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Alcoholic drinks from Nepal

Thwon (Newar rice beer)थ्वं

Thwon is the rice beer of the Newar people of the Kathmandu valley, brewed for festivals and rituals. Boiled rice is mixed with a marcha starter, fermented, packed into a sealed earthen pot and then drawn off with water.

A short entry: the sources we found record only what is said here about Thwon itself.

DocumentedAlcoholic drinks11 days

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedNo tested recipe with amounts was found; Wikipedia gives only the marcha ratio.
Rice[WP:Thwon]
Marcha starterAbout 1 part to 80 parts grain, by Wikipedia's account[WP:Alcohol in Nepal]
WaterPoured in after the solid ferment[WP:Alcohol in Nepal]
Startermarcha, crushed to powder and mixed into the cooled steamed rice

Total time across the recorded steps: 11 days

Start
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What changes: Wet grain drains in a pot with holes in the bottom

Step 1 of 7
Wet the grain, then drain in a pot with holes in the bottom (ghyampo)
Time
A few hours (Wikipedia)
Reported
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

Bhaktapur.com gives the soaking as 3 to 4 days and says there is no strict fixed method. Output: wet grain.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
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

At a glance

Thwon is the rice beer of the Newar people of the Kathmandu valley, brewed for festivals and rituals. Boiled rice is mixed with a marcha starter, fermented, packed into a sealed earthen pot and then drawn off with water. Made in 7 steps over 11 days. The longest step, solid-state ferment, takes 7 days (Wikipedia).

Key numbers
Main step7 daysReported[WP:Alcohol in Nepal]Solid-state ferment

What makes this one different

Thwon is a Newar rice beer drawn by pouring water onto a sealed solid mash, like other Himalayan jaand, but brewed in a copper vessel and marked by Newar ritual customs such as laying charcoal and chilli on the cooling rice.

Related ferments

Variants

  • White thwonThicker, can be very sweet (Wikipedia).
  • Red thwonCloser to wine (Wikipedia).
  • Taku thwon (brown)Made from maize, drunk only in winter (Wikipedia).
  • AilaDistilled alcohol of the Newars (Wikipedia, Alcohol in Nepal); also listed as an alias of raksi in the atlas.

History and sources

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

Thwon is indispensable in Newar rituals and festivals (Wikipedia).

  1. [WP:Thwon] Wikipedia, Thwon (outline only)wiki
  2. [WP:Alcohol in Nepal] Wikipedia, Alcohol in Nepal, "Traditional brewing" section (outline only)wiki
  3. [s3] Bhaktapur.com, Thwon/Jaadweb