Trying to make traditional Taiwanese millet wine (xiao mi jiu/小米酒)

[Cannonball Jones]

Hi all, since I'm a resident of Taiwan I've decided to give the traditional indigenous drink of millet wine a try. There are plenty of rice wine recipes online, but not so much for millet wine. From the sources I've managed to find, I've put together the following plan:

600 grams of millet
2 litres of water
150 grams of sugar
1 yeast ball

1. Rinse the millet, lightly toast it in a dry pan, add to a pot of boiling water and simmer until sticky (45 mins or so).
2. Allow it to cool to room temperature, then add the crushed yeast ball and stir.
3. Transfer the mixture to a clean glass jar, and cover it with cheesecloth, allowing air to enter.
4. Store in a cool, dark spot for 10-14 days, stirring occasionally.
5. Dissolve sugar in warm water and add to the mixture according to taste.
6. Return to storage for another 1-2 weeks.
7. Transfer the wine to bottles, sealing them well to keep air out
8. Store bottles in the same cool, dark place for weeks/months to allow flavours to develop.
9. Enjoy!

I was hoping others in the forum might add their knowledge to this. One thing I'm not sure about is the initial fermentation. Should I allow air in or not? I've seen plenty videos and read plenty of recipes for rice wine. They seem divided on the issue, with perhaps the majority saying it should be airtight. Anybody got any input on that, or any of the rest of the recipe? If not, I'll probably just jump in this coming weekend. The ingredients are dirt cheap so it's not a huge deal if it works, other than the time I spend on it. Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[Miraculix]

Hi!

If you want to bottle it, you'll need to pasteurize it in the bottle, otherwise you risk borrow bombs.

There's no need for air locks, it can even be negative for the fermentation to close it up completely. I'm doing fine with a bucket which I cover with a kitchen towel. On top of the towel comes the lid of the bucket which is pressed down by something with some weight. Like a 2-5 kg weight or something like that. The towel ensures that some air exchange can happen and that insects stay out. I've been doing this with rice wine and with chang. Chang is basically the same thing, just with barley instead of rice.

I would try it before adding sugar. This can get very sweet on it's own.

 

[Miraculix]

Btw. The ratio 2000g of water to 600g millet seems pretty off to me. If you have too much water inside, the mold from the yeast balls will change into survival mode and sour the whole thing. There needs to be just enough water to fully cook the millet but not so much that it liquifies too early. The mold must live for a few days before drowning in the liquid.

Barley and rice are cooked best at a ratio of about 1.1 or 1.2 water to 1 grain in weight. I'd start with that with millet as well. That's based on my personal experience, others claimed to have had solid results with a bit more water.

Also, better use too much yeast balls than too little.

Cheers!

 

[Rish]

Hi!

If you want to bottle it, you'll need to pasteurize it in the bottle, otherwise you risk borrow bombs.

There's no need for air locks, it can even be negative for the fermentation to close it up completely. I'm doing fine with a bucket which I cover with a kitchen towel. On top of the towel comes the lid of the bucket which is pressed down by something with some weight. Like a 2-5 kg weight or something like that. The towel ensures that some air exchange can happen and that insects stay out. I've been doing this with rice wine and with chang. Chang is basically the same thing, just with barley instead of rice.

I would try it before adding sugar. This can get very sweet on it's own.

I'm amazed. Is there any type of fermented alcoholic beverage you haven't made?

 

[Cannonball Jones]

Btw. The ratio 2000g of water to 600g millet seems pretty off to me. If you have too much water inside, the mold from the yeast balls will change into survival mode and sour the whole thing. There needs to be just enough water to fully cook the millet but not so much that it liquifies too early. The mold must live for a few days before drowning in the liquid.

Barley and rice are cooked best at a ratio of about 1.1 or 1.2 water to 1 grain in weight. I'd start with that with millet as well. That's based on my personal experience, others claimed to have had solid results with a bit more water.

Also, better use too much yeast balls than too little.

Cheers!

Thanks very much for your input. I'll adjust the water volume as you suggested and see how it goes. How much rice would you typically use for a batch? I was basing mine on 600g of millet purely because that's how much is in one bag at my local store. I've seen that lid + cloth method used on a couple of different videos now, will give it a shot. Here's hoping it turns out well!

 

[Miraculix]

Thanks very much for your input. I'll adjust the water volume as you suggested and see how it goes. How much rice would you typically use for a batch? I was basing mine on 600g of millet purely because that's how much is in one bag at my local store. I've seen that lid + cloth method used on a couple of different videos now, will give it a shot. Here's hoping it turns out well!

I would start with two or three of these bags and probably use between three and five yeast balls on that. Too much yeast ball is no problem, too little is, so I try to er on the high side.

 

[Miraculix]

I'm amazed. Is there any type of fermented alcoholic beverage you haven't made?

Didn't touch a lot of the wild stuff for now....

 

[Cannonball Jones]

I'm about to start the brewing process at last. I just want to be clear on one thing regarding the volume of water. Should I boil the millet using the suggested ratio of water, allow it to cool, add yeast ball and then put in a jar by itself (just millet & yeast/mold)? Or should I rinse the millet after boiling, allow it to cool, add yeast ball, and then add it to jar with a roughly equal amount of water?

 

[Miraculix]

I'm about to start the brewing process at last. I just want to be clear on one thing regarding the volume of water. Should I boil the millet using the suggested ratio of water, allow it to cool, add yeast ball and then put in a jar by itself (just millet & yeast/mold)? Or should I rinse the millet after boiling, allow it to cool, add yeast ball, and then add it to jar with a roughly equal amount of water?

No water in the jar. Just millet and yeast ball. Don't squeeze it into the jar, allow for air pockets to form.

 

[Cannonball Jones]

Great, thanks! I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[madscientist451]

You could also try malting your millet:
https://scottjanish.com/brewing-with-millet/