Qu liquor takes moldy grain as raw material, and uses enzyme preparation contained in Qu liquor to saccharify and ferment the grain raw material into wine. Qu wine has a special aroma, such as Quxiang, so it is also called Quxiang wine. Since written records, the vast majority of China's wine is brewed with distiller's yeast, and China's distiller's yeast method has a great influence on neighboring countries, such as Japan, Vietnam and Thailand.

Liquor-making with distiller's yeast is the essence of China's liquor-making. The microorganisms growing in koji are mainly molds. The use of molds is a great invention of China people. Professor Kenichiro Sakaguchi, a famous Japanese microbiologist, thinks that this is even comparable to four great inventions of ancient china, which is obviously inferred from the important position of bioengineering technology in today's science and technology.

Extended data:

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. Roughly in the Song Dynasty, the types and production techniques of China distiller's yeast were basically finalized.

The production technology of distiller's yeast was comprehensively summarized for the first time in Qi Yao Min Shu in the Northern Wei Dynasty, and reached a high level in the Song Dynasty. Mainly manifested in the following aspects: the variety of distiller's yeast is complete, the technology is perfect, and the saccharification and fermentation ability of distiller's yeast, especially southern Xiaoqu, is very high. Modern distiller's yeast is still widely used in the brewing of yellow rice wine and liquor.

Baidu Encyclopedia _ Qujiu