Making Traditional rice Wine. Cheap, Fun, and Different

[sonofgrok]

Why cant you just pasteurize to end fermentation?

You can

 

[natedoggaz]

Theres the answer then =}

No need to add any more chemicals... thanks to our pal Louie... =}

 

[Leadgolem]

Yup, potassium sorbate is used to prevent yeast reproduction. Any yeast that is alive and fermenting will continue to do so. It's effectiveness is also dependent on things like the PH of the brew. Potassium metabisulfite does kill yeast, but is also effected by a few chemical factors in the brew.

IMO, if you want to stop fermentation pasteurization is preferable. It doesn't require any additional chemicals and is very reliable. If you are worried about compromising your flavor, decrease the temperature of the pasteurization and increase the time. Most flavor damage is done due to higher temperatures used in commercial rapid pasteurization machines. Also, sake is routinely pasteurized as that will also kill any lacto or acetobacter that might be lurking in the brew. That makes me doubt that it presents a flavor problem for rice wine.

/me Climbs off soapbox.

 

[anonon2]

So... I like the idea, and I am going to try it plain and simple but of course I am already planning on how to screw with it!

I can get the qu yeast balls locally and I know that I need the enzymes they contain, but I was also thinking of simply throwing in a handful of 2-row and letting sit at 150 degrees for a while... same/similar enzymes, but a different approach and might lend a more beer-like flavor.

For that matter, what about tossing a few hops in the jar when starting the ferment? Like 'dry hopping' the rice wine.

Also, if you plan to drink it fresh, there's nothing stopping you from drinking it sooner in the fermentation cycle. Sandor Katz has some interesting twists on this idea in The Art of Fermentation.

I love the idea because you get nearly distilled levels of alcohol, but retain more of the flavor of your 'mash' because you aren't distilling to neutral spirits and then cutting it. Very excited. Now to get to that store!

 

[pabloj13]

So... I like the idea, and I am going to try it plain and simple but of course I am already planning on how to screw with it!

I can get the qu yeast balls locally and I know that I need the enzymes they contain, but I was also thinking of simply throwing in a handful of 2-row and letting sit at 150 degrees for a while... same/similar enzymes, but a different approach and might lend a more beer-like flavor.

For that matter, what about tossing a few hops in the jar when starting the ferment? Like 'dry hopping' the rice wine.

Also, if you plan to drink it fresh, there's nothing stopping you from drinking it sooner in the fermentation cycle. Sandor Katz has some interesting twists on this idea in The Art of Fermentation.

I love the idea because you get nearly distilled levels of alcohol, but retain more of the flavor of your 'mash' because you aren't distilling to neutral spirits and then cutting it. Very excited. Now to get to that store!

I thought grain in the 150s had tons of lactobacillus?

 

[jadedev]

hi,

made a batch of glutenous rice wine last week, the liquid was clear for 5 days and today it suddenly turned cloudy.

what's wrong?

 

[saramc]

hi,

made a batch of glutenous rice wine last week, the liquid was clear for 5 days and today it suddenly turned cloudy.

what's wrong?

The batch was complete and bottled and this happened? How were you storing it? Did you add anything after it finished?

 

[sonofgrok]

hi,

made a batch of glutenous rice wine last week, the liquid was clear for 5 days and today it suddenly turned cloudy.

what's wrong?

Nothing. It is usually cloudy.

 

[Hopper77]

I'm going to try this

 

[jadedev]

The batch was complete and bottled and this happened? How were you storing it? Did you add anything after it finished?

No, I am still fermenting it. Its only been 6 days. My first time brewing

Rather odd that it was clear for 5 days and on the 6th it went all cloudy. Also notice the rice is getting more compact and no more air bubbles in between the rice.

The container is air tight, too much CO2?

 

[pabloj13]

No, I am still fermenting it. Its only been 6 days. My first time brewing

Rather odd that it was clear for 5 days and on the 6th it went all cloudy. Also notice the rice is getting more compact and no more air bubbles in between the rice.

The container is air tight, too much CO2?

You don't want air-tight.

 

[saramc]

No, I am still fermenting it. Its only been 6 days. My first time brewing

Rather odd that it was clear for 5 days and on the 6th it went all cloudy. Also notice the rice is getting more compact and no more air bubbles in between the rice.

The container is air tight, too much CO2?

Oh the compacting plus change in transparency is fine. The amylase will help clear things. What temp are you fermenting at, not brewing by the way? Though I did not ferment under airlock at all. I believe some did with no issues.

 

[pabloj13]

Oh the compacting plus change in transparency is fine. The amylase will help clear things. What temp are you fermenting at, not brewing by the way? Though I did not ferment under airlock at all. I believe some did with no issues.

Airlock, maybe. Air tight? Eesh.

 

[jadedev]

day 15.

There was now a sweet boozy aroma coming from the jar. The rice had separated into a floating mass that looks like cheese curds, and a layer of fine sediment on the bottom, with yellowish liquid in

Wow....my brew is just like this after 6 days. I am in the tropics, it;s hot all year around, day and night.

82 to 93 Fahrenheit

yeast working too hard????

The rice is breaking up and turning into a fine powder in the bottom of the jar

BTW, I read somewhere, after cooking the rice in the rice cooker, wash the rice with clean water to loosen them. Wet rice make more wine???


UPDATE:

Damn, shop has run out of yeast ball. I am thinking if I should mix my remaining 2 balls to 2 pounds of rice. Ferment for 3 days, then add the mesh to 4 pounds of new rice, repeat until I have 40 pounds of rice.

 

[cpesko]

has anyone tried eating early during fermentation?

 

[kevinstan]

has anyone tried eating early during fermentation?

I ate some after about a week when I first tasted the wine itself. It was good, a little strange tangy taste with alcohol, but I couldn't get past the texture. After that I left it to ferment for the next 3 weeks then drank.

 

[saramc]

has anyone tried eating early during fermentation?

Three to five days was quite nice for fermented rice consumption, beyond that the texture got me but I am thinking combining with a bit of fresh steamed rice would be great.

 

[saramc]

Damn, shop has run out of yeast ball. I am thinking if I should mix my remaining 2 balls to 2 pounds of rice. Ferment for 3 days, then add the mash to 4 pounds of new rice, repeat until I have 40 pounds of rice.

The issues I see may be:
1. The the lack of amylase which is contributed by the composition of the yeast ball. If you have access to amylase I would simply add to the recipe at the dose recommended on the container.
2. Typically this ferment is stopped between Day 21 and 30. If you are trying to incorporate 40# dry but cooked rice by adding in 4# increments every three days it will take 30 days just to use all the rice. How long after the final addition are you planning to allow to ferment?
3. I honestly do not think 2 yeast balls will sustain 40# of rice...especially at a tropic temperature. Very stressed yeast considering the recommendation by many is 10gm yeast ball per 0.55kg(a tad over 1 lb) dry rice. May be worth it to incorporate yeast nutrient. But, we will not know for sure unless you give it a try. Keep us posted!

 

[Pastorken]

Well, here's my first finished batch. 4 cups of sushi rice and 3 yeast balls yielded 1.5 liters. A little less after some tasting and a second filtering. It definitely has a yeasty smell but the taste is good. Plain but strong alcohol flavor. Not nearly as sweet as the cheap sake I usually buy.
Is there a way to back sweeten this like with a dry cider? Any suggestions would be helpful.

 

[sonofgrok]

Well, here's my first finished batch. 4 cups of sushi rice and 3 yeast balls yielded 1.5 liters. A little less after some tasting and a second filtering. It definitely has a yeasty smell but the taste is good. Plain but strong alcohol flavor. Not nearly as sweet as the cheap sake I usually buy.
Is there a way to back sweeten this like with a dry cider? Any suggestions would be helpful.

My guess is that you lost some sweetness in your filtering. You can definitely back sweeten. I flavor and sweeten mine with fresh squeezed berry juice right into it at bottling. If you are concerned about additional fermentation I would imagine you could pasteurize then back sweeten as well.

 

[Hopper77]

I tasted mine last night. Sunday will be 21 days. It had a strange taste to it. Not real vinegary more like a cider taste to it. Infected?

 

[saramc]

I tasted mine last night. Sunday will be 21 days. It had a strange taste to it. Not real vinegary more like a cider taste to it. Infected?

Would you say it is sour-like? Could be Lactobacillus infection, but some yeast balls create a sweeter wine while others create a tangy, sour wine. Could simply be the normal for your product.

 

[natedoggaz]

I'm about 1 week now into the fermentation and both batches are a gelatinous mess... they are both very liquidy as well. I take them and swirl the contents around... has anyone experienced this where the liquid does not separate?

 

[Pastorken]

My guess is that you lost some sweetness in your filtering. You can definitely back sweeten. I flavor and sweeten mine with fresh squeezed berry juice right into it at bottling. If you are concerned about additional fermentation I would imagine you could pasteurize then back sweeten as well.

Well, I agree that I lost some "flavor" in the filtering, but it was anything BUT sweetness. All of the stuff I filtered off, including the second filtering, smelled and tasted more like sourdough starter than sake. Maybe that's normal for this type of rice wine, or possibly the type of rice I used or some other factor, but it was not pleasant and not the flavor I was looking for.
Mind you, the final product is ok and has a kick to it. Kinda reminds me of of some cheeses; they taste great as long as you don't smell them first! Or like my ciders before I learned how to control the fermenting and back sweetening so they weren't too dry.
I filtered this batch right at 3 weeks, I have another batch going that maybe I'll let go for a full 4 weeks. I also saw a video of someone making this type of wine that only fermented for 7 days before bottling. Good thing I love experimenting. I might have to try a different rice as well next time.
Great thread though!

 

[sonofgrok]

Kinda reminds me of of some cheeses; they taste great as long as you don't smell them first!

Oh well then it might be the rice or the yeast or something different because mine always smells absolutely amazing.

 

[GunnyB]

Well here what I have got so far. I started the batch on 1/12 with 5 cups of calrose rice and 5 yeast balls. This is the first time looking at it in two weeks, and the transformation is simply amazing. At first I thought that it was just some liquid lying on top but my sampling spoon went down to the bottom so the whole thing is liquified. There's a fairly strong alcoholic scent upon opening and on the palate. Taste isn't sweet at all frankly, but more bitter?, with some yeasty undertones. What do you all think?

 

[Leadgolem]

Every bodies batches seem to be going faster then mine. I wonder why. Here's mine at day 25.

 

[sonofgrok]

Every bodies batches seem to be going faster then mine. I wonder why. Here's mine at day 25.

That actually looks pretty perfect. I would harvest soon if I were you.

That is what my thai jasmine batches look like that taste awesome!

 

[Leadgolem]

That actually looks pretty perfect. I would harvest soon if I were you.

That is what my thai jasmine batches look like that taste awesome!

Oh. I'll probably harvest tomorrow night after work then. I was expecting the rice to break down more.

That might be because I used a typical long grain white rice. For some odd reason the longer a grain of rice is the higher proportion of long chain carbohydrates to short chain carbohydrates you get. Long chain carbohydrates are sticky, or gluey, so long grain rice sometimes gets labeled glutenous. Even though it doesn't contain the protein string gluten. Since the long chain carbohydrates are stickier, they may have helped hold things together.

 

[sonofgrok]

Oh. I'll probably harvest tomorrow night after work then. I was expecting the rice to break down more.

That might be because I used a typical long grain white rice. For some odd reason the longer a grain of rice is the higher proportion of long chain carbohydrates to short chain carbohydrates you get. Long chain carbohydrates are sticky, or gluey, so long grain rice sometimes gets labeled glutenous. Even though it doesn't contain the protein string gluten. Since the long chain carbohydrates are stickier, they may have helped hold things together.

I think you will find that when you harvest it, it will be more broken down than you expected. Mine always still has that rice grain look to it in the jar and then I star straining it and end up with a gelatinous mass.