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Alcoholic drinks from Hansan, Seocheon County, South Chungcheong, South Korea

Hansan sogokju한산소곡주

Sogokju is a clear Korean rice wine from Hansan, brewed from rice with nuruk powder and matured for about 100 days. A base is made first from steamed rice and nuruk, then steamed glutinous rice, nuruk and the base are layered and buried, and in a laboratory brew the mash ferments slowly to about 18 % alcohol. Its nickname, "sit-down wine", says it is strong enough to keep the taster from standing up.

Fully documentedAlcoholic drinks2.6 months – 4.6 monthsFamily: Yakju / cheongju (clear Korean rice wine)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedTraditional process with no published amounts. The heritage record and the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture give the steps but no ratios, and the abstract of the lab brew of Hong et al. (1992) gives none either.
Non-glutinous riceSteamed into a cake for the base (sulmit)[ekc-hansan]
Glutinous riceSteamed again as the rice for the main mash[khs-sogokju][ekc-hansan]
NurukGround finely, like wheat flour[ekc-hansan]
Starterkoji/qu/mold-starter: nuruk

Total time across the recorded steps: 2.6 months – 4.6 months

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
shapes, not to countLactic acid bacteriaYeastspH 4.2 → 3.6StarchSugarAlcoholCO₂

What changes: Lactic bacteria sour the base, then yeasts take over

Step 1 of 4
Brew the base (sulmit) from rice cake and nuruk
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
pH 4.2 → 3.6
Measured
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria
Yeasts

Non-glutinous rice is steamed into a cake, thinly mixed with nuruk powder and fermented on the warm floor (Encyclopedia of Korean Culture). Output: sour base.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

in the lab brew lactic acid bacteria led at day 3 and yeasts had taken over by day 7

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Sogokju is a clear Korean rice wine from Hansan, brewed from rice with nuruk powder and matured for about 100 days. A base is made first from steamed rice and nuruk, then steamed glutinous rice, nuruk and the base are layered and buried, and in a laboratory brew the mash ferments slowly to about 18 % alcohol. Its nickname, "sit-down wine", says it is strong enough to keep the taster from standing up. Made in 4 steps over 2.6 months – 4.6 months. The longest step, mature and filter, takes 2–3.3 months (Yu Ae-ryeong 1995 (revised 2024)). Yeasts and Lactic acid bacteria do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step2–3.3 monthsReported[ekc-hansan][hong1992]Mature and filter
AciditypH 3.5–3.7Measured[hong1992]Layer steamed glutinous rice, nuruk powder and the base (deotsul)

What makes this one different

Sogokju is a strong yakju that ferments slowly for 60–100 days and keeps unfermented sugar, so it is sweet as well as strong. Its base is a cake of non-glutinous rice, and the layered mash is buried in the ground for 100 days.

Related ferments

Safety

Its pH stays near 3.5–3.7 through the main fermentation.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture says its origin is not certain, but it is said to be a Baekje court wine that Baekje people who lost their country brewed and drank to ease their grief. Its method is written in Joseon books such as Dongguk sesigi, Gyeongdo japji, Siuijeonseo and Gyuhap chongseo. South Chungcheong designated it an intangible heritage on 3 July 1979.

  1. [khs-sogokju] Korea Heritage Service, 한산소곡주 (Hansan sogokju), South Chungcheong provincial intangible heritage record, designated 1979-07-03 (open data API record)gov
  2. [hong1992] Hong H.D., Kim K.T., Kim S.S., Choi H.D., Lee Y.T. 1992, 소곡주의 양조과정중 술덧 성분과 미생물의 변화 (Changes in mash components and microorganisms during brewing of sogokju), Korean J. Food Nutr. 5(2):69–76 (abstract)paper
  3. [kim1996] Kim I.-H., Park W.-S., Koo Y.-J. 1996, Comparison of fermentation characteristics of Korean traditional alcoholic beverages prepared by different brewing methods and their quality changes after aging, J. Korean Soc. Food Culture 11(4):497–506 (abstract)paper
  4. [ekc-hansan] Yu Ae-ryeong 1995 (revised 2024), Hansan sogokju (한산소곡주), Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, Academy of Korean Studiesbook