Rice wine/sake

[cafelinhchi]

Anybody made some nice sake? Or some bad stuff?

I know there are some old threads about sake but I just thought I'd see if there are any fresh sake brewers, or if anyone has tried making Chinese rice wine before. I'm a bit of a chemistry nerd and the different fungi and bacteria involved in rice fermentations get me pretty hot under the collar.

For sake brewing I'm roughly following an American guy called Taylor AK's instructions. For the Chinese rice wine I had a look at a few blogs where people make their granny's recipe but am pretty much pulling the process out of my arse. All the recipes I've found are for really sweet cooking wine but I want to make dry, sake-like gear, which I actually did manage to do the first time round by a total fluke.

I've got my first batch of sake on the go at the moment. It's a lot of steps, but fairly straightforward after getting your head around the various additions and timing.
http://maynenkhifusheng.vn/

[brewfun]

Sake is confined by a lot more traditions than beer. The main advocate for Sake making has been Fred Eckhardt. I guarantee that most of the techniques you're reading on any website spring from his articles and book.

http://www.amazon.com/Sake-USA-complete-breweries-homebrewed/dp/0960630287

Although it's a collector book and is getting pricy, it's still an excellent resource.

[Marlinneag]

HI, EVERYONE. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHERE CAN I OBTAIN SOME GOOD CHINESE RICE WINE AS I CANT FIND IT IN MY COUNTRY, MALTA IN EUROPE. THANKS 4 D HELP

[Maine Homebrewer]

I haven't made it, but the host of Booze Traveler walked through a sake brewery in Japan. Instead of using enzymes in a mash to break down the starches into sugar, they use a mold that they said was also used in the making of soy sauce. So it's been in use for a very long time.
I suppose you could buy the mold and try it at home, but I've never looked into it. It requires temperature and humidity control, that much I know.
The mold contributes to the flavor. So going through a mash to break down the starches wouldn't have the same result.

[Scott Ickes]

Michael Tonsmeire of "TheMadFermentation" blog has experimented with it to varying degrees of success.

http://www.themadfermentationist.com/search/label/Sake