Making Traditional rice Wine. Cheap, Fun, and Different

[Newsman]

For those interested in the "Breathalyzer" method... you can get pocket breathalyzers for a few tens of dollars online that are not "police accurate" but are supposed to tell you when you've had too much to drink to drive, so maybe that would work if you want to do that. Looking on Deals.Woot.Com now, and searching with the word "breathalyzer" I find everything from a $4 "keychain breathlyzer" to a $102 "Professional" with a "Police Breathalyzer" running you about $20 from a couple different sources.
Also, on Amazon, you can find a number of different breathalyzer products available at various prices from under $10 to over $100

 

[Descender]

anyone see a problem using enriched jasmine rice? Ingredients on a bag of Mahatma: Rice, niacin, iron, thiamin, folic acid.

 

[aiptasia]

None, the OP uses Jasmine Rice.

 

[Descender]

my question is about the additives, not the type of rice.

 

[aiptasia]

Just as a side note for those of us using American brands of rice:

The US Dept. of Agriculture obliges producers of milled, white rice to add nutrients back to the grains to make it as nutritious as brown rice (with its bran layer). This means a dusty coating of vitamins and minerals is added to the rice before it is packaged and sold.

For those of us wanting to produce a clearer rice wine, you should definitely take the steps to check your bags of rice to see where they were milled and packaged first (nation of origin) and if they have any language such as "enriched" or "fortified" on the bag. Even brands produced outside the USA can be fortified as the process is also recommended by the EU and WHO. Millers will sometimes add talc or glucose powder to brighten the color of the rice grains even if they aren't necessarily enriched.

If the rice is enriched and you want your final rice wine to be as clear as possible, it's probably best if you thoroughly rinse your rice in a large bowl with cold water until it runs clear. Try not to break the rice. Mix it gently by hand after covering it in cold water and just turn over hand fulls of rice in the bowl and repeat. Pour off the cloudy liquid and refill the bowl and repeat as many times as you think are needed to get the rice water clear.

I'm not saying that this will make your Choujiu crystal clear from the get go, but every little bit in cutting down the dust helps.

How to clean rice: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=cUmHQtiaaoQ

 

[aiptasia]

my question is about the additives, not the type of rice.

No issues other than nutrition and dust.

 

[jak1010]

For those interested in the "Breathalyzer" method... you can get pocket breathalyzers for a few tens of dollars online that are not "police accurate" but are supposed to tell you when you've had too much to drink to drive, so maybe that would work if you want to do that. Looking on Deals.Woot.Com now, and searching with the word "breathalyzer" I find everything from a $4 "keychain breathlyzer" to a $102 "Professional" with a "Police Breathalyzer" running you about $20 from a couple different sources.
Also, on Amazon, you can find a number of different breathalyzer products available at various prices from under $10 to over $100

Check that off the list as "done". Just got done with a little early 4th of July party with me, 4 partners, 4 batches of rice wines and a police issued breathalyzer tests. All have failed with flying colors.

Now, we have to figure out how to clear the machine as "Field tests" so it gets documented and stored without needing all the rest of the usual info...

It's going to be a very interesting rest of a long holiday weekend with about 2 gallons of this homemade wonder juice!

 

[aiptasia]

Check that off the list as "done". Just got done with a little early 4th of July party with me, 4 partners, 4 batches of rice wines and a police issued breathalyzer tests. All have failed with flying colors.

Now, we have to figure out how to clear the machine as "Field tests" so it gets documented and stored without needing all the rest of the usual info...

It's going to be a very interesting rest of a long holiday weekend with about 2 gallons of this homemade wonder juice!

Somewhere, Yi-Di, the Chinese God of alcohol is reading this thread....

 

[TBBrewer]

Was thinking about making a hunch punch or rice wine sangria with some extra rice wine I have on hand. Anybody do anything similar?

 

[Leadgolem]

I had another though today about a way to check the alcohol content. Not very scientific but you could use a breathalyzer. Drink 2 or 3 beers, breathalyze yourself. The next day keep all the conditions the same and drink the same amount of rice wine and breathalyze yourself again. It's not proof or anything but it would be better than educated guessing based on sensory evaluations. Maybe?

You know, if you are that curious, you could just pay the 35$ and have a lab do it.
http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/...asuring/white-labs-alcohol-test-kit-plus.html

If you're referring to the cali-rose style of sushi rice, I think you'll be in for a tasty treat...

Actually, I'm talking about the jars that have turned pink instead of red. The ones with residual enzyme and pigment from the home dried RYR. I'm wondering what they are going to taste like. Red rice wine does not really taste like white rice wine.

Somewhere, Yi-Di, the Chinese God of alcohol is reading this thread....

Haha, I hope so. I think he'll have to share a bit with Bacchus though.

 

[aiptasia]

Here's an interesting development. I started another two 3 cup batches of rice wine last night in target cracker jars. This fills them to about 1/3 volume of steamed sushi rice and they get two small crushed up yeast balls each jar. I washed the heck out of this rice until it ran clear and just put them in my kitchen cabinet for the full 3 week fermentation next to two smaller jars of RYR+sushi rice at about 2 weeks in.

Today was my last rice addition on the true sake project and either I miscalculated the final volume of rice or the novelty bell jar i'm using for the sake isn't truly 1 gallon in capacity. I had to take about half of the final volume of rice and water and mix it into one of the jars of rice wine I whipped up last night. I know what you're thinking, why didn't I just grab another jar and divide up the batch of sake into two batches....

I had no empty jars in the house. Not a one. Not even an empty baby food jar. Doh!

In order to create a 2-3" neck space for fermentation in the sake jar, I had to scoop out a little glucose water, koji, sushi rice and lalvin 1116 in order to free up space in the sake jar. That mixture of sake goodness went right into the cracker jar with the extra rice and yeast balls from yesterday.

It should make for an interesting fermentation to say the least.

 

[aiptasia]

Actually, I'm talking about the jars that have turned pink instead of red. The ones with residual enzyme and pigment from the home dried RYR. I'm wondering what they are going to taste like. Red rice wine does not really taste like white rice wine.

This is true. I have two batches of RYR+sushi rice about 2 weeks into fermentation. I will be squeezing the lees on those batches next Wednesday.

 

[jak1010]

To everyone who ordered yeast balls and Angel Rice Leaven from me on 7/4, first off, thank you for the business. I didn't think I'd get so many orders on a holiday. I guess this is a favorite time to brew. Second, all orders were shipped early this morning. Thanks again and happy 4th to all!!!!!!!

Cheers...

 

[embreedow]

ive read through about half of this thread, and decided to try it out. I went to the local vietnamese store in my city, and got the only rice yeast they had to make wine with. It wasn't balls, but about a good palm full of compressed white powder. It has ginger cinnamon and some other stuff in it so it looks like itll turn out creating something pretty good tasting. I was wondering, how much rice should i use with said palm-full of yeast?

 

[saramc]

. I was wondering, how much rice should i use with said palm-full of yeast?

I think---Someone on here has used a spiced yeast blend & I cannot recall the outcome. My concern is you have a product made of nutritional brewer's yeast. Before I assembled everything, I would add 1/4 tsp of said spiced yeast to 4 oz apple juice & confirm it is alive. Like proofing bread yeast, which this might be, to an extent.

Normally I use 20 gm of yeast balls per 2 pounds raw, well rinsed, rice...no idea what to recommend if your spiced yeast is actually alive. Caution: there is a chance your yeast is not the enzyme producing yeast you need to ferment the cooked rice.

 

[aiptasia]

Watch out for preservatives in apple juice. Use natural, all organic cider if you can find it. That, or just use simple syrup (sugar and water).

 

[embreedow]

ok will do, if it works ill get the rice goin and update if/when it starts workin!

 

[LabRatBrewer]

Running out of rice, and down to my last two rice balls. So, I made a small batch with 1 cup RYR, 2 balls, 3 red serrano peppers, 1 cup Turbinado sugar, and around 3 cups jasmine rice.

 

[Leadgolem]

Running out of rice, and down to my last two rice balls. So, I made a small batch with 1 cup RYR, 2 balls, 3 red serrano peppers, 1 cup Turbinado sugar, and around 3 cups jasmine rice.

Now that should be truly interesting.

My experiments have indicated you can get at least one additional batch out of the pressed leftover starch mass from a batch of red rice wine. As long as you pitch the starch mass immediately into the new fresh rice. That might be a way for you to stretch your supplies a bit.

 

[Descender]

just picked up a 2 gallon Anchor Hocking (sp?) jar from Target for $13.99! going big. any insight into tall jars vs. wide jars? they also had what appears to be about a 6gallon wide mouth carboy on the end of an isle for $50. opted for a juicer instead lol.

 

[TBBrewer]

just picked up a 2 gallon Anchor Hocking (sp?) jar from Target for $13.99! going big. any insight into tall jars vs. wide jars? they also had what appears to be about a 6gallon wide mouth carboy on the end of an isle for $50. opted for a juicer instead lol.

Doesn't really matter. I have used 2 gallon white buckets, 1 gallon cracker jars from Target, and even pickle jars for small batches. They all work. I would just say that if you are using a clear jar, make sure it is stored in the dark or away from light sources.

 

[aiptasia]

Just that wide jars have a larger surface area and are easier to get your hands into.

 

[CreamyGoodness]

I'm really digging this stuff. Think I'll make another batch with the jasmin rice I never used (this is a great recipe to get rid of older unwanted rice btw).

 

[aiptasia]

Alrighty. Due to poor planning (funeral/viewing) on Wednesday, I decided to squeeze the lees on my RYR+SR batches. I've had two small 3 cup batches going for almost three weeks now and they're ready. After pressing, here's my thoughts on the RYR+SR blend using 1 small chinese dried yeast ball in each batch.

Appearance: Cloudy with a rich magenta pink hue. I decided to pour the liquid through a layer of wet cheesecloth after pressing. I added 1/2 cup hot water mixed with 3/4 teaspoon bentonite to absorb the solids and mixed it in slowly. It's now resting in a 32 ounce swing top bottle just waiting for the pasteurizing water bath to heat up.

Smell: Sharp citrus, mango, kiwi with a "box of dry rice-y" background and alcohol.

Taste: Initially a citrus tang but much more of the dry rice taste, more earthy and dry (not as sweet).

I can't wait to have it pasteurized so I can cold crash it for a while. I've noticed a little cold conditioning after pasteurization mellows out a lot of the tangy flavors and gives you a more balanced flavor profile.

 

[Leadgolem]

just picked up a 2 gallon Anchor Hocking (sp?) jar from Target for $13.99! going big. any insight into tall jars vs. wide jars? they also had what appears to be about a 6gallon wide mouth carboy on the end of an isle for $50. opted for a juicer instead lol.

I'd go with the wider rather then the taller jar given the choice. Once your rice gets over about 14 inches deep you can run into a problem where you have a "cap" of partly converted starch floating on a bubble of co2 from the fermentation below.

It isn't that big of an issue, but you have to be careful not to pack your rice at all when you are doing a bigger batch.

 

[CreamyGoodness]

I had a larger jar with a piece of cheesecloth on top and a smaller mason jar with full lid and ring (secured LOOSELY). I made the batches at the same time. I gotta say, I didnt see much difference between the two in color/taste/etc....

 

[aiptasia]

Paper towels, or even saran wrap loosely secured over the mouth of the jar will also work fine.

 

[Leadgolem]

Here are the notes from the harvesting of the home dried RYR experiment. I was extremely surprised that the "rose" batches yielded so well. It was also interesting to note that the batches with nutrient added contained far fewer particulates after harvesting.

The first photo is of visible mold growth on batch 6. I took a picture of it as I've never seen that on a batch of red rice wine before, though I have on plenty of "white" rice wine batches. Batches are in order from left to right in the second photo.

Batch contents:
1. 3 tbs crushed RYR + 1/3 oz crushed yeast ball (control)
2. 1/3 oz crushed yeast ball (control #2)
3. 3 tbs crushed home dried RYR
4. 3 tbs crushed home dried RYR + 1/3 oz crushed yeast ball
5. 3 tbs refrigerated RYR starch mass
6. 3 tbs crushed RYR + 1/3 oz crushed rice yeast ball + nutrient
7. 1/3 oz crushed yeast ball + nutrient

Tasting Notes:
1. Aroma, rice with a little fruit. Low alcohol for rice wine, to many particulates. It's a little thick.
2. Aroma, rice a and a little alcohol. Moderate alcohol, very nice mouth feel. Sort of a vanilla and citrus flavor. Very nice.
3. Aroma, not much rice and mildly fruity. Low alcohol for rice wine. Mildly fruity and citrus with a little vanilla. Nice mouth feel, a little thin compared to regular rice wine.
4. Aroma, not much rice and mildly vanilla. High alcohol for rice wine. Mildly fruity and moderately citrus, very subtle vanilla. Very nice mouth feel, same as regular rice wine.
5. Aroma, not much rice and mildy musky. Reminds me vaguely of sweat, oddly that's not unpleasant... Practically no alcohol. Moderately fruity, no citrus or vanilla. Slightly high on the particulates, a little thick for my taste.
6. Aroma, fruit only nothing else. Moderate alcohol for rice wine. Extremely fruity, not much citrus, no vanilla. Substantially fewer particulates then typical rice wine. Still a nice mouthfeel, but a little on the thin side.
7. Aroma, vanilla only. Moderate alcohol for rice wine. Citrus and vanilla. Substantially fewer particulates then typical rice wine. Nice mouth feel still, somewhat on the thin side.

At this point I'm not sure anymore that the home dried RYR did fail. It certainly produced rice wine, though a slightly odd kind. I'll have to consider the matter for a while before moving forward with the experiments.

 

[TBBrewer]

Interesting experiment. Thanks for reporting your results. The only results I will have soon is from my batch of "pink" sweet rice. The stuff looks brown but the wine it is producing is crystal clear. I need to get that arborio rice batch going soon.

 

[saramc]

So Leadgolem do you have a favorite from that last test batch? And to date?
I just shake my head unable to believe it is so simple. I think I will start my batch of Angel Rice Leaven this week, it is time.