What are the factors that affect the price of Maotai-flavor liquor?

1. Maotai-flavor liquor is complicated to brew.

Dr Wu Tianxiang from the School of Brewing and Food Engineering of Guizhou University said that the real maotai-flavor liquor is produced once a year, with two feeds, eight fermentations and seven distillations. After the third round, no new raw materials were added, but the starch content in fermented grains was high due to the coarse crushing of raw materials. With the increase of fermentation rounds, starch was gradually consumed until the end of eight fermentations, and the starch content in distiller's grains was still about 10%.

The amount of Daqu used for maotai-flavor liquor fermentation is very high, and the ratio of the total amount of Daqu to the total amount of raw materials is as high as 1: 1. The amount of Daqu added in each round of fermentation should be adjusted according to the temperature change, starch content and liquor quality. Low temperature, high temperature, low usage, basically controlled at about 10% of the feed, in which the third, fourth and fifth rounds can be added more, and the sixth, seventh and eighth rounds can reduce the usage of music.

In the production, the fermented grains steamed each time should be cooled and fermented for 4-5 days. The purpose is to renew and enrich the microorganisms in fermented grains, and to further propagate the mold, thermophilic Bacillus and yeast in Daqu, thus playing the role of secondary koji making. When the temperature of the accumulated products reaches 45-50℃, the microorganisms have flourished and then moved into the cellar for fermentation, so that the brewing microorganisms occupy the dominant position and the fermentation can be carried out normally, which is a characteristic of Maotai-flavor liquor production.

Due to the large amount of alcohol recovered, the alcohol content of fermented grains reached about 2%(v/v) when entering the cellar, which played a cumulative role in inhibiting the growth and reproduction of harmful microorganisms and made the produced wine soft and mellow.

The production pit of maotai-flavor liquor, which represents Laimao liquor, is made of square stone and clay, and has a large volume. Firewood must be used to burn the cellar before it is put into production every year, so as to kill the miscellaneous bacteria in the cellar, remove the smell of dead grain and raise the temperature of the cellar. Each cellar uses about 50- 100 kilograms of firewood. After burning the cellar, when the temperature drops slightly, sweep away the ashes, sprinkle a small amount and throw it at the bottom of the cellar, and then clean it again. Then spray about 7.5kg of secondary wine tasting and sprinkle about 15kg of Daqu powder to nourish and activate caproic acid bacteria contained in the cellar bottom. After the above treatment, it can be put into use.

Because the position of fermented grains in the wine cellar is different, the quality of wine is also different. Distilled raw wine can be basically divided into three types, namely, mellow and sweet type, maotai-flavor type and cellar bottom flavor type.

Maotai-flavor liquor is the main component that determines the quality of Maotai-flavor liquor, which is mostly produced by fermented grains in the pit and at the top of the pit, while cellar-flavor liquor is produced by fermented grains near pit mud at the bottom of the pit. Sweet original wine is brewed by fermented grains in the cellar.

2. Maotai-flavor wine has a long storage time

In the production of Maotai-flavor liquor, all kinds of original liquor obtained by distillation should be stored separately in containers and aged for three years to make the liquor mellow and soft. The original wine stored for three years should be blended into small samples, then blended in large scale and stored for another year. Only after passing the management inspection and evaluation, can it be packaged and delivered from the factory.

3. High temperature fermentation of Maotai-flavor Daqu

Definition of Daqu: A saccharifying leaven containing a variety of bacteria is made from wheat, barley and peas as the main raw materials, which are crushed, added with water, pressed into brick-shaped koji embryo, enriched and expanded by natural microorganisms at a certain temperature and humidity, and then air-dried.

Types of Daqu:

High-temperature koji-making: The temperature of high-temperature koji-making products is above 60℃. The notable feature of koji-making technology is the production of Maoxiang-type koji wine by high-temperature "stacking koji".

Medium-temperature koji-making: The temperature of high-temperature koji-making products shall not exceed 50℃. The notable feature of koji-making technology is that it pays attention to "arranging" the production of fen-flavor koji wine.

High temperature Daqu: Daqu with a temperature of about 55-60℃. Used for producing Luzhou-flavor liquor.

4. Red tassel sorghum, a specialty of Maotai Town.

Red tassel sorghum, commonly known as Hongliang, is an organic waxy sorghum specialty in Maotai Town. It is the raw material of Maotai-flavor liquor in Maotai Town. It is precisely because of it that Maotai Town Maotai-flavor liquor has a pure Maotai-flavor. This kind of red beam can only be planted in the unique water, soil and climate environment of Maotai Town, which is one of the reasons why Maotai-flavor wine is sexual. Local red sorghum is different from other sorghum, with small particles, thin skin and full particles, which can withstand repeated cooking. The locals call it "sand". It is precisely because of these characteristics of red sorghum that the soul craft of Khun Sa Maotai-flavor wine can be achieved: nine times cooking and seven times taking wine.