Traditional brewing techniques of distilled liquor (traditional brewing techniques of Wuliangye liquor)

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: traditional brewing techniques of distilled liquor (traditional brewing techniques of Wuliangye liquor)

Applicant: Yibin City, Sichuan Province

Project No.: 927

Project No.: VIII - 144

Time of publication: 2008 (second batch)

Category: traditional art

Region: Sichuan Province

Type: new item

Applicant: Yibin City, Sichuan Province

Protection unit: Sichuan Yibin Wuliangye Group Co., Ltd

Introduction to traditional brewing techniques of distilled liquor (Wuliangye liquor)

Applicant: Yibin City, Sichuan Province

Distilling liquor brewing is to make grains, potatoes and other raw materials rich in starch or sugar into fermented grains (unfiltered liquor) or fermented mash (turbid liquor), and then distill them into liquor. Distilled liquor is white or yellowish transparent, and is commonly known as "Baijiu". Its fragrance is pure, the entrance is soft, sweet and clean, and the alcohol content is high. According to the use of raw materials and saccharifying starter, there will be different brewing techniques of Daqu, Xiaoqu and bran Qu when distilling liquor. The materials of distilled liquor are mainly grain, which can be divided into sorghum liquor and corn liquor. Sorghum has high starch content and moderate protein content, which is the best for making distilled liquor. According to flavor type, distilled liquor can be divided into Maotai flavor type, Qingxiang type, Luzhou flavor type, rice flavor type, Fuxiang type and so on. Distilled liquor, called "Shaojiu" and "mellow liquor" in ancient times, was originally evolved from rice wine with low alcohol content. It was formed in Song Dynasty and has a history of more than 800 years. China's distilled liquor is mainly produced in Sichuan, Guizhou, Henan, Hebei, Shenyang, Jilin, Beijing and other regions. The formation of its brewing technology is closely related to the local grain (rich in sorghum), climate (cold or humid), water quality and living customs.

Yibin City is located in the south of Sichuan Province. The local liquor making industry has a long history, which began from the Song Dynasty. Wuliangye liquor brewing technology was produced in Yibin, and has been developing and inheriting up to now.

Wuliangye, which is characterized by the brewing of coarse cereals, can be traced back to "yaozixuequ" in Song Dynasty. Around the Ming Dynasty, Chen opened wendefeng distillery in Yibin, where he worked as a winemaker himself. After several explorations, he founded "Chen's secret recipe". In the early years of the Republic of China, Deng Zijun inherited the "Chen's secret recipe" and adjusted the formula many times to make it more scientific and reasonable. The traditional brewing technology of Wuliangye is based on the "Chen's secret recipe" of reasonable proportion of sorghum, rice, glutinous rice, wheat and corn. The whole production process is composed of more than 100 processes including koji making, brewing source and blending. In 1915, Wuliangye won the gold medal at the Panama Pacific International Exposition in the United States, and has been famous all over the world ever since. In 2006, Wuliangye won the title of the first batch of "China time honored brands" issued by the Ministry of Commerce.

The special and complex traditional brewing techniques of Wuliangye liquor have concentrated the essence of many traditional folk brewing techniques. Even today, this traditional process still has its irreplaceable value and is an important part of our wine culture.