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Fermentation Atlas

Alcoholic drinks from Korea

Makgeolli (takju, nongju)막걸리

Steamed rice is fermented with nuruk, a wheat cake starter that carries moulds, yeasts and lactic bacteria, often in two stages. The mash is strained cloudy, usually thinned with water, and drunk young and cold. Made in 5 steps over 8.1 days – 39 days. The longest step, main mash (deotsul), takes 7–37 days (Wong B 2023) and runs at 15–25 °C (Wong B 2023). Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Saccharomycopsis fibuligera do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step7–37 daysReported[wong2023][song2022]Main mash (deotsul)
Temperature15–25 °CReported[wong2023][song2022]Main mash (deotsul)
AciditypH 3.6–4.4Reported[wong2023]Strain and thin
Fully documentedAlcoholic drinks8.1 days – 39 daysMore alcoholic drinksMore from Korea

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe two-stage (mitsul plus deotsul) laboratory batch of Wong et al. (2023), which gave makgeolli of 7.8 % ABV and pH 3.62. Home and brewery recipes vary; commercial makgeolli is usually thinned to about 6–8 % ABV.
400 gNon-glutinous rice, milled to powder · For the seed mash, cooked 15 min with the water below[wong2023]
1.25 LWater for the seed mash[wong2023]
200 gGround wheat nuruk · Added to the seed mash once it cools to 25 °C[wong2023]
2 kgGlutinous rice · Washed, soaked 3 h, drained 1 h and steamed 120 min[wong2023]
1.5 LWater for the main mash[wong2023]
1 LSeed mash from the first stage[wong2023]
Starterkoji/qu/mold-starter (nuruk; factories may also add pure yeast)

Total time across the recorded steps: 8.1 days – 39 days

Start
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25 °C

What changes: Steam cooks the soaked rice, which then cools to 25 °C

Step 1 of 5
Wash, soak and steam the rice
Time
2 h
Reported
Temperature
25 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Moulds
Lactic acid bacteria
Yeasts

Output: steamed rice (godubap).

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
firm, separate grains
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

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

What makes this one different

Makgeolli is the cloudy brew; yakju and cheongju take only the clear layer from the same kind of mash. Unlike sake, it starts from nuruk, a wild wheat cake that carries moulds, yeasts and lactic bacteria together, in place of pure rice koji and a selected yeast. Live makgeolli is sold young and unpasteurised.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Danyangju (one-stage)All the rice goes in at once; a nuruk-only lab batch reached 13.0 % ABV at pH 3.73.
  • Ijangju (two-stage)One seed mash, then the main mash; the lab batch reached 7.8 % ABV.
  • Samyangju (three-stage)Two seed-mash stages before the main mash; the lab batch reached 12.6 % ABV at pH 4.14.

Made the makgeolli way

Safety

Korea's Food Code limits methanol in takju to 0.5 mg/mL. Live makgeolli is unpasteurised and keeps changing, so keep it at about 4 °C. WHO says no level of alcohol use is safe for health.

Hazards the sources name: Enterobacteria (Pantoea agglomerans, Enterobacter cloacae) detected in the mash.

History and sources

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

  1. [wong2023] Wong B., Muchangi K., Quach E. et al. 2023, Characterisation of Korean rice wine (makgeolli) prepared by different processing methods, Current Research in Food Science 6:100420paper
  2. [song2022] Song Y.R., Lim B.U., Baik S.H. 2022, Microbial diversity and volatile flavor changes during Gayangju fermentation, a traditional Korean house rice wine, Foods 11(17):2604paper
  3. [chang2026] Chang C.C., Pak J., Bae S., Kim G.D., Son H.S. 2026, Impact of low aging temperature on the microbial and metabolic dynamics of rice wine during long-term storage, Current Research in Food Science 12:101294paper
  4. [mfds-food-code] Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (Korea), Food Code (식품의 기준 및 규격), Chapter 5, 15. Alcoholic beverages, takju (definition; methanol 0.5 mg/mL or less)gov
  5. [who2023] WHO Regional Office for Europe 2023, No level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health (statement published in The Lancet Public Health; news release, 4 January 2023)gov