Author: Li Yu
If the brewing of liquor to sublimation is compared to a quality marathon, then the starting line is the raw material.
Although different wineries and aroma types have different emphasis on the production process, some focus on the year of the cellar, some pay attention to the special craftsmanship, and some emphasize the environment of wine storage, in order to produce high-quality wine, the high importance of raw materials is a compulsory course for all wineries.
Dong Distillery Area (Photo by © Li Yu)
As we all know, Guizhou Dongjiu is not only the only liquor that enjoys the honor of "National Secret" among China's "Old Eight Famous Wines", but also the only representative brand of Dong Xiangjiang among China's "Twelve Baijiu Aroma Types". With its unique craftsmanship, unique style and unique aroma composition "three unique", it is called "unique in the world" in the Chinese liquor industry.
The uniqueness of Dongjiu has laid a unique foreshadowing from the "starting line". Dongjiu's "three tips" in raw materials allow Dongjiu to outperform the marathon of baijiu quality.
01
Skillfully add herbs to make koji fragrance
"June tune divine comedy, zhengchao jimei spring" (Tang Dynasty Wang Ji "Look at Brewing Wine"), "July tune divine comedy, three spring brewing green sauce" (Tang Dynasty Yuanzhen "Drink to Use Divine Comedy Wine Thirty Rhymes"). Since ancient times, koji making has been the most important task in winemaking, and koji itself is one of the most important raw materials.
Dong Jiu Jiu Qu (Photo by © Li Yu)
This is because koji has a double "foundational" effect on winemaking.
First, koji provides an active source of bacteria for winemaking. After natural koji culture, the koji is enriched with a variety of winemaking microorganisms, such as rhizopus, mucormyces, yeast, bacillus, etc., so that fermentation can be initiated and continuously promoted.
Second, koji provides a certain source of aroma for winemaking. Koji, in essence, is the product of grain fermentation through microorganisms, and microbial metabolism will produce many aromatic substances retained in koji, such as amino acids, esters, etc., which are brought into the fermentation process and are of great benefit to winemaking.
However, the koji production of Dongjiu is not satisfied with this, but also the icing on the cake, not only to provide a source of bacteria, but also to provide a source of superior bacteria; Not only can it provide a fragrance source, but also a unique aroma. The way to achieve these two purposes is the "core secret" of Dongjiu - "a hundred herbs into the song".
Dongjiu ditty
In addition to the conventional ingredients, the large koji is added with more than 40 flavors of herbs, and the small koji is more, and the high is more than 90 flavors.
The addition of Materia Medica, for the production of music "kill two birds with one stone". First of all, this herb can enhance the beneficial bacteria in winemaking and inhibit harmful bacteria, such as angelica, chaihu, safflower, etc. added to Dongjiu koji, which will promote the growth of yeast, rhizopus, etc., which are the "main forces" of starch decomposition and alcohol conversion. In addition, the herb endows Dongjiu with a natural "herbal aroma", and the koji of Dongjiu not only has a strong koji aroma and grain aroma, but also a light herbal aroma, which is derived from the essential oils, terpenes, semiterpenes and other substances rich in this herb, which enter fermentation with the koji and finally converge into the body of the Dongjiu.
02
Shantongliang Road does its best
Wine is a grain essence. Understanding the nature of grain is crucial to winemaking, and an important role in this is sorghum.
The twelve major aroma types of Chinese liquor, except for Guangxi rice fragrance, Guangdong soy fragrance and Jiangxi special fragrance, all use sorghum as the main grain, the reason is - "sorghum brewing wine aroma". And "fragrant" is a typical feature of Chinese baijiu. Imagine, in the world wine category, there is no wine that pays more attention to the presentation of aroma than baijiu, and it is divided into twelve categories based on "fragrant" alone.
Brewing sorghum (photo of © Li Yu)
Why is sorghum brewing? It is derived from the fragrant components rich in sorghum kernels, such as floral 2-phenylethanol, phenylacetaldehyde, sweet vanillin, fruity dodecanol, hexanaldehyde, and even 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline in popcorn aroma. At the same time, the composition ratio of sorghum is also very suitable, for example, the protein content is moderate, that is, it can be hydrolyzed into sufficient amino acids, promote the growth and metabolism of microorganisms, and avoid excessive fusel oil generated in fermentation and affect the flavor.
Guizhou Dongjiu, as a particularly "heavy aroma" in liquor, naturally will not miss the aroma talent of sorghum, its brewing all uses sorghum, and in order to make the most of sorghum, there is also a small trick - whole grain + super long fermentation.
Dongjiu cellar workshop (photo of © Li Yu)
The sorghum used to brew Dongjiu is all brewed whole, which is similar to the "Kunsha process" of sauce-fragrant liquor, and the purpose is to reduce the fermentation speed as much as possible, slow down the transformation of aroma and alcohol, maximize the fermentation time, and obtain good quality. As we all know, soy wine has a "12987" process, where "1" represents a one-year production cycle, while the production cycle of Dongjiu is longer, and the production of Dongjiu cellar aroma sauce alone takes as long as one and a half years, so that the sorghum aroma production ability can be used to the extreme.
03
Miao Nan Zhuwei saccharification
It is not an easy task to use sorghum, which has a very thick and hard shell and contains a lot of cellulose and tannins, which can be imagined as a "shell armor" composed of rattan and stones. Therefore, when sorghum is used for winemaking, the first step is to "break the shell" and "unload" - steaming.
When the temperature reaches 70 °C, the starch granules can expand to as much as 100 times the original volume, which not only breaks the seed shell, but also makes the tight structure of the starch granules become a loose network structure, and microorganisms can be used conveniently.
Dong wine saccharification
From the outside, steamed sorghum is like a "baby" just after bathing, which needs to be cared for in every way and is easily "rotted" by bacteria. And this way of caring has formed another wonderful idea of Dong Jiu - Nanzhu saccharification box.
The Nan bamboo mashing box, high on all sides, is covered with bamboo moss, which seems to be a special "swaddling" made for sorghum, and the bamboo fence is a "bamboo mat" tailored for sorghum grain mash.
In the Nanzhu saccharification box, sorghum enters a state of micro-fermentation, called "saccharification". On the one hand, the temperature is lowered, the koji is inoculated, and microorganisms are introduced into the sorghum grain mash to start fermentation. On the other hand, maintain a certain temperature to facilitate the initial growth and reproduction of microorganisms, convert starch into a certain amount of sugar, and form a certain amount of dominant microbiota.
Dong Jiu Nan Bamboo Saccharification Box (Photo by © Li Yu)
Compared with the ordinary "drying hall pile saccharification" (in short, that is, find a clean open space, put the grain together, and naturally cool and cool), the use of Nan bamboo to create a mashing box is the crystallization of the wisdom of Dongjiu people.
This not only makes the cooked sorghum isolate the ground, more hygienic and clean, but also uses the characteristics of bamboo material to warm in winter and cool in summer, which has the effect of "cooling and temperature control", meeting the temperature requirements of both saccharification and escorting the saccharification process for up to 20 hours. At the same time, Nan bamboo is durable, and it will not grow mold and insects after long-term use.
Dong wine herb aroma
Therefore, from the selection of raw materials, to the utilization of raw materials, to the processing of raw materials, it reflects the ingenuity of Dongjiu, and this also creates the unique flavor of Dongjiu from the source, aged aroma, ester aroma, grain aroma, koji aroma, herb aroma, five spices in one, rich and special, long-lasting and fragrant, outperforming the "quality marathon" of Chinese liquor.
About the author:
Li Yu, master of food fermentation, engineer, wine and food industry review writer and planner.