Making Traditional rice Wine. Cheap, Fun, and Different

[kako187]

Mine smells like nail polish remover. Is this normal? 7 Days in..

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[jak1010]

There have been a few people who reported the nail polish smell. I can't remember if the batches turned out fine and it's normal or if it's a sign that it's bad. I'm leaning towards it being normal.

 

[Bidwell]

It should smell like cotton candy when it's working right, at least my 28 successful batches have. I dumped 4 when they smelled.

 

[chalkdust41485]

My first batch smelled like nail polish remover. It was made in my closet. The result was not as strong smelling but it tastes fine. My wife even likes it. I'm doing another batch in my fermentation freezer at 65* to see if fermentation temp has anything to do with that.

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[MarcusKillion]

Mine smells like nail polish remover. Is this normal? 7 Days in..

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nail polish remover is acetone . since this rice stuff is similar to a starch mash I would think since it starts with nothing but starch it could turn this into acetone . Special fermentations turn starch mashes into acetone and then they separate it with fractional distilling .

you may need to toss this . Acetone does not taste very good . It may also have just made a lot of fusel alcohols that smell similar and that also is not going to taste good .

 

[MarcusKillion]

It should smell like cotton candy when it's working right, at least my 28 successful batches have. I dumped 4 when they smelled.

the one batch I have going now that does not have a strong smell to it does have a faint smell like cotton candy I think . All others that turned out tasting real sweetly nasty smelled very strong . The black rice I have going does not smell strong or nasty either and it tastes okay.

 

[kako187]

nail polish remover is acetone . since this rice stuff is similar to a starch mash I would think since it starts with nothing but starch it could turn this into acetone . Special fermentations turn starch mashes into acetone and then they separate it with fractional distilling .

you may need to toss this . Acetone does not taste very good . It may also have just made a lot of fusel alcohols that smell similar and that also is not going to taste good .

What could have gone wrong?

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[jak1010]

What could have gone wrong?

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Kako, what type of rice are you using? If you can provide an overview of ingredients, volume and procedure, we may be able to reflect on previous experiences throughout this thread.

 

[ChefRex]

I just smelt mine for the fist time, the RYR /rice ball batch has a slight acetone smell, rice ball by itself smells sweet.
It's been fermenting at 62F, dropped it a couple of degrees but looks otherwise.

 

[kako187]

Kako, what type of rice are you using? If you can provide an overview of ingredients, volume and procedure, we may be able to reflect on previous experiences throughout this thread.

I used Thai Sweet Rice, 8 cups dry rice to 12 cups water and 4 yeast balls.

 

[Temptd2]

Well, dear fellow rice wine aficionados - I am now up to page 106 of this fine thread but I simply couldn't wait any longer to start my brew. I swore I was gonna read to the end first but...nope!

Started it on Monday 2/10, with 4 cups of sticky rice and 7 cups of water (this was before I read to keep the ratio a bit lower ) and cooked that stovetop per some directions I found on the Interwebness about cooking sticky rice. After it was done, I spread it out on a rimmed baking sheet and let cool to about body temp, busted up two rice balls and sprinkled them evenly over the rice, then folded it in on itself a few times and stuffed it into my big plastic gallon (I think!) jug with a lid.

I wrapped it all up in a towel, put the lid on and then backed it off a turn or two to facilitate CO2 release, loosely draped another dishtowel over top of it and set it on the hearth. (No fire happeneing!)

Ambient room temp this time of year runs between 59* and 66*, depending on how warm the day is and whether or not the furnace is running (which is set to 64*).

KotC (King of the Castle) wanted it out of the house because he wants to brew beer this coming weekend and didn't want any weird yeasties abounding, so I put my jar of goodness out in the laundry room, still swaddled, and into a picnic-type cooler.

I checked the temp with a laser thermometer and it's running about 62*. There is a fair amount of liquid developing already, and no mold that I can discern yet. I have NOT opened the top on it nor otherwise molested the stuff, except to take the towel off just enough to check the temp, and the aforementioned banishment to the laundry room!

So far, I'm thinking this is a very fun science experiment and I cannot WAIT to see how it turns out!

THANKS to everyone contributing to this thread, and especially SonofGrok for starting it, and Saramc for all her wonderfully scientific advice (not that I understand it all, but hey - it's intriguing reading if nothing else!).

I'll update at the 3 week mark or in between now and then if anything funky or otherwise interesting is going on.

 

[MarcusKillion]

sounds like it is going good . I would stir it now and then to avoid any mold growing . If it is making liquid then it will be churning and bubbling soon.

 

[MarcusKillion]

I used Thai Sweet Rice, 8 cups dry rice to 12 cups water and 4 yeast balls.

should be fine . the acetone smell usually is from fusel alcohols and the like forming which just happens naturally . Sometimes temps can make more of them . Your temp is low so you should not have a big problem . i would just wait a while and check again . This stuff smells strange sometimes . Give it a good stir to mix it and let out them smells . Might help.

 

[jak1010]

Well, dear fellow rice wine aficionados - I am now up to page 106 of this fine thread but I simply couldn't wait any longer to start my brew. I swore I was gonna read to the end first but...nope!

Started it on Monday 2/10, with 4 cups of sticky rice and 7 cups of water (this was before I read to keep the ratio a bit lower ) and cooked that stovetop per some directions I found on the Interwebness about cooking sticky rice. After it was done, I spread it out on a rimmed baking sheet and let cool to about body temp, busted up two rice balls and sprinkled them evenly over the rice, then folded it in on itself a few times and stuffed it into my big plastic gallon (I think!) jug with a lid.

I wrapped it all up in a towel, put the lid on and then backed it off a turn or two to facilitate CO2 release, loosely draped another dishtowel over top of it and set it on the hearth. (No fire happeneing!)

Ambient room temp this time of year runs between 59* and 66*, depending on how warm the day is and whether or not the furnace is running (which is set to 64*).

HWMBO wanted it out of the house because he wants to brew beer this coming weekend and didn't want any weird yeasties abounding, so I put my jar of goodness out in the laundry room, still swaddled, and into a picnic-type cooler.

I checked the temp with a laser thermometer and it's running about 62*. There is a fair amount of liquid developing already, and no mold that I can discern yet. I have NOT opened the top on it nor otherwise molested the stuff, except to take the towel off just enough to check the temp, and the aforementioned banishment to the laundry room!

So far, I'm thinking this is a very fun science experiment and I cannot WAIT to see how it turns out!

THANKS to everyone contributing to this thread, and especially SonofGrok for starting it, and Saramc for all her wonderfully scientific advice (not that I understand it all, but hey - it's intriguing reading if nothing else!).

I'll update at the 3 week mark or in between now and then if anything funky or otherwise interesting is going on.

Very nice. Welcome to the addiction!

 

[OG_IBU_Bunghole]

Temptd2, I think most would suggest not stirring it. Just forget about it until harvest (then make a batch with thai jasmine).

 

[WesleyS]

Temptd2, I think most would suggest not stirring it. Just forget about it until harvest (then make a batch with thai jasmine).

+1 on forgetting about it until the three week mark.
+1000 on the jasmine rice!

 

[Temptd2]

Yep, I'm gonna just let it RELAXXXXX for 3 weeks with no intervention from me!

As for the jasmine rice, it will have to wait a bit - the local Asian market had 5 pound bags of sweet rice at $3.99 each - so I bought 4 bags! I'll definitely try some of the Thai Jasmine after that though, they had it there too.

 

[jak1010]

Yep, I'm gonna just let it RELAXXXXX for 3 weeks with no intervention from me!

As for the jasmine rice, it will have to wait a bit - the local Asian market had 5 pound bags of sweet rice at $3.99 each - so I bought 4 bags! I'll definitely try some of the Thai Jasmine after that though, they had it there too.

Make another batch and try eating some rice after fermenting for 3 days. Delicious.

 

[troy2000]

Well, dear fellow rice wine aficionados - I am now up to page 106 of this fine thread but I simply couldn't wait any longer to start my brew. I swore I was gonna read to the end first but...nope!

Started it on Monday 2/10, with 4 cups of sticky rice and 7 cups of water (this was before I read to keep the ratio a bit lower ) and cooked that stovetop per some directions I found on the Interwebness about cooking sticky rice. After it was done, I spread it out on a rimmed baking sheet and let cool to about body temp, busted up two rice balls and sprinkled them evenly over the rice, then folded it in on itself a few times and stuffed it into my big plastic gallon (I think!) jug with a lid.

I wrapped it all up in a towel, put the lid on and then backed it off a turn or two to facilitate CO2 release, loosely draped another dishtowel over top of it and set it on the hearth. (No fire happeneing!)

Ambient room temp this time of year runs between 59* and 66*, depending on how warm the day is and whether or not the furnace is running (which is set to 64*).

KotC (King of the Castle) wanted it out of the house because he wants to brew beer this coming weekend and didn't want any weird yeasties abounding, so I put my jar of goodness out in the laundry room, still swaddled, and into a picnic-type cooler.

I checked the temp with a laser thermometer and it's running about 62*. There is a fair amount of liquid developing already, and no mold that I can discern yet. I have NOT opened the top on it nor otherwise molested the stuff, except to take the towel off just enough to check the temp, and the aforementioned banishment to the laundry room!

So far, I'm thinking this is a very fun science experiment and I cannot WAIT to see how it turns out!

THANKS to everyone contributing to this thread, and especially SonofGrok for starting it, and Saramc for all her wonderfully scientific advice (not that I understand it all, but hey - it's intriguing reading if nothing else!).

I'll update at the 3 week mark or in between now and then if anything funky or otherwise interesting is going on.

I like your idea of spreading the rice to cool it faster, although some might argue it makes the rice more vulnerable to unwanted infections. My guess is that the yeast balls are strong enough to overwhelm any such short-term potential infections....

 

[sonofgrok]

KotC (King of the Castle) wanted it out of the house because he wants to brew beer this coming weekend and didn't want any weird yeasties abounding, so I put my jar of goodness out in the laundry room, still swaddled, and into a picnic-type cooler.

I laughed at this part! I brew other stuff around my rice wine all the time! Aspergillus which is likely what is performing the saccharification though is a prolific contaminant at least in the laboratory environment.

 

[Temptd2]

Yeah, SoG, DH takes NO chances when he brews! I once had some sourdough bread a'makin' in the kitchen when he brewed and he swears it's why the beer turned sour. :dunno: Could well be. Anyway now things do not concurrently ferment in THIS house. The laundry room is at the back of my Mom's cottage so far enough away that the yeasties/beasties cannot find their way back to their reawakening.

 

[501irishred]

Well, I might have found a new business opportunity while searching locally for yeast balls. Since I knew most the employees/owners of our Asian markets speak very little English, I brought my ipad with pictures from this thread. The first two markets I tried thought I was a salesman and we're overjoyed. Apparently (as far as I could catch) there distributor used to supply them but can no longer get them.
Finally found them at third location I tried, but payed about double the price compared to those I've seen on this thread. Guess they know they have the market cornered!........

 

[MarcusKillion]

Well, I might have found a new business opportunity while searching locally for yeast balls. Since I knew most the employees/owners of our Asian markets speak very little English, I brought my ipad with pictures from this thread. The first two markets I tried thought I was a salesman and we're overjoyed. Apparently (as far as I could catch) there distributor used to supply them but can no longer get them.
Finally found them at third location I tried, but payed about double the price compared to those I've seen on this thread. Guess they know they have the market cornered!........

buy them online . Not sure how good this deal is but here it is http://www.asiansupermarket365.com/Shanghai-Rice-Cakes-p/hshrcijj.htm
you can also buy that and ryr from china by the kilo real cheap. Search it .

 

[jak1010]

I get them here.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/DRIED-YEAST...243?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e851900eb
I know....seamless plug.

 

[501irishred]

buy them online . Not sure how good this deal is but here it is http://www.asiansupermarket365.com/Shanghai-Rice-Cakes-p/hshrcijj.htm
you can also buy that and ryr from china by the kilo real cheap. Search it .

Nah, I still prefer to shop local given the opportunity.

I get them here.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/DRIED-YEAST...243?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e851900eb
I know....seamless plug.

Looks like I can give your info to a couple shopkeep's!

 

[ChefRex]

After a couple of weeks my first taste and wow! This is tasty, still quite sweet. I see this in a regular rotation, ca't wait to have it when it dries out a bit.
Jak thanks for the hook up!

 

[jak1010]

After a couple of weeks my first taste and wow! This is tasty, still quite sweet. I see this in a regular rotation, ca't wait to have it when it dries out a bit.
Jak thanks for the hook up!

You're welcome! Glad you like it. Being a brewer of beer and other things, isn't it amazing that you can ferment rice using some strange yeast balls and get alcohol?

I didn't believe it until I tried it for myself.

You know where to find me if (when) you need more.

 

[ChefRex]

You're welcome! Glad you like it. Being a brewer of beer and other things, isn't it amazing that you can ferment rice using some strange yeast balls and get alcohol?

I didn't believe it until I tried it for myself.

You know where to find me if (when) you need more.

So easy, put more rice in the shopping list to get another batch going next week.
How sweet the sample I had is what surprised me, going to try a small batch and eat the rice in a few days as a treat, I believe you have done this?

 

[jak1010]

Yes, at about the 3rd day the rice is delicious snack. It was a bit weird at first and I found that I had to aquire the taste since I was still skeptical. After the first few spoon fulls, I was enjoying it. Kinda tangy, slightly sweet and very unique.

 

[ChefRex]

Did you pull from a batch or make it separately?