Making koji and brewing wine

Wealthy families could afford sake, while ordinary people could only afford cloudy sake.

Cloudy wine is made using the oldest fermentation method. Due to the immaturity of filtration technology, the resulting wine contains some mash and sediment, which makes the wine appear cloudy.

The alcohol content in cloudy wine is so low that it can only be considered a beverage with a slight alcoholic taste.

Moreover, this kind of cloudy wine with impurities is very easy to spoil and taste bad, and it is difficult to preserve for a long time. Therefore, people will boil it before drinking it, which is equivalent to adding a sterilization step.

Sake, on the other hand, is filtered alcohol with little sediment, resulting in a clearer liquid and a higher price.

This discovery greatly boosted Fu Zhiqiao's confidence in making and selling liquor. Compared with the murky liquor of today, clear and fragrant baijiu is undoubtedly a fine wine.

Her greatest weapon is her ability to distill and purify alcoholic beverages.

Fu Zhiqiao is confident that the emergence of baijiu will have a huge impact on Dawei Winery.

After analyzing the competitors in the wine category, Fu Zhiqiao also gained a new understanding of how wine is sold here.

In the Great Wei Dynasty, ordinary merchants or wine merchants could only start selling wine after paying certain taxes and accepting government management. They were not allowed to engage in the wine business without a special permit.

Fortunately, she had bought an existing wine shop; all she needed to do was register it with the government and change Old Man Gao's information.

With the shop's affairs settled, Fu Zhiqiao could finally focus on preparing for the brewing process.

The first step in brewing wine is making koji (fermentation starter).

"The yeast is the mother of wine." Yeast is the key to brewing and fermentation. Without it, wine cannot be brewed. The quality of yeast making directly affects the quality and yield of the wine.

Fu Zhiqiao sought out Old Man Gao to inquire about the yeast. Although Old Man Gao was stubborn and inflexible, he was quite skilled at brewing.

Hearing Fu Zhiqiao's question, Old Man Gao was somewhat surprised: "Does the master want to make his own yeast?"

"What? You didn't make the yeast you used for brewing yourself?" Fu Zhi Qiao asked, somewhat puzzled. "Don't you know the technique of fermenting yeast?"

"Making yeast isn't difficult, and our homemade yeast is capable of brewing alcohol, it's just a bit time-consuming..."

Old Gao explained that many complex recipes for making yeast have been lost, and the yeast recipes that have been passed down to this day are considered secrets and will not be passed on to outsiders.

High-quality yeast has a better fermentation rate and a higher alcohol yield, which can save a lot of brewing raw materials.

To brew good wine, you must use good yeast. To make good yeast, you need dozens or even hundreds of raw materials. These materials must be properly proportioned and processed through multiple steps to produce the yeast.

When Old Gao's father was an apprentice at the distillery, he only learned the techniques of brewing wine. His master at the time had not yet decided whether to make him his successor, so he held back a secret when passing on his knowledge, only giving him half a recipe for yeast. As a result, before he could pass the test, his master passed away.

His father took this half of the recipe and tried to make his own yeast starter, but after several attempts, he gave up because he found the results were not good.

After listening to Old Man Gao's explanation, Fu Zhiqiao understood.

Making yeast is not always successful; the yeast loss rate is high, which ordinary people cannot afford. Moreover, the grain yield of the Great Wei is low, and the people have just reached the level of basic subsistence. It is already difficult to fill their stomachs, let alone have surplus grain to brew wine.

Even if a family has the means to brew wine, it is difficult to buy all the necessary ingredients for making koji at once. They can only simplify the ingredients step by step. The simplified koji is far less effective than the purchased one, and the yield is reduced by more than half. Over time, everyone chooses to buy koji directly for brewing wine instead of making it themselves.

After careful consideration, Fu Zhiqiao still insisted on making her own yeast starter.

Logically speaking, a sheltered young lady like Fu Zhi Qiao shouldn't know how to brew wine, but she does! To prevent Yu Rou Lan and Granny Cui from becoming suspicious, she found some books and stayed in the winery to study them diligently.

While perusing ancient books, he also sought out Old Gao to learn brewing techniques. The theory remained the same, but the brewing tools were different, so all his original knowledge had to be broken down and rebuilt.

Everything can only be figured out by oneself.

Fu Zhiqiao carefully studied the recipes for yeast in ancient books, combined them with the information provided by Old Gao, and added the yeast-making process he had seen before, and came up with a new recipe.

She used the courtyard behind the shop as a room for making music, personally keeping the key and strictly forbidding others from entering.

The sixth month of the lunar calendar is the hottest period of summer, when the high temperatures are ideal for making yeast.

Under Fu Zhiqiao's instructions, Defu spent several days collecting raw materials for making yeast from different pharmacies.

Everything is ready; we can begin making the yeast starter.

Clean and dry the following herbs: Polygonum hydropiper, Smilax glabra, Citrus aurantium, Cinnamomum cassia, Artemisia argyi, and Lonicera japonica. Pound them and soak them in water overnight. Filter the soaking liquid through gauze and set it aside.

Grind the rice into powder, add it to the soaked liquid and stir well. Knead it into balls of appropriate size. If you need a large quantity, make them into brick shapes and move them to a warm place indoors to ferment.

She did each step with utmost care.

After twelve hours of fermentation, Fu Zhiqiao eagerly lifted the lid to find that most of the yeast balls had turned black, with only a few remaining intact.

Looking at the blackened yeast in front of her, Fu Zhiqiao frowned. Which step went wrong?

Undeterred, she sought out Old Man Gao again and inquired about the matter carefully, recording every detail.

Every day, Fu Zhiqiao stayed in the courtyard, immersing herself in research and carefully reviewing the production steps. She personally handled everything from container sterilization and material preparation to mixing, working up a sweat.

The ingredients were re-proportioned into several portions, and with the help of Old Gao, several batches of yeast were made as a control group. After several experiments, it was discovered that the problem was the temperature. The cloth covering was too tight and not breathable. Excessive temperature would cause the microorganisms to lose their activity, leading to fermentation failure.

After wasting a lot of raw materials, Fu Zhiqiao finally mastered the method of successful yeast fermentation.

Fermentation of yeast can only be successful in a suitable temperature and humidity environment. When white fuzz grows on the surface of the yeast, it means that the yeast has fermented well. If the surface of the yeast turns black or smells bad, it means that the fermentation has failed.

The mycelium on the surface of the fermented yeast is delicate, soft, and white as frost. After drying in the sun, it can be properly stored.

Old Gao didn't really believe she could make yeast. He had seen her previous failures and tried to comfort her, but she wouldn't listen. Seeing Fu Zhi Qiao's serious expression, he sighed and decided to let her be.

Old Gao could not stop her and could only do as she said. He tried his best to answer Fu Zhi Qiao's questions, thinking that he was just keeping his employer company, since she was the one who paid for it.

It wasn't until Fu Zhi Qiao took out the fermented yeast that he believed she wasn't just playing around; she really knew how to do it!

Making yeast takes about a month. Once you have a successful example, it will be much easier to produce it in large quantities.

The mixed yeast starter is placed in a yeast box and compacted into a block. Bundles of straw are then brought in to cover the yeast starter in order to maintain temperature and humidity, which is conducive to microbial fermentation.

During the fermentation process, Fu Zhiqiao took the opportunity to study Old Gao's distillery.

Inside the distillery, Fu Zhiqiao examined Old Gao's brewing tools: wooden stills, earthenware jars, strainer vats, wine vats... In her opinion, these tools were very outdated, but there was nothing she could do; the technology and conditions here were very limited.

Fu Zhiqiao knows a lot about different types of alcohol and has a good grasp of theoretical knowledge, but in practice, he still has to rely on Old Gao. Without modern, precise machinery, the control of temperature and the research on the proportion of ingredients in the brewing process all require experienced brewers to manage.

This is also why she took a liking to Old Man Gao.

*

Qingzhou has a low altitude, mild winters and hot summers, and little wind and rain, which is very favorable for the fermentation of wine.

The Chishui River runs through the city, making it very convenient for the people to get water. There is a well in the Gao family winery, and the water is pure, sweet, and unpolluted, making it very suitable for brewing. In short, the climate, water quality, and other conditions here are all top-notch.

There was some newly purchased rice at the distillery, and Fu Zhiqiao decided to give it a try. No matter how much theoretical knowledge one has, one still needs to put it into practice.

Soaking rice in water overnight makes it easier to ferment after steaming. After steaming, the rice is spread out on a drying rack, which has a special name: the drying rack. The dried rice is then mixed with yeast for fermentation. The process involves selecting raw materials, steaming the grain, saccharification, and fermentation...

As he demonstrated the brewing process, Old Gao explained it to Fu Zhiqiao. As expected of a master craftsman, the whole process was smooth and efficient, and he carefully explained the purpose of each tool.

Fu Zhiqiao listened with great interest and couldn't help but sigh: Finding an experienced brewer really makes all the difference.

The principle of distillation is not complicated. First, you need to customize the equipment that can distill alcohol.

The preliminary work of brewing was all left to Old Man Gao, and her role was in the distillation and purification step.

She commissioned craftsmen to make wine stills and large pots. To prevent leaks, she specifically asked different servants to find carpenters and blacksmiths to customize the large pots and stills with the blueprints, and then she assembled them herself.

Old Gao stared at the strangely shaped pot, his mind racing, desperately suppressing the urge to ask questions. After the incident with the yeast, he had realized Fu Zhi Qiao's unique nature; this employer's ideas were truly unconventional, and perhaps he really could come up with something extraordinary.

The entire still is divided into two layers. The lower layer contains a wooden still filled with wine, and the upper layer is a pot filled with cold water. When the fermented wine is heated to a certain temperature, the alcohol will vaporize from the wine. The vaporized alcohol will condense into liquid after cooling when it comes into contact with the cold water in the upper pot.

Prepare another bamboo tube, remove the internal joints to use as a pipe, and connect it to the wooden still as a condenser. The vaporized alcohol will condense into liquid when it comes into contact with the cold water in the pot, and then flow out from the bamboo tube.

The tools are not sophisticated, but they are sufficient.

The flames on the stove were roaring and crackling.

In no time, a faint aroma of wine filled the room, which gradually grew stronger.

Fu Zhiqiao stared nervously at the spout.

One drop, two drops, three drops—liquid dripped continuously from the bamboo tube.

It's done!

She made the distilled spirit; she succeeded!

Old Gao's eyes widened instantly. He carefully leaned closer and stared intently at the spout. The wine was clear and transparent, without any turbidity, and had a rich aroma...

Gradually, the wine started dripping and then flowed out. After about half a cup of tea, Fu Zhiqiao removed the jar containing the first batch of wine, as it contained too many impurities and could not be drunk directly.

She replaced the wine jar with a new one, filled a glass with fresh wine, and handed it to Old Man Gao, gesturing for him to take a sip.