Saké UPDATE: Blew It.

Alright, let's start with the basics.

Ingredients

1 gallon boiled or otherwise de-chlorinated water
8 lbs. (dry weight) organic sushi rice
1/4 cup dried Koji rice
LV 118 yeast or other white wine yeast
2 gallon sanitized fermentation bucket with airlock

Procedure

First off, when I list off an amount of rice by weight I am saying "dry, uncooked rice" OK?

Anyway, start by washing (very thoroughly) 1 1/2 lbs of rice, steaming it with 2/3rd the amount of water it normally calls for and then allowing that rice to cool. Meanwhile turn on the light in your oven. This should make it about 75-85' F which is just right for Koji growing. Now spread the rice into a clumpy layer across the bottom of a small casserole. Grind a few tablespoons of the dried Koji up with a mortar and pestle or a CLEAN spice grinder and sprinkle over top. Cover it with a damp cloth and place it in the oven. Don't forget it's in their when you're pre-heating to pan roast a big assed rib steak, mkay?

I used this stuff. It was about $10 a bag, which should last me 8 batches if I don't back slop.

So after 2 days the rice should be white and fuzzy and there should be liquid in the bottom of the pan. Bueno. Now steam 2 1/2-3 lbs of rice, allow to cool and then combine 1/2 your water, the koji rice, the steamed rice and the yeast in the bucket. Break up the rice with your fingers (thoroughly washed/scrubbed) and hands and pop on the lid/airlock.

Wait 2 days.

Do all of the above again.

Wait 7 more days.

My pictures are shitty on purpose. It's my personal style.

 Strain through a brew sack and bottle if all the rice has broken down.

Well, that's how I should have done it.

Instead I did 3 Koji/rice cycles because I have a tiny rice cooker. I doubt this effected anything negatively.

I also added apple slices (don't ask) and then was forced to let the fermentation go 20 days because I was short bottles and time and headspace. These two things lead me to having 1 1/2 gallons of Rice Kefir.

This is not the worst thing that could have happened since my impetus to make my own sake was Sandor Katz unpasteurized sake recipe on his blog from a month or two ago. I wanted all those good microbes all up in me like a yoga hippy. So that's great.

However the resultant sake is SOUR as fuck. Lactic fermentation. This was likely caused by the A) higher than desireable temperature during the fermentation. You should shoot for 45-50'F but by the time I got my shit together this Spring it was in the high 50's to high 60's with a few 80' days. B) Those fucking apple slices. Wild yeast, my ASS or C) letting it go too long.

Of the above factors, I think that letting go too long (from what the internet full of Fellow Traveler Bumblefucks has told me) is the biggest bukkake moment in my string of bad decisions. Basically 10-12 days max beginning to end, bottle and refrigerate (or pasteurize). It might be a little sweet but it won't be sour. Soon I'll have some bottles so I can dance that theory. 

Oh yeah, and the fasting idea from the last post? Didn't take. Who knew?