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 makgeollli and soju. These are the most widely consumed Korean alcoholic beverages, in my opinion, so let's learn a little more about them.  Makgeolli 막걸리 Makgeolli is a cloudy rice wine, sometimes called a "farmer's drink", dong-dong ju, tak-ju, and maybe a few others. It is traditionally made by diluting the leftover lees or sediment from the brewing of clear, or filtered rice wine. The clear wine was typically reserved for the higher social classes, while makgeolli was left for commoners. The clear wine is called Cheongju. Makgeolli can take on many flavors and variations, which you may know if you're a reader of this blog. The archetypal makgeolli is made with rice, nuruk, an...

The translation section has been updated with a recipe for making a makgeolli starter. The starter can be used to get your brew started off on the right foot, with a healthy, active colony of hungry yeast and a dose of enzymes. I've found this recipe to be very useful, and I go back to it from time to time when starting a fresh batch of makgeolli. It is also very easy to modify to your needs, and can be scaled without much difficulty. The recipe can be found here , or by using the navigation. Happy brewing!

Hibiscus Makgeolli Results We started this brew on January 21st and bottled on February 13th. Below is a progression of the fermentation, followed by bottling and tasting notes. For details on the process, see our previous post  Brew Preview: Hibiscus Makgeolli . Primary fermentation begins on 1/21. Room temperature is low, around 65 F. Our first photo is 9 days later on 1/30. Small voids are visible on the surface where CO2 bubbles floated to the top and popped. Notice the rice grains are still largely intact. The next snapshot is on 2/3. The rice grains are looking more soggy, but bubbles are still popping to the surface regularly. The whole brew looks thick due to the low water content of the brew. There isn't much difference on 2/7, but the edges of the rice grains are starting to blur.  Our final snapshot before bottling on 2/13. There is a slight glimmer to the top layer from the alcohol floating to the top of the brew. Bubbling has come ...

Brew Preview showcases what is currently in the works at Moon & Lion.  We are currently working on a Hibiscus Makgeolli , which adds hibiscus petals to the primary fermentation. This brew is inspired by Jeff Rubidge's Hibiscus Makgeolli . I was able to try Jeff's brew at a recent makgeolli meetup and it was fantastic. This is our take on it. The goal to infuse a bit of hibiscus flavor and aroma, and to impart some of the lovely purple hibiscus color in our makgeolli. A few notes on this makgeolli: This is a nuruk only makgeolli, which means no additional brewing yeast was used  during the process. A starter (석임) was used to activate the yeast within the nuruk. The starter typically takes 1-2 days to activate to full potency. The hibiscus used is actually a hibiscus tea, which is dried and not fresh. Using fresh hibiscus will likely require a much greater volume of hibiscus. I'm trying a new brand of rice for this brew and future brews: T amanishiki Su...

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". 

Great things are happening in the world of makgeolli! I am excited to announce the launch of a makgeolli brewing certificate program, taught by the great people of the Susubori Brewing Academy in Korea.   Susubori has teamed up with Makgeolli Mamas and Papas Korea (MMPK) and Makgeolli Makers to provide inspired and detailed instruction for English speakers. Susubori has been leading the way in traditional Korean brewing classes taught in English for the past three years, and they've just announced their next round of courses. Now the course material has been formalized into a curriculum that ranges from your first single-stage brew to advanced infusion techniques and even distilling to make soju! The entire course is separated into two modules: Makgeolli Brewing Foundations, and Practical Applications & Analysis. If you are in Korea or are planning to visit and would like to attend one of the classes at Susubori Academy, check the link below for registration, dates, a...

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...