KoreanRiceWine

TableofContents

SUBJECTPAGE
1.WhatisMakgeolli()?...2
2.WhatisDongdongju()?...2
3.WhataretheIngredientsinMakgeolli?......3
4.HowisMakgeolliMade?.4

Step1YeastStarter...3
Step2BoilWater....3
Step3Rinse,Soak,andDrainRice.......4
Step4SteamtheRice.......4
Step5CooltheRice.....4
Step6AddRice,water,andYeastStartertotheFermentationVessel.5
Step7Bottling..5
Step8Serving...5

5.Challenges.....6
6.SourcesofSupplies..8
7.AdditionalResources.....8

1.WhatisMakgeolli()?
AccordingtoWikipediahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makgeolli:
Makgeolli, also known as makkoli or makuly (takju) (and referred to in English as "Korean rice wine"), is
an alcoholic beverage native to Korea. It is made from a mixture of wheat and rice, which gives it a milky,
off-white color, and sweetness.[1] It is made by fermenting a mixture of boiled rice, wheat and water, and is
about 68% alcohol by volume. Most makgeolli contains rice; however, a few brands contain wheat instead
of rice.
It was originally quite popular among farmers, earning it the name nongju ( / ), which means
farmer liquor. However, it has recently started to become more popular in cities, especially with the
younger generations. Dongdongju () is a drink very similar to makgeolli, and both are commonly
imbibed alongside Korean pancakes called pajeon () or bindaetteok ().

Themostuseful,workingdefinitionofmakgeolliisKoreanRiceWine,butinrealitymakgeolliis
notwine,norisitbeer.Itismakgeolli.
Itisnotnew:Koreanshavebeendrinkingmakgeolliforcenturiespossiblymorethan2000
years.AccordingtoThePoeticRecordsofEmperorsandKings(Jewangungi),writtenduring
theGoryeoDynasty,thefirstmentionofthedrinkwasinthefoundingstoryoftheGoguryeo
duringthereignofKingDongmyeong.AlsoknownasJumong,KingDongmyeonglivedfrom58
BC19BC.
2.WhatisDongdongju()?

Dongdongju[ordongdongju]isayellowishdrinkthatisabout22timesasstrongas
makgeolli,andgetsitsnamebecausericeisusuallyfloatinginit[dong=floating,inKorean].
Makgeolliisstrainedorfiltered,andthereforenoriceistransferredfromthefermenterinto
thefinalproduct.Bycontrast,Dongdongjuissiphonedorpouredoutofthefermenter,andin
sodoing,anumberofgrainsofricemaycomealongfortheride.
HereisablogthatincludescommentsonDongdongju,writtenbyanAmericanlivinginKorea:
DongDongJu.Ihaverecentlybecomehookedonthisshit.Weusuallyhititatleast
onceaweek.DongDongJuisarusticricewine.It'smilkywhiteandalittlebitsweet,but
nottoosweet.Theyusuallyserveitupinbigbowls,whichyouthenladleintosmaller
bowlsfordrinking.It'snotthatstrong,really,butifyoudrinkalotofit,whichwe
invariablydo,itgivesyouawarmandhappybuzzwithjustalittlebitofCRAZYthrown
in.http://koreanwine.tistory.com/2
IfyouwanttotryauthenticDongdongjuwhileenjoyinggoodKoreanfood,Icanrecommend
Oegadgib,aKoreanrestaurantinAnnandale,VA.Oegadgibislocatedat7331LittleRiver
Turnpike,Annandale,VA22003,7039413400.

Dongdongju,tothebestofmyknowledge,isessentiallymakgeollithatisnotdilutedbefore
bottling,andwhichhasbeenallowedtosettleforawhile.Thereisnotmuchdongdongju
informationinEnglishontheInternet,soIcantreallyaddressitindepth.Iwillhaveto
continuemyresearch.

3.WhataretheingredientsinMakgeolli?

RICE:SweetriceorJapanesesushiricewillwork.YoumayhavetogotoanOriental
grocerystoretofindthistypeofrice.

YEAST:Thisisoptional,butusingbreadyeastorawineyeastwillreducethe
fermentationtimebyabout50percent.RedStarbreadyeastwillwork,butIuseLalvin
WineYeastEC1118,asithasahighalcoholtoleranceandneutralflavor.

WATER:Preboiled.

POWDEREDENZYMEAMYLASE[NURUK]:Nuruk[alsoNurook]isafermentationstarter,
consistingofwheatflourthat'sbeenwettedthenpressedintoacake,thenallowedto
incubateataround3040C.Numeroustypesofmicroorganisms,molds,bacteriaand
yeastsarepresentinnuruk.Acomparisonofkogi[ayeastusedinJapaneseSake],and
Nuruk:
Table 3. Main enzyme activities in koji and nuruk
http://www.fao.org/docrep/x2184e/x2184e09.htm
Enzyme

Koji

Nuruk

a-Glucosidase (Wohlgemuth value D 40

30/g

1225

256

Glucoamylase (mg glucose produced/hr/g)

201

260

Acid Protease (mg tyrosine produced/hr/g)

3674

181

4.HowisMakgeolliMade?

Step1:YeastStarter

Eitherthenightbeforeorfirstthinginthemorning,put12tablespoonsofsugarina
smallsaucepanalongwithafewcupsofwater.Bringtoaboil,andturntheheatoff
whenthesugarisdissolvedcompletely.
Whencool,addthedryyeastandnuruk.Useabouthalfofa16oz.packageofNuruk
forabatchcontaining22.5kgs[4.45.5lbs.]ofrice.

Somepeoplegrindthenurukwithacoffeegrinderbeforehydratingit,whileothersput
itinaplasticbagandcrushitwitharollingpinorotherobject.Sincehydrationseems
tosoftentherelativelyhardpiecesofnuruk,Iskipthisstep.

Step2:Boilwater.

Eitherthenightbefore,orfirstthinginthemorning,boilthewaterthat,when
cooled,willbeaddedtothefermentationvesselalongwiththesteamedrice.Iam
stilllearningrecipeformulation,butIrecommendboiling23litersofwaterfor
eachkilogramofrice.Besuretohaveenough.

Step3:Rinse,Soak,andDrainRice.

Putyourriceinalargebowl,andthenwithwaterrinsebyhand.Youhavetorinse
thericerepeatedly,untilthecloudywaterbecomesclear.Toseehowthisisdone,I
recommendviewingtheZedomaxvideoonYouTube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2qXRGih1E8
Zedomaxwasheshisrice30times,butifyourinsethericealongtimebefore
pouringoutthewater,thisnumbercanbereduced.Thewaterdoesnthavetobe
asclearastapwater,butthecloudinessmustbenearlyabsent.
Oncethewaterisclear,addwatertocoverthericebyabout1andthenletitsoak
foratleast3hours.Thisisastepthatcanbedonethenightbefore,asa1012hour
soakdoesnoharm.
Afteryouhavesoakedtherice,allowittodrainforatleastonehour.Mymethodis
toputthericeinapaintstrainerbag,andthenplaceinasteamer.Othermethods
maybeused.

Step4:Steamtherice.

Mostsourcesadviseagainstusingaricecooker,soplanonusingasteamer.The
bamboosteamersthatWalMartandotherplacessellarefine.OntheWalMartweb
site,searchforbamboosteamertoseewhattheylooklike.
Putthericeinapaintstrainerbag,transferthebagintothesteamer,andthenput
thesteamerontopofkettlethatisabouthalffullofwater.Steamthericefor3060
minutes,oruntilitismediumhardandslightlyyellowinappearance.
Onceevery1520minutes,turnthericesothatitisallgivenequalexposuretothe
risingsteam.

Step5:Cooltherice.

Laythericeoutinalong,thin,rowtocool.Along,cleanservingtrayworkswell
forthis.

Step6:AddRice,water,andYeastStartertotheFermentationVessel.

Oncethericehascooled,addittothefermentationvessel.
Addpreboiledwatertothefermentationvessel.Ifthiswateriscoldenough,
youcanshortentheabovecoolingstepalittle.
Usingyoursanitizedhand,gentlymixupthericeandwaterinyourfermentation
vessel.Breakupclumpsofrice,butdonotgettoocarriedawayandsqueezethe
ricegrainstothepointofdamagingthem.
Whenyouarecertainthattherice/watermixinyourfermentationvesseliscool
enough,addyouryeaststarterandmixbyhand.
Addacleanclothoverthetopthefermenter.
Keepthefermenterawayfromdirectsunlightanddontletitgethotortoocold.
Usingeitherasanitizedhandorlongspoon,stirthecontentsofthefermentation
vesselonceortwiceadayforthefirst45days.
After78daysatroomtemperature,themakgeollishouldbereadyforbottling.

Step7:Bottling

Addsweetenerifdesired:Splenda,Equal,oranaturalKoreansweetener:
http://koreanproducts.com/2012/01/11/naturalsweetenersmaggeollikooksun/
Experimenttoseehowmuchsweeteneryoulike.
Toobtainmakgeolliofapproximately67%alv,dilutebyaddingwaterinaratioof
approximately3partsrawmakgeollito2partswater.
Pourintoaplasticbottlewithatwisttop.Leavethecapslightlylooseforthefirstfew
daystoavoidovercarbonation.Itwillcontinuetofermentforuptothreeweeks.
Alternatively,youcouldpourintoallintoalargevessel,diluteasrequired,andthen
ladleitoutwhenserving.Thismightresultinreducedlevelsofcarbonation,butit
shouldstillbedrinkable.
Drinkwithin30days.

Step8Serving.

Ifatallpossible,ladleoutoflargerbowlintosmallerservingbowls:

Ifthebottleisrockhard,bealertforthedreadedmakgeollishowerwhenyouopenit.
Makesurethebottleisverycold,useatoweltoreducespray,andhavealargebowl
immediatelyavailabletopourinto.Overcarbonatedmakgeollicanbesofrothythatit
appearstobeboiling.Butnoworries,itwillsettledownandbedrinkablewithinafew
minutes.
Feelfreetomixold,new,homemade,andcommercialmakgeollitogethertosalvagea
batch.Afteracoupleofweeks,thetasteofmakgeolliwillchangeandyoumightnotlike
itasmuchasbefore.Noproblem,mixwithafresherbottleanditwillbefine.
Alwaysstrainhomebrewmakgeollibeforeserving,tofilteroutasmuchnurukandtrub
aspossible.Thereisnoneedtofiltercommercialmakgeolli.
Asanalternativetoalargebowl,Koreansoftenservemakgeollioutofateakettle,but
tomyknowledgeitisalwayspouredintoindividualservingbowls.

5.Challenges.

Thereisalotofconfusing,conflicting,anderroneousinformationontheInternet.Someofit
maybeduetopoortranslations,whileanotherfactorseemstobethatthemajorityofmodern
daymodernKoreans,justlikeJoeSixPackintheU.S.onthesubjectofbeer,areignorant
aboutthevarioustypesofmakgeolliandDongdongju.Iveseenrecipesformakgeolliand
soju[KoreanVodka]thatwereactuallyrecipesformakgeollianddongdongju.Donttakethe
firstmakgeollirecipeyoufindatfacevalue;readasmuchasyoucan,andafterawhileyouwill
findrecurringthemesthatyoucanbelieve.

IhavetheadvantageofabilingualKoreanwifeaswellasrelativeslivinginKoreawhocansend
usstuff.Butforothers,theinformationcontainedherecombinedwithalittleselfstudy,will
enabletheproductionofdrinkablemakgeolli.

Itmustbestirredfrequently.Makgeolliseparatesquickly,withyeast,riceparticles,and
whatnotsettlingtothebottomofthevessel.Thisiswhyitisservedinabowl,soitcanbe
agitatedenoughtokeepeverythingsuspension.

Itfermentsalongtime.Makgeolliwillcontinuetofermentforuptothreeweeks,andifyou
tightenthebottlecapsrightawayafterbottling,youmaygetamakgeollishowerwhenyou
openthebottles.Therecommendationistouseplasticbottleswithtwisttops,anddont
tightenthemfullyuntil23dayshavepassed.Alternatively,youcanleaveallofthecaps
slightlyloose,andthentighteneachbottle2448hoursbeforeyouintendtodrinkit.Evenin
anuninsulatedgarageinthewinter,makgeolliwillcontinuetoferment.Inmyexperience,
addingprimingsugarorhoneyatbottlingisnotneeded,andwouldinfactbeamistake.

Howstrongisit?Sincetheinitialmixtureofwaterandriceisalmostasthickasporridge,I
dontknowhowtogetatruereadingofalv%.Ifyoureplicateaknownrecipe,thenyoushould
beabletomatchthealv%thatisgiven.Bothmakgeollianddongdongjuarealittlesneaky.
Dontassumethattheydontcontainmuchalcoholtheydo.

BackSweetening.Withmostmakgeollibeingslightlysourafterfermentation,back
sweeteningisusuallyusedtoimpartsweetness.Thisisafairlycommontechniqueinwine
making,anditinvolvesaddingasweetenereitheratbottling,orjustbeforedrinking.Unless
youwanttorestartfermentationforsomereason,yourbestchoiceistoaddanon
fermentablesweetenertobottledmakgeolli.

MostcommercialmakgeolliissweetenedwithAspartame,whichwastheprimaryingredientfor
NutraSweet.TheFDAapprovedaspartamein1974,butthisapprovalwashighlycontroversial,
withaspartamebeingviewedasarisktohumanhealth.ThereareafewplacesinKoreathat
teachtraditionalmethodsofmakingmakgeolli,andtheinstructorsadviseagainstusing
aspartame.

WefoundaKoreansweetenerthatblendsinverywellwiththemakgeolli,impartingalittle
sweetnessbutyetnotaddingitsowndistinctiveflavor,asEqualorSplendawilldo.Regardless
ofsweetener,afteracoupleofdaysitwillblendwiththemakgeolliandnotimpartsucha
separateflavor.

Itdoesntkeeplong.Mostsourcessaythatmakgeolliwillkeepforabout30days.However,
batchesarenotlarge,usuallyfromtwotosix1literbottles,sothisisnotaproblem.
Dongdongju,beingstronger,willkeepforafewmonthsifrefrigeratedandissupposedtoget
betterasitages.


6.SourcesofSupplies.

NURUKhttp://www.hmart.com/shopnow/shopnow_newsub.asp?p=846034006119

PowderedEnzymeAmylase[NurukinKorean]comesina1lb.bag.ForAbingdonZip
Code[21009],shippingcostsare$8.95foronebagofNuruk,and$8.95forfivebagsof
Nuruk.[Fiveappearstobethemaximumquantitythatonecanorder.]Dependingon
batchsize,onebagofNurukshouldbeenoughfor23batches.YoucanfindNurukat
eitherofthesetwolocalstores:
HMart,800NRollingRd,Catonsville,MD21228,4436129020,storehours:8
am10pm,7days.[$4.99forabagofnuruk]
LotteAssiPlaza,8801BaltimorePike,EllicottCity,MD21043,4107509656,9
am9:30pm,7days.[$4.49forabagofnuruk]

RICE:Youcanbuysweetriceateitheroftheabovetwolocalstores.Expecttopayno
morethanabout$1.00perpound.

YEAST:Youcanorderdrywineyeastfromalmostanymailorderhomebrewsupply
store,for$1.00[orless]perpacket.

SUMMARY:Mytotalcostisapproximately$1.001.50perbottleofmakgeolli.

7.AdditionalResources

NAME:Makgeolli'sMomentofGlory[ArirangToday]
URL:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyunI51ulAw
DESCRIPTION:Agoodoverviewofthemanydifferenttypesofmakgeolli,theclaimedhealth
benefitsofmakgeolli,howtomakemakgeolli,andhowmakgeolliisstagingaresurgencein
Korea.ItisinEnglish,orKoreanwithEnglishsubtitles.

NAME:HowtoMakeKoreanRiceWineMakkoliatHome![]
URL:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2qXRGih1E8
DESCRIPTION:Thisisa43:59videobyZedomax,aKoreanwhoisfluentinEnglish.Heskind
ofaCharliePapazianformakgeolli,inthatmanyWesternersgottheirstartbywatchinghis
video.

NAME:MakingMakgeolli,KoreanRiceWine(Recipe1)
URL:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIFTrL_orQY
DESCRIPTION:AninformativevideobyaguywhocallshimselfMisterMakgeolli.Hehas
devotedmanyyearstofiguringouthowtomakemakgeolli,andyoucanlearnalotfromhis
videos.

NAME:MakkoliForum[NorthernBrewer]
URL:http://forum.northernbrewer.com/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=102035&start=15#p909014
DESCRIPTION:HomebrewforumonmakingKoreanricewine.

NAME:AHomebrewersGuidetoMakgeolli ()
URL:http://www.harmsboone.org/homebrewersguidemakgeolli
DESCRIPTION:ThisisfromabrewingclassconductedinKoreabyfifthgeneration
professionals.Itcontainssomegoodinformation.[Note:Idonotagreewiththeadviceto
add1tablespoonofsugartoeachbottle;inmyviewthiswillresultinovercarbonation.]

NAME:NungilVillage:AnUnsungHerotoMakgeolliDrinkersEverywhere
URL:http://happybeareats.blogspot.com/2011/11/nungilvillageunsungherotomakeoli.html
DESCRIPTION:TheHappyBearsisagroupofEnglishspeakingpeoplelivinginKorea,whose
focusisontraditionalmethodsofcookingandgrowingorganicfood.TheHappyBearsvisited
NungilVillage,aschoolthatteacheshowtomakemakgeolliandgrowfood.Itcontainssome
usefulinformationonhowtomakemakgeolli.Note:theinstructordoesnotapproveofusing
thesweeteneraspartame.

NAME:MakgeolliMamas&Papas
URL:http://mmpkorea.wordpress.com/mamapapareviews/home/
DESCRIPTION:ThisusefulwebsiteismaintainedbyEnglishspeakingpeoplelivinginKorea,in
ordertoencourageacommunityandprovideopportunitiesfortheexplorationandeducation
ofKoreanmakgeolliculture.ThereisasectionentitledMakgeolliHomebrewResourcesthat
containslinkstohowtoguidesandrecipes,forums,andblogs.

Manythankstomyadditionalresourceandherfaithfulassistant: