Yakju

Alcoholic beverages of the rice-wine type produced in Korea, the family that includes cheongju, the clear, refined rice wine served on festive and ancestral occasions. They are brewed from rice with nuruk, a traditional starter culture of moulds, yeasts, and lactic acid bacteria that saccharifies the starch and ferments the sugars in parallel. The result is a clear, mildly sweet, aromatic wine quite distinct from Japanese sake despite the shared rice base. Modern Korean brewers balance traditional methods with controlled fermentation, temperature management, and filtration to keep quality consistent while preserving character. Served chilled in small cups, yakju represents Korea’s counterpart to the refined rice-wine traditions of East Asia.