[Explanation] Recently, the reporter came to the core brewery area of Tianyoude, Huzhu County, Qinghai Province, and visited the technology and production process of brewing highland barley wine with an ancient method that has been passed down for nearly 600 years.
Huzhu County, Qinghai Province, located in the eastern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, is the largest production base of highland barley wine in China, with a 4,000-year history of highland barley brewing.
Huzhu County has an average altitude of 2,600 meters, an annual average temperature of 3.5°C, and annual sunshine hours of 2,670 hours. The temperature difference between day and night is large, with sufficient sunshine and abundant water resources.
There is no severe cold in winter, no hot summer in summer, the natural ecological balance, and the natural environment in the basin provide favorable geographical conditions for the brewing of highland barley wine.
[Explanation] In the brewing production workshop, the brewers are spreading the raw and auxiliary materials evenly with shovels, and putting them into a steamer for steaming.
The traditional brewing technique of ancient highland barley wine mainly refers to the unique traditional brewing technique of "steaming, clearing, burning and clearing for four times", that is, steaming of raw materials, steaming of auxiliary materials, clearing of lees and fermentation, steaming of flowing wine, and four clearing operations of fermentation in a granite cellar craft.
This craft integrates the brewing techniques of multiple nationalities and regions, and has a long history of inheritance.
[Same period] Zhang Tianjun, director of research and development of the brewing department of Qinghai Huzhu Tianyoude Highland Barley Wine Co., Ltd.
What is important here is to feed grain once and cook four times.
Among them, the big, two, three and four wines have their own characteristics.
Based on the four seasons and the twenty-four solar terms as another standard, we have formulated a Tianniang process, which will produce a total of 64 kinds of base wines. varieties.
Through these types of base wines, we have laid a foundation for the blending of our highland barley wine.
[Explanation] The traditional brewing technique of the ancient highland barley wine combines the right time, the right place, and the harmony of people.
Different from the tradition of "no wine brewing in summer" in mainland China, Qinghai Huzhu Highland Barley Wine is a rare baijiu product in China that is brewed continuously for 365 days.
Each round of fermentation cycle is 80 days, divided into 4? fermentation, 4 times a year, 4 rounds of fermentation, 16? fermentation.
[Same period] Zhang Tianjun, director of research and development of the brewing department of Qinghai Huzhu Tianyoude Highland Barley Wine Co., Ltd.
The time for leaving the warehouse must reach a storage period of more than three years. After the storage is completed, it is to be taken out of the warehouse.
Of course, this (production process) also includes some of our tests, (in total) more than a thousand process tests.
[Explanation] Qinghai Huzhu stores raw wine through pottery altars, wine seas, and stainless steel to improve the quality.
Chinese liquor is rich in aroma substances, while overseas liquor is rich in alcohol substances.
Among them, highland barley wine, as a light-flavored liquor, is more suitable for blending cocktails than other flavored liquors in China.
In order to open up overseas markets, Tianyoude tried to use highland barley wine as the base wine, and through a series of processes such as storage in oak barrels and sherry barrels, to brew highland barley whiskey.
By improving the ingredients and distillation process, it has achieved the reduction of aroma and the increase of alcohol substances to satisfy the taste buds of overseas consumers.
[Concurrent] Qinghai Huzhu Tianyoude Highland Barley Wine Co., Ltd. Guo Guoxian, researcher of wine body, technical quality center
Highland barley whiskey is a new bright spot, and (in recent years) we have started its research and development work.
There is actually quite a lot of basic work for (research and development) work. We start with the types of oak barrels, such as bourbon barrels, French barrels, and Sherry barrels (for research and development), and through the aging of different varieties of experiments, through A certain proportion of blending produces our three new whiskey products, and currently the three whiskey products have been successfully launched.
[Explanation] As the Spring Festival is approaching, highland barley wine is an indispensable "single product" on the New Year's Eve dinner table for every household in Qinghai, and its current sales continue to rise.
In a sales point in Huzhu Tu Autonomous County, customers still seal and pour traditional loose wine in accordance with the old local tradition.
In order to prevent the aroma of the wine from evaporating, after the canning is finished, it is often tapped tightly with a mallet for long-term storage.
[Same period] Qiu Yanli, store manager of Qinghai Huzhu Highland Barley Wine Sales Co., Ltd.
Our daily order volume is less than 300 orders, and the sales volume mainly comes from loose wine, which is very popular among the people. We also named the bottled wine this year, which has a good meaning, called Shengshi Ankang, and wish all of us Customer, be healthy.
[Explanation] Since ancient times, wine has been an important link for people to connect with each other.
In Qinghai, highland barley with sharp awns grows and stands out from the rest, and the highland barley wine brewed from it also has a bitter character.
For thousands of years, countless people have drank together, reminiscing about the endlessness of highland barley wine.
Today, with the integration of multiculturalism, highland barley wine is also trying to combine with different flavors, linking the past and the future while exerting its own unique characteristics.
Reporter Chen Qifeng Qinghai mutual aid report
Responsible editor: [Sun Jingbo]