Because the raw materials used in brewing are different, the microorganisms used and the brewing process are also different. Take liquor, beer and wine as examples to illustrate:
Liquor: Starchy substances are mostly used as raw materials, such as sorghum, corn, barley, wheat, rice and peas. The brewing process is roughly divided into two steps: first, starch is decomposed into sugars by Aspergillus oryzae, Aspergillus Niger and Aspergillus flavus. This is called saccharification process; The second step is to ferment glucose with yeast to produce alcohol. Liquor is rich in flavor, which mainly produces more esters, higher esters, volatile free acids, acetaldehyde and furfural during fermentation. The alcohol content of liquor is generally above 60 degrees.
Beer: It is made of barley as raw material, hops as spice, malting and beer yeast alcohol fermentation. Rich in carbon dioxide and a small amount of alcohol. Because the fermentation process is different from the general alcohol production, some undecomposed nutrients are retained in beer, thus increasing the flavor of beer. The alcohol content of beer is generally 15 degrees, or lower.
Wine: grape juice is used as raw material and fermented by wine yeast. Its alcohol content is low (about 9 ~ 10%), which retains the original nutritional components of the fruit and has the unique fragrance of famous and special fruit. Technically speaking, wine brewing has to go through two stages: main fermentation and post-fermentation. Post-fermentation is a process of continuous fermentation after being stored in the above main stage for more than 1 year. The main varieties of wine grapes are: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Jiali Brewing, Black Pi Nuo, Snake Dragon Ball, Jiali Brewing, Shensuo, Mei Jia, Huokeng, Syrah, Qiong Yao Pulp, Baiyuxia and Rose Fragrance.
brewer's yeast
I know that distillery must add koji, but I never know the essence of tillering. Modern science has solved the mystery. Daqu is made because a large number of microorganisms and enzymes secreted by microorganisms (amylase, glucoamylase, protease, etc.) grow on it. ). Enzymes have biocatalysis, which can accelerate the conversion of starch and protein in cereals into sugars and amino acids. Sugar is decomposed into ethanol under the action of yeast enzyme, which is alcohol. Tillers also contain many such enzymes, which have saccharifying effect. The starch of tiller itself can be converted into sugar, and then converted into ethanol under the action of yeast. At the same time, koji itself contains starch and protein, which are also raw materials for brewing.
Liquor-making with distiller's yeast is the essence of China's liquor-making. The microorganisms growing in koji are mainly molds. The use of molds is a great invention of China people. Professor Kenichiro Sakaguchi, a famous Japanese microbiologist, thinks that this is even comparable to four great inventions of ancient china, which is obviously inferred from the important position of bioengineering technology in today's science and technology. With the development of the times, the methods created by the ancients in China will show its important role more and more.
Section 2 Types of distiller's yeast
The origin of distiller's yeast can't be verified. The earliest words about distiller's yeast may be the works of Zhou Dynasty & gt If you are a wine cellar, you are just a cultivator. From the analysis of scientific principles, koji actually evolved from moldy grain. The production technology of distiller's yeast in the Northern Wei Dynasty:> It was comprehensively summarized for the first time and reached a high level in the Song Dynasty. Mainly manifested in the following aspects: the variety of distiller's yeast is complete, the technology is perfect, and the saccharification and fermentation ability of distiller's yeast, especially southern Xiaoqu, is very high. Modern distiller's yeast is still widely used in the brewing of yellow rice wine and liquor. In terms of production technology, due to the mastery of microorganism and brewing theory, the development of koji has leapt to a new level.
The original koji was moldy or germinated grain, and people improved it to make it suitable for wine making. Because of the different raw materials and production methods, the natural conditions in the producing areas are different, and the varieties of Qu are rich and colorful. Roughly in the Song Dynasty, the types and production techniques of China distiller's yeast were basically finalized. Later generations made some improvements on this basis. The following are the types of sake koji in China:
Classification system of sake koji
According to koji-making raw materials, there are mainly wheat and rice. Therefore, they are called wheat koji and rice koji respectively. There are many kinds of rice-based koji, such as rice-based Xiaoqu, steamed rice-based red koji or black-coated red koji, and rice koji (Aspergillus oryzae).
According to whether the raw materials are ripe or not, they can be divided into raw wheat koji and cooked wheat koji.
According to the additives in koji, there are many kinds, including Chinese herbal medicine koji and bean koji with bean raw materials (peas, mung beans, etc.). ).
According to the shape of qu, it can be divided into Daqu (straw bag qu, brick qu, hanging qu), Xiaoqu (cake qu) and Sanqu.
According to the source of microorganisms in koji, it can be divided into traditional koji (naturally inoculated by microorganisms) and pure koji (such as koji inoculated by Aspergillus oryzae, koji inoculated by Rhizopus, koji inoculated by Aspergillus Niger).
Classification of Erjiuqu
In modern times, koji can be roughly divided into five categories, which are used for different wines. They are:
Wheat starter is mainly used for brewing yellow rice wine;
Xiaoqu, mainly used for brewing yellow rice wine and Xiaoqu wine;
Monascus is mainly used for brewing red koji wine (red koji wine is a variety of yellow rice wine);
Daqu is used to brew distilled liquor.
Bran koji was developed in modern times, and the culture with bran as raw material was inoculated with pure mold. Can be used to replace some big songs or small songs. At present, bran koji method is one of the main methods of liquor production in China. Its liquor production accounts for more than 70% of the total output.
Evolution of production technology of koji
A primitive distiller's yeast
The most primitive saccharifying starter in China may have several forms: qu, tiller or the mixture of qu and tiller.
In primitive society, due to improper preservation, grain will be moldy or germinated after being wetted, and moldy or germinated grain can be fermented into wine. Therefore, these moldy or germinated grains are the most primitive koji and raw materials for fermentation.
Perhaps for a period of time, moldy grains and germinated grains were indistinguishable, but there was a strict difference between flexion and tillering at least in Shang Dynasty. Because germinated grain and moldy grain have different appearance and functions, people can easily make them in different ways, so in ancient times, there were two things that could be used to make wine. Moldy grain is called qu, and germinated grain is called tiller.
Two Sanqu Pieces of Music
Judging from the technique of making music, China's most primitive musical form should be Sanqu, not Qupai.
Sanqu, that is, the loose state of distiller's yeast, is made of ground or crushed grains, and microorganisms (mainly molds) grow on it at a certain temperature, air humidity and water content. Sanqu has been used for thousands of years in the history of making music in China. For example, the ancient "Yellow Ziqu" and rice qu (especially red koji).
Block music, as its name implies, is a music with a certain shape. Its preparation method is to add a proper amount of water to raw materials (such as flour), knead them evenly, put them into a mold, compact them to fix their shapes, and then cultivate microorganisms at a certain temperature, moisture and humidity.
& gt There are several words in the book, all of which are annotated as "cake songs".
In the Northern Wei Dynasty, it was; & gt As the representative of starter-making and tillering technology in China, starter-making in China has reached a relatively mature position in variety and technology. Mainly reflected in the following aspects: (1) established the dominant position of block music (including southern rice music); The variety of koji increased; The saccharification and fermentation ability of Daqu was greatly improved. China's koji manufacturing technology began to spread to neighboring countries.
Sanqu and Block Qu not only reflect the differences in appearance of Qu, but also mainly reflect the differences in saccharification and fermentation performance of Qu. The fundamental reason lies in the difference in the species and quantity of microorganisms propagated in koji.
In terms of koji-making technology, the production technology of block koji is more complicated and the process is longer, which requires a lot of manpower. Before making wine, you must also break a piece of music. Why did the ancients reinvent the wheel? The reason is that the performance of block music is better than that of Sanqu. In principle, the microorganisms growing on China Daqu are mainly molds, some of which are very long and can be intertwined on the raw materials, and loose Daqu-making raw materials can naturally form blocks. There are many kinds of microorganisms on koji, such as bacteria, yeast, mold and so on. The relative quantity distribution of these different microorganisms in different parts of koji is also different. Some experts believe that Rhizopus with good wine-making performance can survive and reproduce in block koji, which plays an important role in improving alcohol concentration. The use of block koji is more suitable for the process of compound fermentation (that is, at the same time of saccharification, the sugar produced by saccharification is converted into alcohol).
The cake song of the Western Han Dynasty is only the embryonic form of a song. It may also be handmade. In the Northern Wei Dynasty, there was a special music mold for making music pieces. Qi Yao Min Shu; & gt Chinese name is "fan", which is made of round iron and rectangular wooden strips, and the sizes are also different. Such as; & gt The Divine Comedy in Chinese is a round block with a diameter of 2.5 inches and a thickness of 9 points, and another one is called "Stupid Comedy", which is made of a wooden model with a square size of 1 foot and a thickness of 2 inches. At that time, the ground was only paved with one layer, not several layers superimposed as recorded in the Tang Dynasty literature. Using the curved die can not only reduce the labor intensity and improve the work efficiency, but more importantly, it can unify the shape and size of the curve and make the quality of the curve more uniform. Rectangular bending die is better than circular bending die. The accumulation of songs saves more space. But also laid a foundation for the later koji to pile up and cultivate bacteria in the koji chamber. On the one hand, it is to reduce the labor intensity, and more importantly, the pace of music is closer and the fragmentation of music is reduced. In a word, the development from Sanqu to Paiqu, from round block to square block is the result of people constantly summing up experience and learning from each other's strengths, all in order to better conform to the objective law of composition.
Development of production technology of Sanmai Qu
Since the Han Dynasty, Maiqu has been the main wine-making variety in the north, and later spread to the south. & lt& lt "Qi Yao Min Shu"; > The method of making music recorded in Historical Records has been used to this day. There were also some improvements in later generations.