Making Traditional rice Wine. Cheap, Fun, and Different

[Evilgrin]

Started a small test batch with a sweet rice and Koshihikari hybrid called snowflakes or milky queen.

I added a little citric acid to the soaking water. Then drain and refilled with fresh water before cooking.

 

[jsamyn]

Last Saturday I started my first trial after I obtained both Vietnamese and Chinese yeast balls. I stove boiled 2 lbs of Thai Jasmine 1:1 after rinsing and soaking for 2 hours. To cool the rice, I spread it out on a frozen cookie sheet, which went back in the freezer for about 45 minutes (checking every 15 mins).

Here's the result so far: liquid gathering on the bottom of both jars and more visible in between the grains of rice. There's a faint, but deliciously sweet smell coming from the jars. I'm keeping the half-gallon jars in a closet and only take them out to take pictures.

 

[MasterCrook]

Last Saturday I started my first trial after I obtained both Vietnamese and Chinese yeast balls. I stove boiled 2 lbs of Thai Jasmine 1:1 after rinsing and soaking for 2 hours. To cool the rice, I spread it out on a frozen cookie sheet, which went back in the freezer for about 45 minutes (checking every 15 mins).

Here's the result so far: liquid gathering on the bottom of both jars and more visible in between the grains of rice. There's a faint, but deliciously sweet smell coming from the jars. I'm keeping the half-gallon jars in a closet and only take them out to take pictures.

Sounds like you're on the right track, the sweet smell gets stronger every day, just sniff around the lid, don't open

 

[Tsuyako]

As I didn't feel like reading through 130 pages (got through 14) has anyone tried this with glutinous black rice? I was thinking of doing the process like (sorry, forgot his name) did with the Red rice and crushing it up with the yeast.

 

[brooklynkayak]

As I didn't feel like reading through 130 pages (got through 14) has anyone tried this with glutinous black rice? I was thinking of doing the process like (sorry, forgot his name) did with the Red rice and crushing it up with the yeast.

Most people don't recommend whole grain rice of any kind.

The reference to red rice is actually "red YEAST rice" where only a small amount is added for its particular color and flavor.

 

[MasterCrook]

As I didn't feel like reading through 130 pages (got through 14) has anyone tried this with glutinous black rice? I was thinking of doing the process like (sorry, forgot his name) did with the Red rice and crushing it up with the yeast.

I think someone tried it here a while back, and it didn't turn out well

 

[TempestTcup]

I have been making rice beer for about 3 years now and have it down to the basics.

While boiling 1-1/2 gal spring water in a 12 quart stockpot, I soak and rinse 12 cups of sweet glutenous rice 3 times. When the water is at a rolling boil i add the well-drained rice and stir constantly until it gets thick. I remove from heat and stir a little longer to make sure the bottom doesn't burn. Cover and let sit overnight.

I use a sturdy metal spatula to layer the cooled rice into a 2 gal glass jar (walmart - $10 - cookie jar? with lid) with 2 crushed Chinese yeast balls. The temp doesn't seem to matter as long as it's cooler than 100F. I don't worry about sterilization, and haven't had a problem. Wet a white tea towel and put between jar and lid. Put in a cooler in a warm room for 24 hours.

Stir after 24 hours and then twice a day for 4-5 days. It should be bubbling merrily. When the floating rice gets thin, scoop 4 cups into a new, clean bucket (Home Depot) lined with a paint strainer (mesh bag w elastic) and squeeze liquid out, Toss waste rice. Continue until all rice is strained.

I use Grolsch bottles (about 18 of them) and a funnel. Leave room for expansion; stop where bottle narrows and cap it. Put in a soft-sided cooler (in case of explosions LOL) for 2 days to bottle ferment (I like it fizzy) and then put the cooler in the fridge until cold. Before opening a bottle, put in freezer for 15-20 minutes to reduce the pressure, It opens like a shaken champagne bottle - POW! Drape with a tea towel or open outside; sometimes you have to burp it.

Everyone LOVES this drink! I hope you enjoy my recipe

 

[Evilgrin]

From what ive found about using black sweet rice for wine, you need to rinse it after cooking also. It also should be soaked longer before cooking. Over night should be fine.

I would recommend try mixing a small amount of black sweet rice with about double the amount of normal sweet rice. Cook both separately. Black rice also requires a longer cook time. I would try it myself but the only black rice i have is Chinese "Forbidden" black rice and its very expensive. I will give it a try next time i go to the Asian market and i can get the correct kind.

 

[TempestTcup]

From what ive found about using black sweet rice for wine, you need to rinse it after cooking also. It also should be soaked longer before cooking. Over night should be fine.

I would recommend try mixing a small amount of black sweet rice with about double the amount of normal sweet rice. Cook both separately. Black rice also requires a longer cook time. I would try it myself but the only black rice i have is Chinese "Forbidden" black rice and its very expensive. I will give it a try next time i go to the Asian market and i can get the correct kind.

I made rice beer with black sweet rice and it did require a longer cooking and fermentation time. I didn't rinse after cooking, but maybe it would have turned out better. It was pretty undrinkable. I don't know the terminology, but it was kind of musty and dirty tasting. It almost tasted like old, spoiled red table wine that was opened, a glass poured out, re-corked and then stored too long (not that I have ever done that at home, LOL; when I remove a cork, I throw it away).

I wonder if it requires a different sort of yeast than the Chinese yeast balls I usually use. I have experimented with a few different yeasts for my rice beer (my Asian market carries about four different kinds) and they do all give a different flavor to the beer (is my recipe above beer? the recipe I first used and adapted called it beer not wine). My favorite is the Chinese yeast balls.

The other thing i was wondering was if I should have let it age - I drink my white rice beer fresh and fizzy. I read that fresh was the way it was normally consumed and my rice beer hasn't ever lasted long enough to age. I did try the black rice beer both bottle fermented and not and the bottle fermented was better IMO but not great.

I still have some sweet black rice left; maybe I will try rinsing after cooking (although none of the sweet black rice recipes for desserts that I read mentioned that) to see if maybe that gets rid of the musty taste. I did soak it for a few hours and rinsed it well before cooking.

 

[Evilgrin]

I will try to get Korean black sweet rice. I think its is different that Thai sweet black and its a shorter grain. Im not really sure though until i can compare them side by side.

A short grain rice i would really like to try is called spouted brown rice or genmai. It has been slightly polished to remove some of the bran or husk. Im assuming the process is similar to malted barley.

 

[MasterCrook]

I'm really pleased with my glutinous rice batch, it has aged and cleared really well. The colour is the same a white grape wine, I compared both side by side.

 

[Evilgrin]

Most of mine clear up very well too. I do have one made with RYR and EC-1118 that still looks like Pepto-bismol. First i ran it through a common stainless kitchen strainer and then through a filter bag to remove most of the larger sediment. I added some honey powder and racked it off into a small 1 gallon carboy.

Its been over a week since racking it off and fermentation is still very aggressive. I only added about 4 tbs of the honey powder to almost a full gallon of rice wine.

 

[MasterCrook]

That really looks opaque, have you tasted it?

 

[Evilgrin]

I racked off a quart into a smaller bottle for a cold crash. It tasted quite good so i racked off another. Its got a pretty strong kick but very tasty. Slightly tart but not bad at all. More like an orange flavor than bitter.

 

[z-bob]

I started another batch a few days ago. (1 cup sweet rice plus 1 cup medium grain white rice, soaked briefly and then rinsed, cooked with 2 cups of water) I didn't add any RYR, and just used one yeast ball. It's starting to liquefy a little. I haven't opened the jar to smell it.

I'm going to let this one go for 2 or 3 weeks, then add more water (1 cup?) and stir. Hopefully it 'll continue fermenting instead of stalling-out and will end up drier than my previous batches. They've all been too sweet.

 

[MasterCrook]

I started another batch a few days ago. (1 cup sweet rice plus 1 cup medium grain white rice, soaked briefly and then rinsed, cooked with 2 cups of water) I didn't add any RYR, and just used one yeast ball. It's starting to liquefy a little. I haven't opened the jar to smell it.

I'm going to let this one go for 2 or 3 weeks, then add more water (1 cup?) and stir. Hopefully it 'll continue fermenting instead of stalling-out and will end up drier than my previous batches. They've all been too sweet.

Adding 1 cup will be too much, try half cup

 

[ohiochris]

Does it make any difference whether the rice is steamed or boiled ? Anybody know ?

 

[Evilgrin]

I use a microwave rice cooker BUT steamed is recommended.

 

[ohiochris]

I use a microwave rice cooker BUT steamed is recommended.

Will boiling it ruin it ?

 

[z-bob]

Will boiling it ruin it ?

No, not if you know how to cook rice. Just don't use too much water.

 

[ohiochris]

Ok , thanks. I just got some yeast balls today and I will be getting rice soon , I just dont have a good way of steaming it.

 

[z-bob]

I use a Black&Decker rice cooker that Wife bought a few years ago. You can probably find one for $5 at the Goodwill thrift store. Or just cook it the old fashioned way in a covered saucepan, but use a little less water.

 

[pdxal]

I just use a rice cooker, which boils it.

 

[brooklynkayak]

I just use a rice cooker, which boils it.

I find rice cookers don't cook evenly with glutinous/sweet rice. Much of the rice will still be hard in the center.

I usually work with 5 lbs or more rice at a time and a large stainless pasta pot.

I add my soaked rice to already boiling water, stir and keep on high heat for a couple minutes, then into a 300 deg f oven for an hour.

This seems to work as well as steaming, but less labor involved.

 

[z-bob]

I find rice cookers don't cook evenly with glutinous/sweet rice. Much of the rice will still be hard in the center.

I usually work with 5 lbs or more rice at a time and a large stainless pasta pot.

I add my soaked rice to already boiling water, stir and keep on high heat for a couple minutes, then into a 300 deg f oven for an hour.

This seems to work as well as steaming, but less labor involved.

I haven't had that problem. Maybe soaking helps with that? I don't soak all that long, but it does change the appearance.

 

[pdxal]

I find rice cookers don't cook evenly with glutinous/sweet rice. Much of the rice will still be hard in the center.

I usually work with 5 lbs or more rice at a time and a large stainless pasta pot.

I add my soaked rice to already boiling water, stir and keep on high heat for a couple minutes, then into a 300 deg f oven for an hour.

This seems to work as well as steaming, but less labor involved.

Never had that problem with ours. 8 cups dry rice per batch fills a gallon jar for my batches. I use jasmine more often than sweet rice.
Never soak rice first either, with no problems noted.

 

[Evilgrin]

I always soak my rice and rinse it well. I also only use true short grain or sweet rice. For eating i just soak for an hour or two and rinse 3-4 times. For wine i soak over night and rinse until the water is pretty clear.

Cooking water varies also. When making wine i use less water for cooking. Just enough to cover the rice. Since its already been well soaked it wont need the extra water i would normally use.

Jasmine is far less sticky than other varieties except maybe basmatti. Its delicious with curries but IMO short grain and sweet rice has a better wine return.

 

[ChefRex]

Never had that problem with ours. 8 cups dry rice per batch fills a gallon jar for my batches. I use jasmine more often than sweet rice.
Never soak rice first either, with no problems noted.

How are you fitting 8 cups in a gallon? Are you packing solid? I do 6 and have to pack a little, I always avoided packing tight but if you get good results I'll try

 

[pdxal]

How are you fitting 8 cups in a gallon? Are you packing solid? I do 6 and have to pack a little, I always avoided packing tight but if you get good results I'll try

8 cups uncooked, cooked per rice cooker directions, then cooled and sprinkled with crushed yeast balls and packed into the gallon jar. Not solid, but pretty tight. Always shrinks down rapidly with saccharification to filling about half the jar by the end and yields around 2 liters of wine.

 

[ChefRex]

Next time I'll pack it a little tighter and see what happens.

 

[danmerk23]

Does adding RYR do anything more than the normal yeast balls do? I'm currently on a batch I started in August and it's still bubbly. Here is what I made:

2c jasmine rice
6c sweet rice
Steamed

1/4c RYR + 4 yeast balls and made a powder

I have a thick white layer of mold on top and it's open fermenting about a month. I tasted a bit and it was incredibly sweet. More than I've ever tasted. Is that normal to be so sweet?

 

[MasterCrook]

Does adding RYR do anything more than the normal yeast balls do? I'm currently on a batch I started in August and it's still bubbly. Here is what I made:

2c jasmine rice
6c sweet rice
Steamed

1/4c RYR + 4 yeast balls and made a powder

I have a thick white layer of mold on top and it's open fermenting about a month. I tasted a bit and it was incredibly sweet. More than I've ever tasted. Is that normal to be so sweet?

From my experiences, RYR is added mostly just for colour preference and a different taste/aroma. I find it to add an earthier smell and taste, more texture too. The sweetness lessens after aging. If it's too sweet, try adding a little water before closing the fermentation jar for your next batch

 

[Evilgrin]

Try adding some water and racking it off into a carboy for another week or two. Taste a sample a few times until its gotten to the sweetness level you prefer. It can get tart quickly if the temps are on the warm side.

 

[Bob_McBob]

Any thoughts on why my first two batches ended up looking so different? On the left is jasmine rice, fermented 17 days, pasteurized and then cold crashed. On the right is glutinous rice, fermented 27 days, cold crashed, racked off, and then pasteurized. Both batches were stirred frequently during fermentation and filtered through the same cloth bag. The jasmine rice is absolutely crystal clear (with sediment in the bottom because I didn't rack it off) but the glutinous rice is completely clean with a lot of turbidity.

I'm looking for a result like the left with a fairly dry wine I can use for cooking and potentially age. I have another large batch of glutinous rice going that wasn't stirred at all and I'm not sure what factors influence the clarity. A lot of people in the thread seem to end up with results more like the bottles on the right even after cold crashing and using something like bentonite.

 

[MasterCrook]

Any thoughts on why my first two batches ended up looking so different? On the left is jasmine rice, fermented 17 days, pasteurized and then cold crashed. On the right is glutinous rice, fermented 27 days, cold crashed, racked off, and then pasteurized. Both batches were stirred frequently during fermentation and filtered through the same cloth bag. The jasmine rice is absolutely crystal clear (with sediment in the bottom because I didn't rack it off) but the glutinous rice is completely clean with a lot of turbidity.

I'm looking for a result like the left with a fairly dry wine I can use for cooking and potentially age. I have another large batch of glutinous rice going that wasn't stirred at all and I'm not sure what factors influence the clarity. A lot of people in the thread seem to end up with results more like the bottles on the right even after cold crashing and using something like bentonite.

My batches always turn out crystal clear. I always pasturize right after bottling, and after a few days it's clear

 

[Evilgrin]

My best guess assuming both were cooked the same way.

Jasmine rinses clean more quickly than sweet rice. You might try rinsing sweet rice longer before cooking.

 

[jsamyn]

My first batch is definitely a huge success thanks to this thread!

On the 22nd of August I started my first batch, which I fermented for 3 weeks and then bottled, pasteurized and cold crashed. I have to admit that when I tried it that first day the alcohol taste was a bit harsh, but we're now another week beyond that and the flavors are just amazing (my wife agrees). Surprisingly, the most prominent flavor is melon and it reminds me of very ripe cavailllon melons. I'm definitely going to get more rice this weekend to make more.

 

[Evilgrin]

I just made a test batch with:

2 dry cups Akitaotome short grain rice
1 yeast ball ground
6 tsp distillers malt ground with the yeast ball

I carefully warmed the mason jar and wrapped it in a towel yesterday. It still feels a little warm to the touch today and a small amount of liquid is on the bottom.

 

[Revvy]

Finally after a few years of searching for the yeast balls I stumbled onto them right at the checkout of the new Asian Mega Mart that opened in the Detroit Area.

Last night I threw together 2.5# Jasmine and 2.5# Asian Sweet Rice in a 3 gallon fermenter and chucked it into my new brew closet in my post fire new place.

Not sure how much it will produce but I'm hoping enough to use my nitrogen cavitation infusion method to flavor some with Cascade Hops, some with a Chinese 5 spices flavor, some with ginger and ginseng perhaps, and some with some sort of fruit.

Some friends are having a sushi party around Thanksgiving so I'm hoping this will be my contribution to the festivities.

So does anyone have an idea where in this massive thread is any solid info on folks attempts to pasteurize this stuff? I've lost touch with this thread over the years so I don't know what folk's latest experiments with this stuff has been.

Has anyone gone back and added more rice and more yeast to their established batches? I still have another 5 pounds of rices, and it looks like I could still do more rice, but I ran out of time steaming and cooling the stuff last night.

 

[Evilgrin]

Ive seen several methods such as authentic sake which you add more rice later. Im not sure if i would add more yeast but adding some koji to the additional rice might be a good idea.

How many yeast balls did you use?