Woodinville’s Rainbrew Is One of many Nation’s Solely Makgeolli Tasting Rooms

Tucked behind a ironmongery shop and hidden in a nondescript warehouse park in Woodinville is the Pacific Northwest’s first Korean rice wine brewery, and solely the second makgeolli tasting room within the nation.

Makgeolli is a brewed, unfiltered Korean rice alcohol typically known as “rice wine.” It’s historically manufactured from steamed rice, water, and nuruk, a mixture of enzymes, yeasts, and micro organism that kick-start fermentation. The beverage has been round for hundreds of years, and although it’s undergone one thing of a renaissance in Korea within the final decade, it’s nonetheless comparatively unusual within the U.S. (Pioneer Sq. steakhouse Girin, which closed in 2019, was identified for making its personal makgeolli.) Makgeolli is shiny and often dry, with a creamy, cooling texture and yogurty acidity. In artisanal kinds, you may get notes like inexperienced apple, Asian pear, white flowers, pine nuts, and a nice bitterness.

In case you’ve had imported makgeolli, you nearly actually haven’t had the actual factor. It’s historically unpasteurized, making it troublesome to import. Ingesting native is one of the best ways to expertise true makgeolli; for Washingtonians, this gorgeous a lot means going to Rainbrew.

Rainbrew, based in 2021, is run by simply three folks: Peter Jung, his sister Sophia, and their mother Jooyun. The household has been within the Seattle space for 3 generations, and Rainbrew is their first enterprise into the beverage world. “When it rains, folks have makgeolli, and we’re from the wet metropolis. We love our residence. That’s why it’s known as Rainbrew.” Made merely with conventional substances, Rainbrew’s drinks are dynamic and unpasteurized, making them an ideal introduction to the model. (Whereas the phrase makgeolli technically refers solely to the cloudy, glowing model, the Jungs use it to check with all the rice wine class, following the lead of Hana Makgeolli in Brooklyn.)

Rainbrew

Rainbrew

If makgeolli is a rainy-day drink, it solely is sensible that the Rainbrew tasting room is a wet day haven. The inside house is heat and stylish, lined with wooden panels, customized ceramics, and touches of greenery. “We needed to go together with a design that wasn’t too overtly Korean/Asian however nonetheless paid homage to our Korean tradition,” Sophia says. “Since we’re in a warehouse house, we needed to ensure our house was nonetheless heat and alluring.” Their customized ceramics have been made by Chui Chui, a ceramicist primarily based in Korea. Jooyun, the household matriarch, met with the designer over the course of six months to develop their cups, which function the Rainbrew brand.

The tasting room sells Rainbrew’s full line of sool, or Korean alcoholic drinks, together with an unique pour of their naturally carbonated glowing makgeolli. The group hasn’t found out one of the best ways to bottle it but, so for now, a visit to Woodinville is the one solution to get a style. The bar additionally presents modern makgeolli-based cocktails, together with a scrumptious play on a Moscow mule, with selfmade ginger syrup contrasting the creamy rice wine.

The house has a trim meals menu highlighting anju, a Korean time period for “meals meant to be served with drinks,” together with conventional Korean dishes and mash-ups like a kimchi quesadilla. “The rule of thumb [for pairing food with makgeolli] is any mixture of spicy, fried, and seafood,” says Sophia. “It’s the textures and the spice of these three issues that the flavors and the mouthfeel of Korean rice wine actually complement.” The Jungs additionally really helpful pairing Thai, Mexican (suppose horchata), or Ethiopian cuisines with their makgeolli, which you should buy at their bottle store.

Rainbrew

Although soju is the world’s most well-known sool, old-school makgeolli has began making a comeback. “I believe a problem is that there isn’t a marketplace for it, actually, outdoors of Koreans,” in line with Peter. However to him, that is additionally a chance. “We will reinvent it in America, and a part of that’s we are able to clarify it how we need to, particularly this concept about freshness and locality.”

Native bar managers are captivated with this reinvention. “Most friends are fully unfamiliar with makgeolli. I really like introducing friends to it [as] one of many oldest fermented drinks on the planet,” says Kary Calabrese of Joule, one in every of Rainbrew’s first consumers. Calabrese significantly likes to share the potential well being advantages from this fermented, unfiltered drink. “What a win, proper? Right here’s a beverage that’s tremendous wholesome and with alcohol. Once I speak to my friends about it that method, they’re all in.”

Rainbrew’s tasting room, at 12826 Northeast 178th Road Suite C in Woodinville, is open on Friday from 5 to 10 and Saturday to Sunday from 3 to eight p.m., with no reservations required. There’s a 21+ bar space, and an all-ages normal eating space.