Scout
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I took this pic two days ago, about four or five days in. I think the rice is starting to separate from the liquid (float)
Making Traditional rice Wine. Cheap, Fun, and Different
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I took this pic two days ago, about four or five days in. I think the rice is starting to separate from the liquid (float)
thanks, I live in a very small town and the closest place that might have a Chinese market is about 1.5 hrs away so online is my best choice for getting brewing supplies. I got 4 Shanghai Yeast Balls from a seller named forestseller1, I looked at a lot of listing and his seemed to be the best deal.
I took this pic two days ago, about four or five days in. I think the rice is starting to separate from the liquid (float)
Looks good.
Well regular batch has a little liquid in the bottom already, the pineapple batch has close to twice as much liquid, hum I wonder if the juice helped break down the rice faster? I will post further when I check up on it next week.
cuisinechemist
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That smell that I thought was ethyl acetate disappeared after a week in the fridge. Hmm, wondering what it might have been, or what happened.
Also started a new batch. Used less water this time to cook and got a much stickier mass of rice. Temperatures have also cooled down in the past week; wonder how this will affect the fermentation.
Also started a new batch. Used less water this time to cook and got a much stickier mass of rice. Temperatures have also cooled down in the past week; wonder how this will affect the fermentation.
I've never made a rice wine, though I aspire to someday, but I'll add this tidbit: pineapple contains compounds that are very effective at breaking down proteins. This is why it's often added to pork/ham - to make it tender - and why your lips burn after eating a lot of it fresh (but not cooked), and why you can't get naturally flavoured pineapple jello. Maybe it does the same to rice proteins?
eigua
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Was the plain version also soaked? (I'm assuming you mean the dry grains were soaked and not the cooked grains.) If the pineapple version was soaked and the other wasn't, the grains would be holding more liquid. I found that rice cooked in a rice cooker (very sticky) leaked out far more liquid faster than rice cooked by the steaming method. This would simply be because the rice cooker version absorbed far more water.
Yes, the plain version was soaked in water and the other in juice, I had planed to just soak for an hour but got distracted and ended up soaking overnight. Then both were steam cooked.
eigua
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Very interesting. I wonder if the added sugar had any effect. Or the acid. Interesting observation anyway.
Why are you refrigerating this, I haven't gone back, I have never had any issue storage wise, I have kept bottles at ambient temp for a year+
I did a search and can't find anything yet. Anyone try red rice https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_rice with the yeast balls or red rice with YRY?
About how much is a package of YRY? Thanks.
About how much is a package of YRY? Thanks.
Yes, this is a common addition to making a batch of rice wine. If you're referring to Red Yeast Rice.
When added in small quantities during fermentation, RYR gives the wine a fruity characteristic along with a beautiful red color. Definitely worth trying.
Just an FYI for those like me who order their yeast balls on ebay, a couple of sellers have great deals right now asianjungle77 has 12 balls for $8.05 ($5.45+$2.60 shipping)and jak1010 has 12 for $8.25 ($4.75+$3.50 shipping)
eigua
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This is good information to know. I've been pasteurizing my batches for longer storage. If I don't have to pasteurize, all the better!
laserstone
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Last time I tried this I used "glutinous" Thai jasmine, but I recently moved and I can't find the same brand at any local stores. Is supermarket (normal, non-sticky) jasmine rice okay to use, or should I stick to sticky rice like sushi rice? If I do use sushi rice, will it affect the flavor? I know some people have reported a poor product with sushi rice in the past. Thanks!
What I have saved for long periods were given plenty of time to ferment, separate and the clear liquid corked, no signs of carbonation found so it was done doing what it was going to do.
I need to get some more going, my stash is very thin
eigua
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The OP didn't use glutinous jasmine, just plain jasmine rice (from what I can tell anyway -- it's not exactly clear). I've had great success with Three Ladies Brand broken Thai jasmine rice, also not labeled sweet, sticky, or glutinous and the grains are more translucent than sticky varieties. In fact, I feel the flavor is more interesting than what I got from glutinous rice, though that wasn't glutinous jasmine, just plain small-grain glutinous rice. However, the glutinous rice did convert to more liquid than the broken jasmine overall. On the flip side, jasmine is cheaper. When in doubt, try it. You might discover something you like.
I used just plain Lousiana Jasmine rice and it is working just fine, looks like a jar of milk now lol
danmerk23
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Ok I've made a ton of this wine. I now have questions:
1. I soak, then steam sweet rice. Cool and then put in jar to ferment. How long? I usually go a month.
2. This is like syrup. It's sweet and thick. Anyone thin with water?
3. It seems when I add fruit like berries it tastes really balanced. However I don't like it fruity. Has anyone balanced with acid blend or lemon? It seems it would clean up the syrup flavor a bit.
4. I once saw this on a blog and it was fuzzy. Any ideas? Add sugar and bottle?
1. I soak, then steam sweet rice. Cool and then put in jar to ferment. How long? I usually go a month.
2. This is like syrup. It's sweet and thick. Anyone thin with water?
3. It seems when I add fruit like berries it tastes really balanced. However I don't like it fruity. Has anyone balanced with acid blend or lemon? It seems it would clean up the syrup flavor a bit.
4. I once saw this on a blog and it was fuzzy. Any ideas? Add sugar and bottle?
eigua
Well-Known Member
1. I've found a month isn't long enough for me. 6-8 weeks seems to give a better result with more conversion of starches and a higher ABV (guesstimated, not measured). Mind you, it's not really hot where I live so the ambient temp inside was probably 65-70 most of the time. Warmer temps might speed up the process.
2. I've only made it by steaming one time and I got the same result as you. A very syrupy drink. This is just my theory, but I believe that the sugar content got so high that the yeast hit the max alcohol tolerance leaving a lot of unconverted sugar behind. The other times I made it I used a rice cooker and much preferred the result. The rice was gloopy and wet out of the rice cooker, but I think this extra water actually helped water down the sugars enough that the yeast didn't max out so soon. It made for a much more balanced tasting wine.
3. Never tried it.
4. I could be wrong, but if it's so sweet and it wasn't bubbling still by the time you bottled it, the yeast probably won't go any further with added sugar. You might be able to restart fermentation by watering it down and adding some more yeast. The syrupy batch I made, I tried to restart fermentation with champagne yeast and it didn't take. I didn't try watering it down though. I would be very hesitant to bottle it before fermentation is finished because you wouldn't know how far it would go.
1. I use a rice cooker and never stop the fermentation before 6 weeks but have gone 3 months with good results. Still fermenting at 4 weeks, so I let it finish fermentation just like beer. If it has finished, no need to pasteurize.
2. It is sweeter than commercial sake, Also slightly more mouthfeel. I haven't watered it down to induce more fermentation, but I've watered it down before drinking from my presumed ABV of 20ish to 15-18% like commercial sakes and found it tastes less sweet and has less mouthfeel. Very similar to sake.
3. haven't tried to cut sweetness that way. Commercial sake is clarified with bentonite and filtration, perhaps that would help. I've found my aged and decanted rice wine drier and "cleaner". I know sake breweries do use acid to adjust, though.
4. Fuzzy is OK as long it is white to yellowish, black or other colors are not good. That's just the mold in the yeast balls growing.
Good to know. FYI, about jak1010, if you mention that you participate in this forum, they send extras. I asked him/her about a recipe and got hooked up nicely.
I'm still blown away by turning rice into wine. My brother and father both love this stuff. My sister says it's too strong. Can't please them all I guess.
eigua
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Me too! There's something really satisfying about making this stuff. It's almost like magic. I love how it doesn't require any fancy schmancy science, being super anal about sanitization, oxygen exposure, temperature control, or even any expensive homebrew store ingredients. It's refreshingly caveman simple and cheap as hell. It's really awesome knowing you can buy a giant 50 lb bag of dehydrated wine granules (AKA rice) anywhere for ~$20 and have rice wine till kingdom come.
As for your sister, you could try mixing it down with pink lemonade, lychee juice, or mint, water, and simple syrup, or coconut water, or something else sweet. Target 2-3 parts juice to 1 part rice wine so the approx ABV is in the 4-6% range. This is a pretty common way of serving soju.
Mer-man
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Don't be racist.
Mer-man
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For clarity, this is satire.:rockin:
eigua
Well-Known Member
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8o_YqzMBoo[/ame]
Last weekend I did some experimentation. 23 quart jars.
Jar contents:
1. Plantain
2. Ube
3. Taro
4. Asian white flesh purple skin sweet potato
5. American orange sweet potato
6. Sweet Het Rice
7. Ha Bu Kai Rice
8. Han Kuk Mi Rice
9. Pearled Barley
10. Ginger
11. Nagaimo
12. Tapioca pearls
Costco Jasmine rice with the following variables:
13. One with a cinnamon stick and vanilla beans
14. One with 1/4 c vanilla beans
15. One with 1/8 c vanilla beans
16. Two controls from batch one (3 gallon batches)
17.
18. Two controls from batch two
19.
20. One with no additional yeast added
21. One incubated 48 hours
22. One with Happy Panda Yeast Bal
(don't remember the other one off the top of my head)
Standard Procedures:
2c water per 1c starch
(for the tubers this was much too high, they will be steamed for the future).
1. Bring water to boil, add starch, place in preheated 375 oven until fully cooked.
2. Remove from oven, spread on cookie sheet, cool to 100 degrees farenheit.
3. Add 1/4 tsp ARL to warm water, pour over cooled starch, mix with hand.
4. Put one quart of starch into quart jars loosely packed, cover with vodka soaked cheesecloth square and lid.
5. Within 2 hours, place jar in 100F degree oven.
All incubated for 24 hours (except the 48 hour jar).
6. Added 1/16 tsp of Lavlin 1118 and 1/16 tsp Red Star Champagne yeast to top of each jar then shook them.
7. Place jars in cooler with a couple of frozen water bottles to drop fermentation temperature to around 60F degrees (this was too inconsistent, changed to refrigerated water in cooler).
After 2 days, the plantains, han kuk mi, and Ube were the most active bubblers. The tapioca balls had the most mold. The 48 hour jar had the most free glucose. Will post updates weekly hopefully.
Jar contents:
1. Plantain
2. Ube
3. Taro
4. Asian white flesh purple skin sweet potato
5. American orange sweet potato
6. Sweet Het Rice
7. Ha Bu Kai Rice
8. Han Kuk Mi Rice
9. Pearled Barley
10. Ginger
11. Nagaimo
12. Tapioca pearls
Costco Jasmine rice with the following variables:
13. One with a cinnamon stick and vanilla beans
14. One with 1/4 c vanilla beans
15. One with 1/8 c vanilla beans
16. Two controls from batch one (3 gallon batches)
17.
18. Two controls from batch two
19.
20. One with no additional yeast added
21. One incubated 48 hours
22. One with Happy Panda Yeast Bal
(don't remember the other one off the top of my head)
Standard Procedures:
2c water per 1c starch
(for the tubers this was much too high, they will be steamed for the future).
1. Bring water to boil, add starch, place in preheated 375 oven until fully cooked.
2. Remove from oven, spread on cookie sheet, cool to 100 degrees farenheit.
3. Add 1/4 tsp ARL to warm water, pour over cooled starch, mix with hand.
4. Put one quart of starch into quart jars loosely packed, cover with vodka soaked cheesecloth square and lid.
5. Within 2 hours, place jar in 100F degree oven.
All incubated for 24 hours (except the 48 hour jar).
6. Added 1/16 tsp of Lavlin 1118 and 1/16 tsp Red Star Champagne yeast to top of each jar then shook them.
7. Place jars in cooler with a couple of frozen water bottles to drop fermentation temperature to around 60F degrees (this was too inconsistent, changed to refrigerated water in cooler).
After 2 days, the plantains, han kuk mi, and Ube were the most active bubblers. The tapioca balls had the most mold. The 48 hour jar had the most free glucose. Will post updates weekly hopefully.
Chips
Well-Known Member
This is AMAZING! Thank you and please let us know the results!!
So this is my first venture into homebrew, I've got a couple of bottles made up after starting about a month ago.
This is probably a stupid question, but I tried pasteurising my resulting bottles at 190f for about 10 minutes, as per the instructions linked a few pages back, and just afterwards cracked them open to give them a sniff. I got a very strong alcoholic smell coming off them. While browsing the net afterwards I read somewhere that ethanol and methanol can boil off at temps as low as 165f, and that methanol is given off more readily.
Just a little concerned as to whether I just inhaled a good few lungfuls of methanol, or am I being unnecessarily worried?
On the bright side, before pasteurising, I gave it a taste, and they were lovely, flavored one with a dash of yuzu juice, which works pretty well
This is probably a stupid question, but I tried pasteurising my resulting bottles at 190f for about 10 minutes, as per the instructions linked a few pages back, and just afterwards cracked them open to give them a sniff. I got a very strong alcoholic smell coming off them. While browsing the net afterwards I read somewhere that ethanol and methanol can boil off at temps as low as 165f, and that methanol is given off more readily.
Just a little concerned as to whether I just inhaled a good few lungfuls of methanol, or am I being unnecessarily worried?
On the bright side, before pasteurising, I gave it a taste, and they were lovely, flavored one with a dash of yuzu juice, which works pretty well
So this is my first venture into homebrew, I've got a couple of bottles made up after starting about a month ago.
This is probably a stupid question, but I tried pasteurising my resulting bottles at 190f for about 10 minutes, as per the instructions linked a few pages back, and just afterwards cracked them open to give them a sniff. I got a very strong alcoholic smell coming off them. While browsing the net afterwards I read somewhere that ethanol and methanol can boil off at temps as low as 165f, and that methanol is given off more readily.
Just a little concerned as to whether I just inhaled a good few lungfuls of methanol, or am I being unnecessarily worried?
On the bright side, before pasteurising, I gave it a taste, and they were lovely, flavored one with a dash of yuzu juice, which works pretty well
Yes you probably let out some alcohol. How much, not sure.
I made some NA beer for a pregnant friend a few years back by bringing the beer up to 180 for some amount of time I can't remember. My wife was diligently stirring it while I did other things. She inhaled too much and got rather drunk after 10 minutes or so. I guess all that alcohol didn't go to waste. It takes a while for it to all evaporate off and the rate of evaporation is affected by the surface area to volume ratio, much the same way that normal boil off rates are affected by this ratio. So a slim, tall bottle would be at the end of the ratio where it would take longer for it to evaporate than a broad shallow pan.
If you only had it open for a brief moment, then you probably didn't let much out.
Two people that have made sake (TaylorMade AK, and someone on this forum) pasteurized at 140. That's probably what I'll be using. Methanol begins releasing at 160, the amount of vaporized alcohol that could have been in the headspace of a closed bottle is probably negligible. You probably didn't inhale the fumes from every bottle, so you're probably safe.
Sounds like I was getting the temps way higher than necessary :/
Thanks for the info, I have yet to drink either bottle, so not sure how much I reduced their alcohol level, they smell a little less strongly of alcohol than before, at least I know for next time. And I'm here typing this today, so seems I've not gone blind or died from any methanol poisoning!
Thanks for the info, I have yet to drink either bottle, so not sure how much I reduced their alcohol level, they smell a little less strongly of alcohol than before, at least I know for next time. And I'm here typing this today, so seems I've not gone blind or died from any methanol poisoning!
eigua
Well-Known Member
I pasteurize at 165. Milk is pasteurized at 161. But yes, if you try to pasteurize with open bottles or open them while they're still even slightly warm, you will release alcohol. The first time I pasteurized, I did it open in a pot and I'm fairly certain that I boiled off quite a bit of alcohol -- I could see steam wafting off even at just warm temps, far more than you'd see with water, and it smelled very alcoholic. The final product didn't smell that much like sake/rice wine anymore.
The boiling point of ethanol may be 173.1, but a lot of ethanol vapors do escape at much lower temperatures. In fact, alcohol will evaporate slowly over time even at cool temperatures. Sometimes liquor (which usually doesn't have a full cork like wine) stored for many years will have a noticeable drop in the liquid level in the bottle due to evaporation.
The boiling point of ethanol may be 173.1, but a lot of ethanol vapors do escape at much lower temperatures. In fact, alcohol will evaporate slowly over time even at cool temperatures. Sometimes liquor (which usually doesn't have a full cork like wine) stored for many years will have a noticeable drop in the liquid level in the bottle due to evaporation.
AKA "the Angel's Share", can cost a about 2% per year I believe.
that just depends on your taste, if you want it sweeter bottle sooner, more alcohol wait until bubbles stop.
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