Here comes draft ‘makgeolli’ to go
Korea Times
06-21-2010 18:24
Staff reporter
The conventional image of drinkers of “makgeolli” is that they tend to have Korea’s traditional rice wine all day long in an old-fashioned restaurant, in particular on wet weather, together with some side dishes.
As the milky white alcohol gains popularity even among young adults, however, people are consuming it like a Starbucks coffee ― Domestic manufacturers have brought out a takeout version of makgeolli.
Baesangmyun Brewery, the maker of one of the leading brands of makgeolli, said that it has opened a micro-brewery in southern Seoul around its head office where visitors can buy and take out fresh makgeolli.
The Seoul-based outfit plants to establish around 10 more miniature breweries at the capital by the end of 2010 where the takeout makgeolli will go on sale just like the Starbucks outlets.
“We will rebuild breweries just like those a century ago. They will represent culture regarding Korean alcoholic beverages,” company CEO Bae Young-ho told a press conference. “Furthermore, we plan to introduce environmentally-friendly manufacturing processes, which require minimum use of water while enabling the recycling of some by-products.”
Bae added that it would release third-generation makgeolli, which will last about one month and a half. Currently, the expiry date of the thick rice wine is around a week and this has been touted as the biggest downside of makgeolli.
Makgeolli had been the go-to alcohol for ordinary Koreans for so long thanks to its rich taste and affordable price before its popularity waned in modern times due to West alcoholic beverages such as beer and spirits.
Yet, Koreans seemingly found a fresh attraction to makgeolli in the mid 2000s after producers started to use higher quality ingredients to overcome the drawback of terrible hangovers the day after a drinking session.
The Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries estimates that the makgeolli market rocketed from 300 billion won ($249.5 million) in 2008 to about 420 billion won last year.
Its exports also expanded from $2.9 million in 2007 to $4.4 million in 2008 and $6.2 million last year despite the global financial distress. The upward pace is expected to continue for the time being, according to market watchers.
The ministry proposed the cloudy wine as an official beverage of the G-20 summit for this November although it remains to be seen whether it would be picked as such at the high-profile gathering.