Making Traditional rice Wine. Cheap, Fun, and Different

[eigua]

Yesterday I dumped out the mass of moldy sushi rice that was in my jar and began batch #2. Four cups sushi rice, one cup ryr, and 1 yeast ball. I'm going to pop it open n in three days and taste the rice, but just a spoonful or two. Thanks to Jak1010 for the eBay sales.

Four cups dry rice might need more than 1 yeast ball. I would use 2. Some people use a lot more. 1 cup RYR is a lot more than I used. I'm curious to hear how it comes out.

 

[eigua]

Tasted it again, day 17. It's not as sweet and fruity as it was a few days ago, so I put it in the fridge. It tastes better now (maybe because it is cold) but still not as good as it was... I liked it sweet and fruity, now it tastes a little more bland... should I pasteurize it or let it go longer at room temp?
Or keep it in the fridge without pasteurizing?
I'm thinking maybe if it stays at room temperature eventually the amylase will keep breaking down the sugars after the alcohol production stops and give me something sweeter... and perhaps help with producing more flavours (hopefully good ones)? Again, a total newbie at all of this.

I don't know what would happen if you tried to continue at room temp. You might get more starch conversion, but you may also get more fermentation yielding a higher ABV. If you just want to make it sweeter, you could always add sugar/juice/rice syrup and then keep it in the fridge or pasteurize depending on how long you want to keep it around for.

I've only made 6 batches so far (well 5, one failed), but none were done in only 17 days. Even at 21 I didn't feel like it was as finished as it could be. I then did one batch at 30 days, one at like 50 days, and one at 78 days. My favorite was the rice-cooker broken jasmine rice batch at 50 days. The steamed glutenous rice at 78 days was extremely sweet. But if there's anything to learn from my batches, I think it's that this stuff can ferment a very long time before turning vinegary provided you're good with sanitation (and I'm not even that great).

 

[brewit75]

Four cups dry rice might need more than 1 yeast ball. I would use 2. Some people use a lot more. 1 cup RYR is a lot more than I used. I'm curious to hear how it comes out.

Agreed. My batches were 2 yeast balls for every 4 cups of rice. Also, I usually use about 1/4 cup of RYR at the most for any batch.

With an entire cup of RYR, it'll probably end up being similar to a red wine like Cab or Merlot.

I'd suggest adding another crushed yeast ball. It's not too late. Just crush one up and mix it in with a sterilized spoon.

Either way, let us know how this turns out.

 

[cuisinechemist]

I don't know what would happen if you tried to continue at room temp. You might get more starch conversion, but you may also get more fermentation yielding a higher ABV. If you just want to make it sweeter, you could always add sugar/juice/rice syrup and then keep it in the fridge or pasteurize depending on how long you want to keep it around for.

I've only made 6 batches so far (well 5, one failed), but none were done in only 17 days. Even at 21 I didn't feel like it was as finished as it could be. I then did one batch at 30 days, one at like 50 days, and one at 78 days. My favorite was the rice-cooker broken jasmine rice batch at 50 days. The steamed glutenous rice at 78 days was extremely sweet. But if there's anything to learn from my batches, I think it's that this stuff can ferment a very long time before turning vinegary provided you're good with sanitation (and I'm not even that great).

I'd like it around for a couple of weeks at least. It's sweet enough, I just have a sweet tooth. But I was also hoping for more flavour. Right now I can taste sweet, alcohol, and some rice but it's not as fruity as it was before which is the main thing. Not sure if sugar would help in that case. I suppose I could try juice...

It's certainly not turning sour (I kind of like it a little tart though) but it's good to know that it takes a while to turn sour. Thanks for sharing your experiences. I've never made this before; when my grandma does she ferments for a much shorter period because she doesn't want it too alcoholic. What kind of temperature do you keep yours at?
It's been pretty hot here lately, perhaps rt is not the correct description... I think we are hitting closer to 30*C.

 

[eigua]

I'd like it around for a couple of weeks at least. It's sweet enough, I just have a sweet tooth. But I was also hoping for more flavour. Right now I can taste sweet, alcohol, and some rice but it's not as fruity as it was before which is the main thing. Not sure if sugar would help in that case. I suppose I could try juice...

It's certainly not turning sour (I kind of like it a little tart though) but it's good to know that it takes a while to turn sour. Thanks for sharing your experiences. I've never made this before; when my grandma does she ferments for a much shorter period because she doesn't want it too alcoholic. What kind of temperature do you keep yours at?
It's been pretty hot here lately, perhaps rt is not the correct description... I think we are hitting closer to 30*C.

There shouldn't be any need to pasteurize for such a short expected shelf life.

I don't watch temps really but it's usually around 70 F (21 C) in here.

One thing I have noticed is that it seems to have more flavor if you don't separate out the cloudy rice particles.

 

[cuisinechemist]

New problem. So I left it in the fridge for a bit and I swear it tastes like ethyl acetate. I can't really smell nail polish, but it has that banana-ey flavour. This worries me, what should I do now?

It was tasting pretty good around day 14 ish

Edit: Compared it to a bottle of ethyl acetate from the lab. definitely ethyl acetate, maybe some other esters too

 

[danmerk23]

I think I've asked the question before, is white mold with a tinge of pink still ok? It's been 5 days and almost full liquid but like syrup, sweet and that slight bitterness from the mold. Just curios that the cake at the top which has a slight pink color is still ok to drink. Also when do I squeeze this and do I keep the cap of mold or do I pull this off the top?

 

[ChefRex]

I think I've asked the question before, is white mold with a tinge of pink still ok? It's been 5 days and almost full liquid but like syrup, sweet and that slight bitterness from the mold. Just curios that the cake at the top which has a slight pink color is still ok to drink. Also when do I squeeze this and do I keep the cap of mold or do I pull this off the top?

It's fine, relax, I'll scoop as much of the solids off as I can and drain the liquid off, I strain and never squeeze but I like it cleared not cloudy.
I made this quite a few times and have never had a bad batch, it's very forgiving

 

[johns455]

OK, after reading about half this post I am sold lol. I have my yeast balls ordered from E-bay and bought a bag of jasmine rice this morning. I gave $4.50 for 4 balls shipping included, if anyone knows of a cheaper online place to buy them let me know please.

 

[brewit75]

OK, after reading about half this post I am sold lol. I have my yeast balls ordered from E-bay and bought a bag of jasmine rice this morning. I gave $4.50 for 4 balls shipping included, if anyone knows of a cheaper online place to buy them let me know please.

There are so many selling on ebay. But it sounds like you got a fair deal. The best way is to try local asian markets.

After trying 3 of the ones local to me (searching for hours) I determined there was no chance. I even tried to ask them to order them for me but none were able to or interested in doing so.

After that, I turned to ebay. So much easier than spending hours searching the stores. What type did you get?

 

[Scout]

Four cups dry rice might need more than 1 yeast ball. I would use 2. Some people use a lot more. 1 cup RYR is a lot more than I used. I'm curious to hear how it comes out.

I took this pic two days ago, about four or five days in. I think the rice is starting to separate from the liquid (float)

 

[johns455]

thanks, I live in a very small town and the closest place that might have a Chinese market is about 1.5 hrs away so online is my best choice for getting brewing supplies. I got 4 Shanghai Yeast Balls from a seller named forestseller1, I looked at a lot of listing and his seemed to be the best deal.

 

[brewit75]

I took this pic two days ago, about four or five days in. I think the rice is starting to separate from the liquid (float)

Looks good.

 

[johns455]

Started 2 batches today, the first one I followed the basic recipe, in the second I soaked the rice in pineapple juice overnight just for giggles and to see what would happen.

 

[johns455]

Well regular batch has a little liquid in the bottom already, the pineapple batch has close to twice as much liquid, hum I wonder if the juice helped break down the rice faster? I will post further when I check up on it next week.

 

[cuisinechemist]

That smell that I thought was ethyl acetate disappeared after a week in the fridge. Hmm, wondering what it might have been, or what happened.
Also started a new batch. Used less water this time to cook and got a much stickier mass of rice. Temperatures have also cooled down in the past week; wonder how this will affect the fermentation.

 

[buMbLeB]

Well regular batch has a little liquid in the bottom already, the pineapple batch has close to twice as much liquid, hum I wonder if the juice helped break down the rice faster? I will post further when I check up on it next week.

I've never made a rice wine, though I aspire to someday, but I'll add this tidbit: pineapple contains compounds that are very effective at breaking down proteins. This is why it's often added to pork/ham - to make it tender - and why your lips burn after eating a lot of it fresh (but not cooked), and why you can't get naturally flavoured pineapple jello. Maybe it does the same to rice proteins?

 

[eigua]

Well regular batch has a little liquid in the bottom already, the pineapple batch has close to twice as much liquid, hum I wonder if the juice helped break down the rice faster? I will post further when I check up on it next week.

Was the plain version also soaked? (I'm assuming you mean the dry grains were soaked and not the cooked grains.) If the pineapple version was soaked and the other wasn't, the grains would be holding more liquid. I found that rice cooked in a rice cooker (very sticky) leaked out far more liquid faster than rice cooked by the steaming method. This would simply be because the rice cooker version absorbed far more water.

 

[johns455]

Was the plain version also soaked? (I'm assuming you mean the dry grains were soaked and not the cooked grains.) If the pineapple version was soaked and the other wasn't, the grains would be holding more liquid. I found that rice cooked in a rice cooker (very sticky) leaked out far more liquid faster than rice cooked by the steaming method. This would simply be because the rice cooker version absorbed far more water.

Yes, the plain version was soaked in water and the other in juice, I had planed to just soak for an hour but got distracted and ended up soaking overnight. Then both were steam cooked.

 

[eigua]

Yes, the plain version was soaked in water and the other in juice, I had planed to just soak for an hour but got distracted and ended up soaking overnight. Then both were steam cooked.

Very interesting. I wonder if the added sugar had any effect. Or the acid. Interesting observation anyway.

 

[ChefRex]

That smell that I thought was ethyl acetate disappeared after a week in the fridge. Hmm, wondering what it might have been, or what happened.
Also started a new batch. Used less water this time to cook and got a much stickier mass of rice. Temperatures have also cooled down in the past week; wonder how this will affect the fermentation.

Why are you refrigerating this, I haven't gone back, I have never had any issue storage wise, I have kept bottles at ambient temp for a year+

 

[9au8]

I did a search and can't find anything yet. Anyone try red rice https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_rice with the yeast balls or red rice with YRY?

About how much is a package of YRY? Thanks.

 

[johns455]

Juice soaked rice is complete fail, very bad smell (alcohol + BO and spoiled milk) , black spots on top, after 3 days.

 

[brewit75]

I did a search and can't find anything yet. Anyone try red rice https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_rice with the yeast balls or red rice with YRY?

About how much is a package of YRY? Thanks.

Yes, this is a common addition to making a batch of rice wine. If you're referring to Red Yeast Rice.

When added in small quantities during fermentation, RYR gives the wine a fruity characteristic along with a beautiful red color. Definitely worth trying.

 

[johns455]

Just an FYI for those like me who order their yeast balls on ebay, a couple of sellers have great deals right now asianjungle77 has 12 balls for $8.05 ($5.45+$2.60 shipping)and jak1010 has 12 for $8.25 ($4.75+$3.50 shipping)

 

[eigua]

Why are you refrigerating this, I haven't gone back, I have never had any issue storage wise, I have kept bottles at ambient temp for a year+

This is good information to know. I've been pasteurizing my batches for longer storage. If I don't have to pasteurize, all the better!

 

[laserstone]

Last time I tried this I used "glutinous" Thai jasmine, but I recently moved and I can't find the same brand at any local stores. Is supermarket (normal, non-sticky) jasmine rice okay to use, or should I stick to sticky rice like sushi rice? If I do use sushi rice, will it affect the flavor? I know some people have reported a poor product with sushi rice in the past. Thanks!

 

[ChefRex]

This is good information to know. I've been pasteurizing my batches for longer storage. If I don't have to pasteurize, all the better!

What I have saved for long periods were given plenty of time to ferment, separate and the clear liquid corked, no signs of carbonation found so it was done doing what it was going to do.

I need to get some more going, my stash is very thin

 

[eigua]

Last time I tried this I used "glutinous" Thai jasmine, but I recently moved and I can't find the same brand at any local stores. Is supermarket (normal, non-sticky) jasmine rice okay to use, or should I stick to sticky rice like sushi rice? If I do use sushi rice, will it affect the flavor? I know some people have reported a poor product with sushi rice in the past. Thanks!

The OP didn't use glutinous jasmine, just plain jasmine rice (from what I can tell anyway -- it's not exactly clear). I've had great success with Three Ladies Brand broken Thai jasmine rice, also not labeled sweet, sticky, or glutinous and the grains are more translucent than sticky varieties. In fact, I feel the flavor is more interesting than what I got from glutinous rice, though that wasn't glutinous jasmine, just plain small-grain glutinous rice. However, the glutinous rice did convert to more liquid than the broken jasmine overall. On the flip side, jasmine is cheaper. When in doubt, try it. You might discover something you like.

 

[johns455]

Last time I tried this I used "glutinous" Thai jasmine, but I recently moved and I can't find the same brand at any local stores. Is supermarket (normal, non-sticky) jasmine rice okay to use, or should I stick to sticky rice like sushi rice? If I do use sushi rice, will it affect the flavor? I know some people have reported a poor product with sushi rice in the past. Thanks!

I used just plain Lousiana Jasmine rice and it is working just fine, looks like a jar of milk now lol