Making Traditional rice Wine. Cheap, Fun, and Different

[weeple2000]

Interested in trying this, haven't read the whole thread yet. I'd like to try to make a large batch to have my efforts yield more. Are people having success doing large batches? Like five gallons? I have two rice cookers at home so I could make it in there, or else a five gallon pot or even eleven gallon pot and turkey fryer.

 

[Friedclutch]

One guy in here did a 5 gallon and it did not come out very good. I suspect the problem that occurs is that it takes so long for that amount of rice to cool to pitching temp that some unfriendlys got in his batch. Pure speculation however.

Here are some thoughts on why some have had bad luck on their first try or large batches.. Durring my first batch I noticed how unevenly rice cools down. Some clumps of rice that are dense can have some really hot pockets. I poked around in my shallow rice bed for quite a while finding temps ranging from 100 to 70 deg f. Spreading the rice out as thin as possible on a cookie sheet is the best way to insure uniform temp before pitching the yeast. I think some folks may have pitched on hot rice and lost a large part of yeast. I believe a small pitch quantity can let other unfriendlies take over and or compete in your batch. Some people are reporting a sour tasting sake or weird colored molds taking hold.

Brew on

 

[Leadgolem]

One guy in here did a 5 gallon and it did not come out very good. I suspect the problem that occurs is that it takes so long for that amount of rice to cool to pitching temp that some unfriendlys got in his batch. Pure speculation however.

I am one of the people who has done a 5 gallon batch. It didn't go well. I believe you are correct as to one of the problems with larger batches. What felt to me as "warm" rice was probably hotter then the mold needed to saccharify the rice liked.

Another problem of scale I had was getting enough pressure on the remaining starch mass to get a good liquid extraction. It's easy with a small amount of material, but much harder when you have a larger mass.

 

[stinkmuis]

I like this! I am hunting Chinese Yeastballs right now!

 

[wooda2008]

I did a 3 gallon batch, and my biggest problem was pressing the rice mass when it was done. I only got 140oz from 16 cups dry rice. There was more liquid in there, but you'd need a hydraulic press to get it out. It's much easier for me to do it a gallon at a time to keep the pipeline full.

 

[saramc]

The red yeast rice that is in the vitamin/supplement section has been used many times by homebrewers...but it is expensive.

Here is the link http://www.asiansupermarket365.com/SearchResults.asp?Search=yeast&Search.x=0&Search.y=0...which brings up the yeast balls and red yeast rice (cheap cheap cheap at $2.99 for 12oz), cruise the other items because I think they have cool stuff, bought palm sugar to do some trial wines with. They provide discount codes in your package for discounts on future orders. The RYR supplies alpha/beta amylase, cannot recall if just one type or both, but I am now use 1/3 cup RYR per 4-5 cups raw rice which I pulverise into fine powder and combine with yeast ball powder(1 ball per pound of raw rice). RYR is also used in making 'akaisake'. The whole grain type of RYR is apparently hard to find in the states and according to others who are familiar with it, the price even accounting for the shipping from asian365 is well worth it.

 

[Tamarlane]

Tasted mine 8 days in. Very tart, no sweetness, I think lacto got it. Going to let it ride and see how it turns out. I did ferment it in the jar I use to make all my lacto-fermented goodies. Thought Starsan would be sufficient to take care of that. Next batch I will go round the inside with a torch or something.

 

[Unferth]

Hey guys,

Thanks for your replies, I didn't expect such great offers and help so fast. I can't remember who said it but I think your right I am asking for something which isn't translated into english very often… maybe I just have to ask for rice wine ingredients. I live in Vancouver BC.

Wooda, thanks for the offer of shipping. I'm sure I'll be able to find some as the nick name for my city is Hongcouver based on how many folks from Hong kong live here. I'll try again today and maybe get some phonetics on what it is called in Chinese, that may help others in their search too.

So my journey begins, off on my quest for the balls of yeast!

Hi BlackPriest,

have you tried the Richmond Chinese Grocery store?

Suite 20-8251
Westminster Hwy
Richmond, BC

I found mine there; but I had a bilingual friend with me to ask for them. No freakin clue what he said, though.

 

[GunnyB]

Hi everyone,

I would like to share what limited experience I have had with making rice wine using the helpful guidance provided here by both Sonofgrok and Saramc. I was never able to source the elusive yeast balls locally, and resorted to ordering them from an online source (PosharpStore). They had two varieties from which to choose and I went with the Golden Lion Sweet Rice Yeast. These came in a 12 ounce bag with 10g yeast balls. The first batch I made was using Calrose rice cooked in my rice cooker at a ratio of 1 cup dry rice to 2 cups water. The 2 cups of dry rice was soaked for an hour, rinsed thoroughly and into the cooker it went. After the rice had cooled, I mixed in 2 crushed yeast balls and put it in the gallon jar just as others have done. After a few days there was liquid in the bottom and the jar had a slightly sour/yeasty smell. A small sample revealed a corresponding sour taste that while not unpleasant it was certainly not sweet.

After 3 weeks the wine was harvested and the end result had a very strong sour/alcoholic taste. I figured that it was an infection of some sort and ditched that batch. The next go around I used Thai/Jasmine rice and it had the same sour taste. I was starting to think it was the yeast balls that I had purchased because since the writing was Chinese or Korean or Vietnamese, I had no idea what was contained in those little packages of yeast balls. On a whim, and because my rice cooker has a tendency to boil over, I made another 2 batches using the Calrose and Thai/Jasmine but this time I used a ratio of 1:1 dry rice to water.

Cooking two cups of each rice variety resulted in some very sticky rice that had great definition and texture. I mixed ground up yeast balls but this time used 1 ball for the 2 cups of rice. These two batches went into two separate gallon containers and put into the bonus room which sits at around 72F. After 4 days (today) I opened them each up and was greeted with an entirely different smell than the first time around. Both smelled sweet with a hint of vanilla but the Thai/Jasmine was much more aromatic. Duh, its Jasmine. I had a little taste of each and they were both very sweet and awesome.

The first batches were milky from the get go, but these were crystal clear. Now I know that it's still early in the ferment but this was an excellent sign of things to come. There was a bit of fuzz on one of the samples but I feel okay so far...

The whole point of this is that I am not the only one who experienced a sour product whereas others had something much sweeter. So if you have been using the typical ratio of 1:2 rice to water, try 1:1.5 or 1:1 and see if your results are different.

 

[camface]

grok pointed out that his wife got worse results using more water. I wonder if using some white flour as a munchy for the yeast and to help soak up excess water would help?

 

[SFGiantsFan925]

So do these look like the right ones?? They were in a big bag called "rice cake". Ingredients are rice, water. That's it. No listing of yeast. Want to confirm before I start making the rice.

 

[BlackPriest]

Hi BlackPriest,

have you tried the Richmond Chinese Grocery store?

Suite 20-8251
Westminster Hwy
Richmond, BC

I found mine there; but I had a bilingual friend with me to ask for them. No freakin clue what he said, though.

Hi unferth

Yes I found some just today actually. Funny after going into 4 different places and having the answers ranging from never heard of that, or looking at me like I was crazy, the one that I went to today the lady pointed to a jar right in front of me at the cash register said "right here" lol. Even funnier to the poster above me SF, those are exactly the ones I got. Same packaging same characters. So either we are both in luck or both not.

I did my first batch today 4 cups dry, 8 cups of water.... Reading above maybe I shouldn't have used as much water, wish I had read that post first but what the heck, 4 cups of rice and .45 cents of yeast balls not to big of a deal if it doesn't work.

 

[WesleyS]

So do these look like the right ones?? They were in a big bag called "rice cake". Ingredients are rice, water. That's it. No listing of yeast. Want to confirm before I start making the rice.

I think those are right. The main outer bag looks different than the ones I bought, but the inner individual bags are identical.

 

[SFGiantsFan925]

Hi unferth

Yes I found some just today actually. Funny after going into 4 different places and having the answers ranging from never heard of that, or looking at me like I was crazy, the one that I went to today the lady pointed to a jar right in front of me at the cash register said "right here" lol. Even funnier to the poster above me SF, those are exactly the ones I got. Same packaging same characters. So either we are both in luck or both not.

I did my first batch today 4 cups dry, 8 cups of water.... Reading above maybe I shouldn't have used as much water, wish I had read that post first but what the heck, 4 cups of rice and .45 cents of yeast balls not to big of a deal if it doesn't work.

Wel, I am going to give it a try tonight. I doesnt say "yeast" anywhere on the package, but it looks like the same things people are using. Ill be a guinea pig They were super cheap. A bag of a lot of balls (hahaha) was only $4

I think those are right. The main outer bag looks different than the ones I bought, but the inner individual bags are identical.

Ill give it a try. Thanks for the response. Time to soak and cook the rice!

 

[Tamarlane]

So do these look like the right ones?? They were in a big bag called "rice cake". Ingredients are rice, water. That's it. No listing of yeast. Want to confirm before I start making the rice.

Those are the ones I used. Worked like a charm.

 

[kosciel4]

I harvested one of my two large batches yesterday that I started on Jan 22nd. 3.1 gallons yielded fifteen 750ml bottles.
I flavored each bottled with between 3-6oz of fresh juiced fruits. I am trying to determine how much juice works best. So far after about 22 hours I have noticed almost every bottle has separated 70/30 with the darker color making up the majority on the bottom.

 

[kosciel4]

Interested in trying this, haven't read the whole thread yet. I'd like to try to make a large batch to have my efforts yield more. Are people having success doing large batches? Like five gallons? I have two rice cookers at home so I could make it in there, or else a five gallon pot or even eleven gallon pot and turkey fryer.

I made around 28 pounds (dry sweet rice) and filled one five gallon container to 3.2 gallons and the other to 4. I am at 27 and they are both very alcoholic, I didn't have any mold and I even added 1.5 pounds of extra sugar to the 4 gallon and it is still bubbling about 6 times a minute still.

 

[SFGiantsFan925]

Those are the ones I used. Worked like a charm.

Awesome!!!

Soaked the rice for about 1.5 hours
Cooked it 1:1, once water was absorbed, left it covered and let it sit for about 20 minutes to "steam" it.
Spread out my rice to cool on some sheet pans

3 cups Sweet Rice
4 cups Thai Jasmine Rice

Planning on using 3 very large mason jars.
1st jar: All Jasmine Rice + yeast
2nd Jar: All Sweet rice + yeast
3rd jar: Combo Sweet and Jasmine + yeast

I want to see if there is any difference in flavor profile, and then go from there. The wife has been helping, and I think she is more excited than I am haha. Now if we could only fast forward a few weeks. Cant wait to try it!!

How far is everyone going in sanitizing?? I started StarSan'ing everything after cooking the rice. Should I have sanned everything??

 

[BlackPriest]

I made around 28 pounds (dry sweet rice) and filled one five gallon container to 3.2 gallons and the other to 4. I am at 27 and they are both very alcoholic, I didn't have any mold and I even added 1.5 pounds of extra sugar to the 4 gallon and it is still bubbling about 6 times a minute still.

I call that going big or going home . I guess that means you are at day 27? So you will get to sample pretty soon then, I hope it works out well for you. With that amount wow, going to have some fun times I'm sure... You and the neighborhood lol.

 

[BlackPriest]

Awesome!!!

Soaked the rice for about 1.5 hours
Cooked it 1:1, once water was absorbed, left it covered and let it sit for about 20 minutes to "steam" it.
Spread out my rice to cool on some sheet pans

3 cups Sweet Rice
4 cups Thai Jasmine Rice

Planning on using 3 very large mason jars.
1st jar: All Jasmine Rice + yeast
2nd Jar: All Sweet rice + yeast
3rd jar: Combo Sweet and Jasmine + yeast

I want to see if there is any difference in flavor profile, and then go from there. The wife has been helping, and I think she is more excited than I am haha. Now if we could only fast forward a few weeks. Cant wait to try it!!

How far is everyone going in sanitizing?? I started StarSan'ing everything after cooking the rice. Should I have sanned everything??

I star sanned everything that touched the rice ie jar, spoon, baking tray I used for cooling it ect, but that's because I assumed I should, not sure what the others have done.

 

[nhamilto40]

Free offer: PM me and I will send you a packet of "Angel Rice Leaven" via first class mail. First come first serve. According to the directions each packet should be enough for 2 - 2.5 kg of dry rice (approx. 9 - 12 US cups dry rice). Limit 20 packets total; one per account.

I will reply via PM and include a paypal address for those who want to cover my cost ($1). Payment is totally optional.

http://en.angelyeast.com/product/17179.html

 

[SFGiantsFan925]

Here is the start of what I hope will be some purely delicious rice wine!!!

 

[trbig]

I'd just like to know where you got that rice leaven, since one packet won't do for me, though I appreciate your offer.

 

[nhamilto40]

Olive Supermarket
8041 Olive Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63130

 

[trbig]

Olive Supermarket
8041 Olive Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63130

Oh.... I was hoping you'd have a place online for it. The only place I can find it is sites that offer them in bulk directly from China.

I go through St. Louis on bike trips once or twice a year though... May have to keep this in mind. lol. Or... just stick with the yeast balls and beating up my coffee grinder.

 

[saramc]

trbig....look them up and call them, they may be nice and ship some to you. Or simply take him up on his offer.

You know, I bet we could list on eBay for reasonable price and share the love. Would not make a fortune, but for those with easy access it would be something to offer.

 

[nhamilto40]

For those who want to contact my source: http://stlouissupermarket.com/contact_us

This place is owned by first generation Chinese immigrants so be prepared for broken English.

18 packets left on the Angel Rice Leaven giveaway.

edit: now 16 left

edit 2: 14 left

 

[kosciel4]

My 15 completed bottles

 

[lustreking]

I got yeast balls and rice today. What I bought was labeled "Sweet Rice" that's the right kind of rice, correct?

 

[SFGiantsFan925]

I got yeast balls and rice today. What I bought was labeled "Sweet Rice" that's the right kind of rice, correct?

From reading the whole thread, I am pretty sure this is the most popular type to use. I tried Thai Jasmine and also the sweet rice. I am pretty sure you could use either. Someone even used CalRose rice with good results. Should be fine with the sweet rice.