Making Traditional rice Wine. Cheap, Fun, and Different

[dharpster00]

That is the normal color for rice wine.

In Chinese, this type of rice wine is called “wong jau” or “huang jiu” which translates to “yellow wine“ in english.

If you let it age, it will turn more amber the way that sherry wine does.

No need for amylase. The mold in the rice balls grows and gradually breaks down the rice for the yeast so the yeast can grow.

You want the gradual breakdown. Even the ideal rice cooking process is designed so that the grains slowly break down over time as individual grains rather than like a big mush.

Hmm, good to know. Just wasn't sure due to the extreme difference between that and totally colorless saki. Considered the possibility that I had done something wrong. Will leave out the amylase, just have some and figured id ask. 2 final questions.. 1) is there a specific rice that you've discovered to be best for this brewing? 2) Other than washing the rice before cooking, is there anything extra such as soaking the rice overnight, that would improve or benefit the wine?

 

[wongjau]

Hmm, good to know. Just wasn't sure due to the extreme difference between that and totally colorless saki. Considered the possibility that I had done something wrong. Will leave out the amylase, just have some and figured id ask. 2 final questions.. 1) is there a specific rice that you've discovered to be best for this brewing? 2) Other than washing the rice before cooking, is there anything extra such as soaking the rice overnight, that would improve or benefit the wine?

Best rice is sweet/glutinous rice.

I like Koda Farms Sho Chiku Bai.

https://www.kodafarms.com/sho-chiku-bai-sweet-rice-preparation-serving-suggestions/
It’s a high quality California grown rice. Japan loves California grown rice. That’s the brand I use for special Chinese dishes and I went with that for my rice wine.

The rice should be washed well, soaked overnight, drained, and steamed for best results. That’s the traditional method.

Once it’s been steamed, you can rinse lightly to cool it down or you can spread it out and fan it to air cool. I used the rinse method. That way cools the rice fastest, minimizes exposure to whatever’s in the air, and gives nice separation to the grains so they have good surface area exposed to the yeast and rhizo.

If you look at my really old posts, I document the process I used.

HTH.

 

[dharpster00]

Best rice is sweet/glutinous rice.

I like Koda Farms Sho Chiku Bai.

https://www.kodafarms.com/sho-chiku-bai-sweet-rice-preparation-serving-suggestions/
It’s a high quality California grown rice. Japan loves California grown rice. That’s the brand I use for special Chinese dishes and I went with that for my rice wine.

The rice should be washed well, soaked overnight, drained, and steamed for best results. That’s the traditional method.

Once it’s been steamed, you can rinse lightly to cool it down or you can spread it out and fan it to air cool. I used the rinse method. That way cools the rice fastest, minimizes exposure to whatever’s in the air, and gives nice separation to the grains so they have good surface area exposed to the yeast and rhizo.

If you look at my really old posts, I document the process I used.

HTH.

I appreciate the information. It's very helpful. Any other tips or information that could help me? This is what my current batch looks like...

 

[dharpster00]

Traditional rice wine isn't really "wine" at all but this area is as close as I can figure to post this.

There are only a few threads on HBT talking about making rice wine but nothing that I am aware of that could be considered an easy walkthrough which is a shame because making rice wine is very different, fun to do, and rewarding. Its also pretty darn cheap...

It has been a few years since I have done it, but after a recent trip to the exotic foods grocer, I got a hankerin to do it again and thought a few people on here might enjoy it as well.

*Edit*: Process starts on next post but final product is on page 4 here
*Edit 2*: Arapolis has done a less Rice Wine, more Japanese sake here.

Can you suggest/explain the propper way to press the rice, after fermentation, to extract the maximum amount of liquid?

 

[wongjau]

Can you suggest/explain the propper way to press the rice, after fermentation, to extract the maximum amount of liquid?

You can run it through a nylon paint strainer bag.

If you fold it up, you can weight and press it between a couple oven trays.

I’ve seen some videos of commercial production using racks and frames and pressing like for cider.

 

[Erik the Awful]

I rolled mine around in a wire strainer until it was fairly solid. I figured if there was any liquid left behind, it was going to make the cooked rice tastier.

 

[dharpster00]

You can run it through a nylon paint strainer bag.

If you fold it up, you can weight and press it between a couple oven trays.

I’ve seen some videos of commercial production using racks and frames and pressing like for cider.

Then I would assume that my tofu press should be perfect. Thank you for your advice.

 

[wongjau]

I rolled mine around in a wire strainer until it was fairly solid. I figured if there was any liquid left behind, it was going to make the cooked rice tastier.

There are some videos of an old fashioned way where they rolled the rice lees around in a suspended cloth hammock kind of thing.

 

[dharpster00]

There are some videos of an old fashioned way where they rolled the rice lees around in a suspended cloth hammock kind of thing.

Awesome

 

[Miraculix]

I am just drinking a glass of a rice wine i must have bottled 2 or 3 years ago. Completely different. Deep golden colour, tastes a bit like Sherry. It is very good and crystal clear.

 

[wongjau]

I am just drinking a glass of a rice wine i must have bottled 2 or 3 years ago. Completely different. Deep golden colour, tastes a bit like Sherry. It is very good and crystal clear.

Congrats. Nicely aged!

That’s what they are going for with the wine in the huge clay jars and the mud and leaves sealing the top.

 

[dharpster00]

Interesting. Then, why is it that Japanese Sake is colorless?

 

[wongjau]

Interesting. Then, why is it that Japanese Sake is colorless?

Expensive sakes have less color because the rice is polished more which reduces the compounds that contribute to darkening.

Less expensive sakes are charcoal filtered, but that reduces the flavor.

 

[dharpster00]

Expensive sakes have less color because the rice is polished more which reduces the compounds that contribute to darkening.

Less expensive sakes are charcoal filtered, but that reduces the flavor.

Ah, makes sense. Kind of like with distilled spirits. Should have thought of that. Thank you.

 

[Miraculix]

Congrats. Nicely aged!

That’s what they are going for with the wine in the huge clay jars and the mud and leaves sealing the top.

Thanks! I'm going to do a new batch soon, maybe tomorrow. This time, I will let it sediment properly before bottling. I have bought some nice 1.5 litres pre-bottling bottles for this with corks. After that, small beer bottles with crown caps plus pasteurisation.

 

[kmarkstevens]

There is a style called Nu Er Hong (女儿红). Traditionalists, create this yellow rice wine (huangjiu aka黄酒）when they bear a daughter. Bury the clay pots and the dig these up for the wedding banquet when the daughter is married off.

I've got a sake going now, but thinking I should revisit using the Shanghai yeast balls and make some of this huangjiu again. It's been a few years since I last did this.

 

[Miraculix]

There is a style called Nu Er Hong (女儿红). Traditionalists, create this yellow rice wine (huangjiu aka黄酒）when they bear a daughter. Bury the clay pots and the dig these up for the wedding banquet when the daughter is married off.

I've got a sake going now, but thinking I should revisit using the Shanghai yeast balls and make some of this huangjiu again. It's been a few years since I last did this.

If I ever have a daughter, I shall make Nu Er Hong.

 

[dharpster00]

Wanted to share a picture of the results of my batch of rice wine. It's amazing. Also, I have 1 final question... does making a "well" in the center of the rice make it easier to pull the wine out without sediment? Thank you.

 

[Time2Retire]

I have vacation coming up, and some glutinous rice in the pantry. Time for another batch.

 

[Orval]

@sonofgrok
"1) A good, glutenous rice. My wife is Thai/Filipino, so we always have Thai Jasmine rice laying around which is what I will be using here."
Thai Jasmine rice is a not-glutinous rice! To avoid any useless argument, just be aware that I live in Loei, Thailand and we grow glutinous rice here (aka sticky rice). We also grow mangoes and the mango wine is just amazing, I posted my recipe on this forum. One day I may try to make some beer, adding glutinous rice to lower the bill because barley malt is quite expensive here. To come back to your rice wine, you have to use glutinous rice because of its higher sugar content, in other words, no Jasmine rice...
About 'yeast' balls, why don't you try Angel Yeast Yellow Label?
About turbidity, why don't you add some bentonite to your wine? Well indeed, the very low quantity you seem to be producing does not allow much of this...

 

[Miraculix]

I filter my rice wine through a brew bag when it's done (you need to massage it), fill the turbid and milky liquid in a bigger vessel with air lock and wait some additional weeks. Narrower vessels are better than wider here, try to avoid buckets for this. Wine bottles also work. The turbidity will settle on its own and you can decant the clear liquid. Use the leftover for cooking.

Regarding rice type, it's not about the sugar content. Both varieties contain very little to no sugar, they contain starches. But the types of starches differ within these two varieties. That's why one is getting sticky when cooked and the other not so much. The starches from the sticky variety are the starches that can be chopped down to sugars by the fungi from the yeast balls. That's the reason why we want the sticky rice.

 

[Time2Retire]

As vacation ended, I threw a long-awaited batch using my tried and true method. Two cups each sticky and Calrose rice. Four HanHeng yeast pellets. Three days in, the rice is liquefying nicely. Tomorrow or so, same again plus two cups water.

This method has been so successful, I thought I'd try something new. To each batch of rice, I added about a tablespoon of ground red yeast rice. We'll see if if makes a difference.

 

[Time2Retire]

UPDATE: Getting ready to throw my second batch. I have the rice cooker and the Instant Pot both in service, and the kitchen is full of the clean smell of rice. Hopefully it will be a lot more funky smelling soon

 

[Miraculix]

UPDATE: Getting ready to throw my second batch. I have the rice cooker and the Instant Pot both in service, and the kitchen is full of the clean smell of rice. Hopefully it will be a lot more funky smelling soon

I'll be making a new batch soon too. I've made a batch of Tibetan/Nepalese Chang which soured quite a bit unfortunately. It's basically the same thing, but with boiled barley instead of rice. Good stuff! A staple of the Himalayas.

I have some packs of sticky rice left, have to use them .

 

[kmarkstevens]

I had chang with Tibetans back in the 1980's.

 

[Miraculix]

I had chang with Tibetans back in the 1980's.

Me too! But recently... Kind of every year, mainly with my Nepali friends. Sometimes with Tibetans too. And of course with these Westerners....

 

[Erik the Awful]

I just bottled my second batch of rice wine. It didn't impress me at first, but sitting here sipping it, I like it. It's the first wine I've made that I didn't have to add sugar to. I made a gallon batch, so I have five bottles and the sampling cup I'm working on.

Now I'm playing with Stable Diffusion, trying to get it to anthropomorphosize "黄酒" into kung-fu fighters for a label. Getting the AI to understand what I want is harder than making the wine! I'm also hoping that isn't a "stupid gringo" move; I truly love old kung-fu movies.

 

[Time2Retire]

Accept no substitute! The one on top is "Han Heng." It's always worked well for me, though I have to buy it online.

The bottom one is "Hang Hing." I spotted it at my local Asian market and thought I'd give it a try. I ended up getting a very sweet brew, lower alcohol and not as much as usual.

Buy Han Heng! I do still have some of the other. I think I'll try using it on barley, like Tibetan chang, or try making rice vinegar with the finished product.

 

[Time2Retire]

Barley update: it's been more than 48 hours, and liquid is just barely starting to form. If it hasn't improved in a couple days, maybe I'll goose it with some rice. The yeast balls really do seem to be calibrated for rice.

 

[Miraculix]

Barley update: it's been more than 48 hours, and liquid is just barely starting to form. If it hasn't improved in a couple days, maybe I'll goose it with some rice. The yeast balls really do seem to be calibrated for rice.

Do not touch it. Any way you touch or move it will leed to souring. It takes time.

 

[Erik the Awful]

If it doesn't start producing liquid fast enough, your rice can mold before the leavening starts working. My experience, from post #6315:

For anyone in a dry climate, you'll need to add some water when you start it, so that you have liquid up to about 3/4 the height of the rice in your container. For the first couple days you'll want to spritz the top of the rice with water morning and evening to keep it moist. After that the liquid level should reach the top.

I aged mine on the countertop for a few months and bottled it last week. It turned out pretty nicely, and the additional water really didn't weaken it significantly.

 

[Miraculix]

If it doesn't start producing liquid fast enough, your rice can mold before the leavening starts working. My experience, from post #6315:


I aged mine on the countertop for a few months and bottled it last week. It turned out pretty nicely, and the additional water really didn't weaken it significantly.

The rice is supposed to mold! The white mold is already on the yeast balls and it is supposed to be there. It is the source of enzymes that chop the starches into fermentable sugars. It can happen that it even shows itself visually as white mold on the surface of the grains but this is no fault. It's perfectly fine, it's supposed to happen.

 

[Erik the Awful]

Yeah, no. I was getting the full rainbow of molds; every color. I'm pretty sure that's not good. Keeping it spritzed worked fine.

 

[Miraculix]

Yeah, no. I was getting the full rainbow of molds; every color. I'm pretty sure that's not good. Keeping it spritzed worked fine.

OK, that's not supposed to happen, you are correct.

 

[Tommyx]

Here is the final product. It tastes absolutely delicious!

It is very sweet with a little bit of wine bite. Remember this stuff is VERY high in alcohol and packs a wicked punch so drink responsibly!

View attachment 83138

I was wondering if adding a little orange blossom honey would be A good alter to the taste?

 

[passedpawn]

My koji, just before adding yeast. Like fluffy clouds. The bucket behind that one is another batch of sake without koji (direct infusion of enzymes instead).

 

[Miraculix]

My koji, just before adding yeast. Like fluffy clouds. The bucket behind that one is another batch of sake without koji (direct infusion of enzymes instead).

View attachment 839400

In before random confused person does not understand that this is not the usual rice wine this thread is about.

Took me a minute too.

"Before adding the yeast?" *Scratching the head*

 

[passedpawn]

In before random confused person does not understand that this is not the usual rice wine this thread is about.

Took me a minute too.

"Before adding the yeast?" *Scratching the head*

You don't add yeast to your sake?

 

[Miraculix]

You don't add yeast to your sake?

This is not a sake thread my friend, it's about Chinese rice wine. For Chinese rice wine, mold and yeast are added together in the form of "yeast balls". Most people don't even know that they contain the same mold that is used in sake production. Fairly simplified process, when compared to sake production.

 

[Erik the Awful]

Most people don't even know that they contain the same mold that is used in sake production. Fairly simplified process, when compared to sake production.

I'm no pro, but my research says they're different. Koji uses aspergillus oryzae while Chinese yeast balls use rhizopus oryzae.