Hana Makgeolli: YAKJU 14

Historically reserved for the noble class, Yakju is the precious clarified portion of a brew that captures the essence of sool in its purest form. The Yakju 14 is an oyangju (5 stage brew) made with organic rice and fermented to dryness over 5 weeks, then coarsely filtered and aged for an additional 3 weeks to separate the clear wine from the sediment for a dry, light bodied wine with fragrant notes of melon, bitter citrus, and barley.

Stats:

• Region: Brooklyn, NY
• Rice Variety: Medium Grain White Rice, Sweet White Rice
• Type: Traditional 5-stage brew (oyangju), 60-70 days fermentation, settled off of lees and clarified, single pasteurized
  
• Polishing Rate: 0%
• ABV: 14%
• Ingredients: Rice, Water 누룩 (Nuruk)
  
• Brewing: 100% 누룩 / wild culture-based 전통주 (Jeontongju) style, fermented for 60-70 days then settled and racked, clarified & single pasteurized in bottle 
  
• Serving Temperature: Cold

About: 

Makgeolli is similar to sake in that it uses the same base starch (rice), which is converted to sugar through the action of enzymes produced by microorganisms, fermented to alcohol through the action of yeast, finally landing around 14-16%. The texture is reminiscent of doburoku (or thick nigori) with a flavor profile closest to sake made with bodaimoto & natural yeast (see: low intervention sake).

As much as there are similarities between the two rice brews, there are a lot of differences too. The microorganisms are more diverse, consisting not only of aspergillus oryzae mold (koji) but also a collection of other yeast, molds and bacteria (such as lactobacillus, found in yogurt), collectively called nuruk. Where koji is the basis of Japanese alcohol fermentations (sake, shochu) nuruk is the basis of Korean alcohol fermentations (soju, makgeolli, and others). Makgeolli doesn't generally use highly polished rice like sake does, and it can also use different kinds of rice in the same brew (glutinous & regular short grain). 

As a result of its method of manufacture and the specific care Alice takes at Hana Makgeolli, her brews' acidity is higher and flavor more pungent than you might be used to with sake. It has a ton of personality and verve, while sharing the cooling and nourishing qualities of nigori. Like natural sake, Hana Makgeolli can (and should) stand up to big flavors, starting (but not ending!) with kimchi jjigae, KBBQ, kimchi grilled cheese, and the full gamut of H-Mart's deli pickle selection.