Making Traditional rice Wine. Cheap, Fun, and Different

[edds5p0]

Someone has to be a chemist with access to a gas chromatographer. I have access to a GC but unfortunately it isn't really mine so only for official lab work lol.

I have been considering it for my next batch since I operate two in my lab. It will be a matter of getting some down time to try it.

 

[BIGREDIOWAN]

This definately sounds like something I want to try..........awesome thread!

 

[pkrath84]

Here she is tonight, 4 days later. Nice fluid development, white mold formed on top, rice solids floating on the liquid. I've been letting her wrapped inside of a brown grocery bag on top of the refrigerator.

 

[TheDemonSlick]

I was misinformed, and in turn I misinformed You..... Earlier I said that Red Yeast Rice didn't actually contain any yeast. I was wrong. Apparently, Monascus Purpureas Is itself in fact a strain of Yeast.
Monascus Pupureas Went Yeast. Sooo... That's Different. Apologies for sayin stuff I only thought I knew.
Here's a reference.
http://www.biyotekder.hacettepe.edu.tr/f.pdf

 

[ZClum]

Has anyone tried crashing this in a freezer til ice forms, then skimming out the ice and racking into another container? Its a trick used in "Accidental" Cider making to improve Clarity and boosting the ABV by removing solid ice and leaving more of the Alcohol behind. I just stumbled upon this Thread this morning and haven't had a chance to make any yet.

 

[jak1010]

I was misinformed, and in turn I misinformed You..... Earlier I said that Red Yeast Rice didn't actually contain any yeast. I was wrong. Apparently, Monascus Purpureas Is itself in fact a strain of Yeast.
Monascus Pupureas Went Yeast. Sooo... That's Different. Apologies for sayin stuff I only thought I knew.
Here's a reference.
http://www.biyotekder.hacettepe.edu.tr/f.pdf

That's good to know...I made two batches. One the method from the original post and one described by saramc with the RYR and golf ball method. Both are one week in and look great.

I only used a small portion of the RYR and the rest is still in the bag not very protected from much. Since this stuff is added later in the process, should I be concerned about getting infections in future batches?

 

[TheDemonSlick]

Has anyone tried crashing this in a freezer til ice forms, then skimming out the ice and racking into another container? Its a trick used in "Accidental" Cider making to improve Clarity and boosting the ABV by removing solid ice and leaving more of the Alcohol behind. I just stumbled upon this Thread this morning and haven't had a chance to make any yet.

If you want to freeze distill it, put it into plastic water jugs and freeze it solid. Then thaw it out upside down over a collection container. The first stuff to melt and drip out will be your ethanol. You can let as much or as little as you want of the other stuff into your collection container.

 

[Accidic]

I thought Monascus Purureas was the mold that broke down starches and Monascus Pileus was the mold that broke down sugars (IE reacted like a yeast). Both should be present in RYR. Also, the latter one is very slow. I thought that was the reasoning behind adding another yeast?

 

[TheDemonSlick]

I read a lot of articles on monascus, some of them really obscure, before I found the article I referenced, which said it was a strain of yeast. I didn't find anything about the pileus, but I wasn't looking. Aren't molds fungus, like yeast is?
*
Edit- looked it up, all molds are fungi, but not all fungi are molds.

 

[sonofgrok]

So... just an FYI. I have a beautiful batch going right now. At one week, It still looked dry (patience people). Week two it is just about perfect. Nice cap with white mold spores. Very very good looking liquid buildup about 3/4 up the way up the rice. It is looking quite delicious.

Brew it... leave it alone... then enjoy it. All this opening and smelling and stirring and worrying business is very much uncalled for. I can't wait to drink this batch.

 

[Ostomo517]

So... just an FYI. I have a beautiful batch going right now. At one week, It still looked dry (patience people). Week two it is just about perfect. Nice cap with white mold spores. Very very good looking liquid buildup about 3/4 up the way up the rice. It is looking quite delicious.

Brew it... leave it alone... then enjoy it. All this opening and smelling and stirring and worrying business is very much uncalled for. I can't wait to drink this batch.

I agree, I just leave it alone for 3 weeks aside from a peek or two

 

[Accidic]

I use a high shelf in the pantry. I don't touch, just look. My cheesecloth is only 10 grade so I'm not about to screw with it.

Think I'm gonna have to go to a cloth store for muslin this time. Last strain was a nightmare.

 

[craigbrew]

Has anyone put fruit in the mix while fermenting? I have some frozen blueberries that I could put in and see how that goes.

 

[Accidic]

Sorry, was M. Pilous, not pileus. My bad.

 

[sonofgrok]

I use a high shelf in the pantry. I don't touch, just look. My cheesecloth is only 10 grade so I'm not about to screw with it.

Think I'm gonna have to go to a cloth store for muslin this time. Last strain was a nightmare.

I have gone to using one of those nylon grain/hop bags and a juice pitcher for straining.

 

[Ostomo517]

I have gone to using one of those nylon grain/hop bags and a juice pitcher for straining.

Paint strainer bags work well for me

 

[sonofgrok]

Has anyone put fruit in the mix while fermenting? I have some frozen blueberries that I could put in and see how that goes.

I would be worried about fungi in the fruit skin messing up the ferment in the early stages. I am more comfortable flavoring with fruit after.

That being said, there is nothing wrong with giving it a try...

 

[SFGiantsFan925]

So I havn't seen too much about harvesting this stuff. I finally made a batch that is without acetone and is ready to harvest.

Is there any concern about the mold on top? I have a good layer of the white mold/ funghi on top of my rice. And a good amount of liquid on the bottom.

I am thinking to just grab a large piece of voile, put it into a pitcher, dump the contents of my jar inside (rice, liquid, everything), lift, squeeze and harvest most if not all the liquid inside. Does this seem right?

Then just add to a sanitized bottle and refrigerate. Sound alright?

 

[Leadgolem]

So I havn't seen too much about harvesting this stuff. I finally made a batch that is without acetone and is ready to harvest.

Is there any concern about the mold on top? I have a good layer of the white mold/ funghi on top of my rice. And a good amount of liquid on the bottom.

I am thinking to just grab a large piece of voile, put it into a pitcher, dump the contents of my jar inside (rice, liquid, everything), lift, squeeze and harvest most if not all the liquid inside. Does this seem right?

Then just add to a sanitized bottle and refrigerate. Sound alright?

Sounds about right. I have a white tea towel I use. I put a colander in a bowl, then the tea towel. Pour everything into it. Then lift the starch mass in the towel out of the colander. Massage the starch mass to extract the rest of the liquid. Squeeze firmly. Then discard the starch mass, and wring the towel into the bowl.

I use that tea towel for making cheese too, it's got the right weave to let the liquid pass through without being to weak. I also find it helpful to wet the towel down and wring it out before pouring the rice wine into it. Otherwise it's so dry it retains a fair amount of wine.

 

[sonofgrok]

So I havn't seen too much about harvesting this stuff. I finally made a batch that is without acetone and is ready to harvest.

Is there any concern about the mold on top? I have a good layer of the white mold/ funghi on top of my rice. And a good amount of liquid on the bottom.

I am thinking to just grab a large piece of voile, put it into a pitcher, dump the contents of my jar inside (rice, liquid, everything), lift, squeeze and harvest most if not all the liquid inside. Does this seem right?

Then just add to a sanitized bottle and refrigerate. Sound alright?

I don't worry about the mold when squeezing.

 

[SFGiantsFan925]

^ Thanks guys. Just got home from work, and am going to harvest today. Cant wait to finally try it! Cheers!

 

[BadMrFrosty]

Instead of squeezing it by hand I put the mush inside a cloth then squeeze it between two plates. Much faster that way.

 

[lustreking]

Is there any concern about the mold on top? I have a good layer of the white mold/ funghi on top of my rice. And a good amount of liquid on the bottom.

I'm only on my third batch, so I'm no expert. On the previous two, I was able to pull the mold layer off in one piece before I harvested. I doubt that it was necessary, but it was easy enough to do.

 

[SFGiantsFan925]

Okay, so I finally got around to harvesting today. It has officially been 24 days since it was made. It was the soonest that I could get to it and have time to harvest it.

I started with 3 large mason jars, and I am pretty sure I used 6 cups of rice, hoping for about 2 cups in each jar. These are the I think 1/2 gallon jars.

So a quick review of process:

Soaked rice overnight after rinsing off.
Cooked rice at a 1:1 ratio. Cooked most of the water out of it, then covered it and let it sit and cool.
Mixed the crushed yeast into the pot of rice.
Put rice into mason jars, lid on tight with a paper towel in between
Placed in a dark cabinet above my stove for the 24 days.

I was able to harvest and get 3 smaller mason jars, alost full. Each mason jar has about 20- 24 ounces of wine in each. Making the total of almost 60 oz. of wine! Not bad!

As far as tasting notes go, I put it into the fridge to cool a bit before trying. It started to seperate, but I mixed it before trying. It has a pretty "hot" nose, with a strong alcohol smell, with a slightly sweet, yeasty smell after. The taste is rather tangy, not super smooth, with a bit of a punch to it. Not sweet at all.

Does that seem right? I dont really know what it should taste like. The wife tasted it and i should have had a camera for her face Priceless. Its not very easy to drink. Should I back sweeten it? Not sure what I really made haha.

Here is a picture for fun. The large mason jar that is empty is what I made it in. The 3 jars of wine of course, and a bottle of Zombie Dust for scale.

 

[sonofgrok]

Okay, so I finally got around to harvesting today. It has officially been 24 days since it was made. It was the soonest that I could get to it and have time to harvest it.

I started with 3 large mason jars, and I am pretty sure I used 6 cups of rice, hoping for about 2 cups in each jar. These are the I think 1/2 gallon jars.

So a quick review of process:

Soaked rice overnight after rinsing off.
Cooked rice at a 1:1 ratio. Cooked most of the water out of it, then covered it and let it sit and cool.
Mixed the crushed yeast into the pot of rice.
Put rice into mason jars, lid on tight with a paper towel in between
Placed in a dark cabinet above my stove for the 24 days.

I was able to harvest and get 3 smaller mason jars, alost full. Each mason jar has about 20- 24 ounces of wine in each. Making the total of almost 60 oz. of wine! Not bad!

As far as tasting notes go, I put it into the fridge to cool a bit before trying. It started to seperate, but I mixed it before trying. It has a pretty "hot" nose, with a strong alcohol smell, with a slightly sweet, yeasty smell after. The taste is rather tangy, not super smooth, with a bit of a punch to it. Not sweet at all.

Does that seem right? I dont really know what it should taste like. The wife tasted it and i should have had a camera for her face Priceless. Its not very easy to drink. Should I back sweeten it? Not sure what I really made haha.

Here is a picture for fun. The large mason jar that is empty is what I made it in. The 3 jars of wine of course, and a bottle of Zombie Dust for scale.

It shouldn't be hard to drink at all. What kind of rice did you use? I would say back sweeten with some juice until its drinkable and then try again!

 

[SFGiantsFan925]

It shouldn't be hard to drink at all. What kind of rice did you use? I would say back sweeten with some juice until its drinkable and then try again!

Thats kind of what I was thinking. I used all Jasmine rice. After 2 tries at this, I am kind of disappointed at it still not working out. Not sure what it is. Im thinking its the yeast balls I am using. Ill see if I can find a different one.

I did try adding a little sugar to it, just to see if it would make a difference, and it makes it a bit more drinkable. Also, the cleared portion of it is more drinkable, than if you mix it all up.

 

[TheDemonSlick]

GiantsFan, I noticed you got the yellow, can I ask what yeast cake you used? I have a theory the southeast asian ones might be more predisposed to yellow but not sure. I tink the sweetness has to do with the ferment time, the sweetness is sugar... more sweetness more sugars, less means more booze... most of my other ferments work that way. Pastuerize and backsweeten it with a simple syrup or fruit juice, and let the Missus have another go at it.

 

[Leadgolem]

Your soak might have been a little long too. I usually soak mine for an hour, then rinse in cold water. You might have ended up with more water absorbed in the rice then you might think. The extra water might account for the tang.

 

[Tabb]

I have few more days till the 21 day harvest day. I really want to pitch some of this on to Asian pear and some on to plum. I'd like to put the fruit in the bottle. Should I pasteurize the whole batch then cut up fruit and put fruit in freezer then put in bottle then bottle pasteurized rice wine on to it? Or should I divide pasteurize some bottle that. Transfer to two buckets some with each kind of fruit?
I need advice.

 

[SIXFOOTER]

Having trouble locating red yeast rice out here. Anyone got a link to an on line source?