Korean Brewing
Knowledge
A guide to what Korean brewing records ask the brewer to do, why each step matters, and where the evidence still leaves questions open.
Source record
A term, ratio, or process stated in a historical recipe or the KTW reference tables.
Jumak convention
Plain-language wording or a modern reproduction rule adopted consistently by Jumak.
Needs verification
A historical quantity, exact method, or modern brewery practice that the available source does not establish.
Traditional Measurements
Historical recipes use vessel-based units. Preserve the recorded unit and compare relative volume before making a modern conversion.
Source ratio: KTW reference table, with 1 doe set to 1. These are relative ratios, not universal historical capacities.
| Unit Name | Ratio | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Hop, Hap (홉, 합) | 0.1 | One tenth of the reference volume |
| Jan (잔) | 0.2 | One fifth of the reference volume |
| Jak (작) | 0.4 | Two fifths of the reference volume |
| Doe, Sikgi, Sabal, Jubal, Bari, Tanggi | 1.0 | Reference-volume group (되·식기·사발·주발·바리·탕기) |
| Bokja, Daeya (복자, 대야) | 2.0 | Twice the reference volume |
| Byeong (병) | 6.0 | Six times the reference volume; not a modern bottle size |
| Mal, Donghae, Dongi, Yubun, Yangpun | 10.0 | Ten-doe group (말·동해·동이·유분·양푼) |
| Seom, Seok, Gok — China | 100.0 | Chinese reference group (섬·석·곡) |
| Seom, Seok, Gok — Korea | 150.0 | Korean reference group (섬·석·곡) |
Jumak convention: for a modern reproduction only, 1 doe is calculated as 1.8 L. This rounded value comes from the modern 1.8039 L doe described by the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture; it does not establish the capacity used by every historical recipe.
Grain and nuruk recorded by volume must stay in ml or L unless a material-specific measurement supports conversion to g or kg. For example, 18 L of rice is not automatically 18 kg.
Sources: KTW reference guide and Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, “Doe”.
Decoding the Recipe
Understanding the terminology used in traditional brewing texts.
Time & Schedule
- Work start day (일)
- The day count from the first preparation step, such as washing rice or soaking nuruk
- Fermentation period (발효)
- Fermentation days; the KTW count excludes time spent soaking nuruk
- Rice soaking period (침미)
- Nights that washed rice remains in water: 1 means one night, not necessarily 24 hours
- Processed-grain rest (침숙)
- Nights that porridge, steamed rice, or another processed grain is left to rest
- Nuruk soaking period (침국)
- 0 means several hours that day; 1 means one night
Ingredients
- Mebssal & Chapssal (멥쌀·찹쌀)
- Non-glutinous and glutinous rice; KTW tabulates their amounts in doe
- Nuruk (누룩)
- Brewing starter; record its amount, manufacturing form, ingredients, and grinding state separately
- Seok-im (석임)
- A cultivated brewing base whose yeast and acidity help early fermentation; not interchangeable with dry yeast without evidence
- Jangsu (장수)
- Sour water produced by soaking grain for an extended period, recorded separately from ordinary water
- Milbun (밀분)
- Wheat flour amount; KTW tabulates it in doe
Techniques
- Nuruk maturation (숙성)
- A stage for maturing newly made nuruk in the KTW guide
- Beopje (법제)
- A stage for drying nuruk in sunlight; the source does not define it simply as sterilization
- Tang-hon (탕혼)
- Mixing hot water into steamed rice cake, godubap, or another prepared grain
- Naeng-hon (냉혼)
- Mixing godubap with cold water or rinsing it; check the recipe for which action is meant
- Salsu (살수)
- Sprinkling water over godubap during steaming, then steaming again
- Nok-guk (녹국)
- Soaking and filtering nuruk, then using only the liquid
Advanced Steps
- On-hon (온혼)
- Mixing nuruk into processed grain before the grain has fully cooled
- Chaechwi (채취)
- Gathering herbs or other materials for a later brewing step
- Damgeum (담금)
- Placing an adjunct ingredient into liquor to infuse; distinct from making the main mash
- Jungtang (중탕)
- Heating liquor indirectly using boiling water in an outer vessel
- Jeungryu (증류)
- Distilling fermented liquor to obtain soju
- Ga-ju (가주)
- Adding fermented or distilled liquor during brewing
- Bossam (보쌈)
- Wrapping or covering the fermentation jar to retain warmth
- Yeogwa (여과)
- Filtering liquor from the preceding stage, often through cloth
Source framework: KTW recipe-reading guide. A historical term is kept alongside Jumak's plain-language explanation.
Grain Processing
Read the grain form and each cooking action in order. Similar-looking preparations may use different material forms or heating methods.
Rice (Bab-ryu)
- Godu-bab (고두밥)
- Whole grains + SteamingEx: Sunhyang-ju
- Bab (밥)
- Whole grains + BoilingEx: Gwaha-ju
Porridge (Juk-ryu)
- Beombeok (범벅)
- Flour + Hot waterEx: Hwanggeum-ju
- Pul (풀)
- Flour + Water + Cooked thickEx: Solsun-sul
- Juk (죽)
- Flour + Water + Cooked as porridgeEx: Hyangon-ju
- Algok-juk (알곡죽)
- Whole grains + Water + CookingEx: Cheongeum-ju
- Eungi (응이)
- Flour + Water + Cooked thinEx: Songsun-ju
- Mieum (미음)
- Flour + Water + Cooked thinEx: Samhae-ju
Rice Cake (Tteok-ryu)
- Baekseolgi (백설기)
- Flour + SteamingEx: Nokpa-ju
- Jjineun-tteok (찌는떡)
- Flour + Hot-water dough + SteamingEx: Gyeonghyang-okaekju
- Gumeong-tteok (구멍떡)
- Hot-water dough + Hole shape + BoilingEx: Ihwaju
- Samneun-tteok (삶는떡)
- Hot-water dough + Other shape + BoilingEx: Illyeon-ju
- Injeolmi (인절미)
- Whole grains + Steaming + PoundingEx: Mokmaek-ju
Read the sequence literally. Beombeok means hot water is poured into flour; do not add a later boiling step unless the individual recipe states it. Eungi and mieum remain separate names even though the KTW summary describes both as thin flour preparations.
How to Read Nuruk
Nuruk is not one standardized ingredient and is not simply yeast. Read its manufacturing form, ingredients, name, and grinding state separately.
Manufacturing form
Tteok-nuruk (떡누룩) is formed into a cake or lump. Heutim-nuruk (흩임누룩) is made loose rather than consolidated into one mass.
Ingredient family
KTW groups examples by wheat, rice, barley, mung bean, or herbs. The exact ingredients and proportions still come from the individual recipe.
Grinding state
How finely nuruk is broken for use is separate from how it was made. A broken tteok-nuruk remains tteok-nuruk.
One name can point to different methods
| Name | Why the recipe must be checked |
|---|---|
| Joguk (조국) | Appears under both wheat and mung-bean tteok-nuruk in the KTW table. |
| Junsunju-guk (준순주국) | Appears under both rice and herbal tteok-nuruk. |
| Maekguk (맥국) | Appears as barley tteok-nuruk and rice-based heutim-nuruk; the source also contains a rice-bran versus rice-husk inconsistency. |
| Hongguk (홍국) | Appears under both herbal tteok-nuruk and rice heutim-nuruk. |
Example — Ihwaguk (이화국): the current reference classifies it as a rice tteok-nuruk. Its grinding state must remain “not verified” until a specific recipe establishes it.
A shared name does not prove a shared recipe. When KTW's prose, table, or footnotes disagree, Jumak preserves the uncertainty instead of selecting one version silently.
Source framework: KTW nuruk classification guide.
Classification
Korean liquor is classified into four production methods—Fermented, Distilled, Fortified, and Infused—and further distinguished by key ingredients.
Fermented Liquor
(Balhyo-ju)Distilled Liquor
(Jeungryu-ju)Fortified Liquor
(Gwaha-ju)Infused Liquor
(Honseong-ju)Brewing Stages
Historical recipe tables distinguish the first foundation from later additions. Preserve the order and number of additions without assuming that more stages always produce a particular flavor.
Bit-gi (빚기)
A brewing step. Depending on the recipe, it may describe the first mash or a later addition.
Mit-sul (밑술)
Foundation mash. The first liquor prepared as the base for later additions.
Deot-sul (덧술)
Later addition. Ingredients are added to the foundation mash; the source determines which ingredients and why.
| Name | Process | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Bit-gi (빚기) | Brewing step | A general liquor-making step; read the row to identify its role |
| Mit-sul (밑술) | Foundation | The first liquor prepared as the base for subsequent additions |
| Deot-sul (덧술) | First addition | A distinct addition of ingredients to the foundation mash |
| Deot-sul 2 (덧술2) | Second addition | The next addition; keep its sequence and ingredients separate |
| Deot-sul 3 (덧술3) | Third addition | A further addition recorded as its own brewing stage |
Reading rule: record what the source says at each stage. Do not infer the modern brewery's current process from a historical recipe unless the brewery has confirmed that connection.