Moon & Lion Brewing

Korean brewing has its own terminology to describe things specific to the craft. This series of posts, titled "Lexicon", aims to de-mystify this esoteric range of vocabulary, which can be a hurdle for those new to Korean traditional alcohol.  Today we are discussing Sool and Ju. Sool 술 Sool or sul, depending on which romanization standard you follow, refers to the wide array of alcoholic beverages, in a very general sense.  It can refer to any and all forms of alcohol, domestic and foreign.  Although is it a Korean word, it is not specific to traditional Korean brewing and is more of a general vocabulary. For example, beer and wine are types of sool, as are makgeolli, soju, sake, etc. Sool covers everything, and does not connote anything special. Sool also stands alone in a Korean sentence. It is a one-character noun that describes a class of beverage. For an English speaker, the equivalent would be drinks, booze, or just alcohol(ic beverage). Ju 주 Ju...

Currently brewing is a candidate from the brew schedule. Omija makgeolli! Omija ( Schisandra chinensis) is a small red berry that is commonly used in Korean cuisine to make omijacha, or simply omija tea. Omija directly translates to "five-flavor-berry". 

Currently brewing is a comparison between two brands of nuruk: a "market" nuruk purchased stateside and an artisan nuruk produced in Busan. Initial notes on the nuruk itself: To review, nuruk is the fermentation starter used for makgeolli and other kinds of traditional Korean beverages. It consists of fermented grains or rice and is home to a diverse set of micro-organisms. The "market" nuruk was purchased at H-Mart in the US under the brand Haeoreum. It has a pungent earthy aroma that is somewhat tangy on the nose. I would definitely describe the smell as moldy, but not foul or rank. It does not smell like decomposition. You may even describe the smell as reminiscent of a cellar or attic, but remember: no two smell alike. It definitely has an older scent than the Busan nuruk. The Busan nuruk was acquired from a friend, and I don't think it is available to purchase in the US. The aroma is a combination of earthy and woody, but neutral. There is n...

I haven't posted in a while, but a lot of good things have been happening. I've been doing a lot of travel for work, and talking to some wonderful people from the makgeolli brewing community in Korea. As part of those discussions the following two brews came about: An Iyangju using added yeast, and a Danyangju using nuruk only. Both brews used 100% sweet rice and a sweet rice starter. I'll explain each one below. The starter. The starter used is a bit of a trade secret (shhh), but I will tell you this. It uses rice flour, nuruk and water. That's it. Freshly made starter  Had I developed this starter on my own I'd share more specific details with you, but this was shared with me by a friend requesting confidentiality. The starter was made and let sit for 24-48 hours, depending on the progress. I added yeast to one starter and it took off and was about a day ahead of the nuruk only starter, which took about 72 hours. This was expected and be...

In my last post about grape makgeolli  I mentioned using the Mirro strainer to filter the brew. Many people have been asking for more details about this strainer, so here it is: I bought the strainer on a whim from Amazon while searching for other home-brew and kitchen supplies. At the time it was only about $10, and we also make jams and jellies at home, so the Mirro strainer seemed pretty useful. Luckily, I was right! The strainer took a few minutes to put together; the legs screw into a ring and are secured by 3 small nuts. There are hooks at the bottom of the legs to sit on the rim of a bowl or pot, and the filter bag is mounted inside the ring. The filter bag feels sturdy and there is an elastic band around the top so the bag sits securely on the strainer. Here are a couple action shots: I was very pleased with the bag material and the mesh size, which seemed perfect for straining makgeolli. Keep in mind if you have a very large amount you may need t...

I'm not a grape expert , but I know that Korean grapes are delicious. They have thick, deep purple skins with a characteristic grape aroma. The taste is floral and reminiscent of grape candy, but with all the freshness of real fruit. ~700 grams when stems are removed So when I picked up my latest book on makgeolli brewing a few months back, I knew that I had to try this recipe. This is the first brew in my brewing schedule, which is a list of my planned brews and recipes. Grape Makgeolli 포도 막걸리 This recipe uses a seokim starter that was previously discussed here . The starter establishes a yeast colony ahead of time, so this is technically a two-stage fermentation; however, the seokim is a rather small amount so it does not feel like an iyangju or samyangju. Seokim after ~2 days Ingredients Sweet rice - 1 kg Nuruk - 100 g Grapes - ~700 g Seokim - 250 ml Water - 1.5 l I bought the grapes from my local H-Mart and washed them in vinegar and water. They...

Coming soon... I heard it through the grapevine.

I'm starting my journey into infusing different ingredients during the brewing process. This move in inspired by a new book I picked up 술 만들기, and a recent delivery of ingredients from the in-laws. I'll post more info on those ingredients soon, but for today... Green Tea Makgeolli  녹차 막걸리 For this brew I used a starter instead of pitching yeast in with the rice and nuruk. The starter is called seokim (석임) and was introduced in a previous post here . I'll explain how to make seokim below using the ratio from the previous post.  The green tea used was a gift from my aunt, a delicious Jeju green tea blend. I've been enjoying the tea itself for some time now and thought it would be a good compliment to this recipe.  Here's what you'll need: For the seokim 석임 starter 250g rice flour 50g nuruk 2.5g wine yeast 25g wheat flour  300~400ml water (boiled) In a large bowl, mix the rice flour with the boiling water. Add a little bit of water a...