Taylor-MadeAK - Brewing Sake - Latest Comments on Making Koji for Homebrewing Sake - The Taylor-MadeAK Way

David [Visitor] in response to: Making Koji for Homebrewing Sake - The Taylor-MadeAK Way

David [Visitor] — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 23:12:26 +0000

Hi Bob;
I finally got around to making a koji grow box, with temp control, and followed your recipe using the "V Brewing" spores. Everything was going fine, but I came home today to see the koji has all turned that now famous 'light mint green' color, with only a scattering of fuzzy white grains. I'm confident there is no contamination just over ripe koji. I tasted several grains and they have a nutty, cheese like flavor with a very noticable sweet taste. I'm thinking this will act as the 'white' koji would but might have a stronger flavor addition to the finished product??? I know if I let this finish drying I could use this as the tane-koji for more seed spores, but could it be used for making a batch of sake? Just wondering... I'll start over and use this HUGE supply of spore stock to seed it if you think that's best. And THANKS for all the great info... I'd have NEVER tried this without the info you have here.
David

Peter [Visitor] in response to: Making Koji for Homebrewing Sake - The Taylor-MadeAK Way

Peter [Visitor] — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 01:56:27 +0000

OK, so I guess the kome koji will not turn green when I start making the sake in my primary fermenter? I am also worried if it can be too humid in my incubator, and if so what does that look like.

I happened to have a chicken egg incubator lying around that my sisters had, and it works perfectly. I laid the thermometer on top of the batch and it fluctuated between 90 in the beginning and 96 as the koji started growing.

Kirsty [Visitor] in response to: Making Koji for Homebrewing Sake - The Taylor-MadeAK Way

Kirsty [Visitor] — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 11:58:02 +0000

Le sigh. So - I got a batch to spore and found a container almost like yours. I tried to innoculate a large batch of rice so I could take it and store it and not have to make some for a while.

But alas I screwed up. Right up until the 30 hour mark in the evening everything was on track and it was the right colour, texture, smell everything was working... But somehow when I checked it at that point I must have contaminated it as the next morning I had this pinkish coloured mold growing in veins through my rice.

Had to throw the batch out.

The moral to this story - when you go to check on your rice and stirr it make sure you sluce down your equipment and hands to make sure there isn't any bacteria on them!

[Rolls eyes] Gotta start again!

Kirsty [Visitor] in response to: Making Koji for Homebrewing Sake - The Taylor-MadeAK Way

Kirsty [Visitor] — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 07:27:31 +0000

Okay, so I have attempted to grow spores like this however I ran into a slight problem. It seams the australian climate may be too humid or I'm having some control issue.

While I was able to get the koji to take on that greenish colour and grow and look like yours it was not sporing, only in advanced levels of growth and died soon after. I got no spores from the koji.

Not totally sure what I did wrong.
Could it be something to do with the rice being too soft (I have been using a rice cooker to steam my rice)

Juan [Visitor] in response to: Making Koji for Homebrewing Sake - The Taylor-MadeAK Way

Juan [Visitor] — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:43:26 +0000

Hello, your work is great!
I live in Argentina and koji spores are unavailable and cannot be mailed here. But I have some dried koji-rice left.
Is it possible to innoculate a new batch of rice using this rice-koji?
Thanks,
Juan

RTM [Visitor] in response to: Making Koji for Homebrewing Sake - The Taylor-MadeAK Way

RTM [Visitor] — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 01:40:50 +0000

I made koji rice and miso about eight years ago, using several varieties of rice, and several kinds of beans as well as artichoke hearts. All of my four batches came out great, but in reading this blog, I see references to keeping the humidity at a certain point. I didn't do that back then, and am about to make miso again. Is it important to keep the humidity to a particular level during the 46-48 hours that the koji is growing?

Don Veasey [Visitor] in response to: Making Koji for Homebrewing Sake - The Taylor-MadeAK Way

Don Veasey [Visitor] — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 02:00:59 +0000

I'm using my third generation of Koji-Kin from this method. Works perfect.

Adam Kiryl [Visitor] in response to: Making Koji for Homebrewing Sake - The Taylor-MadeAK Way

Adam Kiryl [Visitor] — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 16:23:19 +0000

Thanks for the advice on making koji rice.

I would like to make a test portion for making miso. I have been making natto for a while, in small batches and so far they have came out really well.
I have a small toshiba yogurth maker and I intend to use it to try making a batch. It can be setup to keep the temperature at a given level. If I take care of the humidity I think it will be fine.

Bob Taylor [Member] in response to: Making Koji for Homebrewing Sake - The Taylor-MadeAK Way

Bob Taylor [Member] — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 00:59:38 +0000

This forum thread on the topic of producing tane-koji from prepared koji is very likely what you are looking for, svetaxp:

http://forum.northernbrewer.com/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=101189

svetaxp [Visitor] in response to: Making Koji for Homebrewing Sake - The Taylor-MadeAK Way

svetaxp [Visitor] — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 20:17:12 +0000

Great article! Maybe you know how to koji-fy more rice with ready rice koji? I just got a rice koji package from Japan, I'm planning to make amazake. I really need the package to last forever:), I've heard it's possibe to make more rice koji seeds with the koji you have, but I can't find how to do it. Amazake is great for milk production and my friend is going to have her first baby in a month.

Rick [Visitor] in response to: Making Koji for Homebrewing Sake - The Taylor-MadeAK Way

Rick [Visitor] — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 12:46:09 +0000

GREAT site, a million thanks! A quick question. During the fermenting of Koji, what humidity range do you think is needed? Like a RH of 50% or so? Then drop to 40% or so during making spores?

Bob Taylor [Member] in response to: Making Koji for Homebrewing Sake - The Taylor-MadeAK Way

Bob Taylor [Member] — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 06:08:25 +0000

Koji isn't poisonous, man. It's not known for causing aspergillosis, either. Japanese sake brewers have been breathing those spores in for hundreds of years with no reported ill effects. I just put the warnings against inhaling the spores in my guide because it never hurts to be careful.

mike [Visitor] in response to: Making Koji for Homebrewing Sake - The Taylor-MadeAK Way

mike [Visitor] — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 06:03:06 +0000

Geez Bob, just ordered 50 bucks worth of vision spores and threw out a tray of green koji, being VERY careful not to inhale any poisons. I really should slow down and read a bit more...and drink a bit less

Bob Taylor [Member] in response to: Making Koji for Homebrewing Sake - The Taylor-MadeAK Way

Bob Taylor [Member] — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 22:34:14 +0000

Which is why I said it's hard for me to say exactly what might be wrong without seeing a picture or handling the rice in person. Here's something you might consider, however: steamed rice naturally has a yellow tint to it. This yellow tint could be perceived as green under certain lighting conditions. Anything that changes the way light refracts through the translucent rice grain or reflects off its surface would also have an effect on the perceived color.

As for using the black cloth to protect your koji from light: it certainly couldn't hurt anything. Nothing wrong with a little paranoia. =)

Harkening back to one of your previous e-mails:

Koji does like to spread its mycelium around, but it's been my experience that it will only do so to a certain extent. If you don't get good coverage of your rice with mold spores to begin with, then you'll only have partial coverage of your rice grains with fuzzy white mold in the end.

But you know what? That's okay. The resulting koji can still be used to make sake or produce tane-koji. =)

Chris P [Visitor] in response to: Making Koji for Homebrewing Sake - The Taylor-MadeAK Way

Chris P [Visitor] — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 17:33:27 +0000

Wow, thanks for the quick reply!

As for the green rice, I really don't think it's a competing mold. There is no other mold-like growth on the rice, the rice just all of sudden has a greenish tint, from the inside. It's happened to both my batches so far, both times around the 40-45 hour mark.

But, I will try this again and use your bi-level technique and report back. And next time with pictures. :)

Using the light-bulb: I wonder if maybe I should cover the plastic bowl with a black cloth to shut out the light, just in case it affects the enzyme production? (I'm not paranoid... not at all...)

Thanks.