Baijiu (Chinese: 白酒; pinyin: báijiǔ; lit. 'white (clear) liquor'), or shaojiu (simplified Chinese: 烧酒; traditional Chinese: 燒酒; pinyin: shāojiǔ; lit. 'burning liquor'), is a colorless Chinese liquor typically coming in between 35% and 60% alcohol by volume (ABV).[1][2] Each type of baijiu uses its own type of qū for fermentation to create a distinct and characteristic flavor profile.
Baijiu is a clear liquid usually distilled from fermented sorghum, although other grains may be used; some southeastern Chinese styles may employ rice and glutinous rice while other Chinese varieties may use wheat, barley, millet, or Job's tears (Chinese: 薏苡; pinyin: yìyǐ) in their mash bills. The qū starter culture used in the production of baijiu is usually made from pulverized wheat grain or steamed rice.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
Because of its clarity, baijiu can appear similar to several other East Asian liquors, e.g. Japaneseshōchū (25%) or Koreansoju (20–45%), but it often has a significantly higher alcohol content (35–60%).
^Xiaoqing Mu et al. Solid-State Fermented Alcoholic Beverages, in Chen, Jian, and Yang Zhu, eds. Solid State Fermentation for Foods and Beverages. CRC Press, 2013.
^Wang, H-Y.; et al. (2011). "Characterization and comparison of microbial community of different typical Chinese liquor Daqus by PCR–DGGE". Letters in Applied Microbiology. 53 (2): 134–140. doi:10.1111/j.1472-765x.2011.03076.x. PMID21554340.
^Zheng, Xiao-Wei, et al. "Complex microbiota of a Chinese " Fen" liquor fermentation starter ( Fen- Daqu), revealed by culture-dependent and culture-independent methods." Food microbiology 31.2 (2012): 293–300.