Begin Brewing!

Since I've still got plenty of rice on-hand and plenty of yellow-label Angel Yeast, I decided to do a few more batches of rice wine.  I'll look for something fun to do with it later.  I've about got this down to a science.  Sanitize a fermenter, load it with 15 pounds of rice, add 178F water, wait until the temperature drops down to around 90F, and pitch the Angel Yeast. Ingredients 15 pounds Nishiki rice 3 gallons of water at 178F 1/2 tsp. Gypsum 1/2 tsp. Fermaid O yeast nutrient 1 tsp. Alpha Amylase 1.5 gallons cold water 40 grams Angel Yeast Note:  Gypsum is added for water conditioning.  Fermaid O and Alpha Amylase are not strictly necessary, but I've been adding them because I have a good supply of both.  I add the Amylase when I add the hot water, to help break down the rice some before I pitch the yeast mix. Brewing process: Begin heating 3 gallons of water to 178F Sanitize 7 gallon fermenter Dump 15 pounds of rice into fermenter Add Gypsum, yeast nu...

The last batch of rice wine turned out OK.  It was very thin-bodied and fairly low in alcohol (an estimated 7% ABV). The flavor was fairly non-descript with a slight tartness.  I decided to do another, stronger batch to put the yellow-label Angel Yeast through a bigger challenge. Ingredients 13.4 pounds (uncooked) medium grain rice 3 gallons of water at 155F 36 grams yellow-label Angel Yeast 1 tsp. Gypsum Additional cold tap water, about 1 gallon The entire "Mashing and Brewing" process: Heat water to 155F.  While the water is heating, sanitize a fermenter and dump the rice into it. When the rice hits 155F, pour it over the rice in the fermenter and stir to ensure the rice gets wet. Cover the fermenter and leave to sit for an hour or more. Add cold water to the 5.5 gallon mark and stir well. Add the Angel Yeast to about 5-6 ounces of 90F water and stir well to rehydrate. Add the rehydrated yeast to the fermenter and stir well again. Seal the fermenter Fermentation plan: D...