W

e’ve all heard of hops and malts for beer production, although we’ve probably never seen them in real life. With rice it is the opposite — most of us living in Indonesia have seen different types of rice in various shapes and servings. But do we know how to convert rice into rice wine?

Brem, a brownish liquor with a 5 percent alcohol content, is a popular rice wine in Bali. Not only used for pleasure, it has a religious significance, for brem, together with arak and tuak, are compulsory elements for tabuhan (offering) to the Gods.

Unique to Bali, brem has recently become an export commodity to Japan and China, popular because of its taste, aroma and distinctive color — qualities influenced by the uniqueness of its production.

The process starts with cooking white and black glutinous rice together, which give brem its brown color. It must be cooked with the right amount of water — not enough will result in dry kernels, too much will dilute the rice, making it impossible to ferment.

The mixture is then spread on a stainless-steel table and kept cool and dry for several hours, after which enzymes are added to convert the starch into sugars. From there, the yeast will start to ferment.

The batch is then pressed between a balloon and mesh, which forces the juice to flow. It is collected and allowed to ferment further for up to 15 days until the desired alcohol content is reached. After one to two years of aging, the brem will then be ready for bottling and consumption.

Many brem factories still practice traditional methods of production, says Gunawan from Fa. Udiyana, the producers of Dewi Sri Brem and Arak Bali. “We try to be modern, but we still keep some of our old tradition in production,” he says.

He added that the company still collects and manually cleans used bottles to be environmentally friendly and provide work, he says.

Locals and workers will often enjoy a bottle of cold brem after a long, hot day in the distillery. As they say in Bali, it is best enjoyed with friends.