Shochu recipe

Grain bills and instruction for all manner of alcoholic beverages.

Moderator: Site Moderator

Post Reply
nomadstil
Novice
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Mar 05, 2020 11:43 am

Shochu recipe

Post by nomadstil »

Hey everybody,
I am new to distilling but have wanted to make a drink called shochu for awhile and wondered if anyone on this forum has made this before. For people who don't know, shochu is a drink that is made from Koji (rice that has been infected with Koji mold) and sweet potatoes. After fermentation, it is distilled and then watered down to anywhere between 25% to 35%.The recipe i am using is a modified sake recipe. Was wondering if other people have made this drink and what they think of the recipe.I would also like to get people's input the cuts to make for this drink. I am not sure if I should only harvest the hearts or should i try to harvest more tails then most other drinks due to the fact that i will be watering it down to such a low abv?


wine/sake yeast
30 lb. (13.6 kg) steamed sweet potato
7.5 lb. (3.4 kg) koji rice
11.5 mL 88% lactic acid
0.4 oz. (12 g) DAP or fermaid K
0.07 oz. (2 g) Epsom salt
0.74 oz. (21 g) Morton Salt Substitute
6 gallons (23 L) reverse osmosis or distilled water

Thanks
User avatar
Hillbilly Popstar
Site Donor
Site Donor
Posts: 1396
Joined: Sun Jan 24, 2016 6:02 am

Re: Shochu recipe

Post by Hillbilly Popstar »

I had some Sochu that was made from koji rice, corn, and barely.

It was fantastic!
"Making likker with a hydrometer and thermometer is like measuring the length of a 2x4 with a clock"
SGB
Swill Maker
Posts: 225
Joined: Thu Apr 09, 2020 1:21 am

Re: Shochu recipe

Post by SGB »

How did it come out? Lots of sweet potatoes and rice here on the island. I'd be interested in this.
User avatar
Yummyrum
Global moderator
Posts: 7653
Joined: Sat Jul 06, 2013 2:23 am
Location: Fraser Coast QLD Aussie

Re: Shochu recipe

Post by Yummyrum »

I made some from just jasmine rice and used chinese yeast balls as they contain the necessary koji to convert the rice starch to fermentable sugar as well as yeast to start it off .

Turned out well although I double distilled it .
I had to lookup Morgans Salt substitute . I’m guessing its Potassium Chloride .
Where did you get the recipe from ?

Wondering if the koji is able to brakedown the starches in the sweet potato as well or if its just in there for mouthfeel or the likes .

Good luck with the recipe
User avatar
cranky
Master of Distillation
Posts: 6505
Joined: Fri Sep 27, 2013 3:18 pm
Location: Pacific Northwest

Re: Shochu recipe

Post by cranky »

Yummyrum wrote: Sat Apr 11, 2020 2:13 pm Wondering if the koji is able to brakedown the starches in the sweet potato as well or if its just in there for mouthfeel or the likes .
Sweet potatoes are self converting, if anything I would guess the sweet potatoes help break down the starches in the rice which is why I figured some of the Koreans use them in Soju
User avatar
Yummyrum
Global moderator
Posts: 7653
Joined: Sat Jul 06, 2013 2:23 am
Location: Fraser Coast QLD Aussie

Re: Shochu recipe

Post by Yummyrum »

Interesting Cranky . Not wanting to take this too Off topic , but do they need ti be boiled and mashed or will this denature the Emzyme ??? In them ?

Do they just do it at say room temp ? How do you tell when a sweet potato is self converted ?

Edit: just found this viewtopic.php?f=11&t=59049#p7371354
User avatar
cranky
Master of Distillation
Posts: 6505
Joined: Fri Sep 27, 2013 3:18 pm
Location: Pacific Northwest

Re: Shochu recipe

Post by cranky »

Yummyrum wrote: Sat Apr 11, 2020 3:06 pm Interesting Cranky . Not wanting to take this too Off topic , but do they need ti be boiled and mashed or will this denature the Emzyme ??? In them ?

Do they just do it at say room temp ? How do you tell when a sweet potato is self converted ?

Edit: just found this viewtopic.php?f=11&t=59049#p7371354
I don't know a whole hell of a lot about the processes used. A long time ago I was researching how to make Soju because a Korean guy I work with was talking about it and I stumbled across that some makers use sweet potatoes because at some point in history malted grains were difficult to come by. This led me to believe that in Soju's case the rice is cooked as a mash along with the potatoes. I didn't bother delving too deep into it. What I eventually wound up doing was using enzymes rather than sweet potatoes in a URRV sort of fashion and presented him with a bottle at Christmas. He was actually very impressed that an American could make high end Soju and he shared it with some Soju snobs who were also very impressed.

All of that said I know nothing about Shochu or the process of how it is made and hope I didn't get too off topic.
lbzlittle1
Novice
Posts: 7
Joined: Sat May 08, 2021 9:41 pm

Re: Shochu recipe

Post by lbzlittle1 »

Shochu can be made with just rice or a combo with a list of ingredients approved by the shochu producers’ assoc. I don’t remember it all of hand, but it included sweet potato, potato, corn, cabbage, buckwheat, whey, and other Japanese regional produce. The distillation process is special in some places where they pump steam directly into the still. It is general accepted as a single pass process, though I’m not sure how strict the producer guidelines are. In Okinawa, they call the spirit Awamori and they use a special koji strain called black koji. Apparently white koji was derived from black. Angel rhizopus is not the same thing, so I imagine the taste will be different.
User avatar
jonnys_spirit
Site Donor
Site Donor
Posts: 3630
Joined: Wed Oct 21, 2015 7:58 am
Location: The Milky Way

Re: Shochu recipe

Post by jonnys_spirit »

I’ve got some angel rhizopus and do a bunch of koji foodstuff with various oryzae. I’m very interested is using some koji protocols in some spirits - rices and other grains. Protease and amylase. Most likely following a double distillation or 1.5 protocol and select cuts.

Any idea what abv the protease, amylase, and other enzymes in the cultures are denatured at?

Cheers,
Jonny
————
i prefer my mash shaken, not stirred
————
Post Reply