Daqu takes wheat as the main raw material, and sometimes a small amount of peas is added. Generally, the raw materials are first crushed and steamed to make blocks (bricks), and then naturally fermented. The liquor brewed by Daqu has unique flavor and mellow taste. However, in the production of Daqu liquor, the amount of Daqu is usually large, the grain consumption is high, the liquor yield is low and the production cycle is long. Therefore, the production of liquor by Daqu is mostly limited to general high-quality products. The main microorganisms in Daqu are Aspergillus (Aspergillus flavus and a few Aspergillus niger), Acetobacter, Lactic Acid Bacteria and Yeast.

Xiaoqu is made of rice flour, rice bran and Chinese herbal medicine. Its shape is very small, with round cakes, squares or rectangles. About half of the liquor produced in southern provinces is Xiaoqu. Xiaoqu liquor has clear aroma and rice flavor. Use Xiaoqu to drink a lot, use Xiaoqu less, and the alcohol yield is high. Besides brewing white wine, it can also brew yellow wine. Medicinal liquor used to produce Shaoxing wine is actually a kind of ditty.

What is Qujiu?

Qu liquor is a kind of qu medicine mixed with grain in the process of traditional liquor brewing. Daqu is rich in various microorganisms and microbial metabolites. Under the combined action of various microorganisms, grain can be distilled and converted into liquor.

Qu liquor refers to the brewing process, and Qu refers to the grain koji in the brewing process. Generally, wheat is used as raw material and is divided into Daqu, Xiaoqu and bran koji, which has no direct relationship with flavor. Several famous wines generally belong to Daqu liquor. The original koji was moldy or germinated grain, and people improved it to make it suitable for wine making. Because of the different raw materials and production methods, the natural conditions in the producing areas are different, and the varieties of Qu are rich and colorful.

Nowadays, besides famous liquor, pure Daqu liquor is not easy to buy, and it is generally a new type of liquor produced by solid-liquid combination method.