Takju is also called “makgeolli,” though most drinkers use the term to refer to the watered-down takjus between 6% and 8% ABV. Pick them up in the duty free or a local soju seller near you. But if you’re headed to Korea-especially with the 2018 Winter Olympics coming up in PyeongChang-get ready to drink, because this is your list of essential Korean rice brews. Girin restaurant in Seattle and Hana Makgeolli and Mākoli in New York are brewing up takju, while Tōkki Soju distills a smooth, airy soju over in Brooklyn. ![]() Korean traditional rice brewing is just starting to make inroads here in the United States. Soju is clear and bright, and can range from the high teens to just over 50% ABV. Take yakju, distill it, and you’ve got soju. If you let the sediment in takju settle and siphon off the clear liquid on top, you get yakju, a premium brew, the kind of drink that the aristocracy would save for holidays and guests. The first straining gives you takju, a cloudy brew that ranges from 6% to 16% ABV. (Yes, “ju” means “alcohol.”) All three come from basically the same brewing process: Rice is fermented with a wheat cake called nuruk, a fermentation starter that contains yeasts and molds, and lends traditional brews their characteristic funk (think natural wines). ![]() There are three umbrellas that these rice brews fall under: takju, yakju, and soju. ![]() But there’s a quiet renaissance underway on the peninsula that is reviving traditional rice brewing, a centuries-old practice that fell by the wayside during Korea’s tumultuous 20th century. If you’ve ever gone out for Korean barbecue or watched Anthony Bourdain’s excursions to Seoul, you’re familiar with the requisite green bottle soju and fizzy, mild beer drank between mouthfuls of grilled meat.
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