Makgeolli (막걸리, "raw rice wine") is a Korean alcoholic drink. It is a milky, off-white, and lightly sparkling rice wine that has a slight viscosity, and tastes slightly sweet, tangy, bitter, and astringent. Chalky sediment gives it a cloudy appearance. As a low proof drink of six to nine percent alcohol by volume, it is often considered a "communal beverage" rather than hard liquor.
In Korea, makgeolli is often unpasteurized, and the wine continues to mature in the bottle. Because of the short shelf life of unpasteurized "draft" makgeolli, many exported makgeolli undergo pasteurization, which deprives the beverage of complex enzymes and flavor compounds. Recently, various fruits such as strawberries and bananas have been added to makgeolli to create forms with new flavors.
Brewing
Makgeolli is made from rice using nuruk, a Korean fermentation starter. Nuruk is a dry cereal cake that has been allowed to ferment and mature to promote the growth of molds producing hydrolyzable enzymes that decompose the starches of the cereal grain into sugar. This sugar is then used by yeast to produce alcohol through fermentation. Different kinds of nuruk, made with different ingredients such as rice, wheat, barley, or mung beans, produce makgeolli of a variety of flavors.
Steamed rice, nuruk, and sometimes additional flavoring ingredients such as maize, chestnuts, fruits, herbs, and flowers are mixed and left to ferment in onggi, the same permeable clay crocks used for making kimchi, soy sauce, and other fermented foods.
The brewing process involves two stages: seed and main mash and main fermentation. Seed mash is the process of obtaining actively growing yeasts and enzymes in the mixture of yeast and nuruk. The tastes and aromas of the main mash develop with the transformation of the rice-derived nutrients and amino acids. Main fermentation lasts for about a week.
Makgeolli is best consumed fresh, a week or two after brewing. When freshly brewed, it has a milder and creamier taste. It acquires a stronger taste over time and turns into rice vinegar after a couple of months.
Many mass-produced makgeolli are brewed with non-traditional manufactured fermentation starter instead of the traditional nuruk, and are diluted with water and contain additives such as aspartame. This gives the liquor sweetness without adding a fermentable carbohydrate, and thus increases shelf life. Flavorings such as fruit and ginseng are also sometimes added.