Apparently not all champagne yeasts are equal as far as alc tolerance. The 1118 is good up to 20%.
I've heard of washing before, but not after? Seems like you'd lose a lot of the starches that way? Especially on the sweet rice which is pretty wettish still after cooking. I'd like all those starches converted to alc, not washed down the drain.
With the way I've been adding additional water, it cools the rice down a LOT, and though I didn't take a temp reading, it just seemed warm to my hand. These yeast apparently are more heat sensitive than I thought. My Chinese friend said they try to keep the wine @ 60 degrees. My warmer ran batches have been sour many times, so it makes sense.
I'll just have to make sure my rice is cooled off better next time.
http://www.jiangnan.edu.cn/zhgjiu/u3-6.htm scroll down to 3.6.7 Sealed-jar Rice Wine or 3.6.4 XIANG XUE RICE WINE or 3.6.5 Red-Rice Wine
Basically what I did was from this - from here
http://carolynjphillips.blogspot.com/2011/05/homemade-fermented-rice.html
Modern method:
( Note Paragraph 3 for rinsing )
1. You will need a very clean 2-quart glass jar with a lid and an electric rice cooker. Start by scrubbing the jar and the insert for the rice cooker with soap and water, pouring boiling water over them, and allowing them to air dry.
2. Rinse the rice three times in running water, drain the rice in a sieve (note that because of the size of most rice cookers, you'll probably have to wash and cook the rice in two batches), and put half of the rice (24 ounces or 6⅜ cups) in your rice cooker. Add 1⅜ cups filtered water, cover, and turn on the cooker. When the rice is fully cooked, repeat with the other half of the rice.
3. Put the yeast ball in a small, clean bowl and pour in ¼ cup of the cooled, filtered boiled water for fermenting, and allow the yeast to soften while you rinse the cooked rice. Place a very clean sieve with medium holes in the sink.
Dump one portion of cooked rice into the sieve and rinse the rice under cool tap water to break up any clumps; shake off the water and pour some cooled boiled, filtered water over the rice. Drain the rice again and put it into the clean jar. Repeat this step with the rest of the rice until all of it has been rinsed.
4. When all of the rice has been rinsed and placed in the jar, sprinkle the sugar and cornstarch on top. Mash the softened yeast ball with a clean spoon and add it to the jar; use the rest of the cooled, filtered boiled water (1¾ cups) to rinse out the bowl and into the rice so that you get every last bit of the yeast. Wash your hands thoroughly and use one hand to gently toss the rice with these ingredients. Pat the rice into a more or less smooth layer, and then form a well in the center of the rice, which gives the wine a place to gather the first day. (See the picture at the top.)
5. Clean off the top and insides of the jar with a clean paper towel, cover the jar with a piece of clean cheesecloth and plastic wrap, and then put the lid on so that it is loose enough to allow air to escape, but secure enough so that the cheesecloth and plastic wrap will keep any insects out. Use a felt pen to write the date on the jar so that later on you know when you made it.
6. Wrap the jar with a kitchen towel and place it in a very warm place, like a gas oven with only the pilot light on or an electric oven with only the oven light on. Let the jar sit undisturbed for 24 hours. Check it after that time -- there should be liquid in that well you made in the rice, and the top of the rice should not have any mold on it. (If mold forms on the rice, it either was contaminated somewhere along the line or the rice wasn't fermented in a warm enough place. When you have mold on top, it's best to toss everything out and start over, but as always it's up to you.)
7. Remove the jar from the oven and place in a relatively warm place, like on the kitchen counter, so that you can watch the wine formation take place. After two or three days, the mass of rice will float on top of the wine, and you can start mixing the rice and wine together and further deterring any mold by gently swishing the jar around. It will be ready in around a week, but it only improves as the wine ages. Take whiffs of it now and then - and even a taste (with a really clean spoon) - to make certain that the flavor is sweet and alcoholic. At this point where you are pleased with the flavor, you should store the fermented rice in the refrigerator to keep it from fermenting anymore and turning sour.
I store it warm and dark with a campden tablet .
