I will try this with nuruk. Similar culture, korean background. Jeff Rubidge has a video on sweet potato makgeolli. edit: doing like this cause you can make nuruk anywhere, unlike specific strands of aspergyllus.
Idea for filtration. The cannabis crew use specific mesh sizes (220-25 microns) to capture cannabinoids for compression & hashish. These "bubble bags&buckets" are cheap. I'm wondering, as we get to filtering spirits or a wash,, is there a notable difference in using different micron filters vs filtering 4/5 times or a filtration additive. Something to explore if time allows at some stage perhaps.
This is a really great video to show the traditionl way. Im lazy thouge. So i cooked the rice and then added lemonjuice and angel yellow label. This is my first distilled spirit and its better than anything iv ever had. I just used cheap rice that someone gave me, a mixture of long grain and brown. And i only distilled it once 90 proof
Glen FTW! That is beyond awesome. An amazing thing to do for someone and I'm glad it "happened" to you brother. This sounds like it was a super crazy and interesting product man. . . . . And wait . . . Hold up. . . . Did I just hear you say you were all in on funk??
Watching for a second time. The first time your voice was so soothing I fell asleep and the liquor fairy came and over filled my jar all over the floor. 😂
I appreciate your dedication to a fairly complex project. I doubt if I’d tackled this one without detailed step by step instructions. Great job, and welcome back!
I’ve got to say, your videos are simply fantastic. It’s like it all comes so naturally to you. I truly sit in anxious anticipation for your next video as soon as I view your latest release. Great job, sir. I’m for sure a fan.
I can not tell you how glad I am that you are back and producing your spectacular videos! I will definitely be giving this a try. I would love to see what awesome recopies, and hypothetical final product you and the fairies could come up with utilizing heavily peated and smoked grains.
Great to see you back. Interesting video, at this point I like simpler projects, but you never know what the future holds keep making great videos brother
'Mmmmm...roasted Japanese sweet potato! Buy them occasionally at a Korean market in Minnesota. Started to grow one in a jar but didn't get it planted soon enough. Bought some off a street vendor, had a long cart out front of a Japanese mall in California. Savory and smoky, pudding-like (firm-not gelatinous), no need for salt or anything, just break through the skin with a spoon and eat it all out. Read that mothers in Japan pan roast a whole one -- time it to finish as their kid's getting home from school -- must taste like Love.
Today we toast Glenn! It's always great to see a new video and always worth the wait. So many great ideas come out of your channel. Really loved the shot of your raised bed of sweet potatoes. What did you get out of that? Just what you used here or a bunch more?
Still finishing watching this video and wanting to add that roasting your sweet potatoes will convert starches for you. It might change the character compared to 100% conversion with the koji.
Only got 25 pounds total. If they were for eating, that would have been a great haul. I've read about the amylase in sweet potato peels, and it really makes sense since they're so dang sweet when you roast them. Definitely going to do that for my next try.
can you do a video on that airing process with the jars or the mixing in the fermenter. I thought airing spirits spoiled them and I thought aerating a mash removes the alcohol
Oxygen is really only bad for fermented drinks that won't later be distilled as the oxygen can spoil the flavor. For example, beer, wine and cider shouldn't be stirred or have much exposure to air. However, distilling negates oxygen spoilage. That's why many types of mashes intended for distilling can be be fermented "open" without any covering to keep the CO2 in and air out. As for the airing out of the jars, 12-24 hours can be very beneficial to help the most volatile components off-gas and bring out more subtle flavors. It's not critical, but it can help in situations like this where the spirit is hard to judge. The air exposure does not spoil the spirit in any way, and does not result in significant losses of alcohol.
@@BeardedBored Whahahaha....not that i mind the imperial system, not at all....but why? Hypothetically doin all your stuff, DM me if ever close to the Netherlands!
I recently did a sweet potato liquor, it was an interesting experiment and produced a very interesting spirit. I used SEB enzymes and I will say there's not a lot of sugars in sweet potatoes.
@@BeardedBored I learned a few things doing the sweet taters, I'd like to do them with angel yeast next time. The flavor is dead on sweet potato! No mistaking it.
Good to see you again amigo . Just read this morning that Taylor Hawkins (foo fighters drummer) passed away ,and then I seen that you had a video out. Just when I needed something to smile about 👍. Thanks
Yellow label is basically an all in one parallel fermentation product. No idea what's in it or how it compares flavorwise, but it seems to accomplish the same thing. Still have to test it myself.
BB I’d like to suggest that you try and blend this with your Amaretto (start around 2-1) The Amaretto will hold up to a very high level of funk and I believe you will be pleasantly surprised.
Now Bearded, be a good boy and drink your vegetables all gone!!! LOL!!!! I'd head about this, but never heard it explained, pretty cool idea! Thanks again brother for the vids. Be well, stay safe and God bless. Rev. D.
Another enjoyable video, happy that you got your computer worked out!! Seems like a very intricate process, going to have to try this and let you know how it turns out!!
doesn't washing the rice remove starch? And would cooing the rice in a pressure cooker give a head start. I've wondered about pressure cookers with wheat and barley.
Brother this is a crazy process, looks super interesting, sorry for only getting to the video now. the color of the wash was crazy cool, do you think if you grate the potatoes it will make a difference I am doing a Potato wash today and going to Grind and then pass it through my grain mill, is that just over kill or not. Cheers
Interesting video as always. When I malt corn I use seed starter trays with the clear lid on my heated germination mat. I wonder if that set up would work for this process, I'm not sure if it gets hot enough though.
I usually grow about 100-150 pds of sweet potatoes, and was wondering if after they're aged, can they make a vodka? I might play around with these next winter
I made this just using the white mould spores, it’s all I can get my hands on, but still got the same results. I didn’t particularly like it, so I made a gin from it, one of the nicest gins I’ve ever made.
Interesting. I just learned from a Patreon that traditional shochu is supposed to be really tailsy. Nobody ever described it that way in anything I read in my research, so I wasn't expecting it. The words used are "earthy" and "funky". "Tailsy" is something a distiller understands, but not necessarily a shochu enthusiast. What I had is much cleaner than that due to the multiple distillations, but it still wasn't amazing. But now after sitting in glass for months the flavor has really developed into something complex, floral, slightly fruity, slightly earthy and sweet. Hard to pin down, but quite good. Next time I have enough to use for gin I'll definitely try it. Thanks for the suggestion!
Bearded! This is great man! Finally someone did shochu, and this is a great introduction! You did great for your first batch! So...I exclusively make shochu and Soju in my craft, Ive researched it a lot and really dived down a huge rabbit hole over a long time, and made many many different types. I want to share with you and you're viewers some of what I've learnt if they really want to get as authentic as they can with it all 🙂 this info doesn't ever appear in one place in either Japanese or english and is a collection of tiny things Ive discovered along the way Sooo .... you don't have to exclusively use black Koji - yes it's very common but many imo shochus also do use white or yellow koji Use sake yeast - the wyeast is sake 901 and the whitelabs if sake 701 - this will also make a huge difference to your flavour profile and be more in line with shochu flavour. It's impossible atm to get real shochu yeast (yes, there are specific strains) outside of Japan, if anyone finds it...please please let me know. Most imo is steamed. But roasting is cool to do sometimes too The correct ratio for fementing imo shochu that is the "textbook standard" is K:1 IMO 6.1 water 4.64 or there abouts ☺️ Ferment at 30c Don't get rid of the solids! You'll lose a heap of flavour by doing that. Yep, that's right, shochu distillers distill "on the grain" - you can put a false bottom into a electric, and out the potato into a nylon bag ..what I do is a do clear the wash out so I have a heap of clear wash for the bag to sit in, then put the rest into the bag and throw it into the still Yep, running slow is good - mine take about 6 hours at around 800w For cuts, and this is the absolute most important part of making shochu - NO CUTS! Seriously. Get rid of the fores, and maybe maybe the first jar of heads, but then you use the whole pig - go all the way down deep down into the tails, we're talking even down to around 20% or so...and you use the *whole* lot. This is why you didn't get much of a yield. Doing this you want to aim for a blended collected alcohol percentage of between 35-42% - trust me, it works, you need that heads bite and the tails murk to fully flesh out the character You can also stop the tails when they start to go "milky" ..this is from the Koji rice and happens frequently when distilling anything with Koji in it. You will get a lot of oil from the Koji rice, as it comes off your blend, you have to wick this off as it appears - it's normal, shochu distillers just use plastic wrap to take it off the spirit 6 months is a good ageing time and to allow the heads to mellow a bit I actually ultrasonic age minez and that helps it blend out and get rid of some of the crap in the heads a bit quicker and nicer Hope this helps anyone. I've really spent a lot of time diving into this and the many nuances of shochu, this doesn't even cover the many other types ..and they're all treated slightly differently. I'll be writing the recipe up on the Koji wiki that FissionC has made ... and will post the link here when it's up 🙂 I'd also recommend people listen to the Japan Distilled podcast to get more info - the latest episode is all about cuts and confirms a lot of what I learnt about how to (not) do cuts in shochu ☺️ try your next batch using these tweaks mate and do a comparison, and if you can get a "reference bottle" of a commercial type it helps too, you'll notice a huge difference ..my first batches were similar to yours, and doing comparisons now to the stuff I make is world's apart in brilliance ☺️ If you want to delve into traditional Soju, let me know and I'll write up my recipes for you to try too
This is great. Shochu is one of my favourites but finding reliable info is quite hard. In your research did you come across any ratios for Mugi (Barley) shochu? Thanks. I am also a big fan of Japan Distilled, Stephen Lyman and Chris Pellegrini 😄🍶
Great video. The problems you encountered are typical for first timers growing Koji. Definitely find a tame Japanese person to source your Koji direct from Japan. My Japanese wife ordered Awamori and a slew of other varieties from Kawashimaya or thejapanstore in bulk amounts (100g +) . Wifey tells me shipping is an issue at the moment though. My first whisky was made with Koji as it's what I had to convert store bought barley. I grew it on the cracked steamed barley and then held the amazake at 55C to convert the starches. Cooled it pitched yeast etc. I've grown more Koji for food products than booze. It would be easy to pitch your Koji flour mixture straight onto your steamed diced potatoes and culture direct to the potato... Just a thought. "The Koji alchemy" is a brilliant reference for anyone experimenting with Koji. It a huge rabbit hole. Thanks for your contribution to the community Bearded. I love the places you're pushing the craft to. Much appreciated
Yeah, this is only my 3rd time growing koji, 1st time with this variety. Learned a LOT:-) I opted for the rice starter since that's how they do it in Japan at some of the old school distilleries. Might skip that step next time to see if it matters. Koji whiskey is something I've been wanting to try👍
Great video as always. I also love experimenting with strange ideas that pop into my head, my next video is going to be on one. I've also made Shochu in the past, but not an Awamori style, because I could never find the koji-kin to make it. All Awamori (Okinawa) is Shochu (rest of Japan), but don't tell that to Okinawans, it's like Tequila (Jalisco state) vs Mezcal (rest of Mexico). I've made it just from rice and rice (kome shochu) and from rice and buckwheat (soba shochu). I had the same heating problem when making the koji starter, and eventually moved to using larger vessels so I could spread the rice out thinner. I moved to under-bed rigid storage containers, they are long, relatively wide, short, and quite large volumes, the ones I have hold 50L/15gal. I would just wrap them in a blanket, and stack them on top of my chest freezer on top of a sheet of cork for extra insulation from the metal surface. Every morning I would go in, open them and spritz it a few times with distilled water. Work pretty good. I would also agree that Shochu is more like Tequila/Mezcal than Whisky, or Vodka. I mean, it's nothing like Vodka, and while technically you are using grains to make a wort, and turn it into a beer, to ferment, it's really only technical use of the terms themselves that make it similar to Whisky. The process in making it, the flavour you get as a result, the culture around it, are very different to Whisky, and are much closer to Tequila, and Mezcal. Most people don't know, but both Tequila, and Mezcal, are also co-fermented due to the more traditional methods used to make most of them, I can't speak to the distilleries that are more modern and use more sterile techniques though, but the ones that use more traditional methods, there is a lesser known microbe present, and in some cases, that microbe is the only microbe present and yeast isn't used at all, or is a minor player from wild sources. Another video I want to delve into. I'd finally like to note that although I've used citric acid a lot in the past, to lower pH, and even made buffers from it, both for fermentation. I recently discovered that it isn't exactly a good acid to use for fermentations, I'm hoping to get a video out on it pretty soon. I need to run a couple of tests first though.
Dam good to see you back I love the interesting and different spirits you cover Realy like you and Jessi sorry George got tired of the haters can’t really blame him
@@BeardedBored I've read that any starchy vegetable could *hypothetically* be used to make shochu. Aside from the grains and sweet potato, I've seen pumpkin and carrots mentioned
Once I have the resources I will become a patreon in the meantime I am, without a doubt, a super fan. Love your work. Hypothetically, we would be great friends if we were in the same neighborhood.
I must say. That is probably your best video I've seen so far. You nailed it. Loved the tasting. However all I could think of was Austin Power. 'Cauw, Its a Bit Nuttay!" :)
Big thank you, Brother Bearded! Another fascinating excursion into a new spirit. I the only drink I ever tipped down the drain was a small sample of sweet potato vodka from a craft distillery in North Carolina, referring to it as swill is a compliment. Your project peaked my interest, I had read years ago that sweet potatoes can produce amylase enzyme of some sort. I believe it was through a long low temperature baking process which reminded me at the time of the processing of blue agave pinas. I had never heard roasted pinas smell like sweet potatoes. That is really interesting. Do you have blue agaves in you landscaping that may suddenly disappear when a certain “fairy” notices them? Great content direct from the mind of Bearded, love the way you think, Sir!
Sweet potato skins do have enough amylase to convert their own starch apparently, but you have to do a separate mash with just the peels and save the water. Boil the chunks separately, cool to 145F, then add the peel mash and let it convert. Never tried it though. Don't have any agave in my yard, but next time I go for a long drive through west Texas I'm going to be looking on the road sides for some;-)
Sounds kind of like the there is an Asian flavour to the mold conversion of starch. Trying to make enough of anything from potatoes takes a lot of potatoes though. I'm going to have to give mold a try some time in the next year or two and see what the flavors are like.
Love the video. Great info regarding the 'funk'. You seem to have lost a lot of weight, is it cause of the new job or are you actually trying to lose it?
Great to see new uploads ! I'm fighting a stalled single malt at the moment... only 2nd stall I've ever encountered. I think I've got it rolling again, will know for sure shortly, lol. Best wishes 👍👍
@@BeardedBored Thanks Man. It won't be a total loss as it dropped 50 points already, but beginning SG was 1.100. What sucks is I did an exact recipe just a week before and it hit 1.000 in 5 days, lol. Day 6 now still @ 1.050. I tried George's tomato paste with zero result. Checked ph and was extremely low, @3.5, fairly normal for mid fermentation tho. Trying to get a new yeast colony growing with the mash right now. If I can get it to grow in the flask, I'll duplicate that in the carboy... fingers still crossed 😉 Interesting hobby !! Have a great weekend !
@@BeardedBored i did 3lbs of Bosco 3 lbs of Bartlett both fresh then 8 lbs of canned Bartletts heavy syrup plus gallon and a half of pear juice bottles 1 1/2 gallon of water 3 1/2 pounds of sugar after the pectin enzymes the gravity is 1.080 or so ,,, got the yeast waiting,,, letting campden tabs work off for next day or so then it's on =)
Check out Into The AM for cool Graphic T-Shirts! - intotheam.com/BEARDED10 Use Coupon Code - *Bearded10*
I will try this with nuruk. Similar culture, korean background. Jeff Rubidge has a video on sweet potato makgeolli.
edit: doing like this cause you can make nuruk anywhere, unlike specific strands of aspergyllus.
Idea for filtration. The cannabis crew use specific mesh sizes (220-25 microns) to capture cannabinoids for compression & hashish. These "bubble bags&buckets" are cheap. I'm wondering, as we get to filtering spirits or a wash,, is there a notable difference in using different micron filters vs filtering 4/5 times or a filtration additive.
Something to explore if time allows at some stage perhaps.
I'll look into it.
This is a really great video to show the traditionl way. Im lazy thouge. So i cooked the rice and then added lemonjuice and angel yellow label. This is my first distilled spirit and its better than anything iv ever had. I just used cheap rice that someone gave me, a mixture of long grain and brown. And i only distilled it once 90 proof
I’m working with angel bv818 for my fruit wine, and I think it’s good :)
Glen FTW! That is beyond awesome. An amazing thing to do for someone and I'm glad it "happened" to you brother.
This sounds like it was a super crazy and interesting product man. . . . . And wait . . . Hold up. . . . Did I just hear you say you were all in on funk??
Glenn is the best. Saved my bacon!
As for the funk, your toe jammy whiskey inoculated my palate so I could enjoy funky stuff, hahahahaha!
Watching for a second time. The first time your voice was so soothing I fell asleep and the liquor fairy came and over filled my jar all over the floor. 😂
Hahahaha!
I missed my favorite youtube channel. Glad ur back
More to come!
I appreciate your dedication to a fairly complex project. I doubt if I’d tackled this one without detailed step by step instructions. Great job, and welcome back!
Glad it was helpful!
Yes 🙌 You are back 🙌
😎
I’ve got to say, your videos are simply fantastic. It’s like it all comes so naturally to you. I truly sit in anxious anticipation for your next video as soon as I view your latest release. Great job, sir. I’m for sure a fan.
Wow, thank you!
I totally agree! Cheers from Sweden!
I can not tell you how glad I am that you are back and producing your spectacular videos! I will definitely be giving this a try. I would love to see what awesome recopies, and hypothetical final product you and the fairies could come up with utilizing heavily peated and smoked grains.
Great to see you back. Interesting video, at this point I like simpler projects, but you never know what the future holds keep making great videos brother
Thanks!
'Mmmmm...roasted Japanese sweet potato!
Buy them occasionally at a Korean market in Minnesota. Started to grow one in a jar but didn't get it planted soon enough.
Bought some off a street vendor, had a long cart out front of a Japanese mall in California. Savory and smoky, pudding-like (firm-not gelatinous), no need for salt or anything, just break through the skin with a spoon and eat it all out.
Read that mothers in Japan pan roast a whole one -- time it to finish as their kid's getting home from school -- must taste like Love.
I'm going to roast some for an upcoming project;-)
Today we toast Glenn! It's always great to see a new video and always worth the wait. So many great ideas come out of your channel. Really loved the shot of your raised bed of sweet potatoes. What did you get out of that? Just what you used here or a bunch more?
Still finishing watching this video and wanting to add that roasting your sweet potatoes will convert starches for you. It might change the character compared to 100% conversion with the koji.
Only got 25 pounds total. If they were for eating, that would have been a great haul.
I've read about the amylase in sweet potato peels, and it really makes sense since they're so dang sweet when you roast them. Definitely going to do that for my next try.
Always interesting subject matter. Thanks for posting.
Thanks for watching!
Definitely an oh crap moment when the heads taste like tails! Glad she cleaned up.
I’m so glad there’s a distilling channel that’s still experimenting with legitimate methods!
Thanks!
Wow man,I did the same thing with the heating pad when I outfitted a plastic drum as a fermenter
Good morning, nice to see you. WB
Thanks!
"Okay, back to the spores!" Excellent transition. hah!
can you do a video on that airing process with the jars or the mixing in the fermenter. I thought airing spirits spoiled them and I thought aerating a mash removes the alcohol
Oxygen is really only bad for fermented drinks that won't later be distilled as the oxygen can spoil the flavor. For example, beer, wine and cider shouldn't be stirred or have much exposure to air. However, distilling negates oxygen spoilage. That's why many types of mashes intended for distilling can be be fermented "open" without any covering to keep the CO2 in and air out.
As for the airing out of the jars, 12-24 hours can be very beneficial to help the most volatile components off-gas and bring out more subtle flavors. It's not critical, but it can help in situations like this where the spirit is hard to judge. The air exposure does not spoil the spirit in any way, and does not result in significant losses of alcohol.
Great stuff man, I loved the video, I doubt that I'll be trying this one anytime soon but there's still lots of useable info here
Thanks for the centigrades!
It's the measuring system of the rest of the planet, so I'm happy to make the conversions;-)
@@BeardedBored Whahahaha....not that i mind the imperial system, not at all....but why? Hypothetically doin all your stuff, DM me if ever close to the Netherlands!
Awesome video! I wonder if Koji and plantains would yield some interesting results...
Wow, great idea!!!
What about making sake and distilling the rice wine?
I made a Baijiu video, which is very similar, but is from China instead of Japan. Same process though.
Great video ..u always go for the EASY RECIPES..lol it may be straight potato run .. good show thanks
Haha, yeah I might go for something with fewer steps next time:-)
I recently did a sweet potato liquor, it was an interesting experiment and produced a very interesting spirit. I used SEB enzymes and I will say there's not a lot of sugars in sweet potatoes.
I'll have to check out your video. Wish I could work with a whole barrel of mash like you do:-)
@@BeardedBored I learned a few things doing the sweet taters, I'd like to do them with angel yeast next time. The flavor is dead on sweet potato! No mistaking it.
New still will be up and running next month just waiting for an 8 inch gasket and clamp
Nice!
Good to see you again amigo . Just read this morning that Taylor Hawkins (foo fighters drummer) passed away ,and then I seen that you had a video out. Just when I needed something to smile about 👍. Thanks
Yeah, sad news. Glad I could brighten the mood a little:-)
Is the yellow label angle yeast koji ?
Yellow label is basically an all in one parallel fermentation product. No idea what's in it or how it compares flavorwise, but it seems to accomplish the same thing. Still have to test it myself.
Very interesting, thanks for sharing
Grateful 🙏 thank you 4 sharing value information 🙏 😊 🙌
BB I’d like to suggest that you try and blend this with your Amaretto (start around 2-1) The Amaretto will hold up to a very high level of funk and I believe you will be pleasantly surprised.
Thanks for the recommendation. I'll have to try it.
Now Bearded, be a good boy and drink your vegetables all gone!!! LOL!!!! I'd head about this, but never heard it explained, pretty cool idea! Thanks again brother for the vids. Be well, stay safe and God bless. Rev. D.
Hahahaha! Thanks Preacher!
Another enjoyable video, happy that you got your computer worked out!! Seems like a very intricate process, going to have to try this and let you know how it turns out!!
Yeah, I was stuck without the computer. So glad to have that behind me.
The mold based conversion is definitely worth a try;-)
doesn't washing the rice remove starch? And would cooing the rice in a pressure cooker give a head start. I've wondered about pressure cookers with wheat and barley.
Forgot to add; THANKS GLENN!
Brother this is a crazy process, looks super interesting, sorry for only getting to the video now. the color of the wash was crazy cool, do you think if you grate the potatoes it will make a difference I am doing a Potato wash today and going to Grind and then pass it through my grain mill, is that just over kill or not.
Cheers
Can't hurt to have them a fine as possible, broer;-)
Interesting video as always. When I malt corn I use seed starter trays with the clear lid on my heated germination mat. I wonder if that set up would work for this process, I'm not sure if it gets hot enough though.
I think that might get warm enough if you can insulate it. A heavy blanket might be enough to hold in the heat.
I usually grow about 100-150 pds of sweet potatoes, and was wondering if after they're aged, can they make a vodka? I might play around with these next winter
Very,very interesting
Glad you enjoyed it
Will definitely do a sweet potato one day thanks for reminding me 👍
Lot of potential for fun with these guys:-)
I would try a little maceration with some potatoes to get some of that purple color into your liquor... hopefully it won't ruin the final product
I'm thinking of trying an infusion next time:-)
this is outstanding content! cheers!
Much appreciated!
This is awesome stuff man.
I’m so ready to see what’s next on your to do list 🍻💕
Thanks!
I made this just using the white mould spores, it’s all I can get my hands on, but still got the same results.
I didn’t particularly like it, so I made a gin from it, one of the nicest gins I’ve ever made.
Interesting. I just learned from a Patreon that traditional shochu is supposed to be really tailsy. Nobody ever described it that way in anything I read in my research, so I wasn't expecting it. The words used are "earthy" and "funky". "Tailsy" is something a distiller understands, but not necessarily a shochu enthusiast. What I had is much cleaner than that due to the multiple distillations, but it still wasn't amazing. But now after sitting in glass for months the flavor has really developed into something complex, floral, slightly fruity, slightly earthy and sweet. Hard to pin down, but quite good. Next time I have enough to use for gin I'll definitely try it. Thanks for the suggestion!
Bearded! This is great man! Finally someone did shochu, and this is a great introduction! You did great for your first batch!
So...I exclusively make shochu and Soju in my craft, Ive researched it a lot and really dived down a huge rabbit hole over a long time, and made many many different types. I want to share with you and you're viewers some of what I've learnt if they really want to get as authentic as they can with it all 🙂 this info doesn't ever appear in one place in either Japanese or english and is a collection of tiny things Ive discovered along the way
Sooo ....
you don't have to exclusively use black Koji - yes it's very common but many imo shochus also do use white or yellow koji
Use sake yeast - the wyeast is sake 901 and the whitelabs if sake 701 - this will also make a huge difference to your flavour profile and be more in line with shochu flavour. It's impossible atm to get real shochu yeast (yes, there are specific strains) outside of Japan, if anyone finds it...please please let me know.
Most imo is steamed. But roasting is cool to do sometimes too
The correct ratio for fementing imo shochu that is the "textbook standard" is K:1 IMO 6.1 water 4.64 or there abouts ☺️
Ferment at 30c
Don't get rid of the solids! You'll lose a heap of flavour by doing that. Yep, that's right, shochu distillers distill "on the grain" - you can put a false bottom into a electric, and out the potato into a nylon bag ..what I do is a do clear the wash out so I have a heap of clear wash for the bag to sit in, then put the rest into the bag and throw it into the still
Yep, running slow is good - mine take about 6 hours at around 800w
For cuts, and this is the absolute most important part of making shochu - NO CUTS! Seriously. Get rid of the fores, and maybe maybe the first jar of heads, but then you use the whole pig - go all the way down deep down into the tails, we're talking even down to around 20% or so...and you use the *whole* lot. This is why you didn't get much of a yield. Doing this you want to aim for a blended collected alcohol percentage of between 35-42% - trust me, it works, you need that heads bite and the tails murk to fully flesh out the character
You can also stop the tails when they start to go "milky" ..this is from the Koji rice and happens frequently when distilling anything with Koji in it.
You will get a lot of oil from the Koji rice, as it comes off your blend, you have to wick this off as it appears - it's normal, shochu distillers just use plastic wrap to take it off the spirit
6 months is a good ageing time and to allow the heads to mellow a bit
I actually ultrasonic age minez and that helps it blend out and get rid of some of the crap in the heads a bit quicker and nicer
Hope this helps anyone. I've really spent a lot of time diving into this and the many nuances of shochu, this doesn't even cover the many other types ..and they're all treated slightly differently. I'll be writing the recipe up on the Koji wiki that FissionC has made ... and will post the link here when it's up 🙂 I'd also recommend people listen to the Japan Distilled podcast to get more info - the latest episode is all about cuts and confirms a lot of what I learnt about how to (not) do cuts in shochu ☺️
try your next batch using these tweaks mate and do a comparison, and if you can get a "reference bottle" of a commercial type it helps too, you'll notice a huge difference ..my first batches were similar to yours, and doing comparisons now to the stuff I make is world's apart in brilliance ☺️
If you want to delve into traditional Soju, let me know and I'll write up my recipes for you to try too
Thanks so much for all the detail! I'd love to get any recipes you want to share. Send me an email or if you post them online let me know the link.
This is an awesome write up!
This is great. Shochu is one of my favourites but finding reliable info is quite hard. In your research did you come across any ratios for Mugi (Barley) shochu? Thanks. I am also a big fan of Japan Distilled, Stephen Lyman and Chris Pellegrini 😄🍶
Great video. The problems you encountered are typical for first timers growing Koji. Definitely find a tame Japanese person to source your Koji direct from Japan. My Japanese wife ordered Awamori and a slew of other varieties from Kawashimaya or thejapanstore in bulk amounts (100g +) . Wifey tells me shipping is an issue at the moment though.
My first whisky was made with Koji as it's what I had to convert store bought barley. I grew it on the cracked steamed barley and then held the amazake at 55C to convert the starches. Cooled it pitched yeast etc.
I've grown more Koji for food products than booze. It would be easy to pitch your Koji flour mixture straight onto your steamed diced potatoes and culture direct to the potato... Just a thought.
"The Koji alchemy" is a brilliant reference for anyone experimenting with Koji. It a huge rabbit hole.
Thanks for your contribution to the community Bearded. I love the places you're pushing the craft to. Much appreciated
Yeah, this is only my 3rd time growing koji, 1st time with this variety. Learned a LOT:-) I opted for the rice starter since that's how they do it in Japan at some of the old school distilleries. Might skip that step next time to see if it matters.
Koji whiskey is something I've been wanting to try👍
Great video as always. I also love experimenting with strange ideas that pop into my head, my next video is going to be on one.
I've also made Shochu in the past, but not an Awamori style, because I could never find the koji-kin to make it. All Awamori (Okinawa) is Shochu (rest of Japan), but don't tell that to Okinawans, it's like Tequila (Jalisco state) vs Mezcal (rest of Mexico). I've made it just from rice and rice (kome shochu) and from rice and buckwheat (soba shochu). I had the same heating problem when making the koji starter, and eventually moved to using larger vessels so I could spread the rice out thinner. I moved to under-bed rigid storage containers, they are long, relatively wide, short, and quite large volumes, the ones I have hold 50L/15gal. I would just wrap them in a blanket, and stack them on top of my chest freezer on top of a sheet of cork for extra insulation from the metal surface. Every morning I would go in, open them and spritz it a few times with distilled water. Work pretty good.
I would also agree that Shochu is more like Tequila/Mezcal than Whisky, or Vodka. I mean, it's nothing like Vodka, and while technically you are using grains to make a wort, and turn it into a beer, to ferment, it's really only technical use of the terms themselves that make it similar to Whisky. The process in making it, the flavour you get as a result, the culture around it, are very different to Whisky, and are much closer to Tequila, and Mezcal. Most people don't know, but both Tequila, and Mezcal, are also co-fermented due to the more traditional methods used to make most of them, I can't speak to the distilleries that are more modern and use more sterile techniques though, but the ones that use more traditional methods, there is a lesser known microbe present, and in some cases, that microbe is the only microbe present and yeast isn't used at all, or is a minor player from wild sources. Another video I want to delve into.
I'd finally like to note that although I've used citric acid a lot in the past, to lower pH, and even made buffers from it, both for fermentation. I recently discovered that it isn't exactly a good acid to use for fermentations, I'm hoping to get a video out on it pretty soon. I need to run a couple of tests first though.
Dude, thanks for all the info! Send me an email about the tequila microbe. Been working on a tequila 2.0 idea;-)
Dam good to see you back
I love the interesting and different spirits you cover
Realy like you and Jessi sorry George got tired of the haters can’t really blame him
Thanks so much!
Wonder if you could do the same process but with plantains instead of sweet potatoes....
I think it would work. Excellent idea!
@@BeardedBored I've read that any starchy vegetable could *hypothetically* be used to make shochu. Aside from the grains and sweet potato, I've seen pumpkin and carrots mentioned
Once I have the resources I will become a patreon in the meantime I am, without a doubt, a super fan. Love your work. Hypothetically, we would be great friends if we were in the same neighborhood.
Much appreciated!
I must say. That is probably your best video I've seen so far. You nailed it. Loved the tasting. However all I could think of was Austin Power. 'Cauw, Its a Bit Nuttay!" :)
Hahaha, thanks brother!
You're awesome, dude
Big thank you, Brother Bearded! Another fascinating excursion into a new spirit. I the only drink I ever tipped down the drain was a small sample of sweet potato vodka from a craft distillery in North Carolina, referring to it as swill is a compliment.
Your project peaked my interest, I had read years ago that sweet potatoes can produce amylase enzyme of some sort. I believe it was through a long low temperature baking process which reminded me at the time of the processing of blue agave pinas.
I had never heard roasted pinas smell like sweet potatoes. That is really interesting.
Do you have blue agaves in you landscaping that may suddenly disappear when a certain “fairy” notices them?
Great content direct from the mind of Bearded, love the way you think, Sir!
Sweet potato skins do have enough amylase to convert their own starch apparently, but you have to do a separate mash with just the peels and save the water. Boil the chunks separately, cool to 145F, then add the peel mash and let it convert. Never tried it though.
Don't have any agave in my yard, but next time I go for a long drive through west Texas I'm going to be looking on the road sides for some;-)
Sounds kind of like the there is an Asian flavour to the mold conversion of starch. Trying to make enough of anything from potatoes takes a lot of potatoes though. I'm going to have to give mold a try some time in the next year or two and see what the flavors are like.
Definitely worth some experimentation:-)
That's a properly Alton Brown-esqe way to keep your koji warm!
Hypothetically…of course. Why are all the greatest hobbies hypothetical. I bet the funkiness of it must be interesting.
Kind of like smelling blue cheese nearby while you take a sip;-)
Have you ever tried to make Soju? It is from Korea and is the number one selling liquor in the world.
Trying to recall did we decided to call the ‘lil lady Ms Beard or go with the Ms Bored
Mrs. Bored. She doesn't have a beard, hahaha:-)
Love the video. Great info regarding the 'funk'. You seem to have lost a lot of weight, is it cause of the new job or are you actually trying to lose it?
Thanks. Lost the weight, then got the job and lost some more;-)
@@BeardedBored Well regardless the cause, it's workin for ya!
they use a different kind of sweet potato . purple is also used.
Kumara folks! Where the heck is Jesse?
Great to see new uploads ! I'm fighting a stalled single malt at the moment... only 2nd stall I've ever encountered. I think I've got it rolling again, will know for sure shortly, lol. Best wishes 👍👍
Good luck on the restart!
@@BeardedBored Thanks Man. It won't be a total loss as it dropped 50 points already, but beginning SG was 1.100. What sucks is I did an exact recipe just a week before and it hit 1.000 in 5 days, lol. Day 6 now still @ 1.050. I tried George's tomato paste with zero result. Checked ph and was extremely low, @3.5, fairly normal for mid fermentation tho. Trying to get a new yeast colony growing with the mash right now. If I can get it to grow in the flask, I'll duplicate that in the carboy... fingers still crossed 😉 Interesting hobby !! Have a great weekend !
I just paused at 1:04 just to say dam you must be working your ass off. You look like you dropped some weight. Now onto the video lol
Thanks brother!
You would probably get a higher concentration of sugars in the sweet potatoes if you baked them instead of boiling them.
👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Neat video. Are you getting skinny on us? I'm jealous.
I'm at my high school weight, LoL:-)
Very interesting video. I would surely like to make me some tequila like substance. Send my regards to the likker fairy.
ρɾσɱσʂɱ 😳
Lol that's not pears lol
Not yet, but my neighbor's pear trees are blooming. Got to sneak some fertilizer over there;-)
@@BeardedBored i did 3lbs of Bosco 3 lbs of Bartlett both fresh then 8 lbs of canned Bartletts heavy syrup plus gallon and a half of pear juice bottles 1 1/2 gallon of water 3 1/2 pounds of sugar after the pectin enzymes the gravity is 1.080 or so ,,, got the yeast waiting,,, letting campden tabs work off for next day or so then it's on =)
Good luck!
Hey brother, your starting to get a little more “George” into your videos. Super specific information to back up what your doing.
He set the bar pretty high:-)
I can see you got that kill shot. You look bad bro. You are even slowed down. Sorry... It's been fun and you have been a HOOT