Making Traditional rice Wine. Cheap, Fun, and Different

[wc1376c]

The other thing about the rice starter is that I didn't get a lot of flavor and aroma. It's like the yeast wasn't stressed enough to generate all the floral and fruit qualities it had before.

Got it. Mine is going now, i think it will be full bore by Friday night. Going to do a Blackberry/ Pear batch this weekend.
On another note, I cannot believe how the raisen batches aged. It seems they get stronger everyday. Seems I need to do another few batches.

 

[wc1376c]

Here is what I pulled last night from my 23 November batches.

From left to right,
-this was batch 17 a mix of left over brown and sweet rice with rasberrys thrown in. total unplanned brewing.

-plain ole brown rice, first time tryin it so I went missionary.

-last one is blackberry

I'll let you know how they turned out later, becaue they looks good.
The second pic is of two of my larger brews, the flavors not where I want it. I might throw them back under a blanket, or rack and let sit for another week.

View attachment 1417775602010.jpg

View attachment 1417776112246.jpg

 

[drumuglyknuckles]

This looks just like Chhaang I had in Nepal. Delicious! But they do add water after a week or so of fermentation then filter out the solids.

 

[wc1376c]

correction...blueberry not blackberry. Blackberry is coming, about two to three weeks off.

 

[jak1010]

correction...blueberry not blackberry. Blackberry is coming, about two to three weeks off.

Both work but blueberries are my favorite.

BTW, this stuff makes for a crazy good martini. Throw in a dash of red pepper flakes and enjoy.

 

[Nogud247]

Both work but blueberries are my favorite.

BTW, this stuff makes for a crazy good martini. Throw in a dash of red pepper flakes and enjoy.

That sounds amazing!

 

[Nogud247]

I've read this entire thread but it's been a while. Red yeast rice, do I need to pulverize it or is it okay to toss some in as is?

 

[MasterCrook]

It works better if it's powdered because it can be spread better

 

[danmerk23]

I've asked this before; anyone use corn meal in place of the rice?

 

[z-bob]

I've got an idea stuck in my head to try purifying and culturing the yeast from a yeast ball to see what kind of beer it makes. (it seems to be doing okay in a high-gravity cider, but I don't want to open it up to test it until it clears completely) It might be perfect for barleywines, RIS, quads, etc.

What would be a good way to do that? Brew a gallon of low-gravity extract beer with it, and collect and wash the sediment? Then maybe sanitize it with Cl02 before growing it up?

I don't think the sediment from the cider would be a good starting point, it has been stressed too much by high alcohol and low nutrients.

 

[jak1010]

I've asked this before; anyone use corn meal in place of the rice?

I can't remember if corn meal was done but i do know that someone in this thread posted a bunch of experiments with other items. There was potatoes, spaghetti and others but I don't recall corn meal.

According to the posts, I don't think there was much success.

 

[z-bob]

I can't remember if corn meal was done but i do know that someone in this thread posted a bunch of experiments with other items. There was potatoes, spaghetti and others but I don't recall corn meal.

According to the posts, I don't think there was much success.

I thought someone tried it and it didn't really work with regular cornmeal or cracked corn, but it did work with nixtamalized (sp?) corn (tamale mix.) I might have that mixed up with somebody brewing with cornmeal without a cereal mash. Or something.

 

[z-bob]

duplicate

 

[Arrheinous]

Maybe quinoa or some other grain in place of rice.

 

[drumuglyknuckles]

I've asked this before; anyone use corn meal in place of the rice?

That would be something like Chicha.look it up, it's worth the try

 

[drumuglyknuckles]

Maybe quinoa or some other grain in place of rice.

Like that idea.at this point I'm excited to experiment with every grain I can.

 

[drumuglyknuckles]

Maybe quinoa or some other grain in place of rice.

I like that. At this point I'm interested in experimenting every grain I can find

 

[wc1376c]

So the Black/Red rice batch was poo poo. No taste, no %. Keeping it around just for intrest, to see if its a late bloomer. The Almond powder batch, didn't flavor out, but the % is there. Oh well on to the next batches.

 

[emwinna]

I have read thru about 2/3 of this thread (it took me about two weeks) and I've got one little tiny batch humming along in my cabinet. Despite following all the best practices (sanitizing everything, cooling the rice, proper ratio of water to rice, etc.) it still has a pretty strong acetone aroma. (I think. I don't find it unpleasant, and my brand of nail polish remover has floral fragrance added, so maybe my nose is just mistaken.) I'm not freaking about it. It's still got two weeks to go, so I'm going to continue leaving it alone and let it do what it's gonna do. It's in the back of my kitchen cabinet, so it gets no light. Mine has lots of liquid and the rice grains are still (sort of) intact, but mine has no fuzz growth at all. I used ARL and yeast balls I got from jak. (Thank you!)

Now I'm gonna start my monster batch (brew big or go home!!) with:

15 c. sweet rice / 3.2 kg according to my scale (it's what I've got on hand, and I plan to age it for a while.)
3.2 kg water
1 teaspoon white labs yeast nutrient in the rice boil (we're halfway thru a move and I JUST CAN'T WAIT so I'm gonna do it without my rice maker. I got perfect rice with a pot last time, so I'm gonna use it again.)
5 tablespoons sugar in the boil, to give the yeast something to much on while the amylase gets to work.
40 g. starter balls (4-ish)
1 pkt angel rice leaven
150 g. red yeast rice

Cool the rice well, use sanitized hands to roll the rice into ping pong ball sized, well, balls.
Roll the balls in my powdered starter mix (ARL, RYR, and Chinese balls spun thru my food processor) and stack them in a sanitized 5-gal food bucket with airlock.
Stash it for 3-4 weeks, to be determined by airlock activity.

I'll post progress in about a month!



Thanks to all of you who have contributed to the thread. I'm of half a mind to try to distill and compile it all into a single outlined document at some point. Would anyone want that? I have about six pages of handwritten notes already (up to about pg 280). Maybe an FAQ?

 

[MasterCrook]

I have read thru about 2/3 of this thread (it took me about two weeks) and I've got one little tiny batch humming along in my cabinet. Despite following all the best practices (sanitizing everything, cooling the rice, proper ratio of water to rice, etc.) it still has a pretty strong acetone aroma. (I think. I don't find it unpleasant, and my brand of nail polish remover has floral fragrance added, so maybe my nose is just mistaken.) I'm not freaking about it. It's still got two weeks to go, so I'm going to continue leaving it alone and let it do what it's gonna do. It's in the back of my kitchen cabinet, so it gets no light. Mine has lots of liquid and the rice grains are still (sort of) intact, but mine has no fuzz growth at all. I used ARL and yeast balls I got from jak. (Thank you!)

Now I'm gonna start my monster batch (brew big or go home!!) with:

15 c. sweet rice / 3.2 kg according to my scale (it's what I've got on hand, and I plan to age it for a while.)
3.2 kg water
1 teaspoon white labs yeast nutrient in the rice boil (we're halfway thru a move and I JUST CAN'T WAIT so I'm gonna do it without my rice maker. I got perfect rice with a pot last time, so I'm gonna use it again.)
5 tablespoons sugar in the boil, to give the yeast something to much on while the amylase gets to work.
40 g. starter balls (4-ish)
1 pkt angel rice leaven
150 g. red yeast rice

Cool the rice well, use sanitized hands to roll the rice into ping pong ball sized, well, balls.
Roll the balls in my powdered starter mix (ARL, RYR, and Chinese balls spun thru my food processor) and stack them in a sanitized 5-gal food bucket with airlock.
Stash it for 3-4 weeks, to be determined by airlock activity.

I'll post progress in about a month!



Thanks to all of you who have contributed to the thread. I'm of half a mind to try to distill and compile it all into a single outlined document at some point. Would anyone want that? I have about six pages of handwritten notes already (up to about pg 280). Maybe an FAQ?

The acetone smell is not a good sign, there was probably oxidation. I just had 2 bottles of acetone rice wine, it was unpleasant to drink.

 

[bottlebomber]

Welcome to the forum, emwinna

 

[z-bob]

The gallon of apple wine (fortified with old crabapple jelly that turned brown but still tasted okay) fermented with a yeast ball has cleared. I will be sampling and bottling it soon. It did not lighten in color as much as when I made the same stuff using Premier Cuvee champagne yeast a couple of months ago.

I'm harvest the sediment to see if I can kill off the acetobacter etc and just keep the yeast. (no, I don't know what I'm doing) It should be mostly yeast anyway after fermenting with a fermentation lock; everything should be oxygen starved, but it might still be there and just dormant. No idea if it'll be useful for brewing beer...

 

[swedgin]

Almost done reading the whole thread (phew).

It's been over 2 years since this thread began. I'm sure all you rice wine vets have learned a thing or two in those 2 years. Any of you rice wine old timers feel like breaking down your process, start to finish, for how you make your wine today, with what you've learned from all your experiments?

Include the details, measurements, temperatures, amounts, methods, et cetera. What works for you best? I'm sure you guys can make a great batch with your eyes closed now. Share the love!

Cheers!

 

[wc1376c]

So I have been going at it pretty regularly, having at least two big batches and at least two smaller ones going at any time. The big ones on average yield three to six litres. The small ones, three. Brewing in those amounts has given me the flexibility to experiment.

I keep both of the known yeasts on hand as they seem to produce different wines. I have tried the starter method several of those times with both yeasts and have not noticed any difference (I haven't given up on this yet). As mentioned in a previous post, the tablets seem to produce a sweet wine and the balls a dry. My red yeast rice batches have not panned out, kinda disappointed. I still have more so I will try again.

My batch sizes do present differently. The smaller ones (usually in some type of one gallon container) have varied in rice quantity, from just five cups cooked up to ten, both always yielding approx three litres. Yeast amount versas cup amount is still a running experiment. The smaller ones also seem to mature faster, about two to two and a half weeks.

I stopped agitating after about batch number six or so. I bag my mixture in paint filters and they are submerged after the first week, always. I found what are supposed to be Soy Bean filters, and they are the bee's knees. They are cloth and a little smaller than the typical five gallon paint filter from Home Depot. You should boil them every time before use to ensure they are clean (I do this anyway with all filters). The filter make clean up and straining soooo much easier! By the way, my big batches are done in either five gallon pails or Big Mouth Bubblers. Wide openings for the win.

Oak cubes work very well, definatly one of my favorite flavors for rice wine. I soak mine in some type of spirit to sterilize and/or to add flavor, put them in a smaller filter bag and toss them in the bottom. Regular raisens are another win, have not tried the golden ones as I remember reading they have some additive that will damage the wine itself or flavor of.

Clarifying and Pasturization are a whole other post for some of you more experienced wine makers to tackle. I have been using bentonite with some success and just picked up some isanglass and sparkolloid to experiment with. Still conflicted about that week to two week wait time for those two.

Anyway lost track of where I was headed. I have two big batch with 64 oz of strawberries and another with 48 oz of blueberries going. I'll let you know at the end of January how they taste.

Happy New Year all!!

 

[z-bob]

I'm not an expert but I'll answer anyway.

Two cups of rice (raw) soaked briefly, rinsed, and then cooked in 2 cups of water and fermented with 1 rice ball yields just over 750 ml of strong sweet wine -- sweeter than I prefer. A half a rice ball would probably be enough. I'm fermenting in a cool basement at 60-something degrees for a month in Aldi's clear glass candy jars. Then squeeze it out with a 1-gal paint strainer bag.

From what I've read, you have to use low-amylose rice or the yield will be poor. Sweet rice, sushi rice, medium grain white rice, or Jasmine rice. My next batch will be 100% Chinese sweet rice. I need to try Jasmine rice.

 

[wc1376c]

I'm not an expert but I'll answer anyway.

Two cups of rice (raw) soaked briefly, rinsed, and then cooked in 2 cups of water and fermented with 1 rice ball yields just over 750 ml of strong sweet wine -- sweeter than I prefer. A half a rice ball would probably be enough. I'm fermenting in a cool basement at 60-something degrees for a month in Aldi's clear glass candy jars. Then squeeze it out with a 1-gal paint strainer bag.

From what I've read, you have to use low-amylose rice or the yield will be poor. Sweet rice, sushi rice, medium grain white rice, or Jasmine rice. My next batch will be 100% Chinese sweet rice. I need to try Jasmine rice.

I do not know if you were writing to me or not, but I'll respond.

I have used every type of rice and brand an A+ AsianMart has. From sweet short to sweet medium to Thai long grain. The best batch I have had yet is with the Thai long. However, I will stand by you on this for sure, SOAK YOUR RICE. My best batches come from an overnight soak and good second rinsing before I cook.

I'll have to try cutting my yeast addition with the balls in half, see what that does.

 

[z-bob]

I do not know if you were writing to me or not, but I'll respond.

Nope, I was replying to swedgin

I don't think cutting the rice ball in half will make any difference except they will go twice as far.

I am thinking about adding a little water to mine halfway along to dilute the sugar and the alcohol to see if that allows the yeast to push on a little farther and dry it out. I've been adding lemon juice or cranberry juice to my wine to cut the sweetness.

 

[wc1376c]

I am thinking about adding a little water to mine halfway along to dilute the sugar and the alcohol to see if that allows the yeast to push on a little farther and dry it out. I've been adding lemon juice or cranberry juice to my wine to cut the sweetness.

LOL, I actually added 500ml of Pellagrino to these last to batches to try that out and was considering adding 500 more at week two.

 

[wc1376c]

last *two batches

 

[swedgin]

So I have been going at it pretty regularly, having at least two big batches and at least two smaller ones going at any time. The big ones on average yield three to six litres. The small ones, three. Brewing in those amounts has given me the flexibility to experiment.

I keep both of the known yeasts on hand as they seem to produce different wines. I have tried the starter method several of those times with both yeasts and have not noticed any difference (I haven't given up on this yet). As mentioned in a previous post, the tablets seem to produce a sweet wine and the balls a dry. My red yeast rice batches have not panned out, kinda disappointed. I still have more so I will try again.

My batch sizes do present differently. The smaller ones (usually in some type of one gallon container) have varied in rice quantity, from just five cups cooked up to ten, both always yielding approx three litres. Yeast amount versas cup amount is still a running experiment. The smaller ones also seem to mature faster, about two to two and a half weeks.

I stopped agitating after about batch number six or so. I bag my mixture in paint filters and they are submerged after the first week, always. I found what are supposed to be Soy Bean filters, and they are the bee's knees. They are cloth and a little smaller than the typical five gallon paint filter from Home Depot. You should boil them every time before use to ensure they are clean (I do this anyway with all filters). The filter make clean up and straining soooo much easier! By the way, my big batches are done in either five gallon pails or Big Mouth Bubblers. Wide openings for the win.

Oak cubes work very well, definatly one of my favorite flavors for rice wine. I soak mine in some type of spirit to sterilize and/or to add flavor, put them in a smaller filter bag and toss them in the bottom. Regular raisens are another win, have not tried the golden ones as I remember reading they have some additive that will damage the wine itself or flavor of.

Clarifying and Pasturization are a whole other post for some of you more experienced wine makers to tackle. I have been using bentonite with some success and just picked up some isanglass and sparkolloid to experiment with. Still conflicted about that week to two week wait time for those two.

Anyway lost track of where I was headed. I have two big batch with 64 oz of strawberries and another with 48 oz of blueberries going. I'll let you know at the end of January how they taste.

Happy New Year all!!

Golden info, thanks! I plan to collect as many of these accounts as people post and consolidate them. Maybe we can even get them edited into the first part to save a lot of people a lot of reading lol