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Well, one of my grandfathers(born around 1890) went blind from drinking Chinese moonshine. But here are the relevant sections from Grandiose Survey. http://www.spiritsoftheharvest.com/2014/03/chinese-alcohol-distilled-spirits.html...

Here's a documentary from Youku, the Chinese Youtube. In Mandarin though. http://v.youku.com/pad_show/id_XOTU0OTIzMTI

From "Grandiose Survey [...]" "3.5.2.1 Temperature Control During Main Fermentation In ancient times, brewmasters made their rice wines during the cold months when the air and water is relatively free from contaminating microorganisms. Late November is the best time for brewing rice wines. In...

Additional water shouldn't be necessary just to get saccharification and liquification. The fungus should take care of that as long as it hasn't been overheated, temps are good, rice has been soaked/cooked properly, and fermentation aerated. For solidstate fermentation, a waterbath probably...

Here's a good description of rice wine production from Fred Eckhardt's Sake (USA) book. Good info on yeast, rice, and water ratios and temps.

That would work. At one point, I floated a 1 gallon container of rice and yeast in a 5 gallon bucket with an aquarium heater. Just be careful of stuck heaters.

"Jiu mo" means "wine mother", which is basically your starter. They are saying that you can use it for wine after 20-30 days. But that would like making a yeast starter for your beer, leaving it out for 2 weeks, then drinking it instead of making beer with it!

Yes normal. The white fuzz is the mycelia, it's kind of like the roots of a plant. It grows everywhere, including into the rice grains. The fuzz contains the enzymes and transports food. You get spores when the mold "thinks" conditions are not so good for growth. It creates spores so that...

See the diagram in my previous post. Most likely yeast growth is too early in the cycle. You still need to build up the yeast population first. When brewing lagers for example, you still have to build up a starter, and after pitching, it takes a while for the entire ferment to get going.

Yep! I suspect the temps were too cold for his yeast to get past the lag/log phase of growth. Not necessary to have 100% conversion for rice wine. It is different than typical beer/wine/cider fermentation. It is a parallel fermentation, solid state initially. The yeast converts the sugars...

Yeast balls contain yeast along with other microorganisms. Per Fred Ekhardt in Sake(USA) page 48-49 "When the jiu niang is ready (several weeks of turning and cutting), the damp mixture is cut into small pieces, and rolled into little balls, weighing about 10gm each. These yeast balls are...

30C for 2-3 days will get lots of fungus activity and sugar/liquid production. The yeast are just starting to ramp up so you start getting a little alcohol. You put it in the refrigerator if you want to keep it as the fermented rice dessert. Keep it at higher temps if you want to make...

Too tart can be from low residual sugar. That can be from low sugar conversion if starting temp is too low for the Rhizopus/Aspergillus. It can be from too much water. It can be be due to too much attenuation from the yeast. Tartness also can be from excess lactobacillus activity if the...

Don't try to ferment in the refrigerator. Yeast balls are a type of xiao qu, or small yeast starter. It contains Rhizopus oryzae which likes a warmer temp, as does the actual yeast in the yeast ball. Da qu, or large yeast starter, contains Aspergillus oryzae like koji, and can handle lower...

Here are my current batches. Progress pics - 2.5 gal fermentor of Shaoxing type. This is the scaled up red rice wine to which I later added more rice. Both batches start out initially at 85 degrees, with stirring to aerate and release CO2 to step up the yeast. Also to keep the...

That setup could easily do 8-10 lbs dry weight of rice at one time. Just use 2 baskets, and a shorter standoff in the steamer kettle.

Just posted a long reply that somehow didn't show up. Trying again. This is how I did 4lbs of rice this weekend. Wash rice and soak for 24 hrs. Set up a 13 gal kettle on the stove. Put a 2 gallon kettle inside the 13 and add water to both. Bring to a boil and turn down to low. Get a...

That setup should work. Make sure the bucket is well above the water line. No need to stir. Line the bucket with parchment paper. Layer the rice about 2-3 inches thick. Steam is nice because you don't need to play around with water/rice ratios. Just soak overnight and steam. Comes out...

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