First brew in the new house [update]

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As planned, the nuruk was left to do its thing for 24 hours, and the yeast was pitched in the 24-48 hour window. I proofed the champagne yeast according to the instructions on the package (stir into warm water and let sit for ~15 minutes) and mixed it into the fermenter. There was already some activity going on and the nuruk-rice mixture gave off a familiar scent. I speculate that the smell is indeed the amylase enzymes breaking down the rice and not the scent of yeast, which is somewhat different.

The fermenter was stirred once a day for 5 days, and on the 5th day the makgeolli tasted ripe for bottling. There was a slight hint of the sourness that develops when you brew makgeolli without added yeast. I attribute this to the 24 hour wait period before pitching the yeast. 

There wasn't time to bottle immediately, so I put the fermenter in the fridge to slow down the fermentation. This is how the makgeolli looked before it went into the fridge. Looks like (동동주) dong-dong ju, right?



Sterilizing the bottles in the pressure cooker...


Preparing to strain ...

Milking the makgeolli ...


This time it was bottled with a tablespoon of agave syrup in each jar, plus a tablespoon in the cup for the taste test.

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