Recent content by Time2Retire

Barley update: it's been more than 48 hours, and liquid is just barely starting to form. If it hasn't improved in a couple days, maybe I'll goose it with some rice. The yeast balls really do seem to be calibrated for rice.

Accept no substitute! The one on top is "Han Heng." It's always worked well for me, though I have to buy it online. The bottom one is "Hang Hing." I spotted it at my local Asian market and thought I'd give it a try. I ended up getting a very sweet brew, lower alcohol and not as much as usual...

UPDATE: Getting ready to throw my second batch. I have the rice cooker and the Instant Pot both in service, and the kitchen is full of the clean smell of rice. Hopefully it will be a lot more funky smelling soon 😎

As vacation ended, I threw a long-awaited batch using my tried and true method. Two cups each sticky and Calrose rice. Four HanHeng yeast pellets. Three days in, the rice is liquefying nicely. Tomorrow or so, same again plus two cups water. This method has been so successful, I thought I'd try...

I have vacation coming up, and some glutinous rice in the pantry. Time for another batch.

UPDATE: A good thing I tasted it today, because it's very strong and shall we say tangy. Not too tart to drink, but I wouldn't share it with anyone else. I pulled it off the gross lees (with the Mrs. clucking about the mess), added two teaspoons hydrated bentonite, cold crash and hope for...

Yum! Because fresh red chilies are impossible to find at the supermarket, I'm thinking of growing some. Planning to start with jalapeños, Anaheim, and maybe some exotic variety. I'm jonesing for some homemade red sauce.

Pleased with this one. 8oz Shishito peppers, handful of dried Thai peppers, half a white onion, 5 cloves garlic, a shot of lime juice and a shot of whey from my last yogurt. 2.5T kosher salt in a liter of water. Let it ferment only about 4 weeks, it's been hot here. A little residual bitterness...

My rice baby at 3 weeks! More liquid and A. orzae than I've ever seen at this point. This method, adding the rice half and half with just a little water, seems to be working for me. If this batch is good, maybe next time I'll try adding some red yeast rice.

I've got another batch going, same method as before: 2 kilos rice in two batches, added 2 cups water with the second batch. It's been very warm here, and if anything it seemed to help the rice get started faster. 3 weeks in. I'm going to give it another three, then a short secondary after...

Try one of these: Crazy Korean Cooking Premium Kimchi, Sauerkraut Fermentation and Storage Container with Inner Vacuum Lid (0.4 Gal Sandy Brown (1.7L)) Amazon.com: Crazy Korean Cooking Premium Kimchi, Sauerkraut Fermentation and Storage Container with Inner Vacuum Lid (0.4 Gal Sandy Brown...

I made an all-chili (no tomatillos) salsa Verde and it was pretty good, so I thought I'd try red sauce. Two large red bell peppers. About six yellow chilies. Two dried Hatch and half a dozen dried japonesas. Half a white onion and 4 cloves garlic. I used a brine of about 2½T kosher salt in a...

When we're lucky enough to throw a batch that turns out fairly dry, I'd like to see how it would work in Drunken Chicken. (Of course, I use a Cajun Injector on chicken pieces that are already dead. The VERY traditional method creeps me out).

Update: I'm sipping a glass of the clear stuff from my latest effort, and it reminds me of an off-dry Riesling. Too bad this isn't an exact science. I'll probably never make it this way again.

Some good wine in Temecula btw. I'm a fan of Baily.