How to brew rice wine

In life, many people like to drink alcohol very much, but there are many types of rice wine in our country. From the taste of the wine, it can be divided into sauce-flavored, light-flavored and strong-flavored types. However, if we look at the origin and manufacturing, different regions have different unique wines. For example, rice wine is a wine that has been passed down in my country since ancient times. This wine is brewed with pure grains and has a particularly fragrant taste. So how is rice wine brewed?

The raw material for brewing Hakka rice wine is rough glutinous rice, which is glutinous rice that has not been finely processed (threshed). The reason for using brown glutinous rice is to keep the wine clear to the greatest extent possible. There is also wine cake, which is wine koji. Hakka rice wine still uses wine cakes to make wine. Wine cake is the key to fermentation, and good wine cake is the key to brewing good wine. The methods of making wine cakes are different in each place, so the brewed wine is also different. The distiller's yeast in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas is mostly used to make sweet wine (laozao).

How to make Hakka rice wine

1. First, soak the rice in water in a large container. If you use brown glutinous rice, soak it for a day. If you use ordinary glutinous rice, soak it overnight. The container for soaking rice must not be greasy.

2. Put the soaked rice into a large steamer and steam it for 40 minutes. Steamed rice can be cooled down by boiling it in cold water (cooked water), or it can be cooled naturally. When the temperature of the rice is between 30-20 degrees, grind the wine cake into powder and mix it evenly into the rice. If the rice is too sticky, add some cold boiled water.

3. Put the rice mixed with wine cake into a large container (with a lid and no oil). Press the rice firmly with your hands, then dig a deep hole in the middle of the rice to make it easier to observe the release of the wine. Put the lid on the container (just press it down, don't close it tightly to prevent debris from entering). Store in a cool place for 2 days (one day at room temperature with heating), open the lid and observe whether wine comes out. Continue to keep warm until the wine is ready.

4. After the wine is brewed, you can smell the aroma of wine in the room. Use a clean spoon to stir the rice to mix the liquid and solids thoroughly. If you observe the rice again after 5-6 days, you will find that the wine aroma is stronger than before. At this time, you can add some cold boiled water (half the total weight of the rice) and continue fermenting (do not close the lid tightly). The fermentation time is determined by temperature and personal preference. The longer the fermentation time, the stronger the wine tastes and the less sweet it is; the shorter the fermentation time, the sweeter it is. After fermentation is complete, the wine and lees need to be separated.

5. Then put the wine in a container and place it in the pot (the container needs to be covered with a lid, but not tightly), steam it over low heat until the wine churns, then turn off the heat and let it cool naturally. After cooling, store sealed. The heated wine has completely finished fermenting.

After the Hakka rice wine is brewed, use an oil-free spoon to scoop the wine each time, and keep it oil-free and free of debris throughout the entire process.