Liquor, also known as:ShochuBurnt alcoholWhite dryFire wineSorghum wineIt is a kind of traditional distilled liquor, a kind of shochu, a distilled liquor often drunk by Chinese people, and a gift given to people on traditional festivals. It is actually a mixed noun that contains many different kinds of distilled spirits, and its raw materials may be different grains and varieties, but the core brewing process is pure grain solid or semi-solid fermentation technology, which is also the biggest feature of liquor that distinguishes it from other distilled spirits. Since the main raw material of the vast majority of liquor is sorghum, it is also known as sorghum liquor, and only a very small number of liquor do not use sorghum and use rice or corn as the main raw material.
To make baijiu, it is necessary to first make koji, that is, to mix and cultivate cooked grains and fungi, and after making koji, it is mixed with solid grains and saccharified and fermented at the same time to make fermented grains, and then distilled. Various grains such as wheat and beans are used in koji making, and sorghum is the main grain used in sake fermentation, but other grains such as rice, glutinous rice, corn, and barley can also be added to the koji. Depending on the brewing process, the alcohol concentration of liquor after distillation is generally between 35 and 68 degrees.
Baijiu is generally believed to have originated in the Yuan Dynasty, and its method of making it may have been derived from the Arabic technique of distilling spirits.
During the Ming and Qing dynasties and in modern China, baijiu was called shochu. At that time, baijiu referred to turbid liquor, which was a type of rice wine with a short fermentation time. Another type of rice wine that has been fermented for a long time is rice wine. White (rice) wine and rice wine are often added to shochu to extend the shelf life.
From the 1950s to the 1960s, China's Ministry of Light Industry carried out a series of liquor experiments in various parts of China, systematically sorted out the koji-making and brewing processes of Moutai, Fenjiu, Luzhou Laojiao and other liquors, and determined the microbial composition of koji. These liquor experiments provide a scientific basis for the production of liquor. In 1967, Tianjin Distillery used the remaining tail liquor after distillation for the first time to make liquor, and the aroma of the liquor made was no different from that of ordinary liquor, and this process method was called the new method of tail liquor blending.
According to the national standard implemented on June 1, 2022, "liquor" must be brewed from grains and grains, and no additives such as spices can be added, otherwise it can only be called "prepared liquor".
Type. According to the different types of koji, baijiu is divided into "big koji liquor" and "small koji liquor", "bran koji liquor", "mixed koji liquor" and other types:
DaquPure wheat, sorghum, barley or peas are mostly used as raw materials for making koji, and the koji blocks are large, which are divided into three categories: high-temperature Daqu, medium-temperature Daqu and low-temperature Daqu;Mainly contains Aspergillus and yeast;Most of the liquor made with Daqu is fermented in a solid state, which has the characteristics of low yield, long production cycle and rich flavor of liquor. In addition to a variety of microbial flora such as acetic acid bacteria, lactic acid bacteria, and bacillus contained in the koji itself, Daqu is directly in contact with the ambient air during the production process, so the microorganisms in the koji are also closely related to the microorganisms in the brewing environment, so even if the raw materials and production processes are exactly the same, the Daqu liquor brewed in different regions will also vary depending on the local climate, geology and geography, so there are finished products with sauce flavor, strong flavor and light fragrance.
DittyMost of them use rice flour or rice bran of sorghum or rice as the main ingredient, and Chinese herbal medicine as auxiliary materials to make koji, and the koji blocks are small, which are divided into koji pills, koji cakes and loose koji, mainly containing mucormyces, rhizopus and yeast. Mold breaks down starch in grain into sugar, which yeast converts into alcohol. Koji liquor is fermented in a solid or semi-solid state, with low calorific value, and is mainly used in the humid and hot climate of the southIt contains less bacteria and bacteria that play a role in generating aroma than Daqu, so Xiaoqu liquor has a single flavor, so there is only one kind of rice-flavored finished product.
Bran kojiThe purebred koji obtained by using bran as raw material, inoculating purebred mold after cooking, and then artificially cultivating;The microorganisms in the bran koji are mainly molds, with a single species and high saccharification power, but the fermentation power and aroma production power are weak, so it needs to be used together with other koji. The cost of the liquor produced is lower than that of the liquor produced by large koji and small koji. Due to the high utilization rate of raw materials, grain saving, high wine yield and short production cycle, the liquor produced by this method now accounts for more than 70% of the total liquor production in Chinese mainland.
RemixMost of them use several kinds of koji from the above three types of koji to make wine, or use different subspecies of the same koji species to make wine, and the finished product has a compound aroma type and is called a concurrent aroma type.
In the past, liquor was divided into several grades according to the quality of the koji, such as special koji, first koji, second koji and third koji, but due to the different brewing processes, climate, geology, geography, raw materials and finished product quality in various places, it is easy to cause confusion and cannot accurately reflect the grade of liquor
Special songAfter distillation, the first stage of liquor is Tequ, which must be stored in the cellar for at least three years before it is put on the market.
Head song: The first section of wine that comes out after receiving the special song is the first song, and the first song must be stored in the cellar for at least one year before it is put on the market.
Two songs: The wine that comes out after receiving the first song is the second song, and the second song must be stored in the cellar for at least half a year before the second song is put on the market.
Three songs: After brewing, it can be directly marketed, and the wine that does not need to be stored in any cellar is Sankoji, and most of them are bran koji wine.
Most of China's well-known liquor is produced in the southwest of Sichuan and Guizhou provinces, as well as the Jianghuai Plain, mostly Daqu liquor, with strong aroma type. In the Chinese mainland market, there is a saying "Sichuan wine cloud smoke", which refers to the high quality of liquor in the southwest region. The 2018 national standard stipulates 10 types of liquor flavor standards and 1 non-separate flavor type standard for geographical indications, among which the sauce flavor type, strong flavor type, light flavor type and rice flavor type, which are the parent of other flavor types, are the four basic flavor types of liquor. In addition, there is still one local standard in Guizhou Province, and among the four basic flavor types, the sauce flavor type, the strong flavor type, and the light flavor type together account for more than 95% of the total market share of liquor.