Jiuqu (simplified Chinese: 酒曲; traditional Chinese: 酒麴; pinyin: jiǔ qū) are fermentation starters used in the production of traditional Chinese alcoholic beverages such as Shaoxing wine or Maotai. [1] Also known as a "starter cake" (Chinese: 麴餅; pinyin: qū bǐng) or "liquor medicine" (酒藥, 酒药; pinyin: jiǔ yaò), Jiuqu consists of a complex mixture of various yeasts, molds, and bacteria which are cultured on a grain substrate and typically sold and stored in the form of dried cakes or powders.
Each brewery uses a different type of starter cake that was made at their facilities from previous starter cultures, which are handed down from generation to generation. Larger factories often use pure cultures of each organism in a starter instead of the actual cakes themselves.
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Jiuqu is ground and applied directly in the form of a dry powder to cooked grain to start fermentation. Although the manufacturing process requires only one type of starter for fermentation, many Chinese alcoholic beverages are brewed their liquors from two of more types of starters for added complexity in flavour.[2]
Part of the fermentation converts the grain starches to simple sugars such as maltose or glucose through saccrification and the grain proteins into smaller protein fragments or free amino acids. The second portion of the fermentation converts the sugars produced during saccrification into ethanol. Some starters also contain cultures to acidify the grain mixture through lactic fermentation.[2]
There are three main types of Jiuqu, each used for specific types of Chinese alcoholic drinks. Huangjiu, the class of fermented Chinese beverage, can incorporate one or several of the starters with the combined used of Xiaoqu and Daqu being most common. In contrast, Baijiu, a distilled beverage, uses only Daqu.[2] Each of the Jiuqu also contain their distinctive mixes of microorganisms that breakdown the starches, oils, and proteins from the grains, and also contributes in secondary fermentation of ethanol and the fragrance compounds in the grains. [3]
Xiaoqu or "small starter" (Chinese: 小麴, 小曲; pinyin: xiǎo qū) is rice that had been cultured predominantly by molds of the Rhizopus (Chinese: 小麴菌, pinyin: xiǎo qū jùn or 根霉菌, pinyin: gēn meí jùn) and Mucor (Chinese: 毛霉菌, pinyin: maó meí jùn) genus, as well as yeast and other bacteria. The mixture generates less heat, so they are mostly used in the tropical South of China.
Daqu or "large starter" (Chinese: 大麴, 大曲; pinyin: dà qū, or 麥麴, 麦曲; pinyin: maì qū) is wheat that had been cultured predominantly by Aspergillus oryzae (Chinese: 麴菌, 麴霉菌, 曲霉菌, pinyin: qū meí jùn, Japanese: 麹菌, koji-kin) , other molds, yeast, and bacteria. Almost all famous alcoholic drinks in China use this starter. Wine made from a small starter is usually finished using large starters for flavor.
Hongqu or "red starter" (Chinese: 紅麴, 红曲; pinyin: hóng qū)is rice that had been cultured with yeast and Monascus purpureus (Chinese: 紅曲菌, pinyin: hóng qū jùn) or other red rice molds of the Monascus genus. This starter gives the wine a purple red colour and is used to give wines a unique colour and flavour.