I find this to be really intriguing. Keep up the photos and updates. Here's hoping you create something completely original and delicious to boot. If I could get to China I would be glad to taste test it!
Xier said:I apologize for disappearing for so long. I have been pretty busy in the real world and haven’t had the chance to get on here. Anyway, let me tally up my success so far.
The initial beer has a horrible taste. It seems that some unwanted non-Saccharomyces yeast may have contaminated it during the initial period with the bacteria. Basically, it tastes like fingernail polish remover.
In the second batch, the black rice became contaminated during the rolting with wild Saccharomyces. I thought that it may still be salvageable and could possibly make a decent low alcoholic beer. Unfortunately, the bag broke during BIAB and it all ended up getting tossed.
The third batch of the millet is turning out fantastically well. It has a very very mellow flavour but the complexities of the palate are amazing. I siphoned a bottle full out from the fermenter and shared it with four of my friends. They all really enjoyed it, even with it being so green. The only complaint was that the taste was too light for one of their palates. The mistake with this one is that I did not separate the trub from the liquid after the boil. Half of what is in the fermenter is trub and the colour of the drink is quite hazy.
The last batch with barley is coming along beautifully. After the initial boil, I thought it was ruined as the taste was so damned bitter. I added a little extra hop to this one to give it more punch and was afraid that I had overdone it. Well, now it is fermenting away and I finally took a sample today. The taste is spot on for a Budweiser or something similar, which means that it is a complete failure! Of-course, the reality is that I am just happy that it turned out beer-like. I am sure my friends are going to enjoy it when it is finished. The colour is very clear, nearly white.
Soon, one of my friends will come over and we plan to do a brew session together. I am hoping that he will be able to record it all on video so that I can then share the whole process with all of you. My plan is to create a Belgian witbier.
It's not beer
Genjin said:Why not? It has grain, hops an yeast.
It's not beer
nasa258e said:Even before hops, malted barley has been a requirement for beer
What precedence are you following that suggests using fungus?
bk0 said:This reminds me that I never, ever want to go to China.
I don't see what all the fuss about it "not being beer" is... about. It may seem completely foreign to those of us in the west, but he seems to be making a traditional Chinese "beer." To question its beeriness seems erudite. To quote my favorite YouTube comment from an unknown user: "you don't have to be a d-bag to like craft brews... but it sure seems to help." Let's not be That guy. Why not applaud his herculean efforts to brew something that he can enjoy with his friends, without judging whether or not his brew falls under someone's overly strict - and IMHO antiquated - definition of "beer."
(most quotation marks I've ever used in six sentences)
my thing with this is based on drinking lots of alcohol that use these kind of bacteria(yeasts? ?) to squeeze out sugar from grain. i have a feeling that the FG is going to be below 1.000 and will have very different flavours from a beer.
if he's tasted it he really ought to give better notes than "spot on for budweiser" (not likely imho). in the past there have been drinks made from a mix of barley, wheat and rice (makkeoli), that use the "red rice" yeast to get out sugar in a kind of mash. of course this person is doing a different process, but makkeoli is a million miles from beer even though its made with common beer ingredients (though not hops)
JohnnySardonic said:I don't see what all the fuss about it "not being beer" is... about. It may seem completely foreign to those of us in the west, but he seems to be making a traditional Chinese "beer." To question its beeriness seems erudite. To quote my favorite YouTube comment from an unknown user: "you don't have to be a d-bag to like craft brews... but it sure seems to help." Let's not be That guy. Why not applaud his herculean efforts to brew something that he can enjoy with his friends, without judging whether or not his brew falls under someone's overly strict - and IMHO antiquated - definition of "beer."
(most quotation marks I've ever used in six sentences)
Step 4:
When the grain has cooled somewhat, sprinkle your rolting fungus of choice onto the top of the grain bed. Do not mix as it is still too hot within the grain bed. I used four packets of Rhizopus oryzae. Place a cover back onto the rolter and let sit. My set-up uses cardboard.
Xier said:...so if you over-do it then you are going to end up with mush and rice wine.
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