[Gu Eun-mo's Sake Story] Jisiul Brewery Crafts Flower-like Liquor Full of Unique Aroma

<11> Gangwon Chuncheon 'Jisiul Brewery'①

Brewing Liquor for Father, Falling for the Charm of Traditional Liquor
Decided to Establish Brewery for a Life Without Regrets
Baekhwaju Made with Hwajeonilchi Baekhwa and Gwahaju Methods

Seoam Saeon Hwasang called himself “the protagonist!” every day and then answered himself with “Yes!” Rule 12, ‘Amhwanjuin (庵喚主人)’

Seoaam Saeon (瑞巖 師彦·850~910), a monk from the late Tang Dynasty in China, started each day by calling himself ‘the protagonist (主人公)’ and answering himself. Seoam’s daily affirmation of being the protagonist was because living each day as the protagonist and attaining enlightenment to become a Buddha were not different.

The term ‘Hwaeom (華嚴)’ refers to the ideal world dreamed of by Mahayana Buddhism. Hwaeom comes from ‘Japhwaeomsik (雜華嚴飾),’ meaning to decorate magnificently with all kinds of flowers, and it also represents a magnificent scene where countless flowers bloom, each affirming its own life. A world full of lives living as protagonists themselves, not as supporting roles or slaves to others, is the Hwaeom world.

To be reborn as the protagonist like the fully bloomed flowers of the Hwaeom world, one must walk their own path. Only then can one confidently answer “Yes!” to the call of “Protagonist!” The place where a brewer, who started brewing to confidently answer the call of the protagonist, creates uniquely fragrant, flower-like liquor is ‘Jisiul Brewery.’

The Path of a Brewer Encountered at the Crossroads of Seeking Joy and Fun

Everyone has a turning point in life. For some, it is meeting or parting with a precious person; for others, it is life cycle events such as getting a job, marriage, or childbirth. For Yu Soyoung, CEO of Jisiul Brewery, it was her son’s university admission. Her son skated. To support him, Yu took the highway, traveling back and forth between Chuncheon and Seoul for six years, covering 320,000 kilometers. It was hard work, but since her son enjoyed and excelled at it, she endured it happily.

Her son entered the university he wanted, and Yu felt a sense of liberation?from the obligation that had been weighing on her. She told her children to live doing joyful and fun things. While money is important in life, time is even more so, so one must live each day joyfully and enjoyably, she said repeatedly. But she herself had not lived that way. So she began searching?for ways to live joyfully and things that could bring happiness.

In fact, the advice to live joyfully doing what one wants was something Yu often heard from her father. Rather than imposing his opinions with authority, Yu’s father was someone who advised and waited for his daughter to think for herself and move in the right direction. To her, her father was a life mentor and standard. She tried to be a good daughter in his eyes but had few occasions to truly express her feelings to please him.

Jisiul Brewery's 'Hwajeon Ilchwi' product line.

Named after the Old Name ‘Jisiul’ of Hyeonam-ri, Seomyeon, Chuncheon-si, Gangwon

Then, traditional liquor caught her eye. Yu recalled, “Gathering with friends and having a drink was a great joy for my father,” and “I thought it would be wonderful to learn well and brew good liquor for his birthday table.” She then visited the Korea Traditional Liquor Research Institute. There, she learned from Park Rokdam, the patriarch of the traditional liquor industry who restored hundreds of traditional liquors based on old documents.

It took three years to complete all the courses at the institute, from home-brewing to specialty liquor and old document courses. Yu was always joyful while learning. She found it fascinating that each liquor brewed by different methods had its own charm, and she appreciated her teacher’s sincerity toward traditional liquor. Yu laughed, “At first, I brewed 4 to 8 kilograms of rice, but later it increased to one mal and two mal.”

Her teacher, who was sparing with praise, could not help but notice Yu’s growing passion and skill in brewing. He praised her liquor as “nothing could be better” and encouraged her to establish a brewery. Although she had no intention of commercial brewing, she thought that opportunities to choose what one wants to do in life are rare, which changed her mind.

Yu said, “Brewing liquor was so enjoyable that I would check the liquor I brewed every night,” and “Finding such a joyful thing is rare in life, and if I let the opportunity pass by without seizing it, I would regret it later.”

Thus, she opened the brewery in August 2020 and introduced her first liquor in October that year. The name Jisiul comes from the old name of Hyeonam-ri, Seomyeon, Chuncheon-si, Gangwon, where Yu was born and raised and where the brewery is located.

At Jisiul Brewery, the fermented liquor is placed in Onggi earthenware and aged at low temperatures.

Hwa Jeon Il Chwi Baekhwa... Pursuing Subtle Floral Fragrance and Deep Elegance

All liquors brewed at Jisiul Brewery are released under the name ‘Hwa Jeon Il Chwi (花前一醉).’ Hwa Jeon Il Chwi is a phrase from the poem ‘Nongga Wolryeongga (農家月令歌)’ written by Confucian scholar Jeong Hak-yu, son of Dasan Jeong Yak-yong, meaning “You are a flower, and the flower is a flower; let us get drunk together before the flowers.”

The foundational liquor among Hwa Jeon Il Chwi liquors is the yakju (refined rice wine) called ‘Hwa Jeon Il Chwi 15.’ All other liquors, including the takju (unfiltered rice wine) ‘Hwa Jeon Il Chwi 12,’ distilled soju ‘Hwa Jeon Il Chwi 38·52,’ and gwaha-ju ‘Hwa Jeon Il Chwi 18 Baekhwa,’ are made based on this liquor. Hwa Jeon Il Chwi 15 is made using the two-stage brewing method (iyangju), where steamed rice from Chuncheon is mixed with nuruk (traditional fermentation starter) for the base mash, and glutinous rice steamed rice is added for the second fermentation. After about 100 days of fermentation, it undergoes low-temperature aging in earthenware pots for over two months.

This yakju has a rich aroma, low acidity, and subtle umami. Yu said, “The basic yakju must come out well for the takju and soju to be good,” and “To make liquor with a good aroma, we make the base mash with steamed rice and use less nuruk to reduce the nuruk scent.” In Korean traditional liquor, even when using the same rice, the taste, aroma, and alcohol content vary depending on the processing form such as porridge, baekseolgi (steamed rice cake), rice cake with holes, steamed rice mash, or steamed rice. Yu chose steamed rice mash to impart relatively higher alcohol content and sharper aroma.

If Hwa Jeon Il Chwi 15 is the backbone of Jisiul Brewery, the representative liquor that best expresses the brewery’s identity is the gwaha-ju Hwa Jeon Il Chwi 18 Baekhwa. Gwaha-ju (過夏酒) means ‘liquor that passes the summer’ and is also called ‘Sitting-bang-i liquor’ due to its high alcohol content. Gwaha-ju is made by adding distilled soju to fermented liquor and then fermenting and aging it again to increase the alcohol content. Because it has a higher alcohol content than regular fermented liquor, it does not spoil even in the high temperatures of summer and can be stored for a long time. Its brewing method is similar to fortified wines like Portugal’s port wine, and under Korean liquor tax law, it is classified as a mixed liquor.

Hwa Jeon Il Chwi 18 Baekhwa is made by adding distilled soju and various flowers to the mash brewed by the Hwa Jeon Il Chwi method. Yu explained, “Gwaha-ju is one of the most frequently mentioned liquors in old Korean documents and was enjoyed by noble families,” and “We faithfully reproduced the old traditional method, focusing on creating elegant aroma and taste by adding a large amount of soju and flowers.”

Hwa Jeon Il Chwi 18 Baekhwa is also a baekhwa-ju (百花酒), meaning ‘hundred flowers liquor,’ named because it is made by adding 100 kinds of flowers. Various flowers are used during the brewing process to spread a subtle floral fragrance throughout the liquor. Hwa Jeon Il Chwi 18 Baekhwa contains 22 types of flowers, including peony, plum blossom, peach blossom, chrysanthemum, lotus, rose, and wild rose. Yu grows all the flowers herself, picking each flower bud by hand when it blooms and drying them for use. It is a labor-intensive process. Although more than twenty kinds of flowers are included, no single floral scent dominates in Hwa Jeon Il Chwi 18 Baekhwa. When sipped, a subtle floral fragrance lingers in the mouth. Yu said, “That is the character of our liquor.”

Hwa Jeon Il Chwi 18 Baekhwa is the realization of Yu’s dream of baekhwa-ju that she held throughout her brewing journey. The moment she received the name Hwa Jeon Il Chwi from her teacher Park Rokdam, this liquor was destined to be introduced to the world. She said, “Hwa Jeon Il Chwi 18 Baekhwa is the liquor that best suits the name Hwa Jeon Il Chwi and best represents our brewery,” and “I hope to share fragrant times with flower-like people and soft, sweet liquor.”