Rice wine Part 1: Mi-Jiu 米酒

Taiwan, being the land of rice riches since even before the Qing era, rice wine [米酒MiJiu] was a natural byproduct. In fact, many old Taiwanese customs steeped deeply in this home brew. For example, to stimulate hair growth of a new-born, ginger slices dipped in rice wine were used to rub the baby's scalp. During the Dragon Boat Festival端午節, the character "王" was written on a child's forehead - to ward off evil spirits - with 雄黃 (realgar) dissolved in rice wine. After giving birth, rice wine not only was a cleanser for the mother's body but also for preparing chicken soup rich in blood-regenerating components, especially 當歸 (danggui, Angelica's root). And a cup of rice wine was always offered to guests arriving from China as a gesture of welcome.

The old way was no more complicated than introducing 酒麯 (wine koji) into steam-cooked Zhailai rice - known therefore as the Zhailai method, and hoped for the best. Sometimes when things went wrong, then instead of wine, vinegar was the product.

The famed Red-label Taiwan Rice Wine starts out with Penglai Brown Rice (蓬萊糙米), through fermentation, then the crucial step of distillation to obtain up to 11% alcohol (v/v).

Source: http://taipics.com/alcohol.php

Before the taxation of alcohol beverages started during the early Japanese colonial rule (of which 60% were rice wine), there were around 1,000 wine makers of various sizes. This number dwindled to 200 after taxation. And in 1922, the national tobacco and alcohol monopoly act went into effect thus ending the private enterprise era.

In 1927, a new way of making rice wine, the Amylo method, was borrowed from a factory located on the outskirts of Saigon and widely applied for mass production back in Taiwan in 1931.

The Amylo method entails the following: First, mix rice, water and hydrochloric acid, and cook the mixture under high temperature and high pressure until liquefaction. After cooling, add Rhizopus delemar to break down the polysaccharides (i.e., starch) and Saccharomyces (yeast) to produce alcohol, both done at 36C. The fermentation takes only 8-9 days.

Initially, there were Rice Wine Nos 1 to 3 with increasing alcohol content. The 20.5 proof No 2 was re-named 赤標米酒 which became the predecessor of the post-war Red-label Taiwan Rice Wine (see bottle label above). Blending remains a secret; although the formula appears to be [raw rice wine]:[molasses alcohol] = 6:4. At one point in the mid 1940s, the ratio was changed to 4:6 owing to a war time and post-war rice shortage. Increasing the molasses alcohol content further, through blending, then it became 太白酒 (Taibai wine, below), the least expensive, hence very popular rice wine in Taiwan.

Source: http://taipics.com/alcohol.php
The slogans in red were typically seen in the 1950s.

The tobacco and alcohol monopoly law continued after 1945, until abolished in 1987 when Taiwan joined the WTO. The National T&A Bureau 菸酒公賣局 has lost its market share since: Tobacco products are down to less than 30% share and the most popular Taiwan Beer, to less than 70% (2014 data). With the increasing prosperity and changing tastes, 80% of Taiwan Rice Wine are now used, somewhat wastefully, as cooking wine. And 太白酒 and many other Taiwan monopoly brands are long gone.