridge into semi clear liquid and white liquid. I might put it back on the shelf for another week or so,........nah, I'll drink this as is while awaiting my gallon to finish fermenting. Gotta get me some red rice next.



Sent from my iPad using Home Brew
 
FWIW, my ferments with jasmine rice have been taking around 5 weeks to harvest, and until 8 weeks until CO2 off gassing stops. I ferment around 65° and store at that same temperature.
Batches made with sweet rice/mochi gome have been faster and stopping CO2 production sooner, around week 5-6.
I think the jasmine rice batches taste better.
Yeast balls are running me $2.39-$2.49 here for 11 in a package, and Vietnamese yeast tablets run $1.00/package of 12. Both from Asian markets, with rices running 60-75 cents/lb. What is everyone else paying?
 
pdxal said:
FWIW, my ferments with jasmine rice have been taking around 5 weeks to harvest, and until 8 weeks until CO2 off gassing stops. I ferment around 65° and store at that same temperature.
Batches made with sweet rice/mochi gome have been faster and stopping CO2 production sooner, around week 5-6.
I think the jasmine rice batches taste better.
Yeast balls are running me $2.39-$2.49 here for 11 in a package, and Vietnamese yeast tablets run $1.00/package of 12. Both from Asian markets, with rices running 60-75 cents/lb. What is everyone else paying?
Click to expand...

I am paying $4.50 for a bag of 24. I am moving states in 2 weeks though to start my PhD though so who knows what I will find in the new town (I better find something though!) :eek:
 
AbstractBrewer said:
This post confuses me. A Refractometer measures the SG of a solution. Without knowing the starting gravity, measuring the final solution does no good. You have to know the original gravity in order to calculate the ABV. A Hydrometer is a tool used to measure SG by buoyancy. How can your refreactometer have a built in Hydrometer?

Am I missing something?

Its an honest question. Most of my exp. with refractometers comes from keeping coral reef tanks. I am a relative newbie to its use in brewing.
Click to expand...

The refractometers used for aquariums are to measure salinity of the water. The ones used in brewing measure sugar content, the one I have measures in brix (unit). The sc These refractometers sometimes are auto temperature corrected, meaning the temperature of the sample being measured can have varying temperature, and results will be still accurate. The scale in the refractometer has brix on one side and sg on the other. The sg scale is based of calculation conversion. It's approx 4 times the brix value. There are many calculators online that can determine original sg based on final brix and final sg. I think northern brewer has a good one. That particular calculator also compensates for alcohol present in the sample. I haven't seen the formula, but many ppl swear by it. I'm just letting my batch clear and settle a bit, then I'll test and post results.
 
So there is a lot of flluid and a very boozy smell from my batch on 4/18... should I wait the whole 3 weeks to harvest?
 
MasterCrook said:
The refractometers used for aquariums are to measure salinity of the water. The ones used in brewing measure sugar content, the one I have measures in brix (unit). The sc These refractometers sometimes are auto temperature corrected, meaning the temperature of the sample being measured can have varying temperature, and results will be still accurate. The scale in the refractometer has brix on one side and sg on the other. The sg scale is based of calculation conversion. It's approx 4 times the brix value. There are many calculators online that can determine original sg based on final brix and final sg. I think northern brewer has a good one. That particular calculator also compensates for alcohol present in the sample. I haven't seen the formula, but many ppl swear by it. I'm just letting my batch clear and settle a bit, then I'll test and post results.
Click to expand...

I have been tempted to GC a sample of mine but I can't talk anyone into letting me use theirs and our lab doesn't have one. The general consensus on rice wines though is up to 20%. I have had some batches that I would say are right there and some that I would say are probably more like 11-14%. Depending on rice, balls etc. your mileage will probably vary greatly.
 
MasterCrook said:
The refractometers used for aquariums are to measure salinity of the water. The ones used in brewing measure sugar content, the one I have measures in brix (unit). The sc These refractometers sometimes are auto temperature corrected, meaning the temperature of the sample being measured can have varying temperature, and results will be still accurate. The scale in the refractometer has brix on one side and sg on the other. The sg scale is based of calculation conversion. It's approx 4 times the brix value. There are many calculators online that can determine original sg based on final brix and final sg. I think northern brewer has a good one. That particular calculator also compensates for alcohol present in the sample. I haven't seen the formula, but many ppl swear by it. I'm just letting my batch clear and settle a bit, then I'll test and post results.
Click to expand...

Yes, they measure the Salinity by SG. And they also temperature compensate. The only difference really is the the BRIX scale is not included.

My real question was about calculating the ABV without a starting point. Currently we are able to do this by measuring the SG at start, and then again when finished. Measuring it only at finish would not provide the info needed to figure the ABV. I just dont know how you are going about getting the ABV with just one measurement? What is the beginning SG of our wine? And how are we finding it? I would expect that your reading would be really close to 1.0, being pretty dry, but I dont know where we started?
 
Lady at work today asked me if there was any "danger" in brewing own rice wine.... I said no but.... was I right?
 
DanzigsMISFITS said:
Lady at work today asked me if there was any "danger" in brewing own rice wine.... I said no but.... was I right?
Click to expand...

You were wrong. Drinking this stuff and running out of it is very dangerous. Before you know it, you're cooking rice at 3am and then you have to wait weeks before you can drink some more. Very dangerous. :D
 

Similar threads

Cannonball Jones
Traditional Amis method of making jiuniang/酒釀/boozy rice.
Replies
0
Views
531
Cannonball Jones
Cannonball Jones
C
I'm Bret! Happy to be here! Also -- question about my rice wine experiment
Replies
0
Views
486
clone45
C
Brit the !@#$
New Apple Orchardist Member Looking to Develop Graf Recipe Using Cider Syrup
Replies
16
Views
795
madscientist451
madscientist451
G
MIght have gone over my head for my first try... :D
Replies
11
Views
1K
Gitruih
G
T
2023 FotD Secret "Santa" ("Cupid"?) Beer Swap
2 3
Replies
110
Views
4K
pshankstar
pshankstar
Yakima 300

Latest posts

Back
Top