The Starter (Shubo/Moto)

The procedure was to grow the koji, then add all of the ingredients for the starter, as measured in recipe. I measured out the weight of the rice dry, expecting that I would have extra koji left over, just to be safe. I measured out 3 bags of rice at about 160 grams, since soaking in water would add more weight later. (We need 163.29g of koji for the starter).

For the two Jiu's I used Long-grain glutinous rice (for the starter only), and for the Sake I used milled sushi rice (Hitomebore [Love at First Sight], grown in California).

The Rice for the Jiu was grown in Thailand and actually was past its expiration date. But, it smelled fine and I bet that the microbes don't really mind. But, I would recommend using short-grain glutinous (sweet/mochi rice) as opposed to long-grain, if you are going to not use a sushi or sake rice. Sushi rice is easier to deal with because it is less sticky. But I am wondering how the different amalose/amylopectin ratios will affect the quality.

 

Here is some clean rice. I always feel bad about how much water is used to make sake. I estimate that over 200 gallons are used to make 3-4 gallons of sake (including water to wash rice, dishes, sanatize, boil, etc.), while mead probaly takes about 15 gallons to produce 4.5 gallons of mead. It is pretty amazing how labor and water intensive sake/jiu making is.

 

Steaming the rice. Make sure to have a pot with a tight fitting lid! Later on in the process, I didn't have a large pot with a lid, so I covered the pots with towels to hold in some steam. This is not only a fire hazard, but also leads to understeamed rice. Keep your flame at a decent heat to really let the steam permeate. Towards the end, we are cooking a lot of rice at once and you don't want the inside to be uncooked (which happened to me, but we'll see what the consequences of brewing uncooked rice are... later).

 

After steaming, I cooled the rice on a sanatized stainless steel surface and then sprinkled on some koji dust from http://www.tibbs-vision.com/sake/

I'm fairly convinced that the koji dust that they sell as the

Here is my koji in the incubator at 30°C/86°F. If this seems like a small amount, you're right. I prepared koji twice during this brew.

Prelude: The original Lotus Jiu recipe

below is my (not quite) original and unaltered recipe. things have changed (a lot) since then. for example, there is no longer any need for an igloo. this is my own original recipe, but it is based (heavily) on two recipes by Fred Eckhardt and Bob Taylor. Without further adieu:

“Chinese Fusion Style Lotus-Infused Clear Rice Wine”

 

Notes:

Lotus symbolism- Purity, enlightenment, divinity, softness, fragrance, union.

End product- Clear Huang Jiu (Yellow Rice Wine, Chinese)

 

http://homebrewsake.com/recipe/

Recipe multiplied by 1.44 to fill a plastic fermentation pail to the limit, headspace (kind of) considered.

Recipe modified to utilize a partially wild fermented starter, as per http://www.taylor-madeak.org/index.php

 

Glutinous (sticky) rice has high amylopectin and low/no amylose, making it very sticky. Because it lacks amylose, it may not hold its structure as well as other rice grains, possibly becoming a mush. It may be long grain or short grain. It can be labeled as glutinous, sweet, or mochi rice. Glutinous rice is brewed more commonly in China.

Sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaves is a traditional Chinese food (zongzi). Lotus leaf contains nuciferine and is used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat dizziness, fever, etc. It is slightly bitter.

 

Total Ingredients:

Yield: 2-3 gallon

Glutinous Rice: 6531.7g DRY (14.4 lbs)

Koji: 1632.9g WET (3.6 lbs)

Water: 10901.9 ml Reverse osmosis water (2.88 gal)

 

Yeast Nutrient: 5.76g

Epsom Salt (MgSO4): 1.00g

Morton Salt Substitute (KCl): 8.64g

NO LACTIC ACID ADDITION

 

Yeast: Sake #9- Wyeast 4134

 

Other:

Lotus leaves (Dry)

 

Table 1

Summary of Additions (Percents and Mass)

 

	Starter		First Addition		Second Add		Third Add		Final Adjustment
Rice	7.50%	489.87g	12.5	816.46g	30	1959.51g	50	3265.85g
Koji	10	163.29g	20	326.58g	30	489.87g	40	653.16
Water	7.8	850.35g	8.3	904.86g	27.6	3008.92g	56.3	6137.77
Nutrient	100	5.76g
MgSO4	100	1.00g
KCl	20	1.73g	80	6.91g

 

Rice Procedure:

(subject to change)

 

Rinse rice with cold tap water a lot. Until water runs “clear.”

Soak rice in refrigerator for 1 hour in water, tap is fine.

Drain rice 1 hour.

Rinse lotus leaves. Boil lotus leaves. Soak in hot water for 1 hour.

Wrap the rice in portioned cones of lotus leaf. Close with string.

Steam/pressure cook rice on/in lotus leaf for 1-1.5 hours.

Let cool on clean counter, and/or cool with water addition.

Discard lotus leaf.

Use a sterile tool to help separate grains a little/ stir things together.

 

Koji Making:

Koji is approximately 25-30% water by weight

(Below recipe makes 10% extra, water weight considered at 25%)

 

1347.1g DRY glutinous rice. Steam/process.

Inoculate with dry powdered Aspergillus oryzae.

Mix well after inoculation, at 24 hours, and at 48 hours/ before storage.

Incubate Koji 86-96*F for 48 hours. Beware of thermal death at around 104*F.

Consider that Koji will also generate its own heat.

Store in the coldest part of the refrigerator.

 

Starter (up to 14 days):

The construction of Bob Taylor's wild fermented starter seems a bit esoteric... but I will try to follow the directions, but... with some modifications. The number of days may be reduced if temperatures are high.

 

Day 0

This will be fermented in a glass container that it is easy to refrigerate and has a wide mouth. Sanitize.

Remember to protect the fermentation from light.

 

Day 1

Combine water, yeast nutrient, MgSO4 and KCl. Cover and refrigerate. (Do this first, so it's cold)

Prepare glutinous rice. Add rice to cold water to bring the mixture to about 70-75*F.

Add koji. Combine. Cover loosely with paper towel or aluminum foil.

Stir two times throughout the rest of the day with sanitized tool.

 

Day 2

Stir two times throughout the day.

Maintain room temperature.

 

Day 3

Remove yeast from refrigerator. Activate yeast packet. (3-5 hours)

Pour yeast into starter.

Refrigerate starter for 12 hours.

Return starter to room temperature. Stir with sanitized spoon.

 

Day 4-6

Stir two times throughout the day.

Maintain room temperature.

 

Day 7-9

Stir once daily.

Maintain room temperature.

 

Day 10-14

Refrigerate and let rest.

Sanitize bucket, stir stick, lid, airlock.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Main Additions:

 

Day 1 (First Addition)

Prepare glutinous rice. Add rice to water to cool it down.

Add all first addition ingredients into fermenter.

Add full contents of starter.

Carefully, put the fermenter into a cold water bath.

Cover loosely with lid. Stir every four hours.

 

Day 2

Stir twice daily. Still not airtight.

 

Day 3 (Second Addition)

Prepare glutinous rice.

Remove from water bath.

Add second addition ingredients after cooling the rice with the water.

Carefully, replace into water bath.

Stir twice daily. Still not airtight.

 

Day 4 (Third Addition)

Do in batches if necessary. Beware of overflow.

 

Prepare glutinous rice.

Remove from water bath.

Add third addition ingredients after cooling the rice with the water.

Take hydrometer reading.

Stir twice daily. Then seal at night.

 

*[next steps very subject to change]*

VERY CAREFULLY, bring outside (winter). Cover with newspaper or cardboard box to protect from light and help to regulate temperature.

 

Plan and build an igloo or small quinzhee. Make sure the airlock does not freeze. Wrap it with lots of insulation. Protect from light, bugs, bears, and college students.

 

Primary Fermentation:

 

Next 18-30 days

Ferment outdoors, protected from light. Aiming for 40-55*F. Be careful that airlock doesn't dry out or freeze.

 

Final Adjustment (2 days before next step):

 

Add steamed rice to sweeten and balance sourness. Wait two days and then rack.

 

Buy bottles (screwtop) in the near future.

 

 

Secondary Fermentation (7-10 days):

 

Sanitize secondary fermenter. Cover with cheese cloth or pour through a grain steeping bag. Carefully pour the brew into the secondary, reduce splashing. Allow the rice dregs to drip for at least a half hour in cold outdoor weather, preferably in an igloo. Squeezing is okay- there will be more filtration. Use a wine press if possible. Keep cold.

 

Tertiary Fermentation and Fining (3-5 days):

 

Sanitize tertiary fermenter and auto-siphon.

 

Carefully siphon the brew into the tertiary. Scoop out the lees and allow the rice dregs to drip (through doubled cheese cloth) for at least a half hour in cold outdoor weather. Do not squeeze- let gravity do it. Keep cold.

 

Fine with a fining agent. Let rest on an elevated stoop or table so it doesn't need to be moved for racking again.

 

Pasteurization and Bottling (Finale):

 

Sanitize bottles, lids, large pot, auto-siphon.

 

Siphon the fined huang jiu into the brew pot. Bring it to 140-143*F and keep it there for at least 5 minutes. Do not go higher. Stir out all of the bubbles. Leave no survivors.

 

Cover pot and put into ice bath. When the temperature is reduced to something manageable, siphon into bottles. Cap the bottles and proceed to chill the bottles and refrigerate.

 

Label bottles, after making sure everything has been thoroughly chilled. Use a weak glue/ peelable adhesive. Casein glue? Water based?

 

Possible addition of a lotus root + lotus seed extract?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Mushroom Man

I grew some mushrooms out of a t-shirt and wore it around campus...

 

test222222

testing testing twizzler twizzler

Summertime Brews

I've got about 19 gallons going in my (parent's) basement right now. Here we go with brew #1:

Bigfoot Barleywine

6-12-2010

6# Gold Liquid Malt Extract (LME)

6# Amber LME

8 oz. Carapils Specialty grains

8 oz. Caramel 40L Specialty grains

(Steeped 30 minutes then rinsed with cold tap water)

1 oz Chinook hops (55 min)

0.5 oz. Chinook (28 min)

0.5 oz. Centennial hops(15 min)

0.5 oz. Centennial (2 min)

2 oz. Cascade hops (2 min)

American Ale Activator Wyeast ACT1056

Water bath to chill brew pots (3 small pots, because big pots don't fit under our big ass microwave). Filled to 5 gal mark with cold, non-sterile tap water (well water). Stirred with paddle for 7 minutes to oxygenate. Will age 1 year. Our tap water is generally good for drinking, so I wanted to try using it straight up.

July 5^th:

Racked into secondary bucket. Pitched 1 packet of dry Red Star Pasteur Champagne yeast. Did not rehydrate yeast. Did not stir in. Included minimal amount of yeast dregs from the primary. Appearance is still cloudy and somewhat darkish.

Brew 2:

“Liquid Sex” Chocolate Mead

6-13-2010

Day 1:

20-22# Walgreen's Honey

2# Hershey Cocoa Powder

1 tbsp Yeast Nutrient

1 packet Lalvin D-47

Filled to 6 gal with cold well water, from the tap.

Yeast was hydrated and started with a couple tablespoons of honey in a mug. Cocoa was dissolved in slightly warm water, broken up, and brought to a boil over low-medium heat, with frequent stirring. This was quite a lot of cocoa- I wonder if it will ever mellow out. Plan to age for 2 years, which is why I am brewing the extra gallon. I am going to add 2# of honey in the near future.

Day 2:

~1 tsp Yeast nutrient dissolved in a small amount of hot water

Opened up the fermenter and stirred for about 5 minutes to give the yeast some more oxygen. Then I poured in the nutrient and stirred for another minute. This degassed the must and incorporated more oxygen for the yeast, which are bubbling faster already.

Day 3:

~1 tsp Yeast Nutrient dissolved in a small amount of hot water

Aerated then stirred in the nutrient, as before. I licked my stir paddle. The taste was highly chocolatey. Very “Hershey's” flavor. Very sweet, lots of honey.

Day 4: Stirred.

June 30^th: Added 2# honey and stirred well. Still a little bubbly, but definitely not as active. It looks like it will ferment (I was worried that the yeast may have already hit its alcohol tolerance). Taste is still good. Chocolate is huge.

The next three brews have no pictures, but here they are anyway. Brew 3:

Ginger + Star Anise Mead

6-20-2010

>1 gal batch

3# honey

½ packet 71B Yeast

Half star anise

Small piece of ginger cut into smallish bits

Ginger and star anise were covered in almost boiling water, which was allowed to cool. Then honey and water was added and shaken.

Day 3: Swirled in the bottle.

Brew 4:

Base Mead

6-20-2010

>1 gal batch

3# Honey

½ packet 71 B Yeast

The same process as the Ginger + Star Anise Mead, minus the hot water and spices. I plan to rack this onto blueberries and put in a few drops of blueberry extract.

Day 3: Swirled in the bottle.

Brew 5:

Chocolate Oatmeal Stout

6-20-2010

6 gallons

9.3# Dark Liquid Malt Extract

1# Victory (steeped 30 min)

1# Chocolate Malt (steeped 30 min)

10 cups Quick Oats (steeped 30 minutes, twice)

1 oz Goldings Hops (52 min)

.7 oz Goldings (28 min)

Tiny pinch of Irish moss

.3 oz Goldings (flamout)

Irish Ale Yeast. Wyeast 1056

This was a fuck up (edit: nah, not completely). Hopefully it will survive. It was in the microbial-danger-zone for like an hour because my wort wouldn't cool fast enough. So I stuck water bottles filled with ice in it, after spraying them with Oust. I pitched the yeast while the wort was still hot/warm and may have killed the yeast.

Day 3:

The yeast is alive, but probably produced off flavors due to the high heat. Bubbling is fine. Formed a strong tan-deer-brown head. Appears chocolate colored. Stirred for a few minutes. Taste was bitter chocolate and lots of coffee. I moved the brew bucket into a pot of water to help lower/regulate the temperature.

Day 4:

A bit bubbled out of the airlock, so I cleaned it up and changed airlocks.

And that's that.
-yip

Brewing Sake: Reflections & Kuchikami no Sake

The first sake I brewed was "Kuchi Kami no Sake," literally meaning mouth-chewed sake.

I learned about Kuchikami from videos by Beau Timken (Sake Master), Moyashimon (anime), and from my research going into sake and its history.

(moyashimon microbes)

So, anyways, the first thing I did was brush my teeth. Then, I walked into my college dinning commons got big plates of long-grain brown rice. I chewed it until it was a goopy consistency and let it fall out of my mouth (it's pretty difficult to spit). This takes a surprisingly long time. I felt so full afterwords...

But, I did this a couple times to simulate "feeding" my sake, like a mother bird in the nest with her young. It didn't seem to be bubbling readily, so I added a small piece of bread. This was in an open-topped (just a paper towel), wide-mouth, plastic container.

After that it did begin to bubble. I stirred it with a knife occasionally. When it bubbled, it rose a lot because it was so thick and the bubbles would get trapped by the rice. This is why I was so worried about overflow in my sake, which ALMOST overflowed (it kissed the top of the bucket).

Anyway, I let the kuchikami sit out at room temperature for a couple weeks. Then I started to move it in and out of the refrigerator. Finally, I just let it sit at room temperature for a few days.

I knew it would be bad. I took it and squatted down in front of a toilet with a spoon. This time I really did end up spitting it out, rinsing, using mouth wash, brushing my teeth, and spitting some more.

Taste:
It was soo sour. It was unbearable. I think that the lactobacillus spp. and acetobacter spp. (and some other wild microbes) were probably having a party in there, munching on my munched rice.

One of my unfulfilled goals is to take this traditional method and use a yeast starter, airlock, and temperature control to produce a "good" kuchikami no sake, but I don't know who'd drink it.

Importantly, doing this introduced me to shear amount of labor needed to produce sake.

My finished koji-fermented sake probably took like 50+ hours worth of labor.

Brewing Sake: Resources

Great sites on the process:
http://www.taylor-madeak.org/index.php
http://homebrewsake.com/recipe/
http://kyotofoodie.com/sake-learning-to-make-sake-at-kitagawa-honke-sake-brewery-in-fushimi-kyoto-part-1/
http://www.kikusui-sake.com/home/en_s_1.html

Koji making:
http://www.taylor-madeak.org/index.php/2008/10/17/growing-koji-for-homebrewing-sake

The Chemistry (oh baby!):
http://www.brewery.org/library/sake/cover.htm

Brewing Sake: The videos

Here are the videos I have made, regarding the process. I hope these help!

As far as I know, "Sak-AYE" and "Sak-EE" are both correct pronounciations. But I am under the impression that, in Japan, it would be pronounced "Sak-ay"

you can also watch them here and on my channel:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0n_0SeuB0Ko

Green Tea Bread: A No-Knead Semi-Sour Dough

I enjoy both green tea and bread. So I combined them. I looked up recipes, but they all called for matcha (green tea powder). All I had were tea bags. This was my third attempt at no-knead bread.

3 cups flour
1.5 cups water
week-old yeast starter made from homebrewed mead (Lalvin D-47)
1/2 tbsp salt
Dry contents of 5 tea bags

This fermented for 20 hours with the tea leaves mixed in, then was shaped and proofed on an oiled + breadcrumbed (I have no corn meal) pan and allowed to rise for 4 more hours. This long ferment is required because I am using wine yeast, which doesn't produce as much rapid carbon dioxide. If you are using regular yeast, you can shorten your primary ferment to 18 hours and proof for 2.

I figured that I shouldn't brew the tea first because it will "steep" at room temperature over the course of the 24 hours and because it will be baked, steaming the tea within the bread.


Next, because this is a green tea bread and because I was feeling artistic, I made cuts on the top with a razor blade. They are supposed to be tea leaves.


I baked with a pan of water at the bottom at 430*F. I used a spray bottle to mist the surface of the loaf about ever 5-7 minutes. This may have been overkill, but I am still learning.

I ended up baking for an hour. The crust ended up a bit too thick. I should have baked for 45 minutes. The inside was still very moist. And the green tea aroma was trapped by the crust, so the bread smelled very nicely of green tea!

And here is the finished bread! I call it a semi-sour dough because I used a yeast starter (made from mead). And since the starter was a week old, the sourness is starting to develop, but it will probably get more developed over time :)

Brewing Sake: Brew Notes

Yeast: Wyeast 4134 – Saké . Yeast #9 ($7)

Rice: Short Grain Sushi Rice- “Akitaotome” ($21)

Water: Spring Water

Koji: Made my own from Vision Brewing kit ($12) [started 2/26 (this is when it really all started :P)]

Bottles ($24)

Labels ($2.40)

Total: $66.40 + more for equipment etc.

Brew Start [3/4]

THE MOTO/SHUBO:

1 tbsp Yeast Nutrient (DAP + Food Grade Urea)

2.5 cups Spring water

0.5 cups Koji

1.5 (dry) cups Rice

Combined in a 1 gallon fish bowl and held for two days @ 70-75*F.

Here is an picture of me holding the start of my sake. Drunken Master is my favorite movie.
This sake got lots of tender loving care.

[3/6]

Full contents of a Wyeast activator pack added. Did not stir it in. Put in mini-fridge overnight, with door ajar. Maintained approximately 50-55*F.

The next day I returned it to 70-75*F, and kept it there for a few days.

Stirred periodically throughout the day with sterilized knife.

[3/11]

I believe this step (leaving it at 70*F) is used to allow acetic acid bacteria to grow, to lower the pH. I would rather not have this acetic acid/vinegary flavor, if possible. (edit: I now think that this stage allows lactic acid bacteria to grow too. Many sources report this.)

I am stopping the moto fermentation early due to acetic acid/ vinegar smell/taste (unpleasant). Also, my temperatures have been warm lately, so the process was accelerated anyway.

Moved into to mini-fridge. Stored at 47-48*F for 7 days. Will it live?

[3/18]

I see bubbles, the yeast is still alive! Smells interesting. Taste: pleasant, natural sweetness, vinegar is still there, though.

Koji is beginning to smell sweet. “Rotten egg” smell has been receding. This took a lot longer than I thought it would. Maybe a longer maturation time for koji is a good thing? (Edit: maybe not, it can spoil!)

[3/18]- Hatsuzoe- 1^st Addition

Dumped moto/shubo/starter into 5 gallon fermenter, after sterilizing with Iodophor solution and then rinsing with boiling water. Also put on a clean airlock.

Added to Fermenter:

Entire Moto/Shubo

1.5 cups Koji

3 dry cups Rice, steamed

1 liter Spring Water. (4.23 cups)

Uh Oh! I spilled some tap water on lid when trying to cool the bucket in the sink. Some airlock liquid (non-sterile tap water) got sucked into fermenter somehow. (BAD???) Hopefully the yeast and koji combo is enough to be victorious over this mishap. Will the acid-producing bacteria in the starter also be reduced?

Storing bucket in pot full of water to keep cooler. Maybe hitting 65*F?

Opened window to chill dorm room (Brr...). Draped a cloth over top of bucket to keep out light (over the lid and airlock).

[3/19]

Moved outside for lower temperature. Covered for light protection (and privacy). Brought it back inside.

Added:

Approximately 2.5 cups of Koji

Stirred lightly. Still smelling sweet. Like a natural sweetness. Smells a little moldy, musky too.

[3/20]- Nakazoe- 2^nd Addition

Added:

7 dry cups Rice, steamed

2.5 liters Water ( 10.5 cups)

I've been adding more than the amounts suggested by the recipe... This will be a unique batch, based on intuition and not science. Hopefully, I'll get mo

re sake. I want it to be strong, but with subtleties and complexities. Maybe I will need to age it. How will I rack this??? I will need to mix a LOT in the future, and keep it cool, to prevent possible overflow. A long and cold ferment is hoped for.

Is my mixture too dry? I will have to check... I've been putting in more koji and rice than is called for. I've been putting in more water too, but I dunno.

[Night]

Added:

All remaining Koji (4.5 cups) [total of 9 cups koji!]

Uh Oh! A strand of hair fell in while I was stirring. I plucked it out with my hand. My hand is in contact with the moromi anyways because my stir spoon is short. Complete hand-mixing is used in Bob Taylor's method anyway.

I put the fermenter back into the water bath with new ice (in water bottle).

Added more water to water bath. Hitting 56*F in water bath.

[3/21]- Tomezoe- 3^rd Addition

(took 12 hours just for the additions! Each rice addition took about 6 hours for the wash, soak, steam, chill and addition.)

Planning was very WONKY for this step due to miscalculations at first.

Hit 53*F in water bath. I'm doubling amount of ice used in water bath. Running out of ice!

Using cold water from the sink seems to be colder. I'll cycle water from the sink, but keep some ice in to keep it cool.

Hitting 53*F after 1 hour. Range of 44-65*F. Typically 50-56*F?

Will these fluctuations stress the yeast?

Added: (the first batch of the last addition)

7 dry cups Rice, steamed

13 cups spring water

Smelled great. I wonder how this will change over the next month.

I am seriously doubting that I'll have enough room for the final portion. It will fit, but the yeasts will bubble up and rise (rice traps a lot of the bubbles and rises a lot). I am at risk of overflowing.

I only have 4 cups dry rice left.

Added:

4 dry cups Rice, steamed

8.2 cups water

I still have maybe 2-3” of headspace. Still feel uneasy about overflowing. Rechilling in ice/water bath. Covered with cloth.

Smells a little like durian fruit (stinky fruit), but not unpleasant at all. Slight banana smell. The koji and yeast are hard at work, but still have a long way to go!

TOTALS:

The rice:koji:water ratio was off, but I have the same ratio of dry to wet (rice+koji: water)

15 lbs Rice + Koji

2.4 gal water (38.4 cups)

[3/22]

No overflowing. I've been swapping the water every so often. The water temperature was able to stay from 46-55*F for 5 hours during the night, using cold tap water and two water bottles of ice. Swapped water and ice as soon as I got up (45*F @ 8AM). Agitated (like a steering wheel) bucket for 5 minutes to get rid of perceived air bubbles (I don't want to open it up at this stage, even though I would like to).

The airlock can act unpredictably when taking the bucket in/out of the water bath due to suction and pressure. I have to remember to go slowly, to prevent sucking in the airlock fluid, but quickly to prevent temperature gain!

(Edit: reflecting back on this, it

Smelling the airlock bubbles, there are some notes of muskmelon and strawberry.

(52*F @ 12:30)

Water change (44*F @ 12:45)

Ice replaced (47*F @ 3:36)

(50*F @ 8:10) water change (45*F @ 9) and (@ 12:40am)

Opened and stirred for one minute. Tasted more vinegary/sour than I expected. How would acetic acids be developing in an anaerobic and cold environment? I don't know. I hope it's not the dreaded lactic acid bacteria. Obvious banana smell from airlock. How are all these fruit scents already forming? Could it be because I just ate a banana and have ripe bananas nearby? Probably.

[3/23]

Water change @: 8, 2:10, 4, 8:30, 12:30

Typical temp range is now 47-52*F, using cold tap water and two ice bottles.

[3/24]

Water change @: 8, 12:45, 3 (ice change, still cold), 6:35 (ice only), 9:25 (ice), 1am

I'm getting more conscious about how much water I'm using to chill my sake. I will try to switch the ice without a water change (except in the morning or if it gets exceedingly warm). I think I'll do ice changes during the day and only a water change in mornings.

Durian smell still present.

[3/25]

Water change in the morning. Periodic ice changes (usually every two-three hours). Typical temp is about 46-50*F.

I will have to find someone to take care of my sake if I have to go home for a job interview.

[3/26]

Water change in morning. Periodic ice changes (usually every two-three hours).

(49*F @ 5:50pm)

Banana smell is back or at least more detectable.

[3/27]

(54*F @ 9am, 9 hours without ice change)

Water changed. I would like the majority of the main ferment to take place under 50*F. Ice changes can maintain 44-49*F usually.

Banana + durian smells are still predominant. Some rice smells. I feel like I might be catching a cold lol.

The airlock has been bubbling at a slow and steady rate. I want this slow and steady ferment to continue for as long as possible, with the koji amylases and other enzymes slowly breaking down the rice over time, at low temperatures.

[3/28]

Changed ice at 2:30 am. Water (54*F) change at 11:20 am.

Very slightly sour smell detectable. Probably acidity rising? I've never had sake before, but I hope it's not too sour.

[3/29]

Water change in morning. Periodic ice changes (usually every two-three hours). Maintaining the same schedule, with mild agitation during ice changes. This is pretty damn labor intensive. I'm basically refrigerating it completely by hand.

[3/30]

Same stuff.

[3/31]

Same stuff. I noticed that bubbles come out of the airlock slower when the temperatures are lower, compared to in the morning after I haven't changed the ice in a while. Makes sense.

Yeast smell a little detectable now, maybe.

[4/1]

Still going. Water change in morning, with periodic ice changes during the day.

[4/2]

I'll be going home today for 5+ hours. I will just let it do its thing without an ice change during that time. The tap water doesn't seem as cold anymore. Maybe it's the warm weather? Left at 10am.

63*F @ 10pm when I got back. Changed water and ice. Getting 49*F.

[4/3]

Ice change at 2:30am (fire alarm) and water and ice at 10am. I didn't change water between 3 and 7pm due to cooking food.

[4/4]

Morning water change. I think I will need to either use more ice or change ice more often due to the warmer weather.

[4/5]

Same stuff.

[4/6]

Same stuff. Still fermenting. If it's still going after three weeks of primary fermentation should I let it keep going? Or should I pasteurize? I'll have to think about this. I am dreading the pressing and pasteurizing step. It is all done in open air and there are many vectors of contamination, oxidification, and acidification.

Will I need a carboy? How will I keep the carboy(s) cool? How will I bottle and cap? (edit: keep reading to find out!)

[4/7]

I plan on buying a dozen bottles. I plan on straining through cheese cloth, into a bucket. After that I will put that liquid into 4+ gallon jugs, which will be pasteurized as quickly as possible. They will then be put in a cold water bath to cool down. They will then be refrigerated. I plan to keep some as nigorizake (cloudy, with sediment), but others will be siphoned to produce a clear product.

Morning water change + periodic ice changes as usual. Still bubbling.

Either straining everything this weekend, or next weekend (more likely).

Should I do rice or water additions?

Adding either rice or koji to sweeten, or water to dilute. So many possible flavor/texture changes from these. I will have to see how dry it is.

(two cups steamed rice + ½ cup koji)

Maybe I wont pasteurize immediately? I could allow a secondary ferment. (edit: this is what I did)

[4/8]

Morning water change + ice changes ever 2-3 hours.

[4/9]

Same stuff.

[4/10]

Same stuff. Bubbling decreasing when cold.

[4/11]

Same stuff.

[4/12]

Same stuff.

[4/13]

Same stuff. Picked up a dozen bottles and a gallon jug at the local brew store.

[4/14]

Same stuff.

[4/15]

Same stuff.

[4/16]

Same stuff. Still bubbling. I plan to do a rice addition this weekend. When bottling, I will try to make completely different types of sake. I will try to make nigori and clear sakes.

Smell of musk melon, banana skin, white bread sweetness smell. Durian smell seems to be absent. My sense of smell isn't very developed. Same with my sense of taste.

[4/17]

Same stuff. I feel a little sick, so I don't want to add rice right now. Bubbles slow down dramatically when it's colder, compared to when I wake up in the morning.

[4/18]

Today has been my first taste of sake. My first taste of sake has been my own sake!

Still keeping up with temperature regulation. Maybe my sake will be more “yeasty” because I am fermenting for longer than usual.

Added:

3 cups (dry) of steamed rice.

½ cup water (just to unstick the rice from the cheesecloth)

Also, a tad more water to the airlock.

I added Akitakomachi rice instead of Akitaotome rice because I ran out of Akitaotome. The rice was past the expiration date, but looked fine and smelled fine; it has been stored in a dry dark place. I added the rice with my clean hand.

Tasting for the first time:

Opened it up, smell not too sour. A little spicy smell. Creamy appearance. Texture is soft. Rice grains fall apart, and melt in mouth (the koji enzymes have been hard at work!); squishy like bruised banana. Rice taste. Thick chew. Mealy. Banana smell without fructose. Some sweetness still. Grapefruit (bitter) with a banana skin. Balanced? I don't think that I'm actually tasting these flavors. I am just using them as a descriptor, because I really don't know how to describe it. Also, I have a bit of a cold, so my taste and smell may be off.

Ran and got five people to taste it. All 5 said “good,” probably because I was there and said that I had brewed it. “Tastes like rice.” “Tastes like wine, like rice wine.” “Smells good/ like miso.” “Creamy.” “Pretty close to how it's supposed to taste.” “Not bad.”

WHERE IS THE ALCOHOL? Is it just “in control?” It tastes light, not much ethanol taste. This is a good thing if the alcohol content is high. Hopefully, my yeast has been working hard and not died. Maybe the yeast already pooped out, but is still bubbling? That would explain the sweetness. (Tasting has been at about 50-60*F). I hope my rice addition with up the alcohol a couple percentages.

Going to heat it and re-taste.

Taste when heated:

Hot smell reminds me of fish? Like steamed haddock with ginger, red vinegar, and scallion garnish. Clean white fish, like we had for dinner when my grandmother lived with us. I don't know why I thought of this. Maybe “fresh seafood.” (It doesn't actually taste like haddock, it only brings back memories). White rice smell. Starchy, like alcoholic packing peanuts. Fresh bagel, or rather a large soft pretzel due to some “salt” smells/minerality. Taste is more bitter on aftertaste. A little sour, like biting into the rind of a grapefruit, not the flesh.

An hour later:

Woah. Is it just me or is it bubbling faster? I would be very surprised if the free-floating koji enzymes were so fast acting.

Other:

The name for my sake will be Kooriki which is a combination of the Japanese words for “ice” and “Qi/vapor/steam/breath/change in weather,” which I will translate as “Invisible Vapors of Ice.” I think that this is a good name because it can be attributed to the ice-change-intensive process, the “breathing/living” ferment, the steaming of the rice, and, to some extent, my feelings about this brew. Also, it might indicate the serving temperature, which should be chilled.

The plan is to do a bulk secondary ferment, after pressing in an aluminum pot, and transferring back into the same bucket, by pouring..

[4/19]

Maintaining ice schedule.

My room smells a like green unripened bananas.

[4/20]

Same stuff. I'm going to let it keep fermenting to up the alcohol content. Probably going to separate from the lees this weekend and allow a week of secondary fermentation. Then shit gets real. How am I going to deal with these final papers?

[4/21]

Same stuff. I was outside for a long time picking dandelions to make wine. I forgot to change ice for a period of 6 hours during the day. However, I was up late last night writing a paper and was able to maintain ice changes throughout the night.

[4/22]

Same stuff. Should maybe pour-press-pour tomorrow, let it ferment for another week, then pasteurize and bottle.

[4/23]

Same stuff. Didn't have time to pour-press-pour.

[4/24]

Maintained ice changes and separated the lees. I spilled about a half cup of sake on the floor and my room smells magnificent. I took a video of the process.

The sake was difficult to press. I tried to step on it with an aluminum plate, but it bent. The sake kasu was a little too wet, but I threw it into the freezer. It is difficult to press in a vessel that does not have an open bottom, because many of the juices will be reabsorbed by the solids.

I am worried that I very badly reoxygenated the sake from pouring from one vessel to another, twice. Ladeling would have been more gentle, but would have taken more time. I do not know which is better in terms of exposure/time. In many videos the professional sake seems to get dripped or poured at some point, but I think the entire facility is temperature controlled.

The airlock does not seem to be moving anymore. I seem to have about 3 gallons of sake. That rice took up a lot of space.

Taste was similar to last time. Maybe more sour? I drank some of the stuff that was pressed later. It was very thick and coated everything like a paste. It will probably be even more sour soon due to all the oxygen. I really hope that the oxygen doesn't “kill” it by reacting with the chemical compounds.

I was telling people that I might sell it for $25 a bottle, but now... I am thinking about how much I am underselling for. I will probably never reproduce a brew with this intricate of a process during my life. (Edit: bullshit.)But, truly, the labor that went into this was immense, unlike mead, which can be thrown together rather quickly.

However, I want to give some bottles away as gifts. To family, to close friends.

[4/25]

Room smells like spilled sake (awesome). Same ice changes

[4/26]

Same ice changes. Redesigned label to make it taller and skinnier.

[4/27]

Brought label to the print shop. Will cost $2.40 for color copies.

Same ice changes. I'm worried that the 45-60 degrees may actually be too warm, especially after oxidizing from all the pouring and pressing. Also, there is more headspace in the bucket, which means there could be more oxygen. I am worried that this will turn my sake sour.

[4/29] (technically 4/30)

Wow! The sake turned very clear. It was a golden yellow, similar to vegetable oil. But I mixed it up to make nigori. However, I think I included too much sediment :(. I should have held off on that. I want to try making a clear sake in the future. However, producing a clear sake would drastically reduce my yields.

Didn't taste sour. I guess I kept it cold enough :)

Brought the sake up to 145*F and shut off the stove. (Microbiologically, I don't know if this was enough). Then I ladled it into sterilized bottles. I wound up with 12 full bottles and 1 near full bottle. This means that my yield was only 2.55 gallons, even after increasing the online recipe by 150%. The recipe was supposed to produce between 2.5-3 gallons. My pressing technique was probably less efficient.

[4/30]

I met with professors of zymurgy and 2 student brewers:

They said it was “good” or “not bad.” Less than 18% alcohol. Why? I fermented a lot of rice for a lot of time. Maybe closer to 12-15%. (Edit: probably close to 10-12%). It may have been my koji to rice ratio? Milky aspects. Dr. Jarvis said, “Creamy,” “light,” and “melon.” It was agreed that I should have put in less sediment. The glasses had visible rice sediment. I will try to use less sediment, or even produce a clear sake in the future.

I will change my labels accordingly.

Finished labeling all of the bottles w/ two labels each. Certainly took a while. Stored them in the fridge. I really hope they don't go bad or get stolen.

(I messed up on the Chinese/Japanese character. This is actually the character for water. So I am missing a stroke.)

Random notes:

I tasted a barley wine today. It had been fermenting for only 6 days but tasted very good. There were no fruit, but it smelled like Hawaiian Punch and tropical fruits. This was because of a specialty, hybrid-aroma hop variety called Simcoe.

I learned that charcoal filtering is used to analyze the esters in mead. The process takes out the color, leaving the solution clear.

Parting comment:

Today I shared half a bottle with some other students :)

I have learned sooo much from brewing this. It has been extremely laborious. I am happy with the final product, but I wish to make improvements. I feel bad that I made mistakes. However, I don't think that I will use this exact method ever again. Switching ice very two hours gets tiresome, especially for 6 weeks. But, I will try to post some reflections on this later.