Making Traditional rice Wine. Cheap, Fun, and Different

[sonofgrok]

I processed yesterday. Its delicious! Im really pleased.

The wife was suspicious because of the rice glop, but when I finally convinced her to try it she was shocked how much like our favorite sake it tasted.

thanks sonofgrok.

Based on the okra mead video, I can picture your wife being all snide and sarcastic... then eating her own words! Ha ha

 

[TBBrewer]

Seems like a lot of fluid early.

 

[sonofgrok]

Seems like a lot of fluid early.

I would agree but it doesn't look like bad fluid and the rice mass looks fine. Albeit it takes mine 1-2 weeks to look like that.

 

[elkshadow]

Well, it's got the spores on top and I poured a little from under the glob last night and it tastes good. It smells like rice and tastes very good. I thought it would have a hot alcohol taste but it doesn't. pretty fun.

 

[billpaustin]

My experiences so far: used 2 cups of glutinous rice per 1/2 gal jar. One yeast ball each jar.

After a week, it had about 2 inches of liquid, no spores (I never get infections). I bottled it in a Grolsch-type bottle, and put it in the fridge. I burped it every couple of days, and now opened it after a week in the fridge. It had carbonated to about like ginger ale! And very sweet.

Now I opened another jar, after it fermented for two weeks. It is quite a bit more alcoholic! A good drink can warm your tummy I can't wait for next weekend, when they will have fermented for 3 weeks.

 

[wyoast]

I started 4 cups of Sushi Rice and 2 yeast balls yesterday, was a little concerned because the rice was pretty sticky but oh well. Tonight though, in spots where I can see the yeast concentrated pretty good, I am seeing a lot of little black specks in those concentrated areas... Is that normal? or has something gone wrong here? I would post pics but Im afraid the black specs wouldn't come through in the pictures. Any thoughts?

 

[aiptasia]

Here's what I have to report:

When I steamed up my original batch of rice, I added 6 cups to the pot to steam which yielded enough steamed sushi rice to fill two of my 1 gallon Target generic cracker jars. The samples i'd taken off of the jars were poured off at one week and tasted fantastic. I took two four ounce samples off each jar so I lost four ounces due to taste testing directly from the jars.

Two days ago, I pressed the lees by emptying the remainder of each jar into a sanitized paint strainer sieve and squeezed the heck out of them into a big sanitized bowl (star san). The yield of rice wine to the original 3 cups of dry kokuho rice was approx. 30 ounces after squeezing the lees. I was hugely impressed with the yield and the conversion factor based on the miniscule amount of rice solids left in the bag after squeezing (about 3/4 cup) and the fact that I filled a 32 ounce growler full of rice wine. The squeezing was performed on Friday morning into an empty sanitized swing top bottle which I stuck in my fridge. I had to run down to Tampa to raid Cigar City Brewing for a 2013 Rum Barrel Aged Hunahpu Imperial Stout and two bottles of 2013 Cognac Aged Imperial Sweet Stout. Both are now happily in my possession.

Tonight, I decided to sample the cold rice wine to see how it's doing. Not surprising that it hissed upon opening the gasket on the swing top bottle. It poured a rich milky white and it had all of the amazing fruity alcoholic flavor i'd described in previous posts, but also had a mild carbonation quality to it. This was a pleasant surprise and tingled like a rice wine champagne.

Now, I still have another batch ready to squeeze. I'd been letting it sit another week as an experiment to see how the alcohol and flavors develop over time. I think with the second batch, I may want to pasteurize it. I do like the carbonated first batch and will drink it fast so no worries, but batch #2 is going to be pasteurized per tips in this thread to make it a more traditional rice wine experience.

 

[aiptasia]

But do you think doing so would make it less likely for me to have "rice champagne" (which doesnt sound all that nice to be honest) and give me a more even product?

Yes. I would go ahead and pasteurize it when you are happy with the flavor of the rice wine. At one week, mine was delicious, fruity and delicious. I squeezed the lees in one of my two batches and put it in a 32 ounce swing top bottle. I stuck that bottle in the fridge for 48 hours while I ran to Tampa for the weekend and it carbonated (slightly) but still retained the exact same flavor. If you really want to preserve the "still" state of the rice wine, I recommend pasteurizing it when you're happy with the taste.

Granted, I have one more batch in another jar i'm letting go to the 2 week mark just to judge the difference between one week and two week's age. This second batch, I will most definitely pasteurize to have a nice "still" rice wine.

Ok so here's what I got after 3 days. Seems like a lot of liquid in a short amount of time compared to other posts in this thread. If this fairly normal? I made it Tuesday night, went camping for a couple nights and came home to this. There was a faint smell in my kitchen that I rather liked.

Look OK? Thanks.

It looks totally normal IMHO. Your rice is floating on the liquid, which mine didn't but then again I had a lot more rice squeezed into my jars. Pour a taste test and let us know how it is.

 

[Leadgolem]

I'll get back to this when I can get to my scale. We just moved and the box it's in is in the bedroom where SWMBO is sleeping and has to be up at 6 for work. They are one inch diameter I know that. 2 cups dry rice and probably 1.75 balls. There are two balls in a package and i used almost all of one package.

I'll weigh my balls tomorrow and report back.

Well, it's got the spores on top and I poured a little from under the glob last night and it tastes good. It smells like rice and tastes very good. I thought it would have a hot alcohol taste but it doesn't. pretty fun.

Ok, that's kinda what I was thinking. I think the package you are describing has 10 balls in it and is 4 oz. So you added about .7 oz of rice yeast balls. I usually add about .33 oz to 1 1/2 cups dry rice. That's measuring cups, not the "cup" measurement that's used by the rice cooker. So your pitch rate was close to twice what I've been using. I've been seeing that level of conversion at around day 14.

I'm not surprised that you aren't tasting much alcohol. I doubt to much of the sugar has fermented at this point.

Glad you like it so far, and as always, have nice day.

 

[WesleyS]

I started 4 cups of Sushi Rice and 2 yeast balls yesterday, was a little concerned because the rice was pretty sticky but oh well. Tonight though, in spots where I can see the yeast concentrated pretty good, I am seeing a lot of little black specks in those concentrated areas... Is that normal? or has something gone wrong here? I would post pics but Im afraid the black specs wouldn't come through in the pictures. Any thoughts?

I got the same black specks surrounding the bigger chunks of yeast balls as well. My batches have turned out just fine.

 

[Leadgolem]

Trust the fungus.

 

[elkshadow]

I just tasted it. Holy yeast balls Batman is that good. Sweet tart and fruity all at once. I'll be getting a bigger jar tomorrow.

My balls weigh about 11 grams each. A package of two weighs 22 grams each and I'm thinking the little bag they're in weighs a half gram. I weighed every one and they were between 21 and 23. I used about 17 grams on those two quart jars I have going. Today I found the ultimate rice wine vessel at the thrift shop. I just cooked up 4 (dry) cups using the rinse and cook with 1.25 cups water per dry cup of rice method. It's not as gooey as last time. Still individual kernels and it's just slightly undercooked. I resisted the urge to add more water per the instructions and comments in this thread. Behold:



Beer bottle for scale. I'm going early to get a couple more paint strainer bags from HD. I'm thinking I'll put the bag inside that awesome pitcher thing and when it's done I'll just lift the bag of goo out and use the tap to pour it into bottles. I think I saw a similar setup somewhere in this thread.

Good clean fun...

 

[elkshadow]

Ok, that's kinda what I was thinking. I think the package you are describing has 10 balls in it and is 4 oz. So you added about .7 oz of rice yeast balls. I usually add about .33 oz to 1 1/2 cups dry rice. That's measuring cups, not the "cup" measurement that's used by the rice cooker. So your pitch rate was close to twice what I've been using. I've been seeing that level of conversion at around day 14.

I'm not surprised that you aren't tasting much alcohol. I doubt to much of the sugar has fermented at this point.

Glad you like it so far, and as always, have nice day.

Thanks. I'm going to use one of these jars as a test and taste off it every couple days to get more familiar with this process. The other one I'm leaving alone to the 3 week mark. And the big jar above I may tap a little at 1 week, 2 weeks, etc... again to get a feel for it.

 

[JuanMoore]

Finally found red yeast rice today, as well as two other types of yeast balls. So far I've only used sweet rice, but I picked up 25# of jasmine rice with the yeast balls. Time for some side by side by side experimenting.

The batch with brown sweet rice I started two days ago already has liquid near the top of the rice, and is smelling heavenly.

 

[elkshadow]

I just took a shot from the "test jar." Absolutely delicious. I don't taste alcohol. Maybe there isnt any yet. Sweet and fruity with a hint of sour/tart. I love it. I can't believe it's just rice and yeast. What fun!

 

[JuanMoore]

Ok, that's kinda what I was thinking. I think the package you are describing has 10 balls in it and is 4 oz. So you added about .7 oz of rice yeast balls. I usually add about .33 oz to 1 1/2 cups dry rice. That's measuring cups, not the "cup" measurement that's used by the rice cooker. So your pitch rate was close to twice what I've been using. I've been seeing that level of conversion at around day 14.

I'm guessing it mostly has to do with the rice. I've been using about half the yeast you are, one 10g ball (.35 oz) for every 4 rice cooker cups of dry rice (3 US cups), and I'm seeing similar conversion to elkshadow's pics in 4-5 days. I'm using sweet rice though, same as elkshadow. Or it could be the different yeast balls. I just started a couple small batches with 3 types of yeast balls, so I guess we'll see in a few days if it's the yeast or the rice.

 

[Leadgolem]

I'm guessing it mostly has to do with the rice. I've been using about half the yeast you are, one 10g ball (.35 oz) for every 4 rice cooker cups of dry rice (3 US cups), and I'm seeing similar conversion to elkshadow's pics in 4-5 days. I'm using sweet rice though, same as elkshadow. Or it could be the different yeast balls. I just started a couple small batches with 3 types of yeast balls, so I guess we'll see in a few days if it's the yeast or the rice.

Interesting, let us know how things come out please.

 

[elkshadow]

I'm guessing it mostly has to do with the rice. I've been using about half the yeast you are, one 10g ball (.35 oz) for every 4 rice cooker cups of dry rice (3 US cups), and I'm seeing similar conversion to elkshadow's pics in 4-5 days. I'm using sweet rice though, same as elkshadow. Or it could be the different yeast balls. I just started a couple small batches with 3 types of yeast balls, so I guess we'll see in a few days if it's the yeast or the rice.

Good to know. Thanks. I let the 4 cups cool over night and I'll be pitching today. I'll post the results in a couple days.

 

[honreth]

about a week ago I posted a question about using just RYR and never got a response so.... In light of not getting a response I am going to fire up a batch and try it... Hope all goes well.


Otherwise I'm stuck with 5# Sushi rice that I'll have to find something else to do with it.

 

[Leadgolem]

about a week ago I posted a question about using just RYR and never got a response so.... In light of not getting a response I am going to fire up a batch and try it... Hope all goes well.


Otherwise I'm stuck with 5# Sushi rice that I'll have to find something else to do with it.

Huh, I must not have seen it. The batch I made with just RYR did not yield well. It yielded just about 1/2 what the RYR+rice yeast ball batches usually do. RYR is nice stuff, but it needs some help from the rice yeast balls in order to get a good conversion rate. It tasted good though.

 

[Newsman]

So I'm harvesting my rice wine that I started approximately three weeks ago (give or take a day.) It's VERY thick... almost the consistency of heavy whipping cream. Is this normal? I used 5# of Thai Jasmine rice with about 4 (I think) yeast balls and about a cup of RYR all mixed up. I cooked the rice in a rice cooker with approximately 1.25:1 water:rice mix. It smells VERY sweet as well. So far, I've harvested about a quart (rough guess) of wine. I have the lees straining, dripping into a large mixing bowl.

 

[Leadgolem]

So I'm harvesting my rice wine that I started approximately three weeks ago (give or take a day.) It's VERY thick... almost the consistency of heavy whipping cream. Is this normal? I used 5# of Thai Jasmine rice with about 4 (I think) yeast balls and about a cup of RYR all mixed up. I cooked the rice in a rice cooker with approximately 1.25:1 water:rice mix. It smells VERY sweet as well. So far, I've harvested about a quart (rough guess) of wine. I have the lees straining, dripping into a large mixing bowl.

It should be thicker then water, but no where near gravy. How long did you let the rice cool before adding the yeast balls and the RYR?

 

[Newsman]

It should be thicker then water, but no where near gravy. How long did you let the rice cool before adding the yeast balls and the RYR?

Not sure... I think it was warm to the touch, but nowhere near "hot" as best I can recall.

 

[Leadgolem]

Not sure... I think it was warm to the touch, but nowhere near "hot" as best I can recall.

Sounds like your rice may have been to hot. I had a batch I didn't let cool that was a complete failure. The rice didn't really saccharify, so I couldn't get anything drinkable out of it.

Here's a picture of the glop that came out of that batch.

 

[Newsman]

Sounds like your rice may have been to hot. I had a batch I didn't let cool that was a complete failure. The rice didn't really saccharify, so I couldn't get anything drinkable out of it.

Here's a picture of the glop that came out of that batch.

Hmm.... OK. Well, shoot... I may dump that stuff and start over on a small scale... maybe one bag of the vietnamese yeast (about 10 or so mini-balls / pack) and maybe 1/4 cup RYR for a small (2#) package of Jasmine rice. That sound about the right?

 

[Ostomo517]

Hmm.... OK. Well, shoot... I may dump that stuff and start over on a small scale... maybe one bag of the vietnamese yeast (about 10 or so mini-balls / pack) and maybe 1/4 cup RYR for a small (2#) package of Jasmine rice. That sound about the right?

If your using the small yeast balls (12 in a pk) I have used 1 per cup of dry rice with great success for a while now.

 

[Leadgolem]

Hmm.... OK. Well, shoot... I may dump that stuff and start over on a small scale... maybe one bag of the vietnamese yeast (about 10 or so mini-balls / pack) and maybe 1/4 cup RYR for a small (2#) package of Jasmine rice. That sound about the right?

I'm not sure how large those rice yeast balls are. 2# of rice should be about 5 cups of dry rice. I've been using 1, 1/3 of an ounce, yeast ball per 1 1/2 cups of dry rice. So I would probably use 4 for the 2lb batch. I error on the high side for pitching. For the RYR I've been using 1/8th the volume of the dry rice. Or, 1 tbs per 1/2 cup of dry rice. Or for sanities sake, a scant 3/4 cup in this case.

I've also taken to cooking my rice the day before I need it, and leaving it to cool in a food grade bucket overnight. That way I know it's cool enough to pitch.

 

[elkshadow]

I may have just way underpitched this bigger batch. I use about 17 grams for 4 cups.

If you're balls are 10 G also, you'd be pitching ~37 grams per 1.5 cups? Am I reading it wrong or are your balls smaller than mine?

 

[Ostomo517]

I'm not sure how large those rice yeast balls are. 2# of rice should be about 5 cups of dry rice. I've been using 1 1/3 of an ounce yeast ball per 1 1/2 cups of dry rice. So I would probably use 4 for the 2lb batch. I error on the high side for pitching. For the RYR I've been using 1/8th the volume of the dry rice. Or, 1 tbs per 1/2 cup of dry rice. Or for sanities sake, a scant 3/4 cup in this case.

I've also taken to cooking my rice the day before I need it, and leaving it to cool in a food grade bucket overnight. That way I know it's cool enough to pitch.

The small ones are about a gram each

 

[JuanMoore]

I may have just way underpitched this bigger batch. I use about 17 grams for 4 cups.

If you're balls are 10 G also, you'd be pitching ~37 grams per 1.5 cups? Am I reading it wrong or are your balls smaller than mine?

I think that's a typo and should read 1/3 oz, not 1 1/3 oz. He mentioned earlier that he uses .33 oz per 1.5 cups of rice.