The Korean alcoholic beverage made from rice and often cloudy is makgeolli. This milky, lightly sparkling drink is brewed from rice, water, and nuruk, a Korean fermentation starter that supplies enzymes and microorganisms. Those enzymes break rice starch into sugars, which yeast then converts into alcohol.
Makgeolli usually contains about 6–9% alcohol by volume. Its cloudy, off-white appearance comes from fine rice particles and sediment that remain after fermentation. Before drinking, people commonly swirl or gently invert the bottle to mix the settled material back into the liquid. The flavor can be mildly sweet, tangy, bitter, and creamy.
Rice wine has been made on the Korean Peninsula for centuries. During the Goryeo dynasty, a related rice wine was called ihwaju, or “pear-blossom alcohol,” because it was brewed around the pear-blossom season. Makgeolli was traditionally associated with farmers and rural communities and was sometimes called nongju, meaning “farmer’s wine.”
Makgeolli is often confused with soju, but the two drinks are quite different. Soju is a clear distilled spirit, while makgeolli is an opaque fermented beverage. It is frequently served with Korean pancakes such as pajeon, especially during rainy weather.