Red yeast rice wine 红曲米酒 homebrew #2 DIY (青红酒)

I'm making more red yeast rice wine! This is an improved recipe from my first attempt. And it is still such a rich color and taste!
Disclaimer: this is not the traditional recipe for Chinese red yeast rice wine. I am using Chinese-style ingredients, but in terms of rice:water proportions, I'm following the recipe for Korean rice wine, makgeolli.
Red yeast rice (also known as ang-kak) is a kind of intentionally moldy rice that contains enzymes that convert starch to sugar. (The variety of mold is called monascus purpureus.) Chinese red yeast rice takes the place of Korean nuruk in this recipe.
Recipe:
1 kg sweet (a.k.a. glutinous) rice
100 g red yeast rice
2 Chinese yeast balls
1 L water
Wash rice gently 15 minutes. Soak rice in water at least 3 hours, or overnight. Drain 30 minutes, then steam for 45 minutes. Spread out to cool to room temperature. While waiting for rice to cool, grind red yeast rice and Chinese yeast balls into powder. When rice is cool, add rice to fermentation jar, add powder, and add water. Mix well by hand. Place in dark cabinet, 20-25ºC. Stir twice a day for first 3 days. Ferment for one month in total. Strain/filter into bottles. Will keep for years in the fridge. Keep the solid remnants (lees) for use in cooking.
First attempt here: • Red yeast rice wine 红曲...

[@PeterSimonYiu]

In our Hakka traditional family we use this Red Yeast Glutinous Rice Wine to cook Pork Belly. It is a favourite dish for all occasions.

[@JeffRubidge]

I’m sure it is very delicious! Thanks for watching!

[@jennieg789]

I am Hakka Chinese too and learning to make my own zhao sui this winter.

[@sountay]

Thanks for talking over the blender.

[@frankwei-fangluo5513]

The red yeast rice DOES contain yeast. However it is a less efficient yeast than that in the white yeast cakes. If you only used the red yeast, the rice wine will ferment more slowly and more lees will be left behind because the mold in the red yeast rice does not break down the rice as completely as the mold in the white yeast cakes. But you will end up with a more flavorful rice wine. There are many ways in which you can use the lees for cooking. Google the recipes.

[@JeffRubidge]

Good to know! Thanks for your comment.

[@RayManLei]

Good ！

[@loengkeoi]

Cool

[@backyardbrewingcookingando3847]

Hum... this gives me a few ideas :-)

[@Tom-fj1hi]

Great video. Thank you. Could you give a basic recipe without the res yeast? So just with the rice and Chinese yeast balls? I thought the original recipe is without adding extra water. Would like to hear yiur thoughts on that. Thanks again.

[@JeffRubidge]

Thanks for watching! Please see this video for my attempt to brew with just Chinese yeast balls: kzbin.info/www/bejne/q4TLlplubKZmf68 Note that the amount of water I use in that video 500 mL with 1 kg rice, steamed, is approximately the same water ratio as 1kg rice cooked in a rice cooker, without adding additional water into the brewing jar. However, it didn't work for me. If and when I do get it to work, you'll see the video on this channel in the future! One thing I noticed is that the recipes that use no additional water were often from areas with hot temperatures (e.g. Singapore). The recipes from Zhejiang (e.g. Xiaoli's channel), brewed in the winter, use a 1:1 water:rice ratio, which matches what I'm used to, and more closely matches my ambient temperature. Happy brewing!

[@AimHuangRajJaeWan]

That is one of my favorite sauce with bamboo shoots 🎋dish 😋 yummy 🤤 😊

[@JeffRubidge]

That’s great! Are there other tasty dishes with red yeast rice?

[@jyc210]

@@JeffRubidge Key word: "紅麴料理(食譜)" red yeast rice dishes(recipe)

[@jyc210]

@@JeffRubidge The most famous one is Red Yeast Meat(pork belly or lean ) kzbin.info/www/bejne/mqC0gYGwiLB9sK8

[@JeffRubidge]

@@jyc210 thanks!

[@gretta_fan]

Hi Jeff thank you for your videos. It ‘s very interesting, encouraging to start brewing at home, and easy to follow. One question, both of my Chinese rice wine and red yeast rice wine are quite bitter. What’s may have gone wrong? Thanks

[@JeffRubidge]

Glad to hear that you are brewing at home! To reduce or change the bitterness, you could try making some of the following adjustments: Try brewing more slowly at a cooler temperature. Try a different brand of yeast ball or red yeast rice. Try tasting a few drops every few days to see when the brew becomes bitter. Try using less water (I've seen recipes with much less water than my recipe). Also, sometimes aging will reduce the bitterness. It might taste less bitter after settling for 6 months in the fridge. Those are just some things to try -- I hope it is useful for you.

[@gretta_fan]

Thanks a lot Jeff. I watched tens of videos before I started but yours is the most practical ones to me. I will follow your advice to investigate for the bitterness taste. The process of getting better brews over times is the best part of the experience. I brewed four 2-gallon jars for the real first try and they all turned somewhat bitter but luckily my husband promised to consume all of them to make space for me to kick off the second batch. I will be conservative this time and try smaller amount and diversify them with applying your advice. Thanks.

[@JeffRubidge]

@@gretta_fan Happy brewing!

[@TheMahFamily]

喜欢

[@JeffRubidge]

谢谢

[@JeffRubidge]

mmm, prawns!

[@TheMahFamily]

Thanks for your support.,😃

[@7th_dimension_human]

❤❤❤ wow i’m korean 🎉🎉

[@hujiannong]

the leftover is great for cooking meats and fish!

[@lusidewi4494]

When you steam the sweet rice, please pour water several times all over the sweet rice to make them moist, so you dont have to put water for fermentation proses.. 🙏

[@JeffRubidge]

Thanks for your suggestion! I'm always interested in learning about different recipes.

[@shanej2429]

Great video thank you so much. Much like beer fermentation to much oxygen during fermentation can cause the nail polish remover off flavour called ethyl acetate. In small amounts it is really nice, it can taste and smell like green apple.

[@JeffRubidge]

Thanks for that insight!

[@daniellehantman]

Do you think I could mix nuruk and red yeast rice? Thank you the amazing tutorials!!

[@JeffRubidge]

I haven't tried it myself, but I know it is possible because I've seen a bottle of commercial makgeolli called "red monkey makgeolli". You can see it on this page (scroll down) www.woorisoul.com/sulseam or in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/q4C6ppmIgJJ-r9k. Thanks for watching!

[@PhoenixDarshan]

Thanks for sharing, any issues with mold?

[@JeffRubidge]

I didn't have a problem with mold, but it is important that fermentation starts right away. If not, it is true that mold can grow on wet rice. Once fermentation starts, the acidity and alcohol protects against mold growth.

[@leifd731]

Jeff in your experience is there any advantage or difference in whether or not you pulverize the red yeast rice before adding it to the brew?

[@JeffRubidge]

Thanks for your question! I don’t think it is necessary to powder the red yeast rice. Please see this experiment: Red yeast rice wine 3 WAYS 红曲米酒 (青红酒) kzbin.info/www/bejne/fZukYmCvnLWaebc

[@leifd731]

@@JeffRubidge Thank you Jeff!

[@randommusings48]

Hi there, will adding sugar increase the alcohol content for this method?

[@JeffRubidge]

Adding sugar would be no different than using less water/more rice in the original recipe (since the rice starch is converted almost completely to sugar, given enough time). To get maximum alcohol, your yeast needs to be alcohol-tolerant. All yeasts have a maximum limit of the amount of alcohol they can survive in. Happy brewing!

[@katerinasamajova4048]

Hey Jeff, so I tried to replicate this recipe, and maybe I'm just impatient, or maybe there's something wrong with my brew; not too sure. I understand there are many variables, but I find it strange that the two batches I made on the same day, following the same method and kept in exactly the same environment, are developing quite differently. My red yeast rice doesn't seem to contain enough Monascus purpureus or the overall quality might be worse because the mixture was not such a bright red from the start compared to yours. Secondly, one batch is definitely fermenting and visibly loosening up, bubbling and releasing liquid, but the second batch is still quite thick and not releasing much liquid even on day 3. The only thing I changed was not adding Chinese yeast balls simply because I can't get them where I live (I substituted those with regular brewer's yeast/wine yeast and added one teaspoon for 1kg or rice/1l of water). The mixture smells pleasantly yeasty with mild hints of alcohol, and it's visibly working. Do you think adding an emergency yeast mixture to the slowly developing batch might help?

[@JeffRubidge]

First of all, thank you for letting me know about your brewing. It's good that one batch is fermenting. It might not be possible to fix the bad batch, if the problem is lack of enzymes (rather than lack of yeast). If you can't get the yeast balls, you can substitute a packet of "Angel rice leaven." Yes, you should try adding some extra yeast, but it might not be enough to fix it. Please let me know what happens! It is good to experiment and observe! Happy brewing!

[@katerinasamajova4048]

@@JeffRubidge Thanks for replying Jeff, I did order Angel Rice leaven, and I'm definitely planning to experiment with it in my future batches. I guess I'll just wait and see how the brews develop, the first one is doing okay, I think, so I really hope at least one of them will turn out fine. We'll see in a few weeks, haha. Thank you for making this content, you really got me excited about experimenting with different brewing methods!

[@lovebell4576]

Glutinous rice wine must be very sweet. Not sour or salty that means bad! White glutinous rice wine and red yeast glutinous rice wine both taste very sweet! 😋😍

[@JeffRubidge]

Thanks for watching and thanks for your comment!

[@roundtheworld2737]

We use it to cook chicken soup with ginger.

[@CSSuccessGamer]

taste like regular rice just more squishier with a different smell. Not that sweet. Did you add sugar or something.

[@mimilin6752]

Hi Jeff. I like your video, I followed your recipe but I’m not sure I did it right, I checked the day2 and saw white mold on top ( just a little) please tell me is it alright or I have to throw it away 😣

[@JeffRubidge]

Thanks for watching! Glad to hear you are brewing rice wine. Do you hear or see bubbles? Have you been stirring your jar once or twice a day? I would scrape off the mold with something clean, and then stir again. If it comes back, it might be a problem. If it is fermenting (you can hear or see bubbles), it should prevent mold from forming. Let me know what happens.

[@mimilin6752]

Thank you very much Jeff, I checked it today and it’s no more mole🥰🙏thanks again 😊

[@JeffRubidge]

@@mimilin6752 glad to hear that!

[@elel5751]

Do you seal the lid tightly for fermentation?

[@JeffRubidge]

For this brew, I did not seal the lid tightly. The lid was slightly loose. Thanks for your question!

[@alicialeong3991]

Hi Jeff, You might want to consider bottling the red yeast wine using Glass bottle instead of plastic bottle, as I remember my late mom had insisted that no plastic bottle for storing Chinese wines, over time the plastic bottle will release some toxic which is harmful to our body. Just my 2cents :P

[@JeffRubidge]

Yes, you have the right idea. Plastic is not good for long term storage. After the sediment settles, I pour off the top transparent layer without the sediment into a glass bottle. In a glass bottle, I can keep the wine for more than a year. Thanks for watching, and thanks for your comment!

[@alicialeong3991]

@@JeffRubidge Hi Jeff, how did the red yeast wine tastes like ? was it sweet ? I'm still learning.....haven't dare try yet, I've done several times on the plain sweet rice wine, turns out very sweet. curious about adding red yeast rice :P

[@JeffRubidge]

@@alicialeong3991 the flavor of red yeast rice wine can be sweet. As always it depends on the temperature and the other yeast that you might add. The flavor of red yeast rice itself is quite rich and special -- it was introduced to me as the original 红烧肉 flavor. The red yeast rice is a source of enzymes to convert starch to sugar. Red yeast rice (despite the misleading name in English) is not yeast that can ferment sugar into alcohol. That's why I add a small amount of wine yeast in my recipe. You could also use bread yeast. If you let it ferment a long time, it is possible that most of the sugar is converted to alcohol -- then the result won't be as sweet, of course. I'm still working on my recipe - always more to learn! Happy brewing!

[@alicialeong3991]

@@JeffRubidge Thanks so much Jeff for your extensive explanation, helps heaps. Look forward to more of your recipes. Have a great one ! Stay safe and healthy.

[@metheesaenthumphol2287]

Can I add more sticky rice during fermentation?

[@JeffRubidge]

Yes, but please keep your overall rice:water ratio in mind. and your overall rice:enzyme ratio. I have other videos with multiple stage rice wine, but I haven't done it for red yeast rice wine. And the rice amount should increase from the first stage to the next stage. You can add all the red yeast rice and yeast balls in the first stage or spread it out over each stage in proportion to the rice. Similarly, you can add all the water in the first stage or spread it out over each stage in proportion to the rice. Here is what I would do for a 2 stage recipe: (1) 300g sweet, rice, 100g red yeast rice, 2 yeast balls, 1L water, (2) 700g sweet rice, steamed Or with the water spread over both stages: (1) 300g sweet rice, 100g red yeast rice, 2 yeast balls, 300mL water, (2) 700g sweet rice, steamed, 700mL water. For a 3 stage recipe: (1) 200g sweet rice flour juk, 100g red yeast rice, 2 yeast balls, 200mL water, (2) 300g sweet rice, steamed, 300mL water (3) 500g sweet rice, steamed, 500 mL water or (1) 200g sweet rice flour juk, 100g red yeast rice, 2 yeast balls, 1L water, (2) 300g sweet rice, steamed, (3) 500g sweet rice, steamed. Thanks for your question!

[@juheeven9556]

Hi Jeff, I follow your recipe. But wonder why on day 1 the top layer turns moldy. I threw the top layer away. Any advice?

[@JeffRubidge]

Thanks for your question! It's good to start with a sanitized fermentation jar. It's also good to sanitize all tools, and to avoid "raw" water -- I mean, use water that boiled and cooled, or use bottled water. But don't use distilled water. Also, make sure your enzymes and yeast are in good condition (not too old or damaged by moisture or heat). Once fermentation has really started, mold won't be able to grow. It's also possible for mold to grow if it is too hot inside the jar. Did you hear the bubbling of fermentation before the mold grew? Or was fermentation slow to start?

[@juheeven9556]

@@JeffRubidge thank you for the reply and advice. No i don't hear any bubbling sound. I did sanitised all my equipments before use. But I'm not sure why it turned mouldy the next day. I used boiled water that is cooled to room temperature too. I removed the top layer and hopefully the rest are OK.

[@JeffRubidge]

@@juheeven9556 You should hear bubbling within the first day. If not, that means you have a fermentation problem. You might need to try again. If you can, the next time, add some wine yeast or even bread yeast, to be sure that fermentation will start. In this particular video, I did not add wine yeast, but I usually add wine yeast, for this reason.

[@juheeven9556]

@@JeffRubidge thanks so much for your tips! Will try again if I fail this one. When I get home I will check out how's the progress.

[@juheeven9556]

@@JeffRubidge hi ..it has been around 25 days. My wine didn't taste sweet but alcohol. There were bubbling sound not on day one or two but about a week subsequently. No more mouldy looking. I wonder if it is ready for consumption? How to know if they are? Actually I'm not sure if it is safe for drinking? Haha.

[@pn3940]

wash for 15 min? or just wash several times till clear water?

[@JeffRubidge]

Thanks for your question! Those two things should coincide. I usually wash and rinse nine times and that takes 10-15 minutes. Don't wash for more than 15 minutes, or wash too vigorously, or you might start breaking the rice into pieces. So the instructions for washing should be this: "Wash and rinse rice repeatedly until the water is clear, but never more than 15 minutes." Happy brewing!

[@Mercede-pour]

Hello, my friend, what is rice wine yeast balls made of?

[@JeffRubidge]

Thanks for your question! Those yeast balls are made with rice flour and water (and sometimes some other optional ingredients). They are placed in a hot and humid environment with mold spores (perhaps from rice straw or other natural sources). Then the mold aspergillus oryzae grows for some period of time throughout the yeast ball. The yeast balls are then cleaned and dried.

[@Mercede-pour]

@@JeffRubidge thank you so much ☺️ I’m Swedish but I live in Dubai , I watch your videos!🙏❤️

[@JeffRubidge]

@@Mercede-pour I am so glad to hear that you are watching my videos!

[@ShotgunLlama]

Don't the chinese yeast balls convert starch to sugar on their own? What does the red yeast do?

[@JeffRubidge]

Yes, they both contain enzymes that convert starch to sugar. Sometimes I've brewed with red yeast rice alone (without yeast balls) -- please see kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z4qxo6SOlN1nb68 and also the 2nd brew in kzbin.info/www/bejne/fZukYmCvnLWaebc . Other times I have brewed with yeast balls alone -- please see kzbin.info/www/bejne/hYGwdoWKi6p_e6c and also kzbin.info/www/bejne/ommuo42hZ7-Zjac . But of course the flavors are going to be different. Hope this helps...

[@artistmama1]

Where did you buy your red yeast rice? I can't find any.

[@JeffRubidge]

I have found it in various Asian supermarkets (the Chinese ones, not HMart), in Philadelphia, New York, and Connecticut. I can give you specific names if any of those locations are close to you!

[@artistmama1]

@@JeffRubidge Thanks, Jeff. I live a long ways away from you (Boise, Idaho to be exact). We have a few Asian markets here. I will check them out. :-)

[@JeffRubidge]

@@artistmama1 good luck! Red yeast rice can be written different ways: 红曲米, 红粬米, or 红麴米. The packages I bought were labeled as 红粬米.

[@everettduncan7543]

So have you thought to put this red rice in cheese instead of rice?

[@JeffRubidge]

I had not thought about that kind of thing.

[@gnats50]

How does the taste differ from traditional makgeolli?

[@JeffRubidge]

It's quite a different taste than makgeolli. There's no rice or lactic flavor. The red rice yeast gives a savory flavor (pepper, spices), and it starts off harsh, but it ages to something like a sherry or dry buttery or nutty wine, but more savory. Red yeast flavor is hard to describe -- it's really its own thing!

[@hidylee-genevieve1639]

Very surprised to see the westerner made this moonshine. Yours is very Fuzhou style with that lots of red rice yeast. The Hakka and Cantonese will use less, ratio is 2kg of glutinous rice: 20 gram of red rice. We add a bottle (700 ml) of rose favour clear liqueur 45% alcohol on third days and stir. Your whole process is really positive but we don’t stir it or open it everyday to prevent the dust and pollution. 👍🏻

[@JeffRubidge]

Hidy Lee-Genevieve thanks for your comment! I appreciate that information. I was lucky to find that red yeast rice. I am trying to learn more, and brew more!

[@ehenyeo]

请问做完米酒后可以存放多久?

[@JeffRubidge]

In the fridge, it will keep several years. If not in the fridge, must pasteurize it. Then it will keep at room temperature for years. [ 在冰箱中，它将保存数年。 如果不在冰箱中，则必须对其进行巴氏消毒。 然后它将在室温下保持多年。google translate!]. Thanks for your question!

[@bebiloku]

How is the percentage of alcohol?

[@JeffRubidge]

I can't measure it exactly. I can just estimate from how it tastes. I would say around 14%. Any single-stage rice wine would be 12-16%. Maybe a little bit higher for multiple-stage recipes. It's in the same general range of alcohol percentage as for grape wine or fruit wine. Thanks for watching!

[@Cetha33]

how much % alcohol is this?

[@JeffRubidge]

By taste, it is around 12-16% ABV. Thanks for watching!

[@amasbrojoel5509]

In my country red yeast rice is called "angkak rice" & only use in small amount, but not all use the red yeast rice, usually only use the chinese yeast ball Try add sugar to the water if you like. Maybe someday we can drink the rice wine home made brew together bro :-)

[@JeffRubidge]

I appreciate your comments. I’m glad to know about home brewers from other countries!

[@frostcraver]

USA doesn't allow the import of red yeast rice is there a way to get around this? The only reason it is outlawed is that big pharma doesn't want people to get the cholesterol-lowering benefit of the red yeast.

[@JeffRubidge]

It is allowed! I can find red yeast rice at any Chinese supermarket. Look for 红曲米 on the package.

[@JeffRubidge]

Here's a video that might help: kzbin.info/www/bejne/kH-pmn6Lr9WmY8U

[@JeffRubidge]

Also, if you just want the red yeast rice extract in a pill, you can buy that at Costco.

[@CSSuccessGamer]

why you used your hands with no gloves. Your gonna get a yeast infection.

[@JeffRubidge]

Thanks for watching! It is intentional to use my hands -- I answer that question in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hpbFgXV9ZpyBfrc And I've tried brewing once "hands off": kzbin.info/www/bejne/hYGwdoWKi6p_e6c. That one brewed for 2 months.