Making Traditional rice Wine. Cheap, Fun, and Different

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Zibe said:
As far as above comment used the rice balls following the first post exactly



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The sweet smell is similar to tropical fruit, it shouldn't smell like chemicals. It should smell nice around the lid off the jar without even opening it
 
Kaedith said:
I've been really interested in trying this rice wine since I stumbled upon this thread. Finally finished reading the entire thing :rockin:. We have a good size Asian market about 25min from here went to check it out and couldn't find any rice balls or red yeast rice. I walked out with a 10lb bag of sweet rice and ended up ordering the yeast and RYR from Asainsupermarket365. My stuff finally came in this week and I started my 1st batches.

I cooked 10 dry cups to split between 2 - 1 gallon glass pickle type jars. I was afraid I overcooked the rice to much it was kind of gloopy and messy but I could still distinguish seperate kernels. So I spread it all out onto 2 half sheet size cookie trays and placed it in the refrigerator over night to cool. The next morning I took it out and left it on the counter for a while to come up t room temperature with a damp kitchen towel over the top.

I ground up 1 ball for each tray and sprinkled over the top evenly. As I put the rice in the jars I layered with whatever powder I had left over. For the RYR batch I ground up 1/3 cup of the RYR and did the same, sprinkled over top and layered after additions in jar.

I placed a kitchen towel over each jar and screwed the lid on. Put them under the counter out of the light. My house temperature is around 68 - 70 F.

Here is my pics on day 3. They both look good to me so far, the RYR seems like it works better or faster.
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Those look nice. I wonder how it'll turn out with that little amount of yeast, but it seems like you already have liquid forming, which is a good sign
 
Zibe said:
Quick question have a batch that's been goin two weeks wine is separating from the rice good but smells a little like formaldehyde or at least what I remember that smelling like from biology is that the sweet smell you guys are talking about I realize I'm pickling my liver with the beer but don't want to pickle everything else


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I'd say you're heading in the right direction. Can you post pictures?
 
Ok I've read all the posts from the start I found this forum last tuesday about 6 days ago started my first batch 5 days ago and my second batch 4 days ago. I think I stuffed my first batch up I used too much water when I cooked the sushi rice and it came out very gluey I washed it and got most of the glue off then pitched the yeast. I used 4 cups of rice and 4 yeast balls I had about an inch of liquid by the next day and now 5 days in about 3-4" of liquid

x3wl0y.jpg


the second batch I used 6 cups of sushi rice to 9 cups of water and only rinsed first then pitched 4 balls yeast while the rice was warm it's at maybe 1 1/2" of liquid now

14aaj3t.jpg


Also a big thanks to SoG for starting this thread!
 
Zibe said:
Quick question have a batch that's been goin two weeks wine is separating from the rice good but smells a little like formaldehyde or at least what I remember that smelling like from biology is that the sweet smell you guys are talking about I realize I'm pickling my liver with the beer but don't want to pickle everything else


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The sweet smell is more like plums. What you're getting isn't unusual though. The "hot" alcohol smell usually mellows after a few days.
 
PicKl3d said:
Ok I've read all the posts from the start I found this forum last tuesday about 6 days ago started my first batch 5 days ago and my second batch 4 days ago. I think I stuffed my first batch up I used too much water when I cooked the sushi rice and it came out very gluey I washed it and got most of the glue off then pitched the yeast. I used 4 cups of rice and 4 yeast balls I had about an inch of liquid by the next day and now 5 days in about 3-4" of liquid

x3wl0y.jpg


the second batch I used 6 cups of sushi rice to 9 cups of water and only rinsed first then pitched 4 balls yeast while the rice was warm it's at maybe 1 1/2" of liquid now

14aaj3t.jpg


Also a big thanks to SoG for starting this thread!
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Looks good, nice jars too.
 
ImageUploadedByHome Brew1396918200.914620.jpg

Here's the formaldehyde brew doesn't smell as bad today maybe I'm confusing formaldehyde with the hot alcohol smell not sure about plums though it'll be two weeks old tomorrow


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jak1010 said:
Are those containers sealed? Like air tight? From the pictures, they do look like it. If so, I'd be concerned.
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Hi jak are you saying you'd be concerned that they are air tight because of the risk they might break due to CO2 pressure? If thats your thoughts I found that when I washed them and shook them with warm water inside they leaked pretty badly so I figure they'll allow CO2 to escape!
 
Zibe said:
View attachment 191721

Here's the formaldehyde brew doesn't smell as bad today maybe I'm confusing formaldehyde with the hot alcohol smell not sure about plums though it'll be two weeks old tomorrow


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Just leave it alone till harvest day!! So much needless opening and mixing and whatnot. Just leave it alone! Lol
 
PicKl3d said:
Hi jak are you saying you'd be concerned that they are air tight because of the risk they might break due to CO2 pressure? If thats your thoughts I found that when I washed them and shook them with warm water inside they leaked pretty badly so I figure they'll allow CO2 to escape!
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Yep, that was my concern exactly. So, sounds like and looks like you're on your way to making delicious rice wine. Congrats!!!
 
jak1010 said:
Yep, that was my concern exactly. So, sounds like and looks like you're on your way to making delicious rice wine. Congrats!!!
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Thanks I'm looking forward to starting another batch tomorrow need to buy another 2 of the square jars and the ingredients gonna do this every week till harvest day so I can have a pipe line just need to find some receptacles for the finished product. I think the first batch will be a loss but as a started a new batch the day after I should have some "sweet sweet candy aghhh" at the end!
 
Does anyone shake/swirl the fermentation? Mine was pretty dormant until I shook it a few days ago, now it's bubbling like crazy. Also I was worried about the rice being to dry and not steamed enough, but the rice is almost completely eaten away. I just shook it up again and I'll leave it a few more days to see what happens. I don't harvest until the 30th, so there's still time
 
DanzigsMISFITS said:
Would a plain rice cooker work?
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I don't see why not. I'd say that any cooking style that allows you to make rice good enough to eat is good enough to make rice wine with.

Steam it, boil it....it's all good. Eat it or make wine, the cooking process should be good.

Take pictures and share them here often throughout the process.
 
Ok so I'm starting my 3rd batch today I cooked 6 cups of nishiki rice with 7 cups of water these are the yeast balls and rice I'm using just letting the rice cool right now I'll get a pic when I've put it in the jar.

9jgowm.jpg
 
MasterCrook said:
Does anyone shake/swirl the fermentation? Mine was pretty dormant until I shook it a few days ago, now it's bubbling like crazy. Also I was worried about the rice being to dry and not steamed enough, but the rice is almost completely eaten away. I just shook it up again and I'll leave it a few more days to see what happens. I don't harvest until the 30th, so there's still time
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I like to get the rice raft floating on top down into the liquid myself. The times I didn't stir mine, at the end of a month, I still had a big rice cake on top. It wasn't as bad when I did smaller one gallon batches, but the larger I started making them, the more it became a problem.
 
trbig said:
I like to get the rice raft floating on top down into the liquid myself. The times I didn't stir mine, at the end of a month, I still had a big rice cake on top. It wasn't as bad when I did smaller one gallon batches, but the larger I started making them, the more it became a problem.
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The first batch I did with sushi rice and yeast balls had a rice cap at the top. I just left it to do it's thing. This batch I was losing patience and I shook it. Now it's bubbling nicely, I'm so glad I shook it. I'm not sure what would have happened if I didn't, but it seems like the cap had important bacteria which got mixed in with the rice throughout. After I left it for a few days after the initial shake, mold grew on the top again and a new cap formed. I shook it up again and left it. I suspect more mold will grow on top of a new cap. I'll check it in about an hour and a half
 
jak1010 said:
I don't see why not. I'd say that any cooking style that allows you to make rice good enough to eat is good enough to make rice wine with.

Steam it, boil it....it's all good. Eat it or make wine, the cooking process should be good.

Take pictures and share them here often throughout the process.
Click to expand...

Will do waiting for yeast bawls
 
Okay, I just got to the party, I have read the first 100 posts. Very interesting. Started a one gallon batch.

Now, back to reading the rest of your posts. Good stuff.

Best regards,
Sakesmith
 
So I looked at a batch that has been sitting in the fridge undisturbed for a week and I'm amazed as how much the solids have compacted.
This batch is destined for a bottle, pasteurized and aged for a bit.
Edit: forgot to mention looks a lot like a yeast layer on top, much like washing yeast for beer, need to play!

IMG_2623.jpg
 
I fermented most of mine at around 62 to 65* because that's what room temp was - I also put the jars into a picnic cooler just to keep the temps steady. I've never had any of the weird growy things that some get. I get great-tasting results.

The first batch I did way back when - I still have half a bottle of it in the fridge, where it has been for at least a month and a half now, and that sucker STILL is fermenting, even after harvesting it off the rice! I have to pop the top on it every other day and it has a LOT of back pressure on it. I'm gonna let it ferment out as far as it will go, until there is no more back pressure, just to see what I end up with.
 
Temptd2 said:
I fermented most of mine at around 62 to 65* because that's what room temp was - I also put the jars into a picnic cooler just to keep the temps steady. I've never had any of the weird growy things that some get. I get great-tasting results.

The first batch I did way back when - I still have half a bottle of it in the fridge, where it has been for at least a month and a half now, and that sucker STILL is fermenting, even after harvesting it off the rice! I have to pop the top on it every other day and it has a LOT of back pressure on it. I'm gonna let it ferment out as far as it will go, until there is no more back pressure, just to see what I end up with.
Click to expand...

Strange. I've finished two batches, and have part of each still stashed in the fridge. Neither one has gained an ounce of back-pressure since I strained them out and bottled them, even though they're in tightly sealed bottles...

Maybe it's because I let both of them work for at least a month before touching them?

On a sad note: my third batch, using sweet rice, seems to have gotten infected. It's smelling alcoholic, but there's also a strong underlying odor to it - somewhere between sour milk and laundy that's been left in the washer for a week.

I'll let it go for a while anyway to see what it turns into; it's not like it costs anything to have it setting on the shelf. But I suspect I'll have to start a new batch.
 
I started this last 10lb batch on Jan 30th, let it go over a month to March 5th before harvesting and got @ 2 1/2 gallons from 10 lbs of sweet rice.








I stuck it out in the garage to cold crash where it was staying in the high 30's to low 40's temp-wise... and it just kept on fermenting and bubbling the air lock. I had kind of forgot about it until I looked at it last night and thought.. "Well that should be good and ready to bottle now." .. and then the airlock bubbled again. ??? :confused: lol. 3 1/2 months and the yeast is still working on it even after it was filtered. I guess I'm going to have to pull some off and give it a taste, but it still looks the same as that picture. It never did clear off.
 
trbig said:
I started this last 10lb batch on Jan 30th, let it go over a month to March 5th before harvesting and got @ 2 1/2 gallons from 10 lbs of sweet rice.








I stuck it out in the garage to cold crash where it was staying in the high 30's to low 40's temp-wise... and it just kept on fermenting and bubbling the air lock. I had kind of forgot about it until I looked at it last night and thought.. "Well that should be good and ready to bottle now." .. and then the airlock bubbled again. ??? :confused: lol. 3 1/2 months and the yeast is still working on it even after it was filtered. I guess I'm going to have to pull some off and give it a taste, but it still looks the same as that picture. It never did clear off.
Click to expand...

I wonder if some of that is just degassing. I kinda doubt its still actually fermenting after all that time.
 
No, not just degassing. The couple bottles I've pulled off of there have had to have the corks released a lot over the same time while in the fridge. Also, if it was just degassing, it would have started to clear by now and drop the solids out.

The cool atmosphere has slowed the yeast down considerably, so I think it's just taken a long time to work itself out.
 
I started my first batch a couple of weeks ago and the top portion of the rice has turned brown, is this normal? I used Rotary brand rice yeast, the ingredfiants are rice, yeast, ginger, and pepper. This is the only rice yeast I have been able to find in the St. Louis area.
The rice is fermenting and has a very strong alcohol smell but I am concerned with the brown color. Will this be drinkable, if not will it be safe to let ferment and turn to vinagar, or should I pitch it and try again, maybe order some new rice yest off of the net?
Sorry for all the questions, and thanks for any help.

IMG_4212.jpg
 

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