Using a Yongsu (용수) for the First Time

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Last time I hinted at brewing for my daughter's first birthday party. That was the intention, but due to the cold weather or slow acting yeast the makgeolli wasn't ready for another week!

To make it interesting I decided to try using the Yongsu (용수) for the first time.


A yongsu is a woven basket shaped like a cone, with a rounded end instead of a point. The yongsu is placed directly inside a hangari to separate the rice and nuruk from the completed makgeolli or dong-dong ju. 
The benefit of the yongsu is that you can scoop out the makgeolli for serving without having to pour out the entire hangari. This eliminates the need to filter in advance, which can be very convenient if you have a large jug of makgeolli.



The downside of the yongsu is that any sweetening or flavor must be done separately, which introduces another step. Also, it is quite difficult to clean.

To summarize, the yongsu offers the ability to serve makgeolli quickly and unaltered without much effort, while bottling has you doing all the work up front enabling you to serve a completely finished product. I think the preferred method will depend on what you are going for.

Here are some more shots where I tried to use the yongsu inside-out to filter makgeolli for bottling. Cheers!





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