Bought Angel Rice Leaven Expecting Koji, But Got Rhizopus

[loyal_snail]

Hey everyone!

I just joined this forum and wanted to share my experience. I recently bought Angel Rice Leaven (8g),
expecting it to be Koji Kin (Aspergillus oryzae) for sake making. Turns out, it's actually Rhizopus oryzae,
which is used for Chinese sweet wine instead. A bit disappointed, as I was really looking forward to making sake,
especially after reading Koji Alchemy.

But hey, no regrets! I’ll be trying my hand at Chinese rice wine this weekend and hoping it turns out well.
Finding Koji spores where I live is incredibly difficult, and even if I do, I can't be sure of their authenticity.
The genuine ones from the international market are way out of my budget.​

I'll be thinking to make koji from wild yeast from rice husk or corn husk.

If anyone has tips or experiences with Chinese rice wine, I’d love to hear them!​

 

[Rish]

Welcome to HBT!
Give this thread a look. Tons of good info. Good luck!

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/making-traditional-rice-wine-cheap-fun-and-different.361095/

 

[Erik the Awful]

I was interested in making sake as well, but the least expensive Koji I could find was $10 a packet. With Angel Leavening I was able to get 30 packets for $4. At those prices I figured it was a good idea to practice making huang jiao before trying to make the jump to sake.

I failed at my first two batches. I got an assortment of beautifully colored molds growing on my rice until I discovered that in my climate I need to re-wet the rice twice daily until fermentation really takes off. Since then I've made two batches and the second (my fourth try) was significantly better. My accounts are in the thread above (posts #6201 and #6315)

Note that if you're making sake, you're supposed to mill the rice to remove the outside layer before fermenting. High-end sakes typically mill half the weight of the rice away before they start. I used Kokuho Rose, which is a California short-grain sushi rice, because it's the only short-grain rice I can find here.

I did also make a corn wine from Angel Leavening, and it turned out pretty nice, but it requires a lot of attention in primary fermentation. I had to stir the top under every few hours.

 

[sibelman]

Would something like this work?

 

[Momoka]

Rhizopus works just fine and on its own without the yeast, you do end up with a sweet drink much like amazake. In fact, I believe the resulting mash is used in some Chinese desserts.

Using it as though it were aspergillus works pretty well, even the profile of the resulting “sake” is not so far away from using aspergillus. I have combined both to create a hybrid “koji” and that works well too.

From a few incidental observations, rhizopus appears to be more potent in its proteases.

Also it seems to like humidity but dislike wet rice.

 

[Miraculix]

Rhizopus works just fine and on its own without the yeast, you do end up with a sweet drink much like amazake. In fact, I believe the resulting mash is used in some Chinese desserts.

Using it as though it were aspergillus works pretty well, even the profile of the resulting “sake” is not so far away from using aspergillus. I have combined both to create a hybrid “koji” and that works well too.

From a few incidental observations, rhizopus appears to be more potent in its proteases.

Also it seems to like humidity but dislike wet rice.

Yes, the correct water content is key. Better try to err on the low side, too much water and it will create lactic acid and turn the wine undrinkable.