Want my thoughts? Okay, here you go. =)
No,
koji is always referred to as
koji. Only Korean
nuruk is ever labelled as "enzyme" for the English speaking market.
Please don't take this the wrong way, but you didn't make sake. By using
nuruk (the Korean "enzyme") to convert the rice, what you actually made was
makgeolli. If by "nasty" you really mean
sour, that's just how
makgeolli is. In its homemade state it's generally considered a rustic farmhouse victual and is generally sweetened up with sugar to taste by the imbiber right before consumption.
Nuruk is very different from
koji. The former is made mostly from cracked wheat and wheat flour under conditions that are nowhere near as controlled as those under which
koji is made. While
aspergillus oryzae is certainly present in
nuruk, it is not the pure saturated monoculture that
koji is. It's the presence of other wild yeasts and bacteria that contributes to the signature sour flavor of
makgeolli. Also, sake yeast is always added to the starter step (
shubo or
moto) of sake brewing, whereas
nuruk is the sole source of yeast for a
makgeolli fermentation.
No, the recipe at the start of this thread is not sake. It's essentially a country wine flavored with raisins and rice. I'm sorry to hear that you consider your first couple attempts at making sake such failures. For what it's worth, what you made would probably be considered a darn good
makgeolli by most Koreans.
If you would like to make another attempt at sake, perhaps the link in my sig may be of some help. It's probably a considerably more involved and complex process than your last couple attempts, but it's also essentially the scaled-down home version of exactly what professional sake brewers do. I do try to keep it simple and focus on the "how," but being an experienced homebrewer you will probably have questions about the "why" for many of the steps and techniques in my guide. I'm always available via e-mail and frequently MSN Messenger to answer questions, so feel free to contact me with them.
