Liquor basic concept knowledge and basic production process arrangement

1. Classification of wine

Alcohol generally refers to beverages and beverages with an alcohol content greater than 0.5% vol, which are called wine or alcoholic beverages, and non-alcoholic beer below this index also belongs to beverage alcohol. China divides wine into three categories: fermented wine, distilled wine, and blended wine .
Fermented wine : made from the fermented liquid after fermentation of grain, fruit, and milk, mainly including: beer, wine, fruit wine, rice wine, milk wine (especially milk wine, which is different from kumiss or goat’s milk wine), other fermented wine (sake, rice wine, fermented glutinous rice)

Distilled wine : grain, potato, fruit, and milk as the main raw materials, which are fermented, distilled, and blended. Mainly include: liquor, brandy, whiskey, vodka, rum, gin, milk wine, and other distilled spirits.

Blended wine : a wine that is mixed and processed with fermented wine, distilled wine or edible alcohol as the base. Such as: Chinese Jinjiu, Coconut Island Lugui Wine. Mainly include: plant-based wines, animal-based wines, animal-plant wines, and other wines.

2. Famous wine classification:

2.1 World Famous Wines

There are several elements for evaluating famous wines: history, brand, taste, value and classics. From the perspective of traditional identification, the main world famous wines are basically distilled wines, and there are 6 categories in total: Chinese liquor, brandy, whiskey, rum, vodka, and gin.

2.2 Famous Chinese wines

From 1949 to the present, China's famous wines have been selected for five sessions:

In 1952, the first judging conference was held in Beijing, at which four famous liquors, Moutai, Fen, Luzhou Daqu and Xifeng, were selected.

The second selection event was held in Beijing in 1963, and eight famous wines were selected, including Fenjiu, Wuliangye, Gujing Gongjiu, Luzhou Laojiao Tequ, Quanxing Daqu, Moutai, Xifengjiu and Dongjiu.

The third selection was held in Dalian in 1979. Eight famous wines were selected, namely Moutai, Fenjiu, Wuliangye, Jiannanchun, Gujing Gongjiu, Yanghe Daqu, Dongjiu, and Luzhou Laojiao Tequ.

The fourth selection was held in Taiyuan in 1984. A total of 13 kinds of famous baijiu were selected: Moutai, Fenjiu, Wuliangye, Yanghe Daqu, Jiannanchun, Gujing Gongjiu, Dongjiu, Xifengjiu, Luzhou Laojiao Tequ, Quanzhou Xing Daqu Liquor, Shuanggou Daqu, Special Yellow Crane Tower Liquor, and Langjiu.

The fifth session held in Hefei in 1989 became the swan song of liquor review, and the national liquor review conference came to an end due to various comprehensive factors. A total of 17 kinds of famous wines were selected in the last judging meeting: Moutai, Fenjiu, Wuliangye, Yanghe Daqu, Jiannanchun, Gujing Gongjiu, Dongjiu, Xifengjiu, Luzhou Laojiao Tequ, Quanxing Daqu Liquor (now Shuijingfang), Shuang Ditch Daqu, specially made Yellow Crane Tower Liquor, Langjiu, Wuling Liquor, Baofeng Liquor, Songhe Liangye, and Tuopaiqu Liquor.

3. Liquor classification

Chinese baijiu can be classified in a number of ways.
Classified by saccharifying starter : Daqu Liquor (Moutai, Wuliangye, Fenjiu, Luzhou Laojiao, etc.), Xiaoqu Liquor (Jiangjin Baijiu), Branqu Liquor (Beijing Erguotou), Mixed Qujiu (Dong Liquor), other saccharification starter liquor ( Generally some small workshop wine).
Classified according to the production process : it is divided into solid-state liquor, liquid liquor and solid-liquid liquor.
Classification by aroma type : This is the most commonly used classification method for Chinese liquor. Common aroma types include sauce-flavored, strong-flavored, light-flavored, mixed-flavored, rich-flavored, phoenix-flavored, rice-flavored, Laobaigan-flavored, special-flavored, sesame-flavored, medicinal-flavored and soy-flavored Twelve types. Sauce, thick, clear, and rice are the basic flavor types, and other flavor types are derived from the four flavor types and their own unique craftsmanship.

Some other classification methods:
Classification according to alcohol content : According to the alcohol content, liquor can be divided into high alcohol (above 50 degrees) and low alcohol (below 50 degrees).
Classification according to raw materials : This classification method divides liquor into grain wine (multi-grain and single beam), potato wine and substitute raw material wine according to the raw materials used in liquor.
The above are some common classification methods, but in fact, the classification methods of Chinese liquor are very diverse, and each classification method has its own unique basis and characteristics.

4. Traditional Liquor Production Methods

There are two key steps in the brewing process of liquor. First, the koji decomposes the starch into sugars, which is the saccharification process, and then the yeast ferments the glucose to produce alcohol. The aroma in liquor is mainly due to the production of esters, higher esters, volatile free acids, etc. during the fermentation process. Traditional liquor production mainly has the following three methods

4.1 Solid-state fermentation method

It is a great pioneering work in ancient my country and also a unique traditional production process in my country.
Main features : natural microbial inoculation, solid-state saccharification and fermentation, and solid-state retort distillation. In the whole process, except for distilled water vapor and a small amount of water such as moistened grain, no water will be added to dilute the fermentation.
Production method : production method of Daqu liquor, production method of Xiaoqu liquor, production method of glutinous rice wine, others (Dong liquor, mixed use of Daqu and Xiaoqu)

4.2 Semi-solid fermentation method

Main characteristics : During the production process, water is used to dilute the fermentation. The raw material is commonly used as rice.
Production method : Saccharification with cultured bacteria first, post-fermentation method (rice-flavored liquor: Guangxi Guilin Sanhua liquor and Quanzhou Xiangshan liquor), side-saccharification and side-fermentation method (soy-flavored liquor, soy-flavored Yubing shochu).

4.3 Liquid fermentation method

Main features : The liquid fermentation method is similar to the process of alcohol, with a high degree of mechanization and high wine production rate. But fragrance of liquor is less than conventional method.
Production method : full liquid fermentation method, string fragrance method, solid-liquid combination method, flavoring method

5. The main process of the traditional liquor industry

Through the method of liquor production, we can know that there are two key links in the whole production process, so the complete process of the whole production includes: koji making: making koji containing microorganisms that saccharify and ferment starch ; The process of fermenting starch into raw wine, distilling and packaging the finished wine.

5.1 Music making

The main steps are:

1. Moisturizing: Soak the wheat with water for 2 to 4 hours, so that the water can penetrate into the inside of the wheat (there are also barley and peas, depending on the type of koji).
2. Grinding: The soaked wheat is crushed with a grinder, and the crushing fineness is required to be moderate.
3. Ingredients: Mix the pulverized wheat flour with water, glucoamylase, yeast and other materials to make a dough.
4. Stepping on koji: Put the doughy wheat flour into the mold and step on it manually to make it compact.
5. Fermentation: Put the koji pieces in a specific environment for fermentation.
6. Drying koji: Put the fermented koji in a ventilated and dry place to dry to remove excess water.
7. store.

The production of Daqu requires attention to control the temperature, humidity and time parameters of each link to ensure the quality and taste of Daqu.

5.2 Fermentation wine production

1. Grain procurement

The grains used in liquor production are mainly divided into sorghum, corn, wheat, rice, glutinous rice, etc. According to the quality and flavor requirements of liquor, different types of grains are selected for use. During the procurement process, the quality and freshness of the grain must be strictly checked to ensure the taste and quality of the produced liquor.

2. Raw material crushing

The purpose of crushing the purchased grain is to crush large grain particles into smaller particles for subsequent processing operations. At the same time, the cell tissue of the grain is destroyed by crushing, and more starch granules and nutrients are released, which is beneficial to the material exchange and energy conversion in the fermentation process.

3. Mixing

Mix the crushed grain particles with an appropriate amount of water to form a relatively uniform wet material. The purpose of the seasoning is to make the grain and water fully contact, so that the nutrients and flavor components in the starch granules can be released more fully during the cooking process. At the same time, by adjusting the water content, the growth and metabolism of microorganisms in the fermentation process can be controlled.

4. Moisturizer

Place the mixed wet material for a period of time to allow the grain particles to fully absorb the water. The purpose of embellishment is to improve the efficiency and stability of subsequent processing by softening grain granules, and at the same time allow starch granules to be released more fully to provide a sufficient material basis for fermentation.

5. Cooking

The moistened grain granules are put into a steamer for steaming, the purpose is to gelatinize the starch granules in the grain granules through high temperature, so as to facilitate saccharification and fermentation. At the same time, during the cooking process, impurities and odors in the grain can also be removed, and the purity and flavor of the liquor can be improved.

6. Cooling

The cooked grain particles are quickly cooled to a suitable temperature for subsequent operations such as inoculation and fermentation. The purpose of cooling is to control the temperature during the fermentation process, to prevent the adverse effects of excessive or low temperature on the growth and metabolism of microorganisms, so as to ensure the stability and quality of the fermentation process.

7. Inoculum species

Insert an appropriate amount of yeast strain (distiller's yeast) into the cooled grain granules to start the fermentation process. The role of the bacteria is to break down the starch into sugar, which is then converted into alcohol and other by-products. Selecting the appropriate yeast strain and inoculum size, as well as controlling the growth and metabolism of the strain, play a key role in the efficiency and quality of the fermentation process.

8. Saccharification

Under suitable temperature and humidity conditions, the starch in the grain granules is converted into sugar substances such as glucose through the saccharification process. The purpose of saccharification is to provide sufficient energy and nutrients for the fermentation process to ensure the smooth progress and quality of the fermentation process.

9. Fermentation

The saccharified grain particles are placed under suitable temperature and humidity conditions for fermentation, so that yeast species can grow and reproduce in it, and convert sugar substances into alcohol and other by-products. The purpose of fermentation is to produce original liquor with a certain alcohol content and flavor. Controlling parameters such as temperature, humidity and time in the fermentation process has an important impact on the quality and flavor of the original wine.

10. Distillation

The fermented distiller's grains are distilled to obtain a highly concentrated alcoholic solution. The purpose of distillation is to further purify alcohol, remove impurities and peculiar smell, and improve the taste and quality of liquor. During the distillation process, attention should be paid to controlling the temperature and time to ensure the quality and yield of alcohol.

11. Storage

The distilled alcoholic solution is stored in clay or stainless steel tanks for aging and aging. The purpose of storage is to further fuse and transform the flavor components in the alcohol solution through physical and chemical changes, so as to improve the flavor and quality of liquor. Factors such as storage time, temperature and container material have an important impact on the flavor and quality of liquor.

12. Blending

The purpose of blending different batches of alcoholic solutions with different storage periods is to integrate the advantages of each batch of alcoholic solutions and make up for their respective deficiencies, so as to achieve a balance in taste and quality. During the blending process, according to the requirements of different wine types, alcohol solutions with different storage periods need to be selected for use in combination to achieve the best taste and quality effect.

13. Packaging

The blended liquor is filled and packaged, and sold in the market. The purpose of packaging is to protect the quality and flavor of liquor, and at the same time facilitate consumers to identify and purchase. Packaging materials and methods should comply with relevant regulations and standards, while paying attention to environmental protection and sustainability.