Now In Korea
K-Rice Festa Showcases Diverse Korean Rice Spirits and Products
Creatrip Team
3 months ago
The ‘Our Rice Our Liquor K-Rice Festa’ runs from Oct 28–30 at KINTEX in Goyang to promote domestic rice and rice-based beverages. Hosted by the NongHyup (농협), the event features about 200 rice-made alcoholic beverages — including distilled spirits, makgeolli (traditional Korean rice beer), and cheongju (clear rice wine) — plus rice-processed foods and wines made from Korean produce. Programs include talks by traditional liquor experts, a makgeolli brewing experience, contests, and tastings.
Notable breweries and recommended drinks at the festival:
- Osan Brewery’s “Yul”: a premium cheongju honoring General Kwon Yul, praised for its sweet, nutty, and deep aroma. Osan produces various rice drinks like Osan Makgeolli and the Doksan series. (Osan is a town in Gyeonggi Province)
- Wolgwang Brewery’s “Dalmak13”: a takju (unfiltered rice wine/makgeolli-type) with melon notes and smooth finish; despite its 13% ABV it drinks easily, so caution advised. Also known for distilled spirits “Wolgwang22” and “Wolgwang42.”
- On Distillery’s “Brown Owl”: an oak-aged rice distillate (originally “Hyeonghyeong 58”) matured in ruby port casks for about 2.5 years, bottled recently at 56.4% ABV. The booth also offers the clean “Hyeonghyeong” series and sesame-flavored “Yeonyeon.” (cask-aging and paid tastings available)
- Beomgye Brewery’s “Beomgye Takju 5”: a low-alcohol (5%) option for lighter drinking, plus variants like dill-infused “Dillimon Takju” and grape-juice cheongju “Anyang Yeonhwa.” (Beomgye is in Anyang)
- Songdohyang’s “Mukri”: a 50% ABV distilled sweet potato spirit with strong, lingering savory-sweet flavors; the name “Mukri” references an old name for Goguryeo from the 7th century.
Other offerings include aged makgeolli from TheDam, premium cheongju from Seoul Brewery, Halla-san’s premium distillate, Hwayo special editions, wines like Krate from Sudosan Winery, and apple-scented makgeolli. The festival is a good chance to taste a wide range of high-quality Korean rice spirits and related products.
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