Making Traditional rice Wine. Cheap, Fun, and Different

[HopHeaven]

I did 2-4 cup batches yesterday and brewed a wheat beer. Took the last running and thought what the hell and through a yeast ball in with it. Started fermenting within a few hours. Well see how it turns out.

Wait, you put yeast balls in your wort?! You sir are nuts...and I respect that.

 

[saramc]

Did you also sample the other rooms in the buildings in comparison and not just the bathroom? I bet you would find just as much bacteria in the other parts of the buildings as you did in the bathrooms. Bacteria is everywhere, especially on that thing you are moving your cursor with. Bathrooms tend to be cleaned more thoroughly than other parts of a building so wouldn't be surprised if some of the more "scary" stuff was found outside of the restroom...

Yes, actually we did another lab and sampled living rooms/common rooms/waiting rooms in the same buildings that the bathroom samples were collected in and the organism list was not as large. Samples were collected the same time by another set of students, but same course, same instructor. It was concluded that confined space, humidity potential and activity which takes place in a restroom versus other sample setting was the reason there was such a difference in organism collection. We got an A for the assignment.

 

[sonofgrok]

I did 2-4 cup batches yesterday and brewed a wheat beer. Took the last running and thought what the hell and through a yeast ball in with it. Started fermenting within a few hours. Well see how it turns out.

You sir. Are awesome.

 

[mpride1911]

Yes, actually we did another lab and sampled living rooms/common rooms/waiting rooms in the same buildings that the bathroom samples were collected in and the organism list was not as large. Samples were collected the same time by another set of students, but same course, same instructor. It was concluded that confined space, humidity potential and activity which takes place in a restroom versus other sample setting was the reason there was such a difference in organism collection. We got an A for the assignment.

This is fascinating but could we possibly take this private?

 

[sonofgrok]

Did you also sample the other rooms in the buildings in comparison and not just the bathroom? I bet you would find just as much bacteria in the other parts of the buildings as you did in the bathrooms. Bacteria is everywhere, especially on that thing you are moving your cursor with. Bathrooms tend to be cleaned more thoroughly than other parts of a building so wouldn't be surprised if some of the more "scary" stuff was found outside of the restroom...

Its also a matter of type of bacteria. Bathrooms (even the clean ones) have a lot of bacteria associated with fecal matter like E. Coli. After you drop a deuce, that "clean" bathroom still smells and spraying a little Lysol isn't going to disinfect everything. Especially in nooks and crannies like where the wood meets at the edges and corners of your bathroom cabinet. Bathrooms (especially under the sink) tend to also be more humid which can contribute to microbial growth.

Anyway, this isn't a "how sanitary is your bathroom to brew in" thread. It's a rice wine thread. So brew it, drink it, and be merry! Moving on...

 

[Ostomo517]

Just a fyi on yeast dosing. Ive noticed the giant size differences of yeast balls we all have found. Im making another batch today and am going with what I successfully used last batch which was 4 balls for 5 cups of dry thai rice. The ones I use are 1 gram each. Im pretty sure Ive seem ppl use waaaaay more than this on batches perhaps contributing to a strong yeasty smell and or flavor. Happy brewing!

 

[trbig]

This is fascinating but could we possibly take this private?

So with many people fermenting their rice wine in bathrooms, this discussion does pertain... so what exactly is the problem?

And... two more days until I get to harvest my first batch!

 

[sonofgrok]

So with many people fermenting their rice wine in bathrooms, this discussion does pertain... so what exactly is the problem?

And... two more days until I get to harvest my first batch!

See my posts and Sara's above. Hope yours is awesome!

 

[andvari7]

Q: Wild rice wine: can it be done?
A: Based on the last month's worth of experience, no.

 

[Ostomo517]

Q: Wild rice wine: can it be done?
A: Based on the last month's worth of experience, no.

So was it gross??? Lol

 

[saramc]

Anyone tried the black rice yet? I bought some, steamed it and ate it instead of fermenting it.

 

[saramc]

Just a fyi on yeast dosing. Ive noticed the giant size differences of yeast balls we all have found. Im making another batch today and am going with what I successfully used last batch which was 4 balls for 5 cups of dry thai rice. The ones I use are 1 gram each. Im pretty sure Ive seem ppl use waaaaay more than this on batches perhaps contributing to a strong yeasty smell and or flavor. Happy brewing!

I think the reason many of us are using a larger qty of yeast ball is because many Asian grocers and some translated directions have recommended two 10gm balls(which have been the size that everyone found until the miniball discovery) per kilo of raw rice. I now use 20gm/kilo and have yet to have an issue with yeasty end product.
I think you and BattleGoat have the mini yeast balls, the ones with a diameter smaller than a dime....what does one, or four or five, of them weigh out of curiosity?

 

[Ostomo517]

I think the reason many of us are using a larger qty of yeast ball is because many Asian grocers and some translated directions have recommended two 10gm balls(which have been the size that everyone found until the miniball discovery) per kilo of raw rice. I now use 20gm/kilo and have yet to have an issue with yeasty end product.
I think you and BattleGoat have the mini yeast balls, the ones with a diameter smaller than a dime....what does one, or four or five, of them weigh out of curiosity?

They weigh 1 gram each.

 

[Ostomo517]

I suppose it could possibly be a potency thing?

 

[Leadgolem]

I would not personally make rice wine in my bathroom. In my opinion, the higher levels of humidity are likely to mean higher mold spore levels. That, in turn, increases the likelihood of getting something unpleasant in your rice that would find the conditions favorable.

Lots of people have mold growing in the cabinet under there sink that they never notice from the humidity alone, not to mention possible leaks. There are a lot more places you can end up with mold growth in a bathroom, and not have any idea it's even there too.

 

[Jeebas]

Sorry to have created a monster, for all interested parties the rice filled jar is now safe inside of a very clean cooler, wrapped in a blanket.

We really do need to keep the chatter confined to rice wine only lest we have the people who chime in with "Well hey I haven't bothered to read 90% of the thread.. but how does this work?" get confused as to what the thread is about. :cross:

 

[Lac]

Agreed on the wild rice=not so great. Same for some others.
Been off the forum for a while with school kickin my arse, but popped back on and was excited to see an active and heavily posted rice wine thread. Glad to see more people are getting into it.
I was running a whole bunch of different batches side by side a while back, and tried several with different types of "non-standard" rice, including: black-glutinous, red rice (not the monascus infected, the standard), short grain black rice, japanese glutinous (short grain), thai/viet glutinous, and standard short grain rice from asian market (comes as yellow & pink/red "world treasure" if translated). Used a few different yeasts (D47, DV21, EC-1118, K1V-1116, and...Safale S04). I do use the balls when I'm making traditional chinese rice wine, but when I'm fiddling with yeast strains I like to grow the aspergillus oryzae to avoid the other fungi found in the balls, which promote lots of other flavors (great for making baijiu, bad for hangovers >.<).
Needless to say, many of the rice varieties with the whole grain intact imparted a very, shall we say...umami...flavor to the wine, which I wasn't so big on. It was almost like soy sauce, and reminded me of some of the different baijiu I had while I was back in China.
Best one so far, IMHO, is the thai glutinous rice with the EC-1118 (strong though), along with the thai glutinous and D47 (very viscous mouth feel, best cold).

 

[lakedawgs]

Has anyone ever tried to use a brewed tea as opposed to water when steaming the rice? I cooked (3) 2 cup batches and used a brewed hot tea for the liquid in 2 of the batches. We'll see how it turns out in 3wks or so. The rice tastes great.

 

[camface]

but when I'm fiddling with yeast strains I like to grow the aspergillus oryzae to avoid the other fungi found in the balls, which promote lots of other flavors (great for making baijiu, bad for hangovers >.<).

How do you do this? Is it the same method in making your own kome koji?

 

[trbig]

I think the reason many of us are using a larger qty of yeast ball is because many Asian grocers and some translated directions have recommended two 10gm balls(which have been the size that everyone found until the miniball discovery) per kilo of raw rice. I now use 20gm/kilo and have yet to have an issue with yeasty end product.

So two yeast balls per KILO? At 6 cups per pound and a kilo at 2.2 pounds, that would be @ 13 cups rice per kilo. Many have suggested a yeast ball per cup ratio, meaning... I used 12 of the 10gm balls for 12 cups of rice and it REALLY seemed like overkill.

And I also am interested in the home growing of aspergillus oryzae.

 

[RobMT]

I just set up a 4 cup batch (dry volume) and have a couple questions:

1) How much of an issue is indirect sunlight?

2) I overcooked the rice, will this change the final product at all?

 

[Ostomo517]

So two yeast balls per KILO? At 6 cups per pound and a kilo at 2.2 pounds, that would be @ 13 cups rice per kilo. Many have suggested a yeast ball per cup ratio, meaning... I used 12 of the 10gm balls for 12 cups of rice and it REALLY seemed like overkill.

And I also am interested in the home growing of aspergillus oryzae.

I mentioned this earlier, not sure if different brands have different potency, but I only use 1 gram per cup of dry rice.

 

[saramc]

So two yeast balls per KILO? At 6 cups per pound and a kilo at 2.2 pounds, that would be @ 13 cups rice per kilo. Many have suggested a yeast ball per cup ratio, meaning... I used 12 of the 10gm balls for 12 cups of rice and it REALLY seemed like overkill.

When the thread first started we were working with what was shared and we ran with it, and almost everyone was successful. Those who had a failure tried again for the most part. Anyway, later in the thread someone actually had a translation or verbal instructions and shared 2-10gm balls/kilo. I even had a convo and Asian market owner said '2 per kilo', as she looked at my package and walked me to the rice.
I remember the dose based on the '2' and one kg is '2.2#'--but the original shared post is buried in the thread.

I mentioned this earlier, not sure if different brands have different potency, but I only use 1 gram per cup of dry rice.

So assuming 6 cups raw rice/pound you are using 6gm/pound.

 

[Athos56]

So I've done 2 full batches which resulted in 1 gallon of wine each. I used Sweet rice for the first 2 batches and Jasmine for the current batch. This last batch I put the leftover solids from the second batch in as well. I used about 6 balls and a couple shakes of Ale yeast for 5 pounds of rice, which I steamed after soaking it overnight at room temp. I also added enough water to the rice in the bucket so that it would slop around if I shook the bucket. Both batches fermented out 90% of the way out in 6 days to about 8-10% Alcohol. I fermented the rice on a my wife's hot-pad set to the lowest setting. I followed the same sanitary practices (not super crazy clean but mindful) as I do when brewing beer. At no time did mine grow mold, and from a couple of tutorials I watched I don't expect that mold growth is the proper outcome. This is the tutorial I watched and modified to make it more like brewing beer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=E2qXRGih1E8#! I put the wine in some glass Gallon jugs and refrigerated it. I then separated out the the clear, yellowish tinted fluid. I tried it with the sediment mixed in and IMO felt that the cleared product tasted better. I thought it tasted more smooth than Sake and sure did get me F'ed up one night when I accidentally forgot to cut myself off I think the added water made mine weaker but sped up the process and thus avoided the mold growth problem. Just my two cents.

 

[Ostomo517]

So assuming 6 cups raw rice/pound you are using 6gm/pound.

Im sorry, im a idiot lol Its just under a gram a cup. For 5 cups rice I used 4 grams, probably doesnt make a diff but there you go.

 

[nhamilto40]

One week and three week pics. Its largely liquefied from the conversion of the starch but is still fermenting vigorously. I don't think it will be finished at the four week mark.

Grains of rice are cycling up and down from the floating cap to the bottom.

 

[user 83772]

So, assuming I have a fermentation vessel with a 3.5 quart capacity - how many cups of cooked rice would y'all suggest I aim for?

 

[saramc]

So, assuming I have a fermentation vessel with a 3.5 quart capacity - how many cups of cooked rice would y'all suggest I aim for?

Perhaps 3.25 quarts, because it does not foam/krausen and it actually collapses on itself.

Im sorry, im a idiot lol Its just under a gram a cup. For 5 cups rice I used 4 grams, probably doesnt make a diff but there you go.

Hmm, I think I will go with one 10gm ball per kilo of raw rice and see how that works out. Soaking rice for the 1/3 volume increase in jasmine green tea right now and I will then prepare the rice in my cooker in more jasmine green tea.
Will update in 21-30 days!

 

[user 83772]

Thanks for the quick reply, sara! Any advice on what that comes out to in cups of rice?

 

[saramc]

Thanks for the quick reply, sara! Any advice on what that comes out to in cups of rice?

If you are looking to fill your jar to 3.25 quart level and there are four cups per quart you will need 13 cups prepared rice. Most rices volumize at 1:3, one cup dry yields three cups prepared..but check your rice package. Assuming you have a 1:3 rice you will need to prepare about 4 1/3 cups dry rice. Do not forget to rinse the dry rice until runs clear, then soak it in water/liquid of choice until the rice reaches a volume of six cups; then strain, rinse until clear AGAIN and prepare.
You could fill the multi-quart jar to the top and three days later steal a bit of sweet fermented rice for a tasty treat!