Talking About Traditional Brewing Methods
What are the differences between conventional style sool and the sool we produce at Hana Makgeolli?
When people tour our brewery for the first time, we like to ask them if they’ve tried makgeolli or sool other than our own. Typically, a hand or two shoots up in a small group of eight, and within this small sample of people, there are usually two responses:
They’ve sampled the popular green bottle found at H-Mart or Korean grocery stores
They’ve tried it at a restaurant in Korea
There are many styles of makgeolli within the broader category of sool, but most are familiar with conventional styles that are lower ABV and sweetened. What are the differences between this conventional style and the sool we produce at Hana Makgeolli?
Broadly, sool is categorized by three main ingredients: water, nuruk, and grain. Technical classifications often go beyond ingredients to consider ABV level and sedimentation — even cooking method, fermentation times, fermentation vessel and so on. For example, if a brew is left unfiltered and sedimented, it can be characterized as either makgeolli or takju, depending on whether it is below or above 10% ABV.
Like any other fermented beverage, there are countless ways to prepare sool. On a micro level, you can change the length of the brew or add infusions later on that lead to brews with incredible flavor profiles and varying alcohol levels. But some of the clearest differences can be spotted on a macro level. When discussing differences between sool production, it’s helpful to think of makgeolli as traditionally or conventionally brewed. Here’s more on how they differ and why it matters.
What’s Considered Traditionally Brewed?
Credits: Souk Mounsena
At Hana Makgeolli, our products follow traditional brewing methods, which belong to a long and plentiful history of Korean alcohol fermentation. Our brews are dry or near dry and strike an intricate balance between deep grain flavors and naturally occurring lactic acid with stronger alcohol by volume that is characteristic of jeongtongju (traditionally made sool), a broad category that includes all sool made from nuruk.
To start each brew, we use rice, nuruk, and water. Our fabricated equipment mimics the process of hand-making sool while enabling us to generate consistency. All of the grain is gelatinized (washed, soaked, and cooked) in-house and fermented using the microbes from our nuruk and nuruk alone. In addition, our brews are made using a multi-stage fermentation, meaning long fermentation times at cold temperatures. Our foremost goal is to create a healthy ferment, with the thorough conversion of both starch to sugar, and sugar to alcohol. The result is a brew with nuanced and balanced flavor. If you’ve tried our sool, it is clear how traditional methodologies are clearly different from conventional styles and why each brew is special.
Why does it matter? Well, traditional methods were nearly forgotten during the 20th century. To better understand the legacy of traditional brewing methodologies in Korea, it’s important to know a bit about Korean history and the legacy of homebrewing.
Homebrewing has been at the core of Korean cuisine for hundreds of years. Recipes and methods were passed down from family to family, typically by the women in charge of the household. As one of the oldest alcoholic beverages in Korea, makgeolli has been an indelible part of Korean life. Although its origin date has been widely speculated, it’s said that makgeolli emerged before the beginning of organized agriculture.
This preservation practice came to a screeching halt once the Korean Empire was annexed by Japan from 1910-1945. To control the Korean population, the Japanese government banned home brewing and established their own breweries nationwide. The war period was similarly a tough period for alcohol production since it seemed unfathomable to allocate what little rice they had for sool. As a direct result, many traditional methodologies from past generations were stalled or even forgotten. After the Korean War ended in 1953, some sool production resumed, but the constant threat of rice shortages made it difficult to continue.
Alternatives to traditionally based sool began to spread. Still dealing with grain shortages in the 1960s, sool producers began substituting potatoes and tapioca for rice, and adopted sake production techniques to churn out products. Then, in the 1970s, the U.S. began supplying wheat to Korea and neighboring Asian countries, which led to an uptick in beer breweries and a decrease in sales for sool. The future of the sool industry began to look dire.
The turning point happened in 1990 when the South Korean government finally lifted the ban on brewing with rice. A few years later in 1995, homebrewing was legalized. Those passionate about sool began to study these once-forgotten traditional methods and put their findings into practice. On the other hand, mass producers of makgeolli and soju chose to continue working with conventional methodologies developed during the Japanese occupation, which led to a proliferation of cheap commercial products at home and abroad. Though many rejoiced at this widely available product, it wasn’t representative of traditional makgeolli production before the war.
And What’s Conventionally Brewed?
Visit any convenience store in Korea or any H-Mart in the U.S. and you’ll find an ample selection of electric green makgeolli bottles.
Most makgeolli you’ll find in the supermarket is considered conventionally brewed. To produce a high quantity of makgeolli, companies have ensured a profitable baseline for production cost, shelf life and distribution, and flavor consistency.
In addition to the use of processed starches and commercial fermentation agents, another difference between conventional and traditional brews is the use of preservatives, extracts, and sweeteners, such as aspartame. According to a 2023 report by The Korea Times, about 85% of makgeolli products sold in Korea use this low-calorie artificial sweetener often found in diet sodas. While there are a few exceptions, most big sool brands rely on this sweetener since it closely imitates table sugar. But as with any soda or sweetened drink, you can still taste the difference.
That’s not to say that all commercially made makgeolli (and sool) take shortcuts. While it’s rare, some big sool brands have developed brews with quality ingredients and eliminated aspartame from their recipes. The best thing to do when sampling a new bottle of makgeolli or sool is to check the back label. Check the ingredients, where it was made, and the company that produces it. Chances are, you’ll discover something new.
Advocating for Tradition
Here at Hana Makgeolli, we believe that Korean sool has the depth — in its history, methodologies and flavor — to be a loved and respected category. Using and advocating for traditional methodologies is an important act of preservation that furthers our passion for the category and hopefully ignites it in you. When you come to our Tasting Room, we’ll happily answer any questions about our sool.
Suppose you want to learn more about our production process. In that case, we also have 45-minute tours that take you into the brewery, showcase our Tasting Flight, and dive deeper into the backstory of this traditional alcoholic drink.
You can check our Resy page or our Instagram for more details. We hope to see you in the Tasting Room soon!
Cover Image: Souk Mounsena