Making Traditional rice Wine. Cheap, Fun, and Different

[ChefRex]

How hard do you pack down the rice?


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I didn't pack it at all,the batch shown was 5 cups dry in a gallon container, the last batch I used 6 cups with no problem.
Go with it, so good, so easy!

 

[Temptd2]

Doing the happy dance - finally made it ALL THE WAY through this thread!

Have the orginal batch which should be ready next Monday, the next batch started 5 days after that, and a new batch started yesterday. Haven't even really gotten to taste any of this yet so I sure hope I like it!

My ferments are going really well though.

 

[sonofgrok]

Nice! You'll be surprised how much the solids drop and the top part becomes clear in such a short time. Also, loosen the lid, pasteurize or cold crash this stuff to be on the safe side. It does get pressurized.

I still shake mine before serving.

 

[jak1010]

I still shake mine before serving.

Same here. I shake until it's all mixed back in and looks like milk. I like the taste and feel better.

 

[Temptd2]

BTW - if anyone lives near a Grocery Outlet - I got some really nice glass gallon jars with spigots and bails (which I probably won't use, but makes the jar look cool!) and great glass lids with removable plastic gaskets. Have two of them full of rice and the other two shall get the same treatment later this week.

$7.99 each! I bought the 4 they had at the local G.O.! Might head to the one next town over and see if they have any more.... I can "weeze the ju-isss" (obscure Encino Man reference) without disturbing the contents in the jar.

That's a 750 ml bottle of Torani syrup for scale. I remove the plastic gaskets from inside the glass lids so they'll allow CO2 to escape.

 

[Temptd2]

......cue crickets........

 

[BBQB]

I started a batch 2 days ago...no activity yet. Is that normal?


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[ChefRex]

I started a batch 2 days ago...no activity yet. Is that normal?


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You're fine, what temperature are do you have it at?

 

[BBQB]

Low 60s


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[ChefRex]

That's on the low side, where I think it will work it's going to take some time.
Mine is sitting around 70F in a fermentation chamber, three weeks and good to go. I am no expert, drinking my first batch and this stuff is good, three more going:rockin:

 

[Leadgolem]

Top of the fridge is a good place for rice wine. That's where I make mine. The height and the fridge compressor cycling bumps the temp a little over room temperature.

 

[FatDragon]

Been consuming some of my 2-3 month old rice wine in the last week and it's really excellent stuff; it was good when it finished, but it's definitely improved with age.

That said, I'm going to be more careful in the future - I had a bad experience with an infected bottle a few months ago; in about eight hours it carbed so heavily that half the liquid hit the ceiling when I popped the swingtop (not to mention it stunk up my apartment for three days) - but I thought the rest of my wine from other batches was alright. Popped open a bottle about a week ago and got the same explosion, and the liquid inside smelled and tasted nasty so it bubbled (literally) down the drain. Fortunately, when I tried the other six bottles, wrapped in a dishcloth, in an open and easily-cleaned area, with gloves on (I really didn't want a bottle exploding in my hands) they were all good. In the future, I'll definitely be pasteurizing.

 

[Leadgolem]

I had a bottle of wine I made in October of 2012 pop it's cork about two months ago. I'm sick of the nonsense, I'm pasteurizing everything now.

 

[jak1010]

I had a bottle of wine I made in October of 2012 pop it's cork about two months ago. I'm sick of the nonsense, I'm pasteurizing everything now.

Same here. Take a look at the last post on page 17 of this thread. No joke.

 

[WesleyS]

If you want to hold on to bottles of this stuff for any length of time, pasteurization is your friend. Unless you want to release pressure from your bottles every day.

 

[FatDragon]

If you want to hold on to bottles of this stuff for any length of time, pasteurization is your friend. Unless you want to release pressure from your bottles every day.

Of those bottles I popped a week or so ago, none of them released any pressure or had a visible or olfactory infection (other than the first one that was clearly infected). They're 2-3 months old, and three or four of them are out of the fridge and may be so for some time. Should I pasteurize at this point or am I pretty much safe by now?

If I do decide to pasteurize, they'll probably get the treatment at the same time as the ~3 gallons of JAOM that are probably ready to bottle, having reached roughly the three month mark.

 

[WesleyS]

No pressure? It might differ from yeast ball to yeast ball. I know that the ones I use apparently keep working at refrigeration temps. When I have a little bit leftover that doesn't fit in bottles, I put it in a jar in the refrigerator without pasteurizing and I have to open every day to release the pressure. Sometimes the pressure can be significant.

 

[FatDragon]

No pressure? It might differ from yeast ball to yeast ball. I know that the ones I use apparently keep working at refrigeration temps. When I have a little bit leftover that doesn't fit in bottles, I put it in a jar in the refrigerator without pasteurizing and I have to open every day to release the pressure. Sometimes the pressure can be significant.

Those batches were all ARL, if it makes a difference. I haven't used the yeast balls I bought since my second batch - I'll probably do so eventually, but two of three containers using the yeast balls have produced significant mold, one of which ended up being that bottle that was super-pressurized after eight hours.

Shouldn't the bottled wine generally be unfermentable? I'm not suggesting that there's not enough fermentable sugar left, but that the yeast should have reached its alcohol tolerance by the time you harvest, meaning there's nothing (barring an infection) left to eat the sugars. My batches have been harvested at 3-4 weeks and the only post-harvest fermentation I've had was in those two clearly-infected bottles.

 

[WesleyS]

Those batches were all ARL, if it makes a difference. I haven't used the yeast balls I bought since my second batch - I'll probably do so eventually, but two of three containers using the yeast balls have produced significant mold, one of which ended up being that bottle that was super-pressurized after eight hours.

Shouldn't the bottled wine generally be unfermentable? I'm not suggesting that there's not enough fermentable sugar left, but that the yeast should have reached its alcohol tolerance by the time you harvest, meaning there's nothing (barring an infection) left to eat the sugars. My batches have been harvested at 3-4 weeks and the only post-harvest fermentation I've had was in those two clearly-infected bottles.

I've never used ARL so that could be the difference.

 

[Hello]

Two quarts plus a glass, (and what ended up on the counter, need to refine my bottling procedure)
Very tasty, more rice is going for a soak!

Do you remove the lid when you soak the jar to pasteurize?

From what I gather you have to pasteurize even if you have it in the fridge. Right?

 

[ChefRex]

Do you remove the lid when you soak the jar to pasteurize?

From what I gather you have to pasteurize even if you have it in the fridge. Right?

This is my first batch, it's in the fridge, the lid is loose and being consumed so fast I have no worry about it. I have more in the works some of which will end up getting pasteurized, still need to decide what method I'll use.

 

[mjwj12]

Mine is going but there is still little dark spots of mold. But it is working.


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[Hello]

This is my first batch, it's in the fridge, the lid is loose and being consumed so fast I have no worry about it. I have more in the works some of which will end up getting pasteurized, still need to decide what method I'll use.

I'm interested in finding out. Can mason jars handle the heat? I suppose so since they're used for canning I believe.

I planned on using the same jars that I actually keep flour, sugar, etc in. They look like the OPs and they're sold at a container store. I think this looks easy enough for me to try. it's too bad it won't be ready by the weekend. Finally a use for my rice cooker!

 

[trbig]

I'm interested in finding out. Can mason jars handle the heat? I suppose so since they're used for canning I believe.

Anything glass will handle the heat of pasteurizing. You're only heating the water to 140-150 degrees. Put something in the pan to raise the bottom of the bottles off of direct contact with the pot bottom and it'll be fine. They make metal baskets with handles exactly for this for canning, but anything that will put a water gap between the glass and pan bottom will work.

 

[josephbernard66]

Anyvody ever use this brand of rice?

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[jak1010]

Anyvody ever use this brand of rice?

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Never seen that before. Is it a long grain?

 

[J_oey]

Sorry if someone has already asked this question. I am wondering how to prevent the rice wine from becoming vinegar. Is there a way besides putting it into the refrigerator?

Can I use potassium sorbate and campden tablets to stop the fermentation and thus be able to prevent the wine from turning into vinegar?

I am also wondering, if real fruit juice is used to add flavor to the wine, will those fruit juice spoil if stored outside of the fridge? Is there a way to prevent those fruit juice from spoiling as well?

 

[josephbernard66]

The old guy at the corner mart said to try making it with that rice. Sadly I burned a little of the rice when I was cooking it.I tried too big a batch. I am seeing if I can salvage the rice that is not black. Some is gonna be a brown color.lol

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[Leadgolem]

Of those bottles I popped a week or so ago, none of them released any pressure or had a visible or olfactory infection (other than the first one that was clearly infected). They're 2-3 months old, and three or four of them are out of the fridge and may be so for some time. Should I pasteurize at this point or am I pretty much safe by now?

If I do decide to pasteurize, they'll probably get the treatment at the same time as the ~3 gallons of JAOM that are probably ready to bottle, having reached roughly the three month mark.

I would pasteurize anyway. I had a bottle of wine blow it's cork months after it was bottled... Yeah, I'm slightly paranoid though.

I've never used ARL so that could be the difference.

I've had continuing fermentation with both products.

Do you remove the lid when you soak the jar to pasteurize?

From what I gather you have to pasteurize even if you have it in the fridge. Right?

Yes. Fridge temps will greatly slow down fermentation, but will not stop it.

I'm interested in finding out. Can mason jars handle the heat? I suppose so since they're used for canning I believe.

I planned on using the same jars that I actually keep flour, sugar, etc in. They look like the OPs and they're sold at a container store. I think this looks easy enough for me to try. it's too bad it won't be ready by the weekend. Finally a use for my rice cooker!

Anything glass will handle the heat of pasteurizing. You're only heating the water to 140-150 degrees. Put something in the pan to raise the bottom of the bottles off of direct contact with the pot bottom and it'll be fine. They make metal baskets with handles exactly for this for canning, but anything that will put a water gap between the glass and pan bottom will work.

Bingo. Water bath canning involves boiling the jars, pasteurization is sub-boiling temps.

Anyvody ever use this brand of rice?

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Not that brand, but sweet rice was a superior performer in my tests. Better yields, better flavors, the downside was the aroma wasn't as nice as some of the longer grain aromatics.

Sweet rice is short grain rice. Meaning it has a higher proportion of short chain starches to long grain starches. Short grain starches are easier to break into sugar then long grain starches. Hence, generally higher proportions of saccharification.

Sorry if someone has already asked this question. I am wondering how to prevent the rice wine from becoming vinegar. Is there a way besides putting it into the refrigerator?

Can I use potassium sorbate and campden tablets to stop the fermentation and thus be able to prevent the wine from turning into vinegar?

I am also wondering, if real fruit juice is used to add flavor to the wine, will those fruit juice spoil if stored outside of the fridge? Is there a way to prevent those fruit juice from spoiling as well?

I'm not sure about the campden, I personally don't like chemical additions.

If you pasteurize the wine, with or without fruit juice, it should keep in a sealed container without refrigeration. The pasteurization kills all the bugs in it and halts fermentation, and spoilage.

The old guy at the corner mart said to try making it with that rice. Sadly I burned a little of the rice when I was cooking it.I tried too big a batch. I am seeing if I can salvage the rice that is not black. Some is gonna be a brown color.lol

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Generally, wine made with rice that has scorched at all has a distinctive taste. Brown and it's got a fairly distinctive nutty flavor. Not exactly good or bad, just very different. Actually burned rice = nasty rice wine. It tastes burned after turning into wine too.

Short grain rice is a little trickier to cook, because of the way it gives up starches to the liquid. It's harder to tell when it's cooked correctly.

 

[trbig]

Sorry if someone has already asked this question. I am wondering how to prevent the rice wine from becoming vinegar. Is there a way besides putting it into the refrigerator?

Can I use potassium sorbate and campden tablets to stop the fermentation and thus be able to prevent the wine from turning into vinegar?

I am also wondering, if real fruit juice is used to add flavor to the wine, will those fruit juice spoil if stored outside of the fridge? Is there a way to prevent those fruit juice from spoiling as well?

Just to add, that this stuff usually ends up at such a high alcohol percentage, that spoilage usually isn't a concern. Any fruit juice additions I've tried were done as I pour it into a glass. Obviously, your main concern is going to be oxidation. There is a fine line there, I think. The Chinese people I know that make this store it in bottles with a large air gap/head space at the top. They use red yeast rice, but after sitting in the bottle a few months, that red color becomes a really nice amber-ish to light brown because of the oxidation.





With all that said, some people have had their rice wine go bad in as little as a month. I've had some that I forgot about in the ferment bin for over 3 months and it was some of the best I've made. I don't think any of us really know why yet. Seems those Chinese have a few hundred years' head start on us in rice wine making knowledge. I've tried to make it just as they told me and it has never turned out like the above pic. Practice makes perfect though, and drinking the mistakes has been quite fun!