(Sweet) Apple Makkoli #2

I still had some apples leftover so I felt it’s a good thing to use them up so here’s a new recipe for Apple Makkoli with sweet rice.

Ingredients:

2 cups uncooked sweet rice

5 apples

1 chunk of Nuruk

Step 1: Cooking - Mixing

Very simple.  Cook the rice with a little extra water, I put enough water in for 2.4 cups of rice.  Allow it to cool so it is warm to the touch and mix in the Nuruk.  Chop the apples small enough to fit in the fermenter, and when its near room temperature put it all in the fermenter.  This time I did not add any yeast to see how it would react.

This time I also sanitized the fermenter, lid, cloth, and stirrer with a bleach mixture of about 20 to 1.  I want this one to be nice and sweet with the high sugar and don’t want any bugs making it sour.

Step 2: Fermenting

Biscute, my girls little doggie standing guard for lactobacilli

I have a new fermenter, a Kimichi jar. I like it because it has a very wide mouth and it will be easy to clean.  It cost me about 5,000 won. I can also keep the seal a little better with the lid half screwed on over the cloth.

I’m in the middle of this step and it is starting slower without the yeast.  I’m also trying a cooler ferment, average temperature of about 65 degrees. After the first day I can see a slow bubble at the bottom in the rice and a nicer ferment at the top with the floaters and apples.

The aroma is very nice and really smells of apples. (and a little bleach smell from the rag.)

Fermented for 4 days and the taste is great, but it has a little sour taste again.  I ate some sweet cookies with it and didn’t notice a thing.  Part was from the full ferment, a little was from a sneaky lactobacilli.  It was nice and squeaky clean, but I think a secondary non yeast ferment starts after 3 days, it might even be in the Nuruk and a natural process.

The most fun of this batch was watching the rice dance up and down from top to bottom fermenting zones.  On the 2nd day it was fast enough to watch outright.
My recommendation is to take it out and bottle it as soon as the dance slows down, or stops for no sour taste.

I guess Makkoli is kinda like microwave popcorn?

Also, it’s very high in alcohol.  One normal glass left me feeling very happy.
Going to let it cool down all proper and mix a litte water in tomorrow and try it again.  Pretty sure that will help the little dry - sour taste.