By Korea.net Honorary Reporter Victoria Shangina from Russia
Photos = Victoria Shangina

The word sul (술) means "alcohol" in Korean. There are two main types of alcohol in Korea, the mass-market, clear soju (소주) and makgeolli rice beer (막걸리).

The second one, makgeolli, is a slightly sweet, sour bubbly rice-based drink. The first one, soju, is basically a product of the second one. Soju is stronger and filtered, and traditional versions of it made with rice, wheat or barley are distilled versions of makgeolli.

The main agenda of my "alcohol tour" was to visit a makgeolli brewery to see all the production processes, and, of course, to taste some different flavored makgeolli at the end.

We tasted three kinds of makgeolli, but, to be honest, I'm a bad taster. The only difference I tasted was sweetness differences. Maybe only one makgeolli among them had a slightly fruity taste.

Here's what I learned about makgeolli production.



First, rice is steamed in a huge rice cooker and then it's left to chill on the rack with a fan. Warm water and yeast are mixed together and left for two days in a warm room. After that, chilled rice and more water is added and left to brew for a week. Basically, the makgeolli making process takes nine days. Then it's slightly filtered to get rid of the solid rice. After that's done, your makgeolli is bottled and shipped to the stores.

Sadly, makgeolli does not last long. It may be good for three to four weeks if milk acid is added as a preservative, and only up to two weeks if not.

The interior of the brewery was decorated with lovely small details, like soju cups and old vinyl records. The brewery we visited is a family business that was started by the current owner's grandfather. The owner proudly told us the history of this place and showed us pictures from the past. It was nice to see that he's cherishing the past. He even saved an iron stamp and one of the first bottles used at the brewery. As a bonus, we took part in a ceremony opening this brewery for an "alcohol tour" program.

wisdom117@korea.kr

* This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.